Review ~ Sugarcoated ~ Erin Nicholas

Posted 6 September, 2022 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 3 Comments

Review ~ Sugarcoated ~ Erin NicholasSugarcoated by Erin Nicholas
Series: Hot Cakes #1
Published by EN Fiction Inc. on March 24, 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 322
Format: Kindle
Source: Kindle Freebie
4 Stars

A hot, funny brother’s best friend rom com… with sugar on top!

She's his best friend's little sister. He's known her all his life. He's practically part of the family. There is nothing either of them could do to surprise the other at this point.

Then she showed up in his bedroom in lingerie and asked him to take her V-card.

Okay, that was a surprise.

Aiden is pretty sure Zoe was equally surprised when he told her no.

To say that he didn't handle it well would be a massive understatement. Almost as massive as the amount of work he's going to have to do now to convince her that he wants her. Forever.

Right after he tells her that he's bought the company that's her bakery’s biggest competitor.

Maybe if he tells her he’s in love with her first, that will help sugarcoat the whole we're-rivals-in-business-now thing.

So, first "I'm in love with you", then "take off your clothes", then "I'm now your business adversary".

Piece of cake.

Adult - (un)Conventional Bookviews Contemporary - (un)Conventional Bookviews Friends to Lovers - (un)Conventional Bookviews Humour - (un)Conventional Bookviews

Sugarcoated served as my gateway to all things ENicholas and it was a treat. 😉 Her writing style made for easy reading and her characters were engaging. I’m eager to read more from this series. I buddy read Sugarcoated with my friend, Sophia Rose. 😀

What Worked:

  • Plot/Trope
    As a brother’s best friend/little sister rom-com, I delighted in the setup. Aiden is Zoe’s older brother’s best friend and they grew up together in a small town. When Zoe decides she wants to punch her V-card, she can’t think of anyone she’d be more comfortable with than Aiden. Aiden has other ideas though so he turns her down until he can put his plans in order and deploy them. Unfortunately, part of those plans revolve around Zoe’s rival bakery.
  • Characters
    I found all the characters very engaging and relatable. It was neat that Zoe ran the bakery that her grandma had started and how it was such an integral part of the community. It felt realistic that Aiden, along with Zoe’s brother and some of their friends, had made a fortune on creating a video game. I delighted in how close everyone is, how everyone was so supportive of one another – everyone being Zoe’s and Aiden’s family and friends. ENicholas created a cast that I came to care about…people I’d want as friends and neighbors.
  • Character Growth
    ENicholas demonstrated character growth in both Zoe and Aiden, in emotional as well as practical ways. They both made mistakes where emotion was involved so I was gratified to see the catalysts that prompted the growth as well as how they changed.
  • Conflict
    The point of contention, the element that was angst-inducing had me worrying for most of the book. I was certain it wasn’t going to be handled well. However, it actually was dealt with in a satisfying manner and demonstrated emotional growth in Zoe and Aiden, as well as the willingness to continue growing. I appreciated that a lot.

 

What Could Have Worked Better:

  • The Fall
    Although I got how these characters were perfect together, because they’d essentially fallen in love over years I wasn’t privy to, I was left a little wanting. I enjoy witnessing the romance blossom and I didn’t get much of that here.

 

Overall, Sugarcoated was sweet and perfectly balanced. I look forward to continuing this series. Hopefully with a buddy read with Sophia. 😉

 

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.

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3 responses to “Review ~ Sugarcoated ~ Erin Nicholas

  1. Jen

    OH, nice review. I downloaded this one, but haven’t read it yet. I did enjoy another one of her titles earlier this year.

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