Lips Like Sugar by Jess K. Hardy | Book Review

Lips Like Sugar is book 2 in the Bluebird Basin series. The first book, Come As You Are, was one of my favorites of 2023. It should be no surprise I had to continue the series.

Why I read it: I read (and loved) Come As You Are, the first book in the Bluebird Basin series. When my friend Kelly told me that book 2 had landed on NetGalley, I immediately pounced. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy; this is my honest review.

Review #insixwords: Another solid Gen X, contemporary romance.

More:

• Why are Jess K Hardy’s books sooooo good? Actually, I know: it’s characters who feel real and complex and flawed but who also still find their way to each other.

• Cole is an aging rocker who’s now a grandpa. Mira is struggling between caring for her teenage son and her mother (whose memory is beginning to fail her) and keeping her bakery (named Glazed and Confused) afloat.

• When faced with her happily married ex and no date to an upcoming wedding, Mira invents a relationship with the stranger who walks into her bakery: Cole. Cole, conveniently, plays along. Fake dating shenanigans ensue.

• After the wedding, Cole returns to his home (states away) but he and Mira continue to communicate and fall for each other through text.

• What unfolds is a sweet and lovely romance, where Cole helps Mira realize that she doesn’t have to hold everything together herself; it’s okay to ask for help. Being with Mira helps Cole realize how unhappy he is with life, mired in the past, and starts dreaming about what the future could be.

• I can’t wait to read whatever Jess K. Hardy writes next.

Recommendation: Lips Like Sugar is a wonderful small town, contemporary romance featuring older main characters. This one has fake dating (real feels) shenanigans as well as real, complex characters who fuck up but find a way to come back together. Read it if you like any of those things! If you liked Come As You Are, you don’t want to miss this one!

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