Six people and three love stories all in one bakery.

This follow up to Soft on Soft is a perfectly delicious short story collection that ties up nicely. I even made an aesthetic for the first short story in it!

I received an eARC of Graham’s Delicacies from the author in exchange for an honest review as part of a blog tour.

Saccharine

Jen goes to work, agonizes over college, and looks forward to the stolen moments in the kitchen. There she can watch Emilie bake love into every morsel. Their delicate friendship takes a step towards a budding romance, but will Jen’s anxiety help them survive their first hurdle? 

Saccharine has a content warning for explicit consensual sex.

Saccharine lives up to its name as we travel from the current day to two years prior and back with Emilie and Jen. Emilie uses they and she pronouns, but prefers they from strangers, so that is what I’ll be referring to them as. This was great to see on the page from a nonbinary author.

I loved that both of these characters were anxious in their own ways and that everyone around them respected it. It was also great that the conflict was not a problem in their relationship. Saccharine was super sweet and it set us up nicely for the other two stories.

Delectable

James has never been kissed but he wants to be. Especially by his co-worker Sam, who he can’t talk to without turning into a little jerk. Sam is made of all the good stuff, but will James’ deepest insecurities allow him to kiss the boy? 

Delectable needs a content warning for vomiting, alcohol use, tickling, explicit consensual sex, a relationship between an employee and manager, and mention of a parent’s death.

Delectable follows James and Sam, who we got to see a lot of in the prior short story. It was really nice to get into their perspectives while they were totally separately crushing on each other.

Sam is a huge reader, which I’m always a fan of. I also loved that James was part of a huge family that he loved, while also struggling with them. It felt really real while staying true to the sweet romance.

Ravenous

Alex won’t let some foodie with a video camera bash their beloved bakery, even if it means to be petty. Except they’re nowhere ready for Yujin, the one who got away and is now romancing them. Will Alex’s pride let them see the gold heart the bashful king hides?

Ravenous needs a content warning for misgendering of a nonbinary character (challenged on page), chronic pain, discussion of a parents death and explicit consensual sex featuring a D/s dynamic.

I loved this second chance romance. I wanted to punch Yujin in the face at the beginning of the story but he really grew on me. I still felt like Yujin was a little pushy at the end, but I still enjoyed it.

All in all, this collection of intertwined short stories was delicious. I have absolutely no regrets about pre-ordering it, and hope you will go get it as soon as possible!