Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Baking Battles
SERIES: Scandinavian Comfort #3
AUTHOR: Sophia Soames
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 246 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2020
BLURB:
Are you brave enough to stay? Or strong enough to walk away?
Mattias Strømme’s life is a recipe for disaster. He is a single dad of a 2-year-old, has an ex-wife who scares him, and a job in finance where he scares everyone else. And now he has been dragged in as a last-minute filler contestant on Baking Battles, the hit reality baking show.
Mattias can’t bake. He can barely dress himself in the morning, and he definitely hasn’t got the skills to charm the viewing public, or the wannabe celebs who make up the rest of the show’s contestants. He’s not a nice person. He’s just… nothing.
Mattias left his wife when life became unbearable for him and he fell apart.
Now, when he is suddenly drowning in a mess of rumours, male supermodels, and unicorn glitter? Will Mattias be brave enough to stay? Or strong enough to walk away?
REVIEW:
Well I will tell you, you may need tissues and a lot of them for this one. Mattias broke me so many times in this book. The things he was trying to deal with and how he felt about himself. It was so heartbreaking.
Mattias’s only one pleasure in life was his little precious daughter, Emi. How he and his ex even got her was a miracle in itself since sex was always an issue. Mattias always felt broken and his ex didn’t help by putting him down. So for him, life was work and Emi. Until one of his friends and co-workers put him into a Baking Battle contest and Mattias was ticked. But it helped him come out of his shell some, especially when he met Pablo. Who was as gay as could be. And Mattias envied him that. When he met Christopher, he was in awe as well. How these men could just be so open and out was amazing to him. He wished he knew what was wrong with him. But as he was getting to know Christopher, again, (they knew each other as kids), he was learning what was so ‘wrong’ with him. And it wasn’t wrong. It was very right. He just didn’t know. But he did now and he wanted Christopher with all he was. But Mattias has a temper and can’t always express himself well and it’s ended in some very bad ways. So the question is, can Mattias do what needs to be done to keep this man in his life, or will he push too far and make the one person who loves him for him, for many years, run for the hills for good?
I felt so overwhelmingly bad for Mattias. Not understanding what the deal was with himself. Not everyone knows they are gay or bi or whatever right off the bat. Sometimes it’s almost like a trial and error thing. You know something isn’t quite right, but you have no clue what. And for Mattias, he felt broken, and I hurt for him. His ex didn’t help because she didn’t understand either. So she was hurt and upset and took it out on him and it just made things worse. I’m glad he had Emi, if nothing else. That sweet little girl was the light of his life and made him feel like he was worth something. Even if it was just being a dad, and it helped. And Emi is so dang cute you can’t help but love her. But finally getting to understand who and what he was, made all the difference in the world. It didn’t mean he wasn’t still a hot tempered grumpy butt, but because of Chris, he finally found where he belonged. And that for him, was everything.
It’s a tough story at parts. Mattias can truly break your heart. But it’s worth it in the end. Doesn’t mean life isn’t easy. It’s quite hard at times and there are times when they don’t think they can make it. But the talk and keep trying and that’s what’s important.
RATING: 
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