Heart-warming, an easy read and I absolutely devoured this book. I loved it and loved the characters!

I adore Adiba's writing, and this book was exactly what I needed! I love reading, and I love baking (and the GBBO), so a book combining the two is a match made in heaven for me! Shireen feels like she has to take on the responsibility of saving her parents' donut shop, and decides that to do this she will win a new baking competition. Oh... and her ex is also taking part in the show. Adiba writes YA so incredibly well, and there were so many points of the book where I audibly burst out laughing! On more serious notes, Adiba also addresses fatphobia and racism, especially in the context of online abuse- I love how Adiba effortlessly weaves these themes throughout the book.

I’m still obsessed with how cute this cover is and I’m delighted to say that the story inside matches it perfectly. The Dos and Donuts of Love was compulsive reading for me and I’m excited to read more from the same author.

Teen baker Shireen had just broken up with her girlfriend Chris when she finds out that she has been selected as a contestant on The Junior Irish Baking Show. The winner will receive a huge cash prize that will do wonders for Shireen’s parents’ donut shop. However, it appears that Chris is also going to be on the show. There’s also the cute, bubbly Niamh who instantly befriends Shireen. How will Shireen concentrate on winning when the competition seems to be extremely hot?

There is a trigger warning for fatphobia at the start of the book but I felt that readers should be aware before they invest their money into buying a copy. It isn’t a huge theme in the book and it is talked about as a cultural attitude rather than as a malicious mindset. I enjoyed how Shireen never comments on how unhappy she is with her body or how ugly she feels because it would have been so easy to slip those comments in. Instead, we definitely get a beautiful, happy, plus-sized heroine.

I did smile at the name Padma Bollywood because I think anyone who has ever seen an episode of The Great British Bake Off will know exactly who she’s inspired by. In my opinion, she’s definitely an improvement on her real world counterpart though!

I really enjoyed watching the connection between Shireen and Chris and how it seemed to change so often. Sometimes I could see the traces of their former romance. Sometimes I could feel the tension between them. Sometimes they seemed to be great friends. It was a real rollercoaster to be with them but isn’t that always the case with teenage girls?

The Dos and Donuts of Love is an adorable sweet treat of a book. It immediately made me want to find all of the old series of Bake Off and binge them all. There is a bit of a twist in the story too which I didn’t exactly see coming but it kept me glued to the pages. Themes of race and celebrity are also really prominent, which keep it from being too much of the soft, fluffy story that it ultimately is. A delicious, sapphic YA romance!

This is a sweet sapphic baking book and i really enjoyed large bits of it! I do think that some of the baking / show related things didnt work for me (2 hours for bread is basically impossible) especially as the show is junior but it was written like an adult show. That aside though, i liked the main character and the relationships :):) I definitely think it’s worth a read for cute sapphic fun times. 3.5 stars.

'The Dos and Donuts of Love' by Abida Jaigirdar is the third book of hers I have enjoyed. It is sweet, addictive and romantic, following the story of Shireen as she enters an Irish version of Junior bake-off. She is a talented baker, particularly when it comes to making donuts for her parents' shop. Their business has fallen on hard times, not least because of the rival donut shop across the road, which just happens to be owned by Chris' parents. Who just happens to be not only Shireen's rival in the competition but also her ex-girlfriend! We see all of the layers of motivation for Shireen to win, including winning the pride of her parents, starting on the path to owning her own bakery and getting revenge on Chris.

The story in the novel is fast-paced, following the stages of the competition whilst also pitting the possibility of a second chance romance for Shireen and Chris against fellow competitor new girl Niamh - a fun love triangle in the making. One of the key themes highlighted in the story is the social media discrimination Shireen and Chris face, laced with racism and fatphobia. I was grateful for their supportive families and mentor Padma as this storyline could have gone to a darker place if the girls were left to fend against these comments alone. We root for Shireen to prove the haters wrong and thrive against the assertions of these faceless critics on social media.

A light-hearted and addictive story which I would highly recommend! 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Jaigidar's books are always fun to read, and this one is no exception. The competition element gave the romance a new angle, as did the fact that Shireen and Chris were actually exes. I would have liked a bit more time spent on the rivalry between Shireen and Chris's parents - I felt that storyline was dealt with quite quickly, but I understand it wasn't the focus of the plot! The elements of prejudice and 'quiet' racism were dealt with very well also. Please release some of the donut recipes!

This was a whole lot of fun! Adiba Jaigirdar's pun skills were on fire throughout this book, I had such a great time reading it. I love GBBO so much, so any book that features a similar reality show is right up my street. There are some heavier moments in here, particularly the awful things that Shireen faces hearing from viewers of the show, with racist, fatphobic comments and microaggressions levelled at her. I loved how we got to see the strong support network Shireen has behind her, particularly her friendship with her best friend Fatima. This book features a love triangle, which isn't my favourite trope for pretty much the exact reason shown in this story - I always find it obvious which love interest is going to be the one the main character ends up with, and sadly that was also true for this book. Second chance romances are one of my favourite things to read and I did love how this book handled that aspect. I also was desperate to eat all of the food described! A fun lighthearted contemporary, perfect for summer!

Yet another fantastic book from Adiba Jaigirdar!

I have yet to read a book by Jaigirdar that I did not enjoy and I hope it never comes! The Do’s and Donuts of love follows Shireen as she wnters the Junior Irish Bake Off competition, where her ex girlfriend is also a contestant.

I loved the fact that we get to see Shireen compete and all her thoughts about it, we see the risks she decides to take in the competition to win the prize money - which would greatly help her family’s donut shop, You Drive Me Glazy! We also see Shireen’s feelings for Chris (the ex) but also see things slightly heat up with another comtedtant.

The competition asoect of the book definitely made it harder for some characters to be liked more, but there has to be a bad guy and it was interesting to see how they plotted their sabotages.

The Do’s and Donuts of love of course has a lot of food and desserts in it, so you might want to grab a snack when diving into this book! This is another book where Jaigirdar shares Bangladeshi culture and food, which I love and I would love to try everything in this book. There is also familial pressures present in the book, and a lot of it comes from the parents wanting their child to succeed in the country they immigrated to, which I fully understand having moved to a new country with my family for a better future too, though of course there are cultural differences in this too.

Overall, I am giving The Do’s and Donuts of Love 5 stars and I, once again, am impatiently awaiting her next book!

A wonderful, queer, plus sized, desi coming of age story with a health dose of baked goods. This was phenomenal filled with twists and turns, competition and confectionery I could not put it down. The story had me laughed from the puns and crying with its relatable stories of growing up queer and feeling that you don’t have the ‘ideal’ body type, while the descriptions of cakes had me practically drooling. I cannot recommend this book enough.

There was so much to love about this book. The setting, the characters, the food, the relationships (possibly my favourite thing was the names of the fictional celebrity chefs).

I thought this book did a brilliant job of making the teenage characters believable as teenagers. Alot of their decisions were bad or annoying but they always made sense for the character and you could totally imagine teenagers actually making those choices.

At times the book felt a little heavy handed in the way it dealt with topics but maybe that's what works in YA?

Overall I really enjoyed this one, I would definitely recommend it for people who love books which have baking competitions in them!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book

Actual rating: 4.5

First of all, the chapter titles are a pun infused work of genius. I love everything Adiba Jaigirdar writes and thankfully this was no exception. It was one of my anticipated reads for this year and I'm so happy I got to read it early.​​​​​​​​
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Some of the main settings were in the tv studio and Shireen's parents' donut shop 'You Drive Me Glazy' (I would honestly go there for the name alone!) and it was so easy to imagine walking into either location and smelling the sweet aroma surrounded by various delicious treats. Despite the potential for a lot of chracters due to the premise, I didn't find it confusing to keep track. The main and side characters had very distinct personalities that shone through in the writing.​​​​​​​​
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Jaigirdar's writing is smooth and immersive, allowing readers to fully engage with the characters and storyline. This book strikes a perfect balance with descriptions, providing enough detail to conjure up images of the delectable baked goods without overwhelming the plot.​​​​​​​​
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I also appreciated that the main character was plus-sized and the book addressed this but didn't make it the main focal point. However, the novel does tackle the issue of racism that Shireen faces once she enters the public eye, which is a poignant and relevant depiction of the world right now.​​​​​​​​
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I loved this book, it had a diverse and loveable ensemble of characters and a gripping storyline. Perfect if you love donuts, cakes and GBBO.

I had such a fun time with The Dos and Donuts of Love. Shireen and Chris were sincere and endearing as young teenagers in a rocky situation. The setting of a 'bake off' style competition had me HUNGRY on every page along with the delicious descriptions of doughnuts!
I thought the inclusive and diverse cast of characters was perfect and to be honest, exactly what I've come to expect from this author, I've loved every single one of her books so far and she is auto-buy for me completely! This novel gave exactly the right amount of cute, drama, family and fun - a perfect recipe!

Shireen is a budding baker, inspired in part by her parents donut shop and the great British bake off. When she’s accepted into an Irish junior baking show she’s over the moon, until her ex-girlfriend happens to be there too.

Adiba Jaigirdar always writes the cutest sapphic romances. I always love her characters and their friendships, relationships, and cute flirting. On top of that, and having amazing plus sized rep too, her books always tackle the racism, islamophobic, and homophobia that her characters experience. She writes about this thoughtfully and with grace and winds it into the plot excellently. I always love reading her books and loved this one all the more because of all the food puns!

I loved the premise of this book - combining romance and Bake Off is an inspired move by the author! The characters were really well thought out, and I enjoyed how old friendships and relationships changed, and new ones developed - it didn't seem too hurried as in some books. Our main character Shireen offers us a brilliant voice, which felt very authentic and believable. She is not perfect and she makes mistakes, but as a reader you really want to see her succeed in both the show and in her love life! Through so many of the characters and their lives, we are given fantastic representation and inclusion for groups who are often lacking a voice in literature, which was wonderful to see. I loved learning about Shireen's family and background, as well as the glimpses into her friend Fatima's time in Bangladesh.
I love how the book keeps you guessing as to who the 'heroes' and 'villains' might be, and the romance also has its twists and turns as well. This book was a fun read, with all the joy and 'comfort' of a bake-off inspired romance fanfiction, but with plenty more depth and character development.

Jaigirdar is just what YA needs; representation and diversity with relatable, strong, flawed characters who find themselves in realistically dramatic situations.

Shireen Malik is an expert amateur baker and hopes that she can win the Irish Junior Baking Show that she is a contestant on. She certainly knows her stuff; especially when it comes to donuts and dishes from her parents native Bangalore. There’s just a few problems she has to tackle along the way.

Firstly, her ex-girlfriend, who also happens to be the daughter of her parents donut shop rivals, is also a contestant. Secondly, she may or may not start having feelings for another contestant. And the icing on the cake? She has to see strangers on the internet discuss whether she deserves to be on the show because she’s not white.

Although serious issues are raised and tackled head-on, there are laughs a-plenty throughout the book. Shireen is a master of punny donut names. She also has a great relationship with her best friend despite her being halfway across the world in Bangalore visiting family. There is also s cosiness to the story and characters that perhaps comes from the baking theme, but also is down to Jaigirdar’s writing style which carries all the warmth of a freshly baked donut.

I can’t wait to get this one on the shelf for my students to indulge in.

Librarian lowdown:
Racism – Shireen receives indirect racial abuse online
Sapphic teen romance – some kissing but nothing more raunchy
So much food you will want to binge it all – you’ve been warned!

Thank you to netgalley and Hachette Kids for the eARC for review.

(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

This was such a cute and fun book! I loved the baking show setting and it made for a really cool plot. Even though there is lots of baking moments and sweet, fluffy plot points, there was still drama and plot twists.

I was also absolutely obsessed with all the food puns in this book. All the chapter titles were food puns and i loved how the doughnuts at Shireen’s parent's bakery were also celebrity name food puns (a couple did make me laugh out loud).

I do wish though that some of the side characters had a bit more depth, especially Shireen’s best friend and her ex-girlfriend. Although, all the characters did feel real and acted their age which is often not the case in most YA contemporary romances so I really appreciated that.

I really enjoyed this. I loved the baking competition element, as well as the second chance romance. I loved the characters apart from Niamh who grated on me a bit but I guess that was the point. I can't wait to see what this author writes next

Do you know what..... I really loved that! Books about food are my favorite thing I love reading about competitions especially if they involve food!

let's start with the cover. I absolutely ADORE the cute cover! donuts sprinkles and the representation of a Brown who is not your average size. I also loved all the separate artwork that the author shared on her social media, which made me love each character even more.

from the 1st sentence I knew I was gonna love the book. Shireen is hilarious, I love her inner monologue and she's just trying to work things out just like the rest of us. Chris was very interesting I felt she could have been more developed but I still enjoyed her character.

In terms of the plot, I absolutely love the competition. I am a big fan of the great British bake off so this was exactly the same but in book form. it was interesting to see how real footage is manipulated and how real people suffer. I wish we had some illustrations of the amazing creations that the contestants made, just like they show on the bake off.

The most important thing in this book to me was Shireens culture and her lifestyle, her family and her family. My mouth dropped open mear at the end, with the sheer racism aswell!!!

It was so easy to read and I highly recommend it and now all I want is donuts

If you love Bake Off, desserts and hilarious puns then this book is a must read!

The story centres around Shireen, a young Irish/Bangladeshi baker, who wins a place in the new reality TV Junior Irish Baking Show. Then ensues a summer of baking competitions, rivalries, friendships and a sapphic love triangle which includes her ex-girlfriend. I loved the story as it was so light and refreshing but also explored issues of racism in a raw way which gets the readers thinking (in my case about my own privilege).

I adored Shireen as an MC. She is funny and sassy, confident in her own skin but also refreshingly makes some questionable decisions making her feel so real and relatable. She is passionate about baking but also wants the best for her friends and family. Fatima is a super best friend and I enjoyed that their friendship showed the ups and downs of a real friendship.

My favourite thing about this novel? The humour! My gosh this book is so funny! It is rammed full of puns but written so well that they hit the mark and don’t become tiring. All of the chapter titles are puns. A couple of my favourites: “A Calculated Whisk” and “I Knew You Were Truffle When You Walked In”. Then there’s Shireen’s parents donut shop “You Drive Me Glazy” and the multitude of donut names they sell. Then take it to the TV show and its judges - all of whom have a name spun off from the GBBO.

There is so much to love about this book but mostly it is a really fun and refreshing read!

Thank you to Hachette, Adiba Jaigirdar and NetGalley for my early review copy in exchange of a fair and honest review.

This was so adorable!!!!!! I would read anything by Adiba Jaigirdar including her shopping list. The baking competition aspect was also so fun.