The Buy-In: A Sweet Small-Town Romantic Comedy (Love Stories in Sheet Cake Sweet Rom Com Series Book 1)

Dear Emma,We’re on a first name basis now. Forever and always. Because you write books I love to read, and characters I wish were real, and places I want to visit, and it makes me love you and everything you make. So yeah. First names from now on, mkay?So Falling for Your Best Friend was my favorite book in your Love Clichés series, and I was among the fans begging for Harper’s family’s stories. And boy, did you DELIVER! I am absolutely in love. I want Sheet Cake, Texas, to be a real place. I want to eat at Mari’s restaurant, drive down Lindy’s terrible driveway, attend a small-town football game, sleep in one of the lofts over an old storefront, and eat kolaches for breakfast. (But for real, what is a kolache and where can I can get one in Idaho?!)I love Pat so much. I love his attitude. I love his protectiveness, determination, and loyalty. I loved how he wouldn’t give up on Lindy, even when she kept trying to give him every reason that he should. His antics really had me going. Trying to fix the toilet, all the shirtless tasks, the football practices, the asphalt, the flaming squirrels! Ha! I really love him.I really felt for Lindy. She had been through a lot in so short a time. I could relate to her desire to just shut out all deep connection to keep from getting hurt again. Her stubborn determination was relatable, too. Honestly, I related a lot to her. A lot. She may bear the name of my friend (which is so dang cool!), but I understand her.I loved how Pat slowly won Lindy back over. The romance in this book is, as I know I can expect from you, so good! It’s filled with tension, some swoon, some sizzle, but no spice. Just how I like it. And I do like it. A lot! You nailed it. I know you bemoaned the time it took to get this book on paper, but somehow I think it turned out alright. I see this being a reread for me and I’m definitely recommending to all my romance-loving friends.What else do I love about this book? Allow me to highlight:• Jo. While I don’t see her being five, I still adore her. She’s precocious, observant, fiery, witty, curious, and I loved how quickly Pat and Tank were wrapped around her little finger. Those guys turned into squishy cinnamon rolls under her influence and I loved it so much.• The Bobs! Literally chuckling every time they get page time.• The verbing of nouns. Haha!• Mari! I love a protective friend that can cook. I want to eat her Mexican food!• Tank. I love him. Love love love him!• Harper and Chase and Thayden! It made me so happy to see some old favorites in this book! I love these people and, for how I excited I became when I realized they were present, I clearly wasn’t ready to say goodbye.• Flaming squirrels!• Football game! Whoo!• Thunderstorm kiss! Whooooo!• Winnie and Val. Thank you for writing supportive, adult women friendships. I heartily believe these exist in the world the way you write them but so often in media we just see catty, selfish people. So props to writing Winnie and Val and, I’ll just let it be known right now, I’m very excited for their stories!• Chevy! Bahaha! He’s hilarious!• SO. MANY. Princess Bride references! (And please keep them coming! I am pop culture-dumb, so the PB references were about the only ones I got. Ha!)• I get hungry every time I read one of your books and I👏🏻AM👏🏻HERE👏🏻FOR👏🏻IT!! I get that food doesn’t move a plot line or develop characters, but for being such a huge part of life, it’s conspicuously absent from too many books.• Collin and James. Okay fine. I’ll be honest. I wanted to wring James’ neck! (But also, isn’t it funny that your grumpy James reminds me of one of my own children? Ha!) But I like family and these guys are a great family.TL;DR—I loved your book! Fantastic development. Wonderful characters. Amazing romance. All the good things, all so well written. Loved it!Your forever fan,JessicaPS—thanks to your book, and my friend Hannah, I have now eaten Texas Sheet Cake and it’s something i needed that I didn’t even know was missing from my life. So thanks for that, too!**Many thanks to the author for an advanced copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review. These are my own thoughts.Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book jumps feet first into the crazy: Pat's dad just bought an entire town. How does that even work? Yet, he's done it, and he wants Pat to get on board and bring his siblings along with him. Pat's just trying to stall for time until he can talk some sense into his dad... but all of that flies out the window the second he hears the name of the town.The moment Pat hears the town's name is the moment the book grabbed me, too. That one little paragraph set the tone for the rest of the story: laugh-out-loud funny, quirky, hopeful, and self-examining. If the town name doesn't make you at least chuckle, just wait until you read about... actually, I'm not gonna spoil it. You'll know when you get to the scene where he cooks dinner.I loved how author St. Clair tied in some of Lindy's BuzzFeed-esque articles, as well as the Neighborly discussion threads into the chapters, bringing some of the side characters to life, and giving you a more three-dimensional look into their world. I especially appreciated her ability to introduce other plotlines without making this one feel awkward or information-heavy, which is no small feat when you're introducing a larger-than-life family to a very involved small town. I'm just a little salty that I didn't get to actually taste any of the cakes...The newly purchased town is more a catalyst for this romance than a center point, and it takes a back seat as the story unfolds. I was a bit frustrated with Pat's indifference. He's fully invested in making a life there with Lindy and Jo, but he barely seems to care whether its revival is a success or not. I was sort of hoping that once Lindy introduced him to the Ladies Literary and Libations Society, the town would find a way to come together, rather than just tolerate the outsider Tank bringing in businesses just to fill up Main Street. Of course, this is the first book in a series, so it didn't hurt to leave things in the background (for now) as they can continue to develop with each book. Personally, I think it just would have solidified Pat's character a bit more to see him actually involved in the town.This brings us to what truly sets this book apart: we learn almost right away that Pat was very recently diagnosed with ADHD. Neurodiversity is an extremely relevant and relatable topic right now, and I was curious to see how St. Clair would handle it. (I was hoping it would be better than Graeme Simsion, who managed to piss me off with The Rosie Project.) While in the beginning it almost seemed like an off-handed quirk to try to "round out" the character, we soon realize it's because even though Pat has a diagnosis, he doesn't quite know what that means for him. As we reach the climax of the book, it all comes together, and I felt myself reeling a bit as it hit home. Never before has someone put that "on/off" into such a relatable and kind way that I felt seen instead of shamed, and here it was in the middle of a rom-com. What could have been an empty trope turned into a really powerful moment, and I applaud St. Clair for her mastery here!This is a slow-burn romance between a man who likes to move fast and the woman he's already burned before. If you're looking for spice, you won't find it in this closed-door novel, but you will find plenty of chemistry and tension. This book made me laugh out loud several times, and that alone is a feat worthy of review. The characters were fun and quirky, yes, but they felt relatable and human as well. Lindy and Pat play off each other so well- really, all of the characters do. (Chevy just might be my favorite!) With friends and laughs like these, I'm excited to see how this series develops.

When everything is literally falling down around you, the last person you need in town is the one who broke your heart. Or is he exactly what you need? Heartwarming, sweet, and perfect. Highly recommended.

The writing was good, loved the story line. HATED the main FC. It took her way to long to figure out that she was partly to blame for their issues, she is completely ungrateful and just downright mean in points. Meanwhile, poor Pat just keeps on trying. How many times can a person literally say sorry and all the stuff he does for her. She shows no reciprication for 85% of the book. I also felt like he was belittled by his family. Pat needed some self esteem workshops to stop being a door mat. If Pat was the girl and Lindy was the guy, people would totally be upset that Lindy was such a jerk. It was very hard for me to read this all the way but I liked Pat so much I stayed for him. I wanted to be his cheerleader. I wish the writer had put more love in the relationship that wasn't so one sided. Be aware, if you like spice, this is not for you. 0 on the pepper scale.

In love with the Graham Family!They're unique.This book is lovely, funny, romantic and really special.This book made me smile all along the story.It is a perfect combo of cliches, second chance love, small town, sweet child, strong woman....I absolutely loved everything about this book.

Where do I even start? Sheet Cake, Texas; Burning squirrels; An ADHD male and flittering “bird” female; Football and Cowboy boots. Emma St. Clair is a brilliant writer. I laugh, I cry, I feel like I know her characters and love them as my own people.

Can’t wart to get more books in this series as I thoroughly enjoyed this book and looking forward to get started on her next offering

An adorable and charming story, a lovely romance. Loved Lindy's feisty streak and Pat's exuberance, a fun and fiery read as they battled their way back to love.Such a wonderful array of characters - you can't help but love them all and want to hang out in Sheet Cake with them.Pat and Lindy and Jo were just the sweetest little family, it was heartwarming to see their bond grow as well.And the secret of Lindy's mum's gardener - awww. Just so adorable.Plus the author has set up a really great foundation for many more books to come - waiting (im)patiently to read them all!

É um livro muito bom, a escrita é bem fluída, os personagens são interessantes e a história em si foi bem gostosa de ler. Ele é um pouco longo em algumas partes no sentido de que se arrasta um pouco, enquanto em outras você lê parecendo que um capítulo é uma página. Eu gostei bastante e super indico.