The Dos and Donuts of Love

By: Adiba Jaigirdar

Narrated by: Priya Ayyar

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Shireen Malik is still reeling from the breakup with her ex-girlfriend, Chris, when she receives news that she’s been accepted as a contestant on a new televised baking competition show. This is Shireen’s dream come true! Winning will not only mean prize money, but it will also bring some much-needed attention to You Drive Me Glazy, her parents’ beloved donut shop.

Things get complicated, though, because Chris is also a contestant on the show. Then there’s the very outgoing Niamh, a fellow contestant who is becoming fast friends with Shireen. Things are heating up between them—and not just in the kitchen.

As the competition intensifies, Shireen will have to ignore all these factors and more—including potential sabotage—if she wants a sweet victory!

©2023 Adiba Jaigirdar (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Confusion

Overall love book I just thank we could had little more Chris though and views to flesh out the character. Then feel like the change in the end them getting back together better.

Fun story, great narrator

This is overall a really cute, fun read I recommend if you’re looking for a breezy, smiley-inducing book full of great representation and wonderful baking puns. I’m only half kidding when I say the baking puns were my favorite part. The baking show premise of this book is super solid and enjoyable—it really makes it shine. While things were a bit predictable and unrealistic, with the competition especially, there were also some really exciting and engaging aspects of the story.

The characterization could’ve been stronger, but I liked a lot of the dynamics. I ended up really rooting for Shireen, her family, and their shop—I loved the family and cultural parts of the story. I also loved Padma and was so grateful for her presence in the book. It was a bold choice to have a best friend character who was in a different country for the vast majority of the book, but I think it paid off and created some really great, nuanced conflict. I may not feel like I know Fatima that well as a character, but the friendship storyline with her is my favorite interpersonal storyline in the book.

I wasn’t as invested in the romance storylines, but that could just be me and my preferences. I wish we would’ve been told more about Chris and their pre-book break-up earlier. That info was hidden from us as readers, and it’s a pet peeve of mine when that’s done to create a more dramatic reveal.

I know that sounds like a lot of things I didn’t enjoy, but overall, I had a nice time with this book. I pre-ordered because I loved The Henna Wars and was super excited about this premise, and I wasn’t disappointed at all. The baking vibes, the cultural representation, the interpersonal dynamics, even the Dublin setting—there was really great stuff in here! This book felt cozy and light, easy to read and nice to escape into. My three stars are bursting with love and appreciation for what this book is.

Audiobook-wise: the narrator did a great job with the different voices and accents! I listen to everything via audio, but I think this would be a good audio read for anyone.

Lighthearted and cute

Very sweet book :) when this becomes a Netflix series I would like them to change how the challenges were structured to add more development for the side characters