yunsq's reviews
147 reviews

I liked the switcheroo and thought the reality baking competition scenes were pretty exciting to follow!! It’s why I chose to read it in the first place! I was looking for some lighthearted, baked goods distraction and it provided. 

The final chapters were too vanilla and hallmark-y for me. I guess the ending would’ve had a different effect on me or someone who loves Christmas! if I were remotely into Christmas at all maybe it’d have sparked some bright Christmas spirits and joy. Also I don’t think Brett deserved that happy ending lol. 

2nd read. Bumped up half a star. Kia Abdullah’s writing is ever so gripping and nerve-wrecking at the same time. 

I saw a review that said that this book is written with love. And I agree. For each other (the co-authors); for love as a concept, emotion, action; for the characters and for writing. I found that beautiful and very entrancing. Perhaps not the right word to use but I needed to read on to find out how this story could get any more lyrical and beautiful! 

The audiobook too, is amazing. The pages of Nathan and Katrina finally sharing their first kiss and their first time in bed, were intimate and immersive, yet respectful of reader-character boundaries. It doesn’t scream typical romance steaminess where the reader is almost made to feel a type of way — hot rushes to the head or overwhelming flushes of desire. Instead, it carefully presents this long-awaited and (supposedly!!) impatient moment with prose that prioritise the characters’ (and readers’) state of mind. As a reader, I didn’t just feel for Kat and Nathan. But I saw them too. And I think that’s something this book excelled at. 

However, I did wish to see a bit more of the friendship between Harriet and Katrina/Harriet and Nathan. I thought what they shared in common was special, and I’d have loved to have more insight on what friendships between published authors are like!! 

I picked this up immediately after finishing ‘The Good Sister’, Hepworth’s other book because I really enjoyed my time with that. Hepworth has a way with weaving how characters relate to each other really well to her readers. It’s like… I am there in the same room as them. But this one fell short. I was hopeful, and turning pages really quickly until the big reveal. And I was sorely disappointed. 

I’m also unsure if infertility was properly represented in this book.

This book had so much potential!!!!

“She was one of the objects, too, shining, shining—being loved by that rambunctious, boisterous star.”

The number of times I straightened my posture when Jasmine’s mum tapped her back...

I enjoyed listening to The Donut Trap 🪤 a romcom-esque read reminding me that love can be wholesome, nourishing, yet light, at the same time. Jasmine was a very relatable main character and I really felt for her. Her problems with her parents, though trivial to people who aren’t brought up in a similar way, I felt wholeheartedly. I was rooting for Jasmine from the beginning. A lighthearted, yet heartfelt read. Best part about it???????? DONUTS. I love donuts so much and I appreciated all the donut descriptions. And the food descriptions of /that/ important dinner......... reminded me of Arsenic and Adobo. It left me very hungry after. 

Aside from fatphobic comments that some of the characters made which I couldn’t look pass, I’d re-read The Donut Trap every year :)