Bake It 'Til You Make It by Kassie Jones
Author: Kassie Jones
Narrators: Autumn Mercer & Brandon Francis
Format: Audiobook / ALC
Published: August 5, 2026
Rating: ⭐ 3.75/5
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Baking Romance, Reality Competition Romance
Synopsis
All Taylor Madden has ever wanted is to own a bakery filled with whimsical designs and unforgettable flavors. Landing a spot on America's Next Great Baker is her chance to make that dream a reality, even if her biggest competition is a cocky, annoyingly gorgeous distraction who smirks every time she slips up. Winning could mean a fresh start. Surviving him might be the bigger challenge.
Alexander Harrington only agreed to the competition to get his parents off his back, not to complicate things with the disaster-prone optimist who insists on making everything cute. She's not supposed to be his biggest obstacle, but the longer they're stuck in the kitchen together, the harder it is to remember he's meant to beat her... not fall for her.
The stakes are high, the ovens are hot and the cameras are rolling. But when the rivalry starts to taste like something sweeter, will either of them walk away with more than just the prize?
My Thoughts
Bake It 'Til You Make It takes us behind the scenes of a baking reality competition where Taylor and Alexander are competing for very different reasons.
For Taylor, this is genuinely her dream. She wants her own bakery, and the competition could finally give her the opportunity to make that happen. Alexander's situation is considerably more complicated. His family owns a very successful restaurant business in Canada, and his father sees the competition as the perfect opportunity to win over an American audience before expanding into the US.
Alexander, however, has dreams of his own. He's working toward opening a restaurant independently from the family business, but with his father holding financial support over his head, participating in the competition isn't exactly optional.
I really enjoyed Alexander's development throughout the story. He enters the competition somewhat undercover, without revealing exactly who he is, and it takes him a few hit-and-miss rounds before he finally starts loosening up and actually enjoying himself.
Taylor, meanwhile, is basically a walking ray of sunshine. She's sweet, optimistic and incredibly easy for everyone around her to love, and Alexander never really stood a chance.
One of my favorite things about him was how protective he became of Taylor, particularly because it started well before they were actually together. Sir, you're supposed to be competing against her. Why are you already acting like that?
I also found the behind-the-scenes reality-show elements surprisingly interesting. I'm not much of a reality-TV person, but getting glimpses of the manipulation and arrangements happening away from the cameras added another layer to the competition. Let's just say everything isn't necessarily as fair as viewers might believe. Cough cough.
The reality-competition premise isn't particularly my usual thing, so there were some elements I didn't connect with quite as strongly. Still, the romance, characters and baking made this a very easy and entertaining listen.
Audiobook Thoughts
The dual narration by Autumn Mercer and Brandon Francis worked well overall.
Brandon Francis was definitely the standout for me. I really enjoyed his performance as Alexander, and his voice suited the character incredibly well.
It took me a little longer to settle into Autumn Mercer's performance as Taylor. Her narration didn't immediately click with me at the beginning, but as the audiobook progressed, it grew on me considerably and I ultimately enjoyed listening to both narrators.
Final Thoughts
Bake It 'Til You Make It was a sweet and entertaining romance set behind the scenes of a baking reality competition.
Taylor was such a ray of sunshine and incredibly easy to like, while Alexander's more complicated motivations and gradual character development made him an interesting counterpart. And I especially loved how protective he became of her long before their relationship developed into something more.
The reality-show aspect was also interesting. I'm not normally a big reality-TV person, but I enjoyed seeing some of what happens behind closed doors and discovering that certain parts of the competition weren't quite as fair as they appeared.
Overall, this was a fun romance with plenty of baking, reality-show drama, a sunshine heroine and a very protective hero. The reality competition setting isn't necessarily my usual preference, so I didn't connect with every aspect of the story, but I still had a really good time with it.
⭐ 3.75/5
ALC Disclaimer
I received an advance listening copy of Bake It 'Til You Make It in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the opportunity to listen to and review this ALC. All opinions are my own.
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