Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Sweet Buns
SERIES: Cedar Falls
AUTHOR: Shea Balik
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 151 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 29, 2020
BLURB:
Welcome to Cedar Falls, a small North Carolina town nestled amongst the Smokey Mountains.
Zane Fisher is prepared to fight against a proposed casino being built in his small hometown. Sure, it would bring in more visitors to their dying town, but at what risk?
Aidan Dempsey is sick of the bad coffee Cedar Falls has so far had to offer. After an exceptionally bad cup, he’s decided to swear off the stuff, that is until he’s dragged into the local bakery. Not only does he find the best cup of coffee he’s ever tasted, but the bakery owner, Zane Fisher, just might be the sexiest man he’s ever met. Too bad Zane seems hell bent on avoiding him, as he’s the project manager for the casino Zane is against.
Will they be able to find common ground or will Aidan be doomed to only having bad coffee?
PLEASE NOTE: This is the second edition of Sweet Buns. I have added 10K of new content and it has been re-edited!
REVIEW:
Zane had recently returned home to Cedar Falls due to a family situation. He decides to open his own bakery and with the help of his best friends, Jesse and Ethan, he’s making a new life in his old hometown. The three men had become best friends and roommates in Orlando where they all lived and worked. Zane is pretty happy with his new life, but there’s just one problem – the impending opening of a casino outside of town. Zane has watched too much TV and he’s concerned about crime and the mob coming to the foothills of the Smokey Mountains 😀
Aidan has come to Cedar Falls to project manage the building of a casino outside of town. He’s been offered the job of staying on to run the casino after it’s open as well. After several years on the road with his employer, he’s seriously considering the offer. But so far, he hasn’t found a decent cup of coffee so he’s holding off on that decision 😉 But then he walks into Sweet Buns bakery after the recommendation from Jesse, Zane’s BFF. But he wants the proprietor even more than the coffee 😉 Zane however, is not enamored of the casino and therefore avoids the project manager.
The town of Cedar Falls is not doing well and Aidan does his best to try to convince the townsfolk that they can work together to raise the profile of the little town. With events, festivals and fairs, Aidan believes that Cedar Falls can once again be a prosperous town. With the number of the store fronts boarded up and empty, it seems like a win-win. But the mayor and some of the other people in town are not so keen. Aidan sets about to prove them wrong and the one person he wants to convince most is Zane 🙂
This is a super sweet romance that kicks off a series. The main couple of this story start out as enemies 🙂 Zane is kind of stubborn and even though he’s drawn to Aidan, he considers it consorting with the enemy if he gives in to his attraction. Aidan for his part just really wants Zane to give him a chance. It takes more than one try – in fact way more. But eventually Zane sees the light. There are some subplots involving abuse by homophobic family members, a flamboyantly gay character and a closeted one as well. I’m looking forward to seeing how their stories play out in future books and how this little town develops 🙂 If you’re looking for a sweet romance with minimal angst and a happy ending, then you’ll enjoy this story. Nothing earth-shattering or ground breaking here but a solid story with a lovely HEA. Recommended.
RATING: 
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