Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - The Dos and Donuts of Love

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The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar

24 reviews

xabbeylongx's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

~~SPOILERS AHEAD~~

Book Review:

I must admit, this book has taken me an age to get around to reading, and now I’m kicking myself for taking so long! This is my first book of Jaigirdar’s, and I can’t wait for the next one. I’m pleasantly surprised by her work!

This book is so sweet, and such an easy read. The relationships are cute, and so are the characters and the aesthetic. And also, Jaigirdar is brilliant with coming up with catchy names of things. ‘You Drive Me Glazy’? A doughnut store? Are you kidding me?? That’s brilliant!

I loved the majority of the characters; I thought they were all fleshed out, well-developed, and super sweet. Almost too sweet, but I thought it went with the vibe of the story. I wasn’t, however, a fan of Fatima; Shireen’s friend was actually a really shit friend. I felt her anger towards Shireen was unjustified, and it felt a lot like jealousy. She halfway redeemed herself towards the end, but it wasn’t enough.

There wasn’t so much chemistry between Shireen and Chris, but more like love and safety and security. They have the vibe of people that are meant to be together, that will always be intwined with each other. This is one of the only second-chance books that I’ve liked, and it actually worked well with the plot and the characters. Amazing!

I also really liked the topic of racism and fatphobia in the book. I think it’s a very important lesson to be taught, how experiences vary depending on appearances, especially regarding race. With Niamh’s ignorance on the importance of skin colour, it highlights the importance of awareness. I really liked how they brought these issues up, and I love the point of view of Shireen, too. And also, how the topic of homosexuality didn't come with any negative reactions, like it does in most books that contain it. It's refreshing to see it's okay to be gay, without repercussions, for once.

Book Summary:

We follow Shireen as she is invited onto a baking show. At 17, her favourite show is ‘The Great British Bake-Off’, and she works at her parent’s doughnut store, ‘You Drive Me Glazy’. Her dream is to open her own bakery, and it has been for years, so when she finds out that Ireland are hosting Junior Bake-Off, she applies instantly. And she’s absolutely overjoyed to find out that she is accepted! Everyone around her is scared for her, going onto live TV, but she’s always wanted to do this.

The only thing is, one small teeny tiny problem, that her ex, Chris, has also applied, and has also been accepted.

When she gets there, another girl flocks towards her. Niamh is Irish, and also wants to win. Pretty early on, Shireen knows that Niamh harbours some very strong feelings towards her, but, as she’s still moving on from Chris, she doesn’t do anything.

After a not-so-amicable breakup, things start off rocky with a team challenge, when Shireen is partnered with Chris. Despite things being awkward and hard for them, it’s also comfortable, and safe. They manage to get through to the second round, after following Shireen’s gut instincts. Niamh and her partner, Sean, were the worst pairing, always arguing, but they produced the best dessert, and so had an advantage for the next round.

Everything is going well. She starts to make amends with Chris, although it’s rather difficult. Chris hid the Bake-Off from her, despite knowing it’s her dream, because she knew that she hadn’t a chance winning against her, and her parents needed the money. For context, Chris’s parents also own a doughnut store, across the street from Shireen’s family, and so the’ve always been competition. They got together under their parent’s noses. Their parents always stole from each other, and they weren’t nice, but they didn’t let it affect their relationship.

But Chris lied to her, about something that could change her life. She was stopping her from getting opportunities she’d dreamed about for ages. And Shireen couldn’t trust her anymore.

Niamh was becoming closer and closer to her, also, and Shireen was starting to get butterflies for her. But, she had this weird obsession over her relationship with Chris, and often a jealous side would come out, that she didn’t really like. And when, in a challenge that Shireen is super proud of, she is sabotaged, she automatically thinks that it is Chris, wanting to steal the win once and for all.

However, after getting kicked off the show, sneaking in with Chris to review the CCTV footage and finding out that it was actually Niamh, this leaves them in a bit of a sticky situation. After the footage is reviewed, she is allowed back on the show, but still doesn’t win. At least, however, she won fair and square. Niamh, it seems, knew that she had no chance of winning against her, and so had to sabotage her. Not only that, but the racist and fat phobic abuse Shireen was getting was paled to insignificance for her, especially when she was being dissed for having ginger hair. From the beginning, Shireen knew she wasn’t right for her, and she’s just shocked that Niamh would stoop so low.

Shireen and Chris’s parents join businesses, officially stopping the feud between them as business got worse. Slowly, they grew together. Shireen got invited to bake alongside her favourite baker, Padma Bollywood, and her and Chris ended up having a second chance! Ah, how sweet!

Content Warnings

readingwithtemperance's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If you are a lover of baking competition shows or just yummy desserts this book is for you!

I had so much fun reading The Dos and Donuts of Love. The competition was done so well I felt like I was actually watching the show.

I thought the author did very well writing Shireen's panic attacks. And I loved that

Chris helped her through them despite them not being on the beat of terms.

I was so disappointed when

Niamh was the one who ruined Shireen's dish. But also so happy it wasn't Chris!

My heart soared when

Chris and Shireen's parents became friends after feuding for so long. And combined forces to open their own shop!

Another thing I really loved were the punny chapter headers! I loved that they were all dessert themed and a clue of what was to come. I wish authors included them more!

This was absolutely incredible and now I want donuts.

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psistillreadyou's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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pencilspeaker's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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megj23's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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monstrouscosmos's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Characters: 9/10
Relationships: 9/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 8/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 8/10
Internal Logic: 10/10
Entertainment: 7/10
Overall: 60/70, 4.25*

I wanted a book that didn't have any spice so when I saw that this was YA I was initially so excited! when I found out how young the characters would actually be it became hard for me to stick with listening for awhile. nothing against younger characters! but teen romance isn't really what I was expecting/hoping for. I'm glad I stuck it out though, this was such a heartfelt story! definitely something I wish I'd had as a teenager. a very sweet coming of age story!

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jachnax's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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shade_gomes's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

starklinqs's review against another edition

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4.0

What a cute, sweet book! I felt a little too old for the target demographic but the author’s enthusiasm shined throughout this book. I love reading about a plus sized lesbian South Asian character. Shireen was an absolute sweetheart - there were maybe two times I was frustrated at her and even then, I understood that it was for the sake of conflict and that emotions can be irrational. I enjoyed following Shireen as a character, and I loved Chris!

I would have loved to see more perspective from the audience in the show. It kind of seemed overwhelmingly negative towards Shireen and Chris and I think their perspective on what happens at the end would have been interesting.

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book revolves around two concepts: a romance and a baking competition, and both were pretty solid.

I enjoyed the romance between Shireen and Chris. It had a couple of my fave tropes, namely second-chance romance and the MC not realising that the LI is in love with them when it is very obvious to the reader. The dynamic between Shireen and Chris was great - they had a lot of healing to do, but you could see that there was so much love there. Their interactions got sweeter and sweeter as the book went on. I do wish we had gotten more of a feel for WHY Shireen was in love with Chris - like, what was it about her in particular? Even though I liked the romance, my favourite relationship in the book was actually between Shireen and her parents. Her parents were so lovely and supportive! I enjoyed their interactions so much.

The plot being focussed on the baking show was downright entertaining, as the fictional show had all the drama you expect from and love in the real thing. I loved that the judges’ names were puns of Mary Berry, Gordon Ramsey and Paul Hollywood. Admittedly I sometimes had to suspend my disbelief regarding the details of how the show was run, but this wasn’t too bad.

A theme that emerged as a result of the baking show was about how being fat and Bangladeshi impacted Shireen’s experience, not just on the show, but in life, too. She faces a tidal wave of online hate with little support from production, and is accused of special treatment at one point when she IS shown a tiny bit of support. In that way, the narrative explores how white people will cry “unfair treatment” when all that’s happening is the playing field being levelled (and in this case, it was more like a smidge of dirt being levelled). In her regular life, Shireen observes the difficult position being both fat and Bangladeshi puts her in, as Bangladeshi culture is one centred around food yet also obsessed with diets. Reading from Shireen’s perspective was insightful in many ways and gave a new angle, especially on reality TV, that is unfortunately uncommon in YA and in literature in general.

Shireen had great development as the MC, as she learns to temper her all-or-nothing thinking as it comes to failure and love. As the story progresses, she really settles into herself. As a side note regarding her character, I wish we had been shown and not told about her passion for baking. We see little of her baking process, and even less of her emotional response to this.

Rep: Rep: fat Bengali Irish-Bangladeshi lesbian (word not used but implied) MC, lesbian Irish-Taiwanese LI

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