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Hot Cakes #4
Semi-Sweet On You
A semi-sweet second-chance rom com!
She broke his heart ten years ago.
Now he's back -- and her new boss.
And she might still be semi in love with him.
This whole situation is nutty -- including the grandmother who lives with Whitney. And who loves the idea that she and Cam are back together. And invites him to move in.
Cam seems to be all in. In spite of the fact that they are not back together. He’s taking every opportunity to show Whitney everything she gave up all those years ago. Everything. Up close and personal.
Having him back is very sweet and Cam definitely has a way of making her feel warm and gooey... even when he's faking being in love with her.
But soon it’s all crumbling around her. Especially her resolve.
She just can't forget that it's very likely someone is going to get burned.
And she's pretty sure it's going to be her.
She broke his heart ten years ago.
Now he's back -- and her new boss.
And she might still be semi in love with him.
This whole situation is nutty -- including the grandmother who lives with Whitney. And who loves the idea that she and Cam are back together. And invites him to move in.
Cam seems to be all in. In spite of the fact that they are not back together. He’s taking every opportunity to show Whitney everything she gave up all those years ago. Everything. Up close and personal.
Having him back is very sweet and Cam definitely has a way of making her feel warm and gooey... even when he's faking being in love with her.
But soon it’s all crumbling around her. Especially her resolve.
She just can't forget that it's very likely someone is going to get burned.
And she's pretty sure it's going to be her.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2020
276 people are currently reading
2091 people want to read
About the author
Erin Nicholas
152 books3,802 followersErin Nicholas is the New York Times bestselling author of over sixty sexy contemporary romances. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy and fun.
She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).
You can find Erin on the web at www.ErinNicholas.com, on Instagram at ErinNicholasBooks, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ErinNicholas... and on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/profile/erin-...
She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).
You can find Erin on the web at www.ErinNicholas.com, on Instagram at ErinNicholasBooks, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ErinNicholas... and on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/profile/erin-...
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August 17, 2020Semi-Sweet On You is done!
I can't wait for you to come back to Appleby with me and get to know Cam and Whitney better!
Do you love slow burn, second chance romances? You are going to love this one!
What if your ex was your new boss?
And you were still semi-in love with him?
And he wants you back?
It could all be very sweet.
Or someone could end up getting badly burned...
𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞-𝙎𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙊𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 15𝙩𝙝!
It's got all of these goodies inside!
✔ Second chance romance
✔ Slow burn
✔ A hot guy who bakes
✔ A feisty grandmother
✔ A lot of awwww moments
✔ Small town
✔ Rom com
Cam and Whitney gave me a few fits at first, but honestly, as soon as I figured out that Cam actually had a big gooey center inside that gruff exterior, things got a lot easier ;). Not that it was a piece of cake (ha!) from there... Whitney wasn't quite as easy to get to go along with my plan!
Thankfully, I had a little help from Didi, her grandmother ;)
And Cam's persistent.
And he bakes.
She never really stood a chance.
Here's a little peek at Cam and Whitney...
“I think my butt looks really weird in this. Can you come look?” Whitney called from inside the powder room in her office.
Piper was out at her desk in the reception area of the Hot Cakes executive suites and this dress was hers. Whitney did not think she was pulling it off. At all. The other woman wore the pin-up style dresses and looked like a million bucks. But Piper had the curves for it. And the attitude. She was confident, sassy, and sexy.
Whitney knew she didn’t have the curves and she was pretty sure she didn’t have even half the attitude.
But she wanted it.
She really did.
She wanted a change, that was for sure, and her attitude was just part of it.
This dress might be a good start.
She turned in front of the mirror on the back of her powder room door. Or maybe it wasn’t a good start.
She wasn’t ready for a dress like this.
“Seriously, I don’t have the curves for this,” she called. Piper might be on the phone, but Whitney really needed a second opinion.
“I sincerely doubt I’d ever use the word ‘weird’ in regard to your ass.”
Whitney swung around with a gasp. That was not Piper’s voice.
“But I’m very happy to take a look.”
Whitney sucked in a breath. Dammit. That was Cam.
Camden McCaffery.
One of the partners who owned Hot Cakes.
One of her new bosses.
Her ex.
Oh, and the guy that she was still sort of in love with.
You can preorder it everywhere now!
I can't wait for you to come back to Appleby with me and get to know Cam and Whitney better!
Do you love slow burn, second chance romances? You are going to love this one!
What if your ex was your new boss?
And you were still semi-in love with him?
And he wants you back?
It could all be very sweet.
Or someone could end up getting badly burned...
𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞-𝙎𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙊𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 15𝙩𝙝!
It's got all of these goodies inside!
✔ Second chance romance
✔ Slow burn
✔ A hot guy who bakes
✔ A feisty grandmother
✔ A lot of awwww moments
✔ Small town
✔ Rom com
Cam and Whitney gave me a few fits at first, but honestly, as soon as I figured out that Cam actually had a big gooey center inside that gruff exterior, things got a lot easier ;). Not that it was a piece of cake (ha!) from there... Whitney wasn't quite as easy to get to go along with my plan!
Thankfully, I had a little help from Didi, her grandmother ;)
And Cam's persistent.
And he bakes.
She never really stood a chance.
Here's a little peek at Cam and Whitney...
“I think my butt looks really weird in this. Can you come look?” Whitney called from inside the powder room in her office.
Piper was out at her desk in the reception area of the Hot Cakes executive suites and this dress was hers. Whitney did not think she was pulling it off. At all. The other woman wore the pin-up style dresses and looked like a million bucks. But Piper had the curves for it. And the attitude. She was confident, sassy, and sexy.
Whitney knew she didn’t have the curves and she was pretty sure she didn’t have even half the attitude.
But she wanted it.
She really did.
She wanted a change, that was for sure, and her attitude was just part of it.
This dress might be a good start.
She turned in front of the mirror on the back of her powder room door. Or maybe it wasn’t a good start.
She wasn’t ready for a dress like this.
“Seriously, I don’t have the curves for this,” she called. Piper might be on the phone, but Whitney really needed a second opinion.
“I sincerely doubt I’d ever use the word ‘weird’ in regard to your ass.”
Whitney swung around with a gasp. That was not Piper’s voice.
“But I’m very happy to take a look.”
Whitney sucked in a breath. Dammit. That was Cam.
Camden McCaffery.
One of the partners who owned Hot Cakes.
One of her new bosses.
Her ex.
Oh, and the guy that she was still sort of in love with.
You can preorder it everywhere now!
September 15, 2020
4.5 Not Marginalized Stars
* * * * 1/2 Spoiler Free-It's LIVE!!!
Erin Nicholas has always used her abilities to highlight many issues with her romance books. She has a deft hand and makes all that she touches more meaningful because includes more than just the swoony stuff. Oh, there is lots of swoony, hot stuff...but she also addresses how things from the past, impacted how people were marginalized, not allowed to experience and live up to all they should have...Mainly women.
The basis of this series has been the story of two dear friends who started baking together and then one of them saw a way to spread the goods by selling the little cakes in a wider way...to mass-produce them and sell them in many locations. What happens next is a family feud involving the town and generations with one accusing the other of stealing the recipe and profiting from it.
This left the town and families pitted against each other. The main form of employment was the factory making Hot Cakes and Buttered Up was the long-standing bakery that felt ripped off. You either worked at the factory and never was seen purchasing anything at Buttered Up for fear of losing their job or remained loyal to Buttered up never to mention Hot Cakes to anyone involved with the bakery.
Not Good.
What was good was the men that came into the town, rescued the factory by buying it and then making positive changes all around. Two of the men were from the town and one was tied to the family that owned the bakery.
Semi-Sweet On You focuses on the couple most impacted by this family feud, Cam who was the son of the bakery, and Whitney, the daughter from the factory. When they were young and getting ready to start their lives, they fell hard for each other. But Whitney sent Cam off to college saying she wouldn't go with him to Chicago. She let him think she chose her family and Hot Cakes over him.
For more than 10 years, Cam has been sour about how Whitney chose her family over him. He hurt and deep down, really deep down, he felt he still may love her. Whitney also has feelings for Cam all of these years but she is in a place where there is something she must figure out before she can even think about Cam.
So here we have Cam technically being Whitney's boss along with the four other guys and she is the only one who understands how the factory works and the business end of the Hot Cakes. She has this one opportunity to finally step up and promote her own thoughts for the company and not be marginalized by her father or grandfather. She cannot allow anything to color how she accomplishes her goals, she needs to make the new promotion for a new product a success on her own.
Cam wants to see what could be with Whitney, the new Whitney, not the teenage Whitney he remembers. He gets tied up and wants to do naughty delicious things with and to her. It is becoming a challenge. Every time Cam tries to forge ahead, Whitney shoots him down.
The circumstances around Whitney and Cam change when Whitney's grandmother decides Cam should move into their house while she waits to move into the senior citizen's location Dax, one of the guys is renovating. It will be ready in a month and the Gram wants Cam to help her instead of the woman Whitney had hired.
Oh, this changes everything.
It allows Cam more time with Whitney but it becomes more than that. It allows Cam to be who he really is and for Cam to see what Whitney needs most, the ability to discover what she is capable of, to see how strong she is.
This story touched on so much, you need to discover the insights on your own. However, I will share the heart in this is fully displayed, Cam shows everyone how much of a good guy he is...and Whitney learns others like her for who she is. And best of all, we are given the amazing Didi, one of the original gals who started baking long ago.
All of the other characters float in and out and Ollie and Paker continue to have their curious relationship. Ms. Nicholas decided to cross this amazing series with another amazing series of hers...We are getting Paige and Mitch's story, one from Hot Cakes and the other from the Boys of the Bayou! You do not have to read the Bayou series in order to enjoy this upcoming book...
But Why Wouldn't You because I am telling you, any excuse to Binge on that series works!
Loving this series, Loving Ms. Nicholas, Loving all of the amazing characters she gives us.
Sugar Rush (Hot Cakes #0.5)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sugarcoated (Hot Cakes #1)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Forking Around (Hot Cakes #2)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Making Whoopie (Hot Cakes #3)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Semi-Sweet On You (Hot Cakes #4)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Oh, Fudge (Hot Cakes #5)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gimme S'more (Hot Cakes #6)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
~~~~~ Before Reading ~~~~~
The Best Surprise
After An Insane Week!
X💋X💋X💋X💋X💋X💋X💋
Oh, How Your Choices...
Can Come Back...
And Bite You In The A$$...
It Was A Simple Love Story...
Cam Loved Whitney...
And Whitney Loved Cam...
Perfect, Right...
Except When Cam Wanted Whitney...
To Come To Chicago All Those Years Ago...
You See, As Much As She Loved Cam...
She Had A Family Obligation To Stay Behind...
They Needed Her To Help With The Business...
And Cam Could Never Forgive Her Decision...
Now Cam Is The One...
Back In Town...
Saving The Business...
And One Sneaky Grandmother...
Is Working Full Time...
To Bring Them Together...
Whitney and Cam May Be Focused on Cakes...
But What Is Really Giving Whitney A Sugar Rush...
Is The Fact...
This Time, For Real...
Cam Has Staked His Claim...
He Told Her He Is...
Semi-Sweet On You (Hot Cakes Book 4)- September 15, 2020
A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
* * * * 1/2 Spoiler Free-It's LIVE!!!
Erin Nicholas has always used her abilities to highlight many issues with her romance books. She has a deft hand and makes all that she touches more meaningful because includes more than just the swoony stuff. Oh, there is lots of swoony, hot stuff...but she also addresses how things from the past, impacted how people were marginalized, not allowed to experience and live up to all they should have...Mainly women.
The basis of this series has been the story of two dear friends who started baking together and then one of them saw a way to spread the goods by selling the little cakes in a wider way...to mass-produce them and sell them in many locations. What happens next is a family feud involving the town and generations with one accusing the other of stealing the recipe and profiting from it.
This left the town and families pitted against each other. The main form of employment was the factory making Hot Cakes and Buttered Up was the long-standing bakery that felt ripped off. You either worked at the factory and never was seen purchasing anything at Buttered Up for fear of losing their job or remained loyal to Buttered up never to mention Hot Cakes to anyone involved with the bakery.
Not Good.
What was good was the men that came into the town, rescued the factory by buying it and then making positive changes all around. Two of the men were from the town and one was tied to the family that owned the bakery.
Semi-Sweet On You focuses on the couple most impacted by this family feud, Cam who was the son of the bakery, and Whitney, the daughter from the factory. When they were young and getting ready to start their lives, they fell hard for each other. But Whitney sent Cam off to college saying she wouldn't go with him to Chicago. She let him think she chose her family and Hot Cakes over him.
For more than 10 years, Cam has been sour about how Whitney chose her family over him. He hurt and deep down, really deep down, he felt he still may love her. Whitney also has feelings for Cam all of these years but she is in a place where there is something she must figure out before she can even think about Cam.
So here we have Cam technically being Whitney's boss along with the four other guys and she is the only one who understands how the factory works and the business end of the Hot Cakes. She has this one opportunity to finally step up and promote her own thoughts for the company and not be marginalized by her father or grandfather. She cannot allow anything to color how she accomplishes her goals, she needs to make the new promotion for a new product a success on her own.
Cam wants to see what could be with Whitney, the new Whitney, not the teenage Whitney he remembers. He gets tied up and wants to do naughty delicious things with and to her. It is becoming a challenge. Every time Cam tries to forge ahead, Whitney shoots him down.
The circumstances around Whitney and Cam change when Whitney's grandmother decides Cam should move into their house while she waits to move into the senior citizen's location Dax, one of the guys is renovating. It will be ready in a month and the Gram wants Cam to help her instead of the woman Whitney had hired.
Oh, this changes everything.
It allows Cam more time with Whitney but it becomes more than that. It allows Cam to be who he really is and for Cam to see what Whitney needs most, the ability to discover what she is capable of, to see how strong she is.
This story touched on so much, you need to discover the insights on your own. However, I will share the heart in this is fully displayed, Cam shows everyone how much of a good guy he is...and Whitney learns others like her for who she is. And best of all, we are given the amazing Didi, one of the original gals who started baking long ago.
All of the other characters float in and out and Ollie and Paker continue to have their curious relationship. Ms. Nicholas decided to cross this amazing series with another amazing series of hers...We are getting Paige and Mitch's story, one from Hot Cakes and the other from the Boys of the Bayou! You do not have to read the Bayou series in order to enjoy this upcoming book...
But Why Wouldn't You because I am telling you, any excuse to Binge on that series works!
Loving this series, Loving Ms. Nicholas, Loving all of the amazing characters she gives us.
Sugar Rush (Hot Cakes #0.5)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sugarcoated (Hot Cakes #1)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Forking Around (Hot Cakes #2)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Making Whoopie (Hot Cakes #3)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Semi-Sweet On You (Hot Cakes #4)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Oh, Fudge (Hot Cakes #5)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gimme S'more (Hot Cakes #6)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
~~~~~ Before Reading ~~~~~
The Best Surprise
After An Insane Week!
X💋X💋X💋X💋X💋X💋X💋
Oh, How Your Choices...
Can Come Back...
And Bite You In The A$$...
It Was A Simple Love Story...
Cam Loved Whitney...
And Whitney Loved Cam...
Perfect, Right...
Except When Cam Wanted Whitney...
To Come To Chicago All Those Years Ago...
You See, As Much As She Loved Cam...
She Had A Family Obligation To Stay Behind...
They Needed Her To Help With The Business...
And Cam Could Never Forgive Her Decision...
Now Cam Is The One...
Back In Town...
Saving The Business...
And One Sneaky Grandmother...
Is Working Full Time...
To Bring Them Together...
Whitney and Cam May Be Focused on Cakes...
But What Is Really Giving Whitney A Sugar Rush...
Is The Fact...
This Time, For Real...
Cam Has Staked His Claim...
He Told Her He Is...
Semi-Sweet On You (Hot Cakes Book 4)- September 15, 2020
A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
September 24, 2020
Check out all of my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
SEMI-SWEET ON YOU (Hot Cakes Book #4) by Erin Nicholas is the latest contemporary romance in the Hot Cakes series. I have been anxiously waiting for Whitney and Cam’s second chance love story and it did not disappoint. Laughter, fun, family, friendship, love, smokin’ hot attraction and yummy baked goods are all used to solve even the toughest problems.
For three generations the feud between the Lancaster and McCaffery families has carried on in the small town of Appleby, but like Romeo and Juliet, Cam and Whitney fell in love in high school and hid it from their families. When it came time for Cam McCaffery to go to away for college, he wanted to stay and marry Whitney, but she knew he had so much more to accomplish, so she broke up with him and sent him on his way.
Now Cam and his best friends are back and have purchased Hot Cakes, the largest employer in town from the Lancaster family to save the town. Cam is now Whitney’s boss, but he realizes that Whitney is not the same girl he left behind.
Whitney has never had the chance to prove herself in her family’s company. Her father and brothers did not believe she had a place in decision making. Now with the new ownership she is determined to prove her worth and become a partner, but she is also dealing with her grandmother, Didi’s Alzheimer’s. Cam slides right into Whitney and Didi’s life with the promise that he will help and support Whitney as a friend only.
Cam is trying to be a friend to Whitney, but even Whitney is not sure this can work because every time they are together the sexual attraction is hot enough to burn anything Cam has baking in the oven.
PERFECT! Cam and Whitney are a great H/h couple. The sexual attraction is smokin’ hot between these two, but Ms. Nicholas has written a romance that shows them with feelings and emotions that have changed according to their new circumstances in life and are more mature than when they were together ten years ago. This relationship is everything I was hoping for and more.
The secondary characters all play a very important role in this story, also. The friendship of all the guys of Fluke, Inc. and that includes the talented Piper, too make this series very entertaining. In this book we get to get to know Didi, Whitney’s grandmother and her side of the feud story even as her mental cognition declines. (Have some tissues ready for these parts of the story.) Whitney’s emotional reactions and emotions for her grandmother I feel were realistically written and handled.
This book is the fourth book in the series, but it can be easily read as a standalone. I believe that after reading this book you will go back and read all the previous stories.
I highly recommend this second chance contemporary romance!
SEMI-SWEET ON YOU (Hot Cakes Book #4) by Erin Nicholas is the latest contemporary romance in the Hot Cakes series. I have been anxiously waiting for Whitney and Cam’s second chance love story and it did not disappoint. Laughter, fun, family, friendship, love, smokin’ hot attraction and yummy baked goods are all used to solve even the toughest problems.
For three generations the feud between the Lancaster and McCaffery families has carried on in the small town of Appleby, but like Romeo and Juliet, Cam and Whitney fell in love in high school and hid it from their families. When it came time for Cam McCaffery to go to away for college, he wanted to stay and marry Whitney, but she knew he had so much more to accomplish, so she broke up with him and sent him on his way.
Now Cam and his best friends are back and have purchased Hot Cakes, the largest employer in town from the Lancaster family to save the town. Cam is now Whitney’s boss, but he realizes that Whitney is not the same girl he left behind.
Whitney has never had the chance to prove herself in her family’s company. Her father and brothers did not believe she had a place in decision making. Now with the new ownership she is determined to prove her worth and become a partner, but she is also dealing with her grandmother, Didi’s Alzheimer’s. Cam slides right into Whitney and Didi’s life with the promise that he will help and support Whitney as a friend only.
Cam is trying to be a friend to Whitney, but even Whitney is not sure this can work because every time they are together the sexual attraction is hot enough to burn anything Cam has baking in the oven.
PERFECT! Cam and Whitney are a great H/h couple. The sexual attraction is smokin’ hot between these two, but Ms. Nicholas has written a romance that shows them with feelings and emotions that have changed according to their new circumstances in life and are more mature than when they were together ten years ago. This relationship is everything I was hoping for and more.
The secondary characters all play a very important role in this story, also. The friendship of all the guys of Fluke, Inc. and that includes the talented Piper, too make this series very entertaining. In this book we get to get to know Didi, Whitney’s grandmother and her side of the feud story even as her mental cognition declines. (Have some tissues ready for these parts of the story.) Whitney’s emotional reactions and emotions for her grandmother I feel were realistically written and handled.
This book is the fourth book in the series, but it can be easily read as a standalone. I believe that after reading this book you will go back and read all the previous stories.
I highly recommend this second chance contemporary romance!
September 15, 2020
Everyone deserves a second chance... and a fresh start. Semi-Sweet on You is...both. And THIS is the read you deserve to enjoy.
Erin Nicholas’s Semi-Sweet on You is a small-town second-chance story. That is like saying that the Olympics is an athletic competition. Semi-Sweet on You is a spectacular romance about Camden McCaffery and Whitney Lancaster. Their families have had a fifty-plus year feud that originally began when Letty McCaffery and Didi Lancaster disagreed over how to share their incredible baked goods with Appleby. So when Cam and Whit first acted on that spark of attraction in high school and it flares into more, it was a little Romeo and Juliet, thankfully without anyone dying ;) But while the feud seems to be dissolving, there is no magic undo button...
Erin Nicholas takes very real characters with real-life fears and concerns and lets us watch them find their way through. It is tremendously heartening to see Cam and Whit face not only what is keeping them apart but what makes them worry. Seeing Whitney come into her own is incredible. And seeing Cam come to recognize who Whitney can be is incredibly inspiring as well. There is such pleasure in enjoying these two as they get (re)acquainted and fall all the more for each other. And to see how they and their friends and families help bring out their best selves.
One of the best things about Semi-Sweet on You is that we see and fall in love with not just Cam and Whit, but all the people who know and love them. These two are part of an amazing community who not only cherish and nurture them, but also tease and prod and nudge and spur them on to be the best they can be. And it’s a delight to be reminded that love is absolutely all that—making you better and more you.
The second-chance stories that convince me the characters have a shot are the ones where they aren’t in the same place they had been the first time around. And with Cam and Whitney, Ms Nicholas lets us see that journey to the extent that we’re rooting for them and convinced that being together now isn’t just an option—it’s the best possible thing for them both.
Another delicious thing is not just Whit coming to own her smart, strong, kicka$$ self, but seeing Cam embrace his inner teddy bear. Nothing is hotter than a man who leans in to the domestic arts and does it well! Ms Nicholas had me at chocolate chip cookies ;)
Bottom line—Semi-Sweet on You is stellar! You deserve this story! Just make sure to enjoy it with some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in hand!
Erin Nicholas’s Semi-Sweet on You is a small-town second-chance story. That is like saying that the Olympics is an athletic competition. Semi-Sweet on You is a spectacular romance about Camden McCaffery and Whitney Lancaster. Their families have had a fifty-plus year feud that originally began when Letty McCaffery and Didi Lancaster disagreed over how to share their incredible baked goods with Appleby. So when Cam and Whit first acted on that spark of attraction in high school and it flares into more, it was a little Romeo and Juliet, thankfully without anyone dying ;) But while the feud seems to be dissolving, there is no magic undo button...
Erin Nicholas takes very real characters with real-life fears and concerns and lets us watch them find their way through. It is tremendously heartening to see Cam and Whit face not only what is keeping them apart but what makes them worry. Seeing Whitney come into her own is incredible. And seeing Cam come to recognize who Whitney can be is incredibly inspiring as well. There is such pleasure in enjoying these two as they get (re)acquainted and fall all the more for each other. And to see how they and their friends and families help bring out their best selves.
One of the best things about Semi-Sweet on You is that we see and fall in love with not just Cam and Whit, but all the people who know and love them. These two are part of an amazing community who not only cherish and nurture them, but also tease and prod and nudge and spur them on to be the best they can be. And it’s a delight to be reminded that love is absolutely all that—making you better and more you.
The second-chance stories that convince me the characters have a shot are the ones where they aren’t in the same place they had been the first time around. And with Cam and Whitney, Ms Nicholas lets us see that journey to the extent that we’re rooting for them and convinced that being together now isn’t just an option—it’s the best possible thing for them both.
Another delicious thing is not just Whit coming to own her smart, strong, kicka$$ self, but seeing Cam embrace his inner teddy bear. Nothing is hotter than a man who leans in to the domestic arts and does it well! Ms Nicholas had me at chocolate chip cookies ;)
Bottom line—Semi-Sweet on You is stellar! You deserve this story! Just make sure to enjoy it with some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in hand!
May 11, 2021
I have a mix feeling toward Semi Sweet on You. The story of second chance romance is promising. Especially the beginning of the book. I was excited to continue reading. Then my excitement sort of tamed down.
What I like about this book:
I do like how Miss Nicholas brings a lot of conversation/ topic about woman in a work place especially when that work place is dominated with male. Whitney certainly a picture of every heroine inside of us struggle to find her own footing.
I do like how Whitney and Cam takes their time to get to know each other. A lot of conversation between them to clear the misunderstanding and understanding their dream for future.
What I do not like is the wording. I found the wording is so stiff and sometimes, I feel like being paste and copy from other books.
At the end, I rounded it up to 3 stars.
3 stars
What I like about this book:
I do like how Miss Nicholas brings a lot of conversation/ topic about woman in a work place especially when that work place is dominated with male. Whitney certainly a picture of every heroine inside of us struggle to find her own footing.
I do like how Whitney and Cam takes their time to get to know each other. A lot of conversation between them to clear the misunderstanding and understanding their dream for future.
What I do not like is the wording. I found the wording is so stiff and sometimes, I feel like being paste and copy from other books.
At the end, I rounded it up to 3 stars.
3 stars
August 18, 2020
I have been waiting on this book since the beginning of the series and Erin Nicholas did not disappoint. I love second-chance romances and Whitney and Cam's story is one of the best. Former high school sweethearts, Whitney breaks up with Cam so that he can go away to school and be free. And he goes away and becomes very successful. But when he buys her family's company and he's back in her life on a daily basis, they find themselves fighting their feelings from the past. But can they love each other as who they are now? That's the real question. They need to get to know each other as adults.
This story is so sweet (no pun intended). Also if you don't get a bit teary eyed with Cam's brother and Whitney's grandmom, you have no heart (haha). It's just the best.
You will love this book!!!
This story is so sweet (no pun intended). Also if you don't get a bit teary eyed with Cam's brother and Whitney's grandmom, you have no heart (haha). It's just the best.
You will love this book!!!
September 8, 2020
Whitney and Cameron’s second chance romance is a perfect second chance romance. - high school sweethearts that get a second chance to fall in love - who doesn’t like that happy ending. Their families have been feuding for three generations. They had a secret year long romance in high school and she chose her family’s business over him ending their relationship when they were eighteen. Fast forward ten years and now Cam and his partners have bought Whitney’s family business, Hot Cakes, the company that started the family feud, and Cam and Whitney have to work together. Can they get past their past and learn to love again? This book has the perfect blend of funny, sweet and fan your face steamy with only a tiny bit of angst. Whitney and Cam’s love story has all the feels. It’s a second chance romance story with a bunch of extras thrown in to make it much more than a simple fluff romance - small town, family feud, difficult family dynamics, Alzheimer’s, non-traditional gender roles, friendships, and finding contentment with yourself. Sprinkled throughout this beautifully paced story of Whitney and Cam’s HEA, there are also a number of secondary characters that we have seen throughout the Hot Cakes series. Rather than being confusing, overwhelming or detracting from the main love story, these characters are central to the unfurling of Whitney and Cam’s dance of friendship, love and passion and to the perfection that is Appleby, Iowa. We learn enough about who the secondary characters are along with just enough of their stories so that they’re fully developed characters in their own right. This book is a stand alone. You can read just this book and not be confused about what you’ve missed in the the previous three books but you’ll still want to read the rest of the books in the series because they’re all just as good - desserts, love and steam - they’re a trifecta of romance. With Semi-Sweet on You, Erin Nicholas once again proves she’s a fantastic storyteller.
July 29, 2020
Sweet, steamy and full of emotion, Semi-Sweet On You is the perfect addition to the Hot Cakes series.
Cam McCaffrey is back in town and things are about to get even hotter at the snack cake factory. Cam is finally forced to confront his feelings for the one girl who broke his heart 10 years ago. I fell in love with Cam in Chapter One. Appleby's tattooed bad-boy lawyer turns out to have a huge heart and a protective streak a mile long. He has met his match, again, in Whitney who's eager to make her mark with the new company. She's smart, sassy and very weary to get involved with her old high school sweetheart. They were the perfect combination!
In typical Erin Nicholas fashion, this story packs humor, heat and all the emotions into one beautiful package. I will eagerly be waiting for the next book in this series!!
Cam McCaffrey is back in town and things are about to get even hotter at the snack cake factory. Cam is finally forced to confront his feelings for the one girl who broke his heart 10 years ago. I fell in love with Cam in Chapter One. Appleby's tattooed bad-boy lawyer turns out to have a huge heart and a protective streak a mile long. He has met his match, again, in Whitney who's eager to make her mark with the new company. She's smart, sassy and very weary to get involved with her old high school sweetheart. They were the perfect combination!
In typical Erin Nicholas fashion, this story packs humor, heat and all the emotions into one beautiful package. I will eagerly be waiting for the next book in this series!!
August 30, 2020
This is just the sweetest second chance romance! I enjoyed it so much! I have been anxiously awaiting Cam and Whitney’s story and am so thrilled to finally have been able to read it! It is everything I hoped it would be and so much more!
I think their story needed to be a very slow burn, it really works for their particular journey to their own HEA. Cam and Whitney have both changed so much over the years and need to get to know who they are now and leverage that with how they felt about each other a decade ago. So many emotions and feelings have been stirred up now that Cam is living in Appleby again and running Hot Cakes. He knows what he wants, he is very sweet on her, he just needs to get her on board. Their chemistry would have been impossible to deny forever. I think they are so adorable and sweet together!
I also adore Cam for what he does for Whitney’s grandmother Didi and it really shows Whitney how
much he has grown as a person and how he feels about her too. All the sexy banter and flirting were a pretty good indication of what Cam wanted and I loved when Whitney would allow herself to reciprocate with her own.
I love the characters in this series so much so I am always happy that we get more of them with each book too. This book is also very special in that we see how the relationships/friendships are mending now despite the sins of their families in the past. That’s one of the most important things that comes out of this story to me, it’s so special and heartwarming. I absolutely loved this book! I can’t wait for more sweetness!!
I think their story needed to be a very slow burn, it really works for their particular journey to their own HEA. Cam and Whitney have both changed so much over the years and need to get to know who they are now and leverage that with how they felt about each other a decade ago. So many emotions and feelings have been stirred up now that Cam is living in Appleby again and running Hot Cakes. He knows what he wants, he is very sweet on her, he just needs to get her on board. Their chemistry would have been impossible to deny forever. I think they are so adorable and sweet together!
I also adore Cam for what he does for Whitney’s grandmother Didi and it really shows Whitney how
much he has grown as a person and how he feels about her too. All the sexy banter and flirting were a pretty good indication of what Cam wanted and I loved when Whitney would allow herself to reciprocate with her own.
I love the characters in this series so much so I am always happy that we get more of them with each book too. This book is also very special in that we see how the relationships/friendships are mending now despite the sins of their families in the past. That’s one of the most important things that comes out of this story to me, it’s so special and heartwarming. I absolutely loved this book! I can’t wait for more sweetness!!
August 31, 2020
Semi-Sweet On You was completely unexpected and hit me with all the feels. Cam and Whitney prove that second chances are well worth it and work better when the relationship bakes for the proper amount of time.
In this second chance romance where both characters have not only had ten years apart, but had occasion to run into one another in the small town where they both grew up and then recently end up working together you would think there would be fireworks or at least a small bomb exploding when they finally decide to make a go of a relationship, but instead this beautiful slow-burn story is nothing what I expected and everything I love about returning to Appleby, IA.
Erin Nicholas returns us to the small town of Appleby, IA with the loveable guys who bought Hot Cakes; Grant, Dax, Aiden, Oliver, and Cam. We jump into a second chance love story between Cam and Whitney, who secretly dated in high school, but broke up ten years ago for multiple reasons, one of the main ones being that their families have been rivals for three generations.
While Cam wants to jump back into a relationship with Whitney (admitting he's never really stopped caring about her) Whitney isn't quite as eager to make that plunge. She has a lot to prove and dating Cam, as nice as it may sound, doesn't land on her list of accomplishments. While Cam left Appleby, attended college, became a lawyer, and a millionaire with his friends, Whitney has only ever lived in Appleby and worked at Hot Cakes. Period. The end. Now that it's under new ownership she has a lot of time and ideas to make up for. She wants to prove herself and dating Cam doesn't seem like the best move to do that. That's more like a lateral move if she just allowed Cam to solve all of her problems and she's already allowed her family to keep her hidden long enough.
Cam wants to help Whitney, but he's at a loss of how to do that. Whitney is clearly not the same girl he left when he went to college ten years ago. Gone is the confident girl and standing in her place is someone who doubts herself, which doesn't help him when all he wants to do is swoop in and take care of her. When Whitney's grandmother steps in and gives him a great idea, one that she really can't say no to, he is able to help Whitney and Hot Cakes, along with reconnecting with pieces of his family's past which in turn mends the town more than anyone could have anticipated.
There are lots of spectacular moments in Semi-Sweet; but some of my favorite were during the bake off, then pretty much any moment with Didi (Whitney's grandmother), and lastly add in Henry (Cam's younger brother) and I was a goner. I'm a total sucker for old and young people each and every time. Add them together and I'm in love. Didi and Henry spending time together is going to melt your heart and it will leak out of your eyeballs, so have a few tissues handy (FYI).
Overall, this book was completely unexpected and I loved every moment of it.
In this second chance romance where both characters have not only had ten years apart, but had occasion to run into one another in the small town where they both grew up and then recently end up working together you would think there would be fireworks or at least a small bomb exploding when they finally decide to make a go of a relationship, but instead this beautiful slow-burn story is nothing what I expected and everything I love about returning to Appleby, IA.
Erin Nicholas returns us to the small town of Appleby, IA with the loveable guys who bought Hot Cakes; Grant, Dax, Aiden, Oliver, and Cam. We jump into a second chance love story between Cam and Whitney, who secretly dated in high school, but broke up ten years ago for multiple reasons, one of the main ones being that their families have been rivals for three generations.
While Cam wants to jump back into a relationship with Whitney (admitting he's never really stopped caring about her) Whitney isn't quite as eager to make that plunge. She has a lot to prove and dating Cam, as nice as it may sound, doesn't land on her list of accomplishments. While Cam left Appleby, attended college, became a lawyer, and a millionaire with his friends, Whitney has only ever lived in Appleby and worked at Hot Cakes. Period. The end. Now that it's under new ownership she has a lot of time and ideas to make up for. She wants to prove herself and dating Cam doesn't seem like the best move to do that. That's more like a lateral move if she just allowed Cam to solve all of her problems and she's already allowed her family to keep her hidden long enough.
Cam wants to help Whitney, but he's at a loss of how to do that. Whitney is clearly not the same girl he left when he went to college ten years ago. Gone is the confident girl and standing in her place is someone who doubts herself, which doesn't help him when all he wants to do is swoop in and take care of her. When Whitney's grandmother steps in and gives him a great idea, one that she really can't say no to, he is able to help Whitney and Hot Cakes, along with reconnecting with pieces of his family's past which in turn mends the town more than anyone could have anticipated.
There are lots of spectacular moments in Semi-Sweet; but some of my favorite were during the bake off, then pretty much any moment with Didi (Whitney's grandmother), and lastly add in Henry (Cam's younger brother) and I was a goner. I'm a total sucker for old and young people each and every time. Add them together and I'm in love. Didi and Henry spending time together is going to melt your heart and it will leak out of your eyeballs, so have a few tissues handy (FYI).
Overall, this book was completely unexpected and I loved every moment of it.
September 15, 2020
I truly loved reading this book!
I've looked forward to Cam & Whitney's
story. It's a sweet, sexy, witty, moving
& fun second chance romance.
Cam & Whit, secretly fell in love in
high school. Their grandmothers were
arch rivals. 3 generations of feuding.
After graduation, every changed.
Now 10 years later, & all the big changes
at Hot Cakes & the town of Appleby,
will Cam & Whit, be able to be friends
& work together.
This book is definitely worth the wait!
With great characters you cannot get enough of. Captivated me from page one.
DIFINITE MUST READ!!
I've looked forward to Cam & Whitney's
story. It's a sweet, sexy, witty, moving
& fun second chance romance.
Cam & Whit, secretly fell in love in
high school. Their grandmothers were
arch rivals. 3 generations of feuding.
After graduation, every changed.
Now 10 years later, & all the big changes
at Hot Cakes & the town of Appleby,
will Cam & Whit, be able to be friends
& work together.
This book is definitely worth the wait!
With great characters you cannot get enough of. Captivated me from page one.
DIFINITE MUST READ!!
August 31, 2020
Would you like to know the secret of surviving 2020? Read an Erin Nicholas book. Continually. You'll laugh out loud, maybe cry a little, and definitely blush, but when it's safe to resume to normal life you can emerge from a Nicholas book world and carry on with life. Reading a Nicholas book isn’t just an escape. It's an experience, an event, it's living your very best life in another world. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of 2020’s shenanigans and am ready to disappear in Appleby, IA, for good.
If you’re new to the series, you’ll need to be brought up to speed on the generations-long feud between Buttered Up bakery and the Hot Cakes factory, also known as the McCaffery and Lancaster families. This book is especially entertaining because it's a romance between a member of each feuding family. Cam's mother ran the Buttered Up bakery, so Cam grew up there, but now he and his millionaire friends have purchased the Hot Cakes factory from the rival family. Whitney Lancaster, Cam McCaffery's first love, still works for Hot Cakes, and now Cam is her boss.
I was already on board with the Hatfield-McCoy type feud, but when you add in the nod to Romeo and Juilet, enemies to lovers, (or at least not-friends to lovers) and a second chance romance, gah! I’m giddy with anticipation and know my heart will be ruined in the most exquisite ways. And Nicholas certainly delivers with Cam and Whitney’s story!
Oh Whitney. Poor, buttoned-up, always professional Whitney. She doesn’t stand a chance against Cam's charm, and she has yet to get a clue. When Cam sets his mind to something, he's all in and there’s no turning back. And he wants a chance with Whitney. He wants to know the person she is now and see if there's still something between them.
I legit wish I could move to Appleby just to be part of this bunch. The guys with their bromance keep me in stitches, the small-town feel is welcoming and quirky, the heroines are amazing women, and I can now add Grandma Didi to my list of favorites.
Didi deserves her own paragraph – her character is clever and hilarious but poignant and sweet. I appreciate the author’s careful but lighthearted handling of Alzheimer's Disease, but I especially love the reminder to soak up all the wisdom and stories of the past from our older family members while we still can. There's so much they take with them when they go.
This book may be my favorite in this series so far, and yes, I seem to say that after each new book. But the two feuding families find healing in the most amazing, heartfelt, uplifting ways, and Cam and Whitney both learn so much about themselves on their journey to forever. With lots of laughs, a little steam but loads of chemistry and tension, and an industrial-size batch of heart, this one beats any chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. You’ll definitely want to start on this semi-sweet guilty pleasure today!
If you’re new to the series, you’ll need to be brought up to speed on the generations-long feud between Buttered Up bakery and the Hot Cakes factory, also known as the McCaffery and Lancaster families. This book is especially entertaining because it's a romance between a member of each feuding family. Cam's mother ran the Buttered Up bakery, so Cam grew up there, but now he and his millionaire friends have purchased the Hot Cakes factory from the rival family. Whitney Lancaster, Cam McCaffery's first love, still works for Hot Cakes, and now Cam is her boss.
I was already on board with the Hatfield-McCoy type feud, but when you add in the nod to Romeo and Juilet, enemies to lovers, (or at least not-friends to lovers) and a second chance romance, gah! I’m giddy with anticipation and know my heart will be ruined in the most exquisite ways. And Nicholas certainly delivers with Cam and Whitney’s story!
Oh Whitney. Poor, buttoned-up, always professional Whitney. She doesn’t stand a chance against Cam's charm, and she has yet to get a clue. When Cam sets his mind to something, he's all in and there’s no turning back. And he wants a chance with Whitney. He wants to know the person she is now and see if there's still something between them.
I legit wish I could move to Appleby just to be part of this bunch. The guys with their bromance keep me in stitches, the small-town feel is welcoming and quirky, the heroines are amazing women, and I can now add Grandma Didi to my list of favorites.
Didi deserves her own paragraph – her character is clever and hilarious but poignant and sweet. I appreciate the author’s careful but lighthearted handling of Alzheimer's Disease, but I especially love the reminder to soak up all the wisdom and stories of the past from our older family members while we still can. There's so much they take with them when they go.
This book may be my favorite in this series so far, and yes, I seem to say that after each new book. But the two feuding families find healing in the most amazing, heartfelt, uplifting ways, and Cam and Whitney both learn so much about themselves on their journey to forever. With lots of laughs, a little steam but loads of chemistry and tension, and an industrial-size batch of heart, this one beats any chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. You’ll definitely want to start on this semi-sweet guilty pleasure today!
September 16, 2020
I always go into a new Erin Nicholas book with high expectations and somehow she never disappoints - Semi-Sweet On You was no exception. I have spent months envisioning how Whit and Cam's story might play out and I was wrong on every count. This is not your ordinary second-chance love story. I was surprised and delighted at every turn and by all the characters. As heartwarming as it is hot, Semi-Sweet is not 'semi' anything, it is unequivocably and wholly enjoyable from beginning to end.
March 3, 2025
Amazing! Erin just keeps getting better and better. I loved this book. Holy hell talk about a slow burn but damn did it feel good. I don’t even know where to start this book just put all the feels in me. In this book we learn of a different side of Cam. When we first met his is was always ready for a fight, I was sure that when he an Whitney finally got their book it would be a knock down drag out yelling fighting slow burn hotness. But Erin surprised us with Cams sweet side. Not gonna lie this was way better than I expected and I expected amazing.
September 13, 2020
I have been dying for Cam and Whitney’s story and am so excited to finally have been able to read it. A delightful second chance romance, Semi-Sweet On You is sweet, steamy and full of emotion, and a great addition to the Hot Cakes series.
I very much enjoyed this story of the rekindling of the love between Whitney and Cam. This is a fantastic series and each book is so enjoyable.
I very much enjoyed this story of the rekindling of the love between Whitney and Cam. This is a fantastic series and each book is so enjoyable.
September 18, 2020
OMG I am sooooo LOVING this series! All of these characters are fabulous and I just can't get enough of this group of friends. I was so excited to get Cam and Whitney's story and I was not disappointed.
This is a second chance romance told from dual points of view which makes me love this story even more. Whitney broke Cam's heart 10 years ago when she chose her family business over their relationship. However, he is back in town and determined to find out if they still have something between them. When Whitney's grandma presents Cam with the perfect way to get closer to her, he is unable to resist taking the opportunity to prove to Whitney that she can have both him and the business.
This book has it all! Hot chemistry, a great story line and moments that kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Trust me, this is one click worthy for sure!
by Alisa
This is a second chance romance told from dual points of view which makes me love this story even more. Whitney broke Cam's heart 10 years ago when she chose her family business over their relationship. However, he is back in town and determined to find out if they still have something between them. When Whitney's grandma presents Cam with the perfect way to get closer to her, he is unable to resist taking the opportunity to prove to Whitney that she can have both him and the business.
This book has it all! Hot chemistry, a great story line and moments that kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Trust me, this is one click worthy for sure!
by Alisa
September 23, 2020
Erin Nicholas is killing me with the Buttered Up series, she’s now given me two good guy heroes and they are my very favorite type of hero, but in this series they are also very different. Not only that she takes a second chance romance and doesn’t let her characters dwell on the past. They’ve grown, matured, had life experiences that have shaped them into different people and she lets them begin again. Seriously BRAVO Ms. Nicholas for writing characters who are mature enough to realize they aren’t the same people they once were.
When Camden (Cam) and Whitney were teenagers they had a year long secret love affair that was fairly serious for a 17 and 18 year old. It was secret because their families had been feuding for three generations and they were blissfully happy, so they met in secret and fell in love. Cam didn’t want to leave Whitney for college but she knew he needed to go and do bigger and better than their small town so she broke up with him and broke his heart. He’s been around since then but just for visits with the family as his business was in Chicago, but he and his partners recently bought the snack cake company Whitney’s family owned and was destined to close due to her father and brother’s poor business practices and she stayed on to help guide the team. They’ve seen one another, they’ve literally run into one another, they even worked on something together for one of the other partners, but they haven’t let themselves go anywhere with their attraction. Whitney is convinced it can’t go anywhere and Cam, well he is convinced they’ll be together and one thing about Cam everyone knows he doesn’t lose.
I absolutely love the way this romance was concocted, it was fresh, entertaining, and so heartwarming. I am smiling just thinking about the way this book played out. Whitney’s grandmother Didi who was once best friend’s with Cam’s grandmother (and their break-up was the beginning of the feud) bids on Cam and wins a “date” with him and proceeds to convince him to do her bidding. I don’t want to spoil the story, but I do want to say that what Didi asks of him puts him in close contact with Whitney and gives him the opportunity to care for her and give her the time she needs to prove herself at Hot Cakes. It was quite literally brilliant, but it also brought out a side of Cam that not many people see, his need to feel helpful, to make people he cares about lives easier, and to support them. He may be a hot tatted up bada$$ attorney, but underneath he’s as sweet as the treats sold in his family’s bakery.
Whitney was pushed aside by her family her whole life with the exception of her grandmother Didi and she hasn’t minded caring for her when the family moved to Dallas and Didi’s health became a bit of a concern. She loves her role at Hot Cakes and the new partners even Cam because they listen to her, they value her opinion, and they see that she is willing to move the company forward. I hated that she’d basically been emotionally and verbally abused most of her life by her father, brothers and to some extent her mother, but admired that she didn’t let them keep her down. She could have just enjoyed her social standing and flitted around, but she worked every day even when no one would listen to her idea. She has grit, gumption, a can-do attitude and she is stronger than anyone realizes, but she also cut herself off from everyone. We see real, tangible change in Whitney throughout this book and I loved that and it was Cam that gave her the freedom to be the person she wanted, but it was also him that made her realize she could have it all.
This was a very busy book with a lot going on and sometimes when that happens the couple gets lost, but in this book it just enhanced the connection between this couple. I will tell you this was a S-L-O-W –B-U-R-N romance, despite the fact they’d been together before and the attraction was still there. There was some dirty talk, some stolen kisses, even a bit more, but it took them a long time to get to down and dirty. It needed to happen this way because instead of being physical, they were learning each other on a cerebral and emotional level something that was crucial to them being together.
Over a decade of reading author Erin Nicholas and yet she can still surprise and delight me! Semi- Sweet on You was a blend of the past and present coming together to concoct a deliciously wonderful life. Seriously though, 5 stars is not enough.
Review copy provided for a voluntary review.
When Camden (Cam) and Whitney were teenagers they had a year long secret love affair that was fairly serious for a 17 and 18 year old. It was secret because their families had been feuding for three generations and they were blissfully happy, so they met in secret and fell in love. Cam didn’t want to leave Whitney for college but she knew he needed to go and do bigger and better than their small town so she broke up with him and broke his heart. He’s been around since then but just for visits with the family as his business was in Chicago, but he and his partners recently bought the snack cake company Whitney’s family owned and was destined to close due to her father and brother’s poor business practices and she stayed on to help guide the team. They’ve seen one another, they’ve literally run into one another, they even worked on something together for one of the other partners, but they haven’t let themselves go anywhere with their attraction. Whitney is convinced it can’t go anywhere and Cam, well he is convinced they’ll be together and one thing about Cam everyone knows he doesn’t lose.
I absolutely love the way this romance was concocted, it was fresh, entertaining, and so heartwarming. I am smiling just thinking about the way this book played out. Whitney’s grandmother Didi who was once best friend’s with Cam’s grandmother (and their break-up was the beginning of the feud) bids on Cam and wins a “date” with him and proceeds to convince him to do her bidding. I don’t want to spoil the story, but I do want to say that what Didi asks of him puts him in close contact with Whitney and gives him the opportunity to care for her and give her the time she needs to prove herself at Hot Cakes. It was quite literally brilliant, but it also brought out a side of Cam that not many people see, his need to feel helpful, to make people he cares about lives easier, and to support them. He may be a hot tatted up bada$$ attorney, but underneath he’s as sweet as the treats sold in his family’s bakery.
Whitney was pushed aside by her family her whole life with the exception of her grandmother Didi and she hasn’t minded caring for her when the family moved to Dallas and Didi’s health became a bit of a concern. She loves her role at Hot Cakes and the new partners even Cam because they listen to her, they value her opinion, and they see that she is willing to move the company forward. I hated that she’d basically been emotionally and verbally abused most of her life by her father, brothers and to some extent her mother, but admired that she didn’t let them keep her down. She could have just enjoyed her social standing and flitted around, but she worked every day even when no one would listen to her idea. She has grit, gumption, a can-do attitude and she is stronger than anyone realizes, but she also cut herself off from everyone. We see real, tangible change in Whitney throughout this book and I loved that and it was Cam that gave her the freedom to be the person she wanted, but it was also him that made her realize she could have it all.
This was a very busy book with a lot going on and sometimes when that happens the couple gets lost, but in this book it just enhanced the connection between this couple. I will tell you this was a S-L-O-W –B-U-R-N romance, despite the fact they’d been together before and the attraction was still there. There was some dirty talk, some stolen kisses, even a bit more, but it took them a long time to get to down and dirty. It needed to happen this way because instead of being physical, they were learning each other on a cerebral and emotional level something that was crucial to them being together.
Over a decade of reading author Erin Nicholas and yet she can still surprise and delight me! Semi- Sweet on You was a blend of the past and present coming together to concoct a deliciously wonderful life. Seriously though, 5 stars is not enough.
Review copy provided for a voluntary review.
September 15, 2020
First off, I have to say THIS book is my favorite of any Erin Nicholas book. Second, I really want to give this book 1000 stars. I was anticipating Cam and Whitney's story since their history was revealed in book one. (You dont have to read the series to enjoy this but why wouldnt you?) They have history. Lots of it. They dated in high school, secretly. Because their families were mortal enemies. Well, maybe not that far but their grandmothers had been best friends and started businesses that were the same but different. Read the book, you'll get it. So Cam and Whit couldn't really be together. At least in front of either family. Fast forward ten years and a lot of awkward meeting between them, Cam and his partners have bought Whitney's family business. Cam's intentions at first were questionable. And I understand that totally. Now several months into this, he's changed. He is the go after them lawyer that loves a challenge and being able to fight for his friends, his company and whats right. He moves back home and there isnt that much of a challenge to fight in court. There is a challenge to win Whitney back though. Whitney... what can I say about her? I want to be her friend, her mother and her all around champion. She has had to adapt to her surroundings. Her family, other than her grandmother, has tolerated her in the family business. She had so many ideas to improve the business but her father was old school-men only club type. He isnt even in the book and I wanna smack him. She has developed a thick skin when it comes to business so when the new owners take over, i understand her need to prove herself to all the new partners, including Cam.
I want to talk about Didi. Whitney's grandmother was a total breath of fresh air. I didnt know what to expect when she takes a supporting role in this book. She was the original mind behind Hot Cakes. She's one of the ones who started the feud. She is so different than i expected. She is a woman who knows what regret is and wants to change that. She is a woman who has knowledge that she wants to share. She is a woman who has family, lots of it, but only one who matters to her. Until Cam and then his family too. When she plays matchmaker? All bets are off.
The new relationship between Cam and Whitney has nothing to do with the past one. They start fresh and I LOVE that about this book. Yes, its a second chance but its also an office romance and a slow burn and friends to lovers. I always say I'm an equal opportunity romance reader. This book put them all into one book for me. Cam is holding the top spot for my favorite hero. And Whitney holds the top spot for heroine, ever.
I want to talk about Didi. Whitney's grandmother was a total breath of fresh air. I didnt know what to expect when she takes a supporting role in this book. She was the original mind behind Hot Cakes. She's one of the ones who started the feud. She is so different than i expected. She is a woman who knows what regret is and wants to change that. She is a woman who has knowledge that she wants to share. She is a woman who has family, lots of it, but only one who matters to her. Until Cam and then his family too. When she plays matchmaker? All bets are off.
The new relationship between Cam and Whitney has nothing to do with the past one. They start fresh and I LOVE that about this book. Yes, its a second chance but its also an office romance and a slow burn and friends to lovers. I always say I'm an equal opportunity romance reader. This book put them all into one book for me. Cam is holding the top spot for my favorite hero. And Whitney holds the top spot for heroine, ever.
August 31, 2020
Another winner in Erin Nicholas' Hot Cakes series!
Semi-Sweet on you is Whitney Lancaster's and Cam McCaffrey's story. Whitney and Cam were high school sweethearts. That was a big secret at the time. Their families were embroiled in a major feud and there was absolutely to be no fraternizing with the enemy. That didn't stop Whitney and Cam. Young love rules! Upon graduation Whitney broke up with Cam. She went to work at the family business Hot Cakes and Cam headed off to college. That was a tough decision on Whitney's part but she made that choice because she cared so much for Cam and knew he needed to take that path.
Fast forward ten years. Cam and his partners at Fluke, Inc, a highly successful mutimillion dollar video game company have purchased Hot Cakes. Whitney stays on at Hot Cakes when the rest of her family, except her grandmother Didi, who started the company, left for Dallas. Whitney and Cam never forgot each other or how they felt about each other. It's time to start over and see where things go. I like how Cam realized he needs to get to know the grownup Whitney, the woman she is now.
I loved this story of the rekindling of the love between Whitney and Cam. Plus Didi who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's Disease makes the story super special.
Semi-Sweet on you is Whitney Lancaster's and Cam McCaffrey's story. Whitney and Cam were high school sweethearts. That was a big secret at the time. Their families were embroiled in a major feud and there was absolutely to be no fraternizing with the enemy. That didn't stop Whitney and Cam. Young love rules! Upon graduation Whitney broke up with Cam. She went to work at the family business Hot Cakes and Cam headed off to college. That was a tough decision on Whitney's part but she made that choice because she cared so much for Cam and knew he needed to take that path.
Fast forward ten years. Cam and his partners at Fluke, Inc, a highly successful mutimillion dollar video game company have purchased Hot Cakes. Whitney stays on at Hot Cakes when the rest of her family, except her grandmother Didi, who started the company, left for Dallas. Whitney and Cam never forgot each other or how they felt about each other. It's time to start over and see where things go. I like how Cam realized he needs to get to know the grownup Whitney, the woman she is now.
I loved this story of the rekindling of the love between Whitney and Cam. Plus Didi who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's Disease makes the story super special.
August 30, 2020
5 fantastically yummy stars! Full review coming 9/16 to www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews.com
Over a decade of reading author Erin Nicholas and yet she can still surprise and delight me! Semi- Sweet on You was a blend of the past and present coming together to concoct a deliciously wonderful life.
Over a decade of reading author Erin Nicholas and yet she can still surprise and delight me! Semi- Sweet on You was a blend of the past and present coming together to concoct a deliciously wonderful life.
September 15, 2020
Cam and Whitney dated ten years ago, in secret. Their families were feuding because the grandmothers, who were best friends, split when Whitney’s grandmother opened Hot Cakes. Now Cam’s back and is one of Whitney’s bosses. Whitney’s grandmother tells Cam she doesn’t like the woman who “babysits” her and thinks Cam should move in. She thinks Cam and Whitney have had a relationship this whole time but have kept it hidden. Whitney just wants to prove that she is a valuable member of the company and wants to concentrate on work. With Cam living with them, that will be easier said than done. Cam wants to see where their relationship could go and Whitney wants just to be friends. Can Cam break down Whitney’s walls and show her she can have love and a career?
Second chance love story. With baked goods, forgiveness, and chocolate chip cookie dough. A woman used to being ignored by the men in her family and a man who loves a good fight. Loved it and can’t wait for Ollie and Piper’s story.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for the author *
Second chance love story. With baked goods, forgiveness, and chocolate chip cookie dough. A woman used to being ignored by the men in her family and a man who loves a good fight. Loved it and can’t wait for Ollie and Piper’s story.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for the author *
September 15, 2020
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Whitney has to suck it up and get used to her first and only love, Cam, being back in town. After all, he's one of her bosses now. But, she's got game face for days, and refuses to allow him to ruffle her. Except when he seems intent on starting up with her again, she's not exactly sure why. She can put him off, though. She knows he's not sticking around permanently, right?
The more Cam's around Whit, the more he wants her back. Or perhaps he just wants to get her out of his system, to prove that she no longer has a hold on him. After all, she's the one who sent him off to college without her, breaking his poor heart in the process. Can these two work amicably together and not blur the professional lines? Then live with each other as her grandma asks him to move in with them? Or is their attraction and the feelings that never went away too much for them to bear?
I loved this sweet second chance. Whitney grew and developed so much, right up to the very end. It was heartening to read. But lest I forget, the tension between the muscular tatted up Cam who is addicted to taking care of things for the people he cares about, and his perfectly poised, put together love, Whitney, whew! And nothing was sexier than reading how Cam took care of Whitney, the now woman, he had always loved. It was beautiful that he recognized she was no longer a girl, was in fact, the most capable business leader of them all. This Romeo and Juliet style second chance love story is an A+ in my books!
ARC via Social Butterfly PR for an honest review.
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September 2, 2020
This book was absolutely perfect. It was exactly the story I needed for Cam and Whitney. Cam and Whitney were secret high school sweethearts, they had to be a secret because their families had rival bakeries in the same town. After Whitney broke things off with Cam and he left town for college and a career, they had both moved on or so they thought. Cam is now back in town for good with his friends who all own Hot Cakes together, the company that Whitney’s family ran until selling to Cam and his friends. Cam and Whitney are still attracted to each other but aren’t sure where they stand with each other now.
Whitney’s grandmother, Didi, invites Cam to move in with her and help her out, this is helpful to Cam because it just so happens that Whitney lives
with her grandmother. Cam enjoys this on another level because Didi was his grandmother’s best friend before their fallout over the bakery happened and now Cam is hearing stories about his grandmother that he had never heard before. It also helps to open his and Whitney’s eyes to one another.
This was a slow burn, second chance romance and it was honestly the best story. This book really made me love Cam(although Grant is still the best, lol) even more than I did before. I loved Whitney and that her and Cam worked towards what they have now and made it better than before and more honest.
This is a fantastic series and you can not go wrong with any of these books.
Whitney’s grandmother, Didi, invites Cam to move in with her and help her out, this is helpful to Cam because it just so happens that Whitney lives
with her grandmother. Cam enjoys this on another level because Didi was his grandmother’s best friend before their fallout over the bakery happened and now Cam is hearing stories about his grandmother that he had never heard before. It also helps to open his and Whitney’s eyes to one another.
This was a slow burn, second chance romance and it was honestly the best story. This book really made me love Cam(although Grant is still the best, lol) even more than I did before. I loved Whitney and that her and Cam worked towards what they have now and made it better than before and more honest.
This is a fantastic series and you can not go wrong with any of these books.
September 16, 2020
As teenagers Whitley and Cam fell in love despite the fact that their families were feuding with each other. She loved him enough to set him free, but she didn’t tell him the real reason why and both of them were hurt in the process. A decade later he is back in town and she now finds herself working for him when he purchased her family’s business. Let the fun begin!
Cam has always believed that Whitley didn’t love him as much as he loved her. He is now a successful businessman who is a partner in the bakery that Whitley’s family used to own and where she still works. The chemistry and connection between them is stronger than ever so when they find themselves cohabitating both personally and professionally things are about to become very interesting.
Fun and flirty I enjoyed Whitley and Cam. Although many things have changed since they were together neither emotional or physical distance has diminished the love they shared and there is no denying that they have always belonged together.
Cam has always believed that Whitley didn’t love him as much as he loved her. He is now a successful businessman who is a partner in the bakery that Whitley’s family used to own and where she still works. The chemistry and connection between them is stronger than ever so when they find themselves cohabitating both personally and professionally things are about to become very interesting.
Fun and flirty I enjoyed Whitley and Cam. Although many things have changed since they were together neither emotional or physical distance has diminished the love they shared and there is no denying that they have always belonged together.
September 5, 2020
I have read every book in this series, and I have enjoyed all of them for different reasons. This book is my favorite, so far, and I am not even a tattoo fan. Yes, Cam has a few. While this is a second chance story, I see it more as a first-time extended story. Cam and Whitney sneaked around in high school, but did they really know each other? I loved Didi, and it was nice to see a person with cognitive decline be so happy. It was also nice to see the building of family across generations. Author Erin Nicholas has written a story that makes tough guys human, made me laugh, and even shed a tear or two. It has feelings galore, and you might even learn the secret to truly incredible chocolate chip cookies.
September 16, 2020
Semi-Sweet on You by Erin Nicholas is the Forth book in the Hot Cakes Series. This is the story of Whitney and Cam. I have read the previous books which has added to my enjoyment of this one, but I do think it can be a standalone book if you wish to do so. Whitney and Cam at one time when they were younger had fallen in love but they ended up becoming separated. But in their present day, they both care for each other but neither will admit it so they have been doing a dance around their feelings. But everyone that knows them knows how they feel so this book gives us their story. Loved this author's writing of humor, hot scenes and the secondary characters...it has it all.
September 2, 2020
This was the sweetiest story ever. I loved everything. My heart was all in this book. I want to see the future with them also. Whit learning that she is a person, woman, friend, partner, and so much more to people was something a lot of people should learn. Cam is the perfect person to help Whit learn all that. I think her Hot Cake ideals are great. Her grandma is the tops. She can make me laugh and cry all together. So many raw emotions came out. These books can be read alone but you are going to want to read them all.
April 20, 2021
I loved this so much! That bad boy turned caretaker of a badass shero is absolute catnip. Warning, you will crave lots of cookie dough. The narrators are fantastic. Can't wait for the next one!
September 4, 2020
I thought that there was really something special about this second chance romance. I suggest that you check your preconceived notions about how you think this story will unfold because this author has cleverly crafted something that I thought was fresh, funny, heartfelt and intensely emotional in so many ways. Cam and Whitney's story will make you laugh and sigh and swoon and feel like your heart is simply going to burst because it is simply so full. As is the case with the story being told, I felt that these characters were so much more than what you might expect. I so enjoyed witnessing them discovering those hidden facets in each other and in themselves as their relationship evolved. You can expect a truly heart melting romance that offers up an abundance of feels, plenty of sweetness and humor, small town charm, deep emotions, tension, angst, drama, heart, heat and naughty talk. You also get an amazing cast of friends and family that make every book in this series more enjoyable than the last. While Whitney and Cam's HEA takes center stage in this book, there are a couple secondary storylines here that truly pack a powerful punch. These added a whole other layer of genuineness, painful poignancy and realism to this book. I refuse to give spoilers but I have to say that Didi and Henry rocked!!! The were both scene and heart stealers. I completely fell for this book and am absolutely loving every minute of this series!! I am so thankful, there are more books to come because I'm just not ready to say goodbye yet. Of my own accord I am choosing to post a sincere review.
September 7, 2020
I have enjoyed watching Whitney and Cam dance around one another through this series, and I knew that this book was going to be great. They have terrific couple chemistry and wonderful friends to help them. I thought I had a good idea of how things would play out. I was completely wrong.
I did not expect Didi, Whitney's grandmother. I don't want to say that she stole the book because we still get plenty of Cam and Whitney time. But I will never be able to think of this book without thinking of her. She took what would have been a very good book and raised it so many levels. She made me laugh and cry while she also moved Cam and Whitney's story forward. She also provided a deeper understanding of the Hot Cakes/Buttered Up conflict, and I appreciated knowing those things.
I also guessed wrong about Whitney and Cam's story arc. I had their roles reversed in my head, but this way was much, much better. It is definitely original! I don't put spoilers in my reviews, but I will say that they did not do the finger-pointing, blaming, rehashing stuff that I find off-putting about some second chance romances. They had both matured as people and actual recognized that fact. That left more time for them to have more interesting conversations and to do other stuff like make out.
I was not wrong about the supporting characters still being fun to read about. Also, we get some excellent Piper and Ollie hints for their upcoming book. I was also right that this was a terrific read all the way around. All the stars!
I did not expect Didi, Whitney's grandmother. I don't want to say that she stole the book because we still get plenty of Cam and Whitney time. But I will never be able to think of this book without thinking of her. She took what would have been a very good book and raised it so many levels. She made me laugh and cry while she also moved Cam and Whitney's story forward. She also provided a deeper understanding of the Hot Cakes/Buttered Up conflict, and I appreciated knowing those things.
I also guessed wrong about Whitney and Cam's story arc. I had their roles reversed in my head, but this way was much, much better. It is definitely original! I don't put spoilers in my reviews, but I will say that they did not do the finger-pointing, blaming, rehashing stuff that I find off-putting about some second chance romances. They had both matured as people and actual recognized that fact. That left more time for them to have more interesting conversations and to do other stuff like make out.
I was not wrong about the supporting characters still being fun to read about. Also, we get some excellent Piper and Ollie hints for their upcoming book. I was also right that this was a terrific read all the way around. All the stars!
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