The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar

"Welcome to the first ever Junior Irish Baking Show!"

Shireen Malik is still reeling from the breakup with her ex-girlfriend, Chris, when she receives news that she's been accepted as a contestant on a new televised baking competition show. This is Shireen's dream come true! Because winning will not only mean prize money, but it will also bring some much-needed attention to You Drive Me Glazy, her parents' beloved donut shop.

Things get complicated, though, because Chris is also a contestant on the show. Then there's the very outgoing Niamh, a fellow contestant who is becoming fast friends with Shireen. Things are heating up between them, and not just in the kitchen.

As the competition intensifies, Shireen will have to ignore all these factors and more - including potential sabotage - if she wants a sweet victory!

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We all love #GBBO, right? Who doesn't enjoy watching celebraties rushing around with no idea what they're doing, or professionals being lovely and helpful to each other? It's so much nicer than those angry American cooking shows.

The idea of an Irish version is amazing, and although I don't know a lot about baking ... my best creations come out of a box mix ... I was able to follow along easily, there was no complicated jargon or culinary terms I didn't know being thrown around. There were a few untranslated phrases here and there, but they were always clear from context, which is a massive step up on some books.

I loved the sense of humour running through this (the donut names! The chapter titles! The judges!) and the resolution, though it wasn't what I expected, worked really well. I'm a little amused that the characters could go to well known coffee shops but not film at RTE, the author had to invent a TV studio! It's often the way with novels, though.

I loved this read, I thought it touched just enough on the important topics without being preachy, it was fun, it was exciting, and I really want some donuts now please!

The Dos and Donuts of Love publishes on the 6th of June, 2023 in the US (top image) and on the 8th of June, 2023 in the UK (lower image). I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.