Books of Tash

This book was the perfect antidote from the wild ride of Westbound.

This is book 2 in the Aurora Bakery series. I reviewed book 1 Frosting & Flames a while back (https://booksoftash.com/2025/06/19/frosting-and-flames-allie-winters/). You don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this one.

Sydney works in the family bakery with her two sisters while their parents are off in Europe. Her sister Rachel (from Frosting & Flames) asks her to head the small business association project with the newly reopened local bar. A bar that Sydney was in the night before and flirted with the cute new bar tender.

Pierce has just taken over ownership of the bar after his grandfather passed away and left it to him. He was supposed to come to town get the bar ready to sell and go back to the life his parents expect him to live. Except he is fast learning that he might not exactly want that life. He flirts with one of the patrons of his bar one night but when his nosey server asks, he says he isn’t interested. Only because he really needs to figure out his life.

He has a meeting with Rachel from the bakery to discuss ideas for the small business associations project. But Rachel doesn’t show up the patron he flirted with turns up in her place Sydney! They come up with the idea of a tasting menu of desserts matched with beer which is genius. And decide to head to the nearest town to check out a bar that’s doing a similar thing. On the way there they get a flat, and Pierce gets injured, so Syndey has to take him to hospital.

Pierce’s family have huge expiations for him his mum has been annoying him to get him to RSVP to his brethren’s birthday. While at the hospital Sydney accidentally answers Pierce’s phone and RSVPs for him!

This book is really good and makes you think about the expiations that family put on you. Pierce’s mum is a delight (not) and Sydney struggles being the missed middle child who thinks she doesn’t measure up to her sisters.