Semi-Sweet on You

A Second Chance Small Town Rom Com (Hot Cakes, Book 4)

By: Erin Nicholas

Narrated by: Jason Clarke, Lili Valente

Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

A slow-burn second-chance rom-com! 

She broke his heart 10 years ago. Now he's back - and her new boss. And she might still be semi in love with him. 

But that’s no problem, right? They can keep it professional. 

Until her grandmother gets involved. 

She’s thrilled to think that Whitney and Cam are still in love. And invites him to move in with her...and Whitney. 

Of course, Whitney can handle that, too. Yeah, everything is fine. Just fine. 

Until Cam makes it clear that he’s all in. 

Having him back is very sweet, but can she really have it all? Or will it all crumble around her?

©2020 Erini Nicholas (P)2020 Erin Nicholas

Loved Cam & Whitney

I loved this story by Erin Nicholas and narrators Jason Clarke and Lili Valente did an amazing job portraying Cam and Whitney. They brought all the emotions that these two experienced and I could feel the love they still had for one another. I devoured this audiobook and loved every minute listening to it.

Separated by ten years and many experiences.

Hotcakes, Book 4, Semi-Sweet on You by Erin Nicholas is an enticing second change romance featuring Whitney Lancaster and Camden McCaffrey who had been in love in high school and the, as it appeared to Cam, she had chosen her family over a life with him and it still hurt. It seemed he ran into her whenever he was in Appleby. Now they were working together. The Fluke guys had bought Hotcakes, the Lancaster family's snack cake business, and Whitney had stayed on. They needed her: she knew the business. Would the two of them working together make for misery?

Nicholas included plenty of hot encounters, but she also included dealing with Alzheimer's; women in the workplace; lack of communication and misunderstandings, and finding one's place in the world. It is a fabulous, intriguing story where we watch Cam and Whitney navigate the deep waters of a second chance at their lives together, and meet up with friends from previous books, although reading the previous books is not a necessity.

Lili Valente and Jason Clarke are the narrators/readers for this series and they are terrific. On occasion, Ms Valente's demeanor is a little tentative, but that appears to be part of her charm. The two of them make a good pair and certainly five the text the voices it deserves. Listening to the story with them reading it brings forth part of the story that were missed during the reading of it, making it more endearing than ever.

I was invited to read a free recording of Semi-Sweet on You by Audible, by the author. I had read the book previously. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An Extra Special Romance

I thought that there was just something really special about this second chance romance. Please, check your preconceived notions at the door about how you think this story will unfold because the author has cleverly crafted something that I thought was fresh, funny, heartfelt and intensely emotional. 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 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 to the Hot Cakes family and their friends yet. Dual narration on this book, which in my opinion was the frosting on the cake (Pun Intended)! Both performers were excellent, fit the characters beautifully and made it super easy to become immersed in this incredible book.

My Thoughts on Semi-Sweet on You

This is a perfect example of second chance romance done right for me. Normally I’m a tad bit leery of a second chance romance for fear that it will be to heavy on the angst unless it’s a known author. Erin Nicholas was recently brought to my attention, but I’ve been a big fan of her books ever since. That’s one reason why I happily jumped into this story. And luckily, she didn’t disappoint.
Cam and Whitney were together in high school but when they graduated Whitney broke things off and they did their separate things, barely seeing each other for 10 years. But with them both now working for the same company they’re around each other a lot more and that old attraction is still there. What took place over the course of this book was more than two people who were once in a relationship coming together again. It was also about them discovering who the other really is now and basically starting over with just a bit of history to help them along. The history between their two families was interesting and quite entertaining. But I loved the way the families slowly came together and formed bonds while these two figured out their relationship. I really liked Whitney. I felt for her and the baggage from her family. I loved that she at least had her grandmother and loved their connection. And it made me instantly love the way Cam stepped in helped her. He supported her in many ways and made my awesome book boyfriend list.
The narration on this was excellent. I am a huge fan of Jason Clarke and this was a good one by him. Lili Valente was a winner in this one for me too. I love the books she writes and now am slowly getting hooked on the ones she narrates too.

One Big Family

Cam and Whitney have been teasing us for the entire series. We already know about their past, now we get to see where they’re going. I’ve had trouble figuring out Cam. He’s always mentioned as the “bad boy” who loves a good fight. But he doesn’t come across that way. Especially in this book. He’s basically just a big, sweet, teddy bear. He surprised me with his forward behavior at the beginning, but I was expecting him to be more protective. Even have a bit of a temper. Turned out I preferred the nice version.

Whitney is low on confidence at first, but she really blossoms once she realizes how many people care about her and have her back. In fact, my favorite thing about this book was the way our feuding families came together and formed a giant super-family. That, and the way Whitney stood up to her bullies at the end.

Cam and Whitney

I love the Hot Cake series! Every couple has been great and I was excited to see where Cam and Whitney's story would take them. They were the once forbidden couple. I really liked how their story evolved. Their relationship wasn't like the characters before. They had a past. I liked how even though Cam knew what he wanted, he stepped back and saw what was there. Plus, Whitney made changes along the way. Another great Hot Cakes book and a 5 star Erin Nicholas read.

Sweet second chance romance

This series keeps getting better with every book. Cam and Whitney’s story is a second chance romance and I loved every moment of it. Their story is a slow burn of coming back together after ten years. They fell in love in high school despite being from rival families. Their story is great and I love the emotion and fun that Erin put in this book. One of my favorite things was the relationship that Cam and Whitney’s grandmother. Jason Clarke and Lili Valente were fantastic in their narration. Can’t wait for the rest of this series.

Second Chance

A very semi-sweet second chance love story for Cameron and Whitney. They were in love in high school but had to keep it secret from everyone because their grandmothers had a falling out over their bakeries. Now that Cameron and his friends own Whitney's family bakery, Hot Cakes, they have to learn to be around each other even though she broke up with him ten years ago. I really liked the way Cameron and Whitney were able to work through everything. Cameron is one of my favorites - especially the way he stepped up to take care of Didi, Whitney's grandmother and the nemesis of his own grandmother. Didi is beginning to have memory problems and needs someone with her while Whitney works at Hot Cakes. This story brought tears to my eyes and laughter, too. Erin Nicholas has a wonderful way with words. I had read the book but the audiobook just brings something extra. Jason Clarke and Lili Valente bring Cam and Whitney to life for me.

Perfectly sweet (sexy) second chance romance

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 feud between their families, 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 and the narration by Jason Clarke and Lili Valente brings these characters to life just perfectly.

second chance

Whitney wants to prove she is worth to work in Hit Cakes. Cam wants to win the girl again after she broke his heart ten years ago. Sweet love story. Great audiobook.