Mixed Signals (Lovelight)
A small-town baker learns to raise her expectations for love with some help from a handsome local teacher in this sunny romantic comedy.
Layla Dupree has given up on love. She’s waded through all the fish in the sea, each one more disappointing than the last. Apparently, owning the bakery at Inglewild’s most romantic destination does not help one’s love life—despite Layla’s best efforts. All she wants is a partner who gives her butterflies, not someone who ghosts her at dinner and leaves her with the check.
Good thing Caleb Alvarez has the perfect solution. After saving Layla from another date gone bad, he has a simple proposition: one month of no-strings dating. He’ll do his best to renew her faith in men while she rates his romantic game. It’s a win-win situation. All the benefits of dating without the added pressure of feelings and unmet expectations.
But there’s one ingredient they haven’t considered. The chemistry between them is red-hot, and the urge to take things to the next level is more tempting than Layla’s mocha fudge brownies.
Layla Dupree has given up on love. She’s waded through all the fish in the sea, each one more disappointing than the last. Apparently, owning the bakery at Inglewild’s most romantic destination does not help one’s love life—despite Layla’s best efforts. All she wants is a partner who gives her butterflies, not someone who ghosts her at dinner and leaves her with the check.
Good thing Caleb Alvarez has the perfect solution. After saving Layla from another date gone bad, he has a simple proposition: one month of no-strings dating. He’ll do his best to renew her faith in men while she rates his romantic game. It’s a win-win situation. All the benefits of dating without the added pressure of feelings and unmet expectations.
But there’s one ingredient they haven’t considered. The chemistry between them is red-hot, and the urge to take things to the next level is more tempting than Layla’s mocha fudge brownies.
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Community Reviews
I’m slowly getting through this standalone series but going back into Inglewood always makes me feel good. Although a lovely story, I wasn’t the biggest fan of this one. I was excited to get Layla’s story but her reluctance to be treated well was sort of annoying and I didn’t love the trial dating of it all. I enjoy the fake dating trope, but this wasn’t quite that because in my opinion.. they were dating. It didn’t feel fake at all and the idea that Layla didn’t trust it was frustrating. Caleb was adorable and I do appreciate a golden retriever mmc where he falls first so I think he was what helped me enjoy this one a bit more, which was a surprise for me. Lastly, not sure if it was a good or bad thing, but all the talk of baked goods just made me hungry the whole time!
This book was a very cute romance. If you're looking for something that is full of smiles and laughter, this is the book for you. It is a pure sunshine/sunshine romance and I loved the affection that oozed out of both Layla and Caleb. They were so cute together. This book also has a very pleasant, warm, homey atmosphere. The bake shop with its wood furnishings, shining sun, delicious treats, and pretty flowers made me want to go read in a cozy coffee shop somewhere. I also loved the friendship dynamics between all the characters and the hometown vibe, which added to the homey atmosphere.
A solid 3 stars for me. The reason that I can't bump the rating up anymore even though I enjoyed the book is because the conflict made no sense to me. Like, I get that there is always a third-act conflict before the resolution and happy ending in every romance book, but I could not get behind this book's conflict. The characters were so in love throughout the whole book that it made no sense that when it finally became time to get serious, all of the sudden there was an issue. Especially because both of the characters acknowledged that they had feelings and they were practically already dating since the premise of the book was for them to practice dating each other. In my opinion, the reason for the conflict was stupid. This also caused the book to seem way too long, like if I know they’re in love by page 150 why do i have 300 more pages to read?!
I also didn't like how Layla's feelings were constantly prioritized over Caleb's, even though the book constantly touched on the fact that Caleb always felt like he felt too much for anybody to reciprocate his feelings back. Like why is Caleb the only one groveling at the end of the book? Hello Layla, some effort on your part please! I loved Layla until she acted so immature at the end. Especially that one scene with the other teacher, ugh.
But for real, if you want a cozy-warm-sunshine-in-your-belly feeling romance book, pick this one up. It also has a little bit of spice in it if you're into that as well.
A solid 3 stars for me. The reason that I can't bump the rating up anymore even though I enjoyed the book is because the conflict made no sense to me. Like, I get that there is always a third-act conflict before the resolution and happy ending in every romance book, but I could not get behind this book's conflict. The characters were so in love throughout the whole book that it made no sense that when it finally became time to get serious, all of the sudden there was an issue. Especially because both of the characters acknowledged that they had feelings and they were practically already dating since the premise of the book was for them to practice dating each other. In my opinion, the reason for the conflict was stupid. This also caused the book to seem way too long, like if I know they’re in love by page 150 why do i have 300 more pages to read?!
I also didn't like how Layla's feelings were constantly prioritized over Caleb's, even though the book constantly touched on the fact that Caleb always felt like he felt too much for anybody to reciprocate his feelings back. Like why is Caleb the only one groveling at the end of the book? Hello Layla, some effort on your part please! I loved Layla until she acted so immature at the end. Especially that one scene with the other teacher, ugh.
But for real, if you want a cozy-warm-sunshine-in-your-belly feeling romance book, pick this one up. It also has a little bit of spice in it if you're into that as well.
Cutness overload is what this is.
I think this story has layers. From the top - cute, light love story with warm characters, bakehouse and romantic background. Then, the middle layer - a story about two people trying to find acceptance in themselves and each other. And the last one, the bottom layer - a story about finding your people, about going up against your fears and insecurities, about entering relationships and accepting that it might be scary sometimes.
I think this story has layers. From the top - cute, light love story with warm characters, bakehouse and romantic background. Then, the middle layer - a story about two people trying to find acceptance in themselves and each other. And the last one, the bottom layer - a story about finding your people, about going up against your fears and insecurities, about entering relationships and accepting that it might be scary sometimes.
The third book in the Lovelight series and this book is basically slow porn, ugh. I’m not a fan of smut. The first book was really good, the second book was meh, this is smut. I’m not reading the fourth. Book #33 in 2024
Absolutely LOVED. Perfect balance of romance, spice, and trivial decisions with the tiniest amount of heartbreak. I wished it was longer!
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