What a sweet second chance romance!  Dough You Love Me? by Stacy Travis is a standalone in the Donner Bakery series and it releases tomorrow in KU! Have bread nearby when you read this one

Julia has returned home to Green Valley under unfortunate circumstances: her beloved grandma has died, and she has to sell the family home. Though she needs to return to her bread empire in California, she agrees to help out at the Donner Bakery while she’s in town to return to her love of bread making. The only problem is Shane, her former high school crush, is already the bread baker there. The two have to work side by side and it’s hard to ignore those old feelings.

There was some internalized ableism going on with Shane as a teen so if that’s a trigger for you I’d steer clear but after reading the author’s note I felt better about it. We’ve all felt not good enough or like an outsider, only for Shane one of his differences was fully visible for the world to see and that affected how he approached life. 

I really enjoyed the sweet relationship between them and how it all played out. It was a great story and I liked it a lot! Truly a great kickoff for this Smartypants season!