... and of course, I needed to reward myself for braving the Friday-before-Christmas crowds.  So I decided to take home a donut -- and found that they even had Oreo donuts!  Couldn't resist that one, of course!  And because I felt like it, I also brought home a nougat ring from the bakery down the street ...

A nap may, or may not, have happened already when a warm cat had me face planting in my Graphic Novel. Still, I have managed to finish my first book by 9am! I took a break to run up the road and snag us some donuts. Now that I'm refueled, I need to pick a new book...now this is the problem.  

This was super cute and adorably flufftastic, with two young men who are both a bit on the shy side, but figure things out anyway.

No real conflict, just a super sweet, fluffy, adorable romance. One of the MCs is a vegan booknerd, the other is a baker, a bit more outgoing, who also falls hard and fast. These two really complement each other. Where Simon was socially awkward, Benji made up for it with his personality, and where Benji was a little insecure, Simon made up for it in other ways.

I believed their romance, even if it was compressed into less than 50 pages, and I bought their HFN.

Also, fab SIL for Simon. Great supporting cast.

Just really cute. Good flow, good writing, no insta-love, nicely done.


** I received a free copy of this book from its publisher. A positive review was not promised in return. **

3.5 stars

Simon moves to the small town of Canmore, Alberta, to help his sister-in-law after his older brother (her husband) passed away. A week after he arrives, he receives a welcome gift from Benji works at a café down the street: the welcome gift is a package of vegan donuts. Apparently Benji hears from Simon’s sister-in-law about him (and him being a vegan) and he wants to try out some vegan recipes. Simon then visits Benji to say thanks and well, there is attraction and friendship soon follows.

I must admit that the word “Vegan Donuts” on the title was what caught my eyes. It was intriguing. Then I thought the blurb promised a sweet story to go along with it. And I totally got what I expected. The tone of this story was laid-back – there wasn’t huge drama looming over it. Both Simon and Benji were likeable characters. Simon was a bit shy; he loved his books and his tea. While Benji was more outgoing (he said that he used to be one of the jocks in school); he loved his adventure and sports. But the two of them clicked and they enjoyed each other's company. We also had secondary characters in form of Simon’s sister-in-law and his niece, which added to the realistic day-to-day feel to it.

I loved reading the backdrop of a Canadian small town. We had the men hiking the mountain and staring out at the beautiful Lake Louise. I could imagine the beautiful scenery – definitely looked like a postcard in my head – and I wish I could be there myself.

Bottom line, I think By Way of Vegan Donuts is a sweet, light-angst, conflict-free, and low-steam story with two likeable characters. Bonus for the vegan character, although it would be nice to see more vegan-related food or menu (*grin*).