This is a very bland three stars for me, maybe more of a two and a half. Keep in mind that I am not a huge fan of Christian romances, so take my review with a grain of salt. Not really liking the genre is a huge bias.I requested the galley because of the blurb that it was about a baker with diabetes who could never eat more than a bite of her creations. I thought this was very clever, and could work as a metaphor for forbidden love or love that is ultimately bad for you, or a million other typical romance scenarios. I was extremely disappointed that Emma Rae's diabetes have almost nothing to do with the story.
I had forgotten that this was billed as a Christian romance when I began reading this, at first the mentions of God and the redeeming power of prayer felt natural and I went with it, then they got more and more to the point where I skipped over those parts. When I read Christian romance it is mostly mail order bride and homesteader stuff because I like those plot points and I will read them however I get them, so it is clear that my taste is not in Christian contemporary. Had the religion been kept to the two main characters and a pastor character, then perhaps I would have accepted it, but as the book goes on, every single character, including the goth girl, is a devout Christian who prays constantly for their friend's welfare.
The cooking and business aspects of the book were fun and interesting, I loved watching this hotel be built from the ground up (not literally, the building is in place) and I liked that the hero and heroine were friendly and comfortable with eachother for the most part. They appreciated each others skills and hard work.
The lists and recipes and other filler material threw me out of the story, and I think the book would be much stronger without cliched lists of popular bridal favors. Blech.
(I received a free electronic galley from NetGalley. This has not biased my review in any way)
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