Pastries and Pints by Allie Winters [Review]

Pastries and Pints (Aurora Bakery #2) by Allie Winters
Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 3, 2025

Aurora Bakery
1. Frosting and Flames
2. Pastries and Pints - Paperback | Kindle
3. Sugar and Secrets

Allie Winters
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

As the wildcard middle sister, Sydney is more used to hearing words like chaotic and sarcastic to describe her than responsible. But when her family’s small-town bakery is selected for a business initiative to attract customers, she sees a chance to finally prove she’s more than just flaky pastries and quick comebacks.

What she doesn’t expect? To be partnered with the town’s newly renovated bar—or its broody, frustratingly attractive owner, Pierce. Especially not after overhearing him say he’s not interested.

After inheriting his late grandfather’s bar, Pierce is barely holding his head above water figuring out how to manage it—let alone the rest of his life. He doesn’t have time for distractions. Especially not ones with sharp wit, killer baking skills, and a habit of getting under his skin.

But as beer meets dessert and the lines between bickering and banter begin to blur, Sydney and Pierce find themselves mixing more than just business. As the town rallies behind their unlikely partnership, they need to decide if they’re willing to let go of old hurts—and take a chance on the kind of connection that doesn’t follow any recipe.

Thoughts on Pastries and Pints: Aurora Bakery's middle sister is up and she's HARD on herself. Seriously hard. She uses her older sister Rachel as her yardstick and can clearly see all the ways she doesn't measure up. In her mind, even the smallest of mistakes is a glaring mark against her and she jumps to the worst possible conclusion (sometimes based on incomplete information) when she starts spiraling.

Pierce is a man caught between two worlds. Renovating and then running his late grandfather's bar gives him something to focus on and he doesn't know how to tell his family that he doesn't want what they want anymore. He likes making the bar work. He likes using his business degree to make something concrete with the bar. And he likes Sydney.

Of course, he doesn't tell her that (in fact he says the exact opposite while trying to deflect with one of his employees and ends up pricking the tender parts of Sydney with his words when she overhears) and, frankly, Sydney comes out swinging when they're paired together for a small business collaboration. yeah, our girl doesn't pull her punches. It isn't until she sees the unguarded side of Pierce that she starts to unthaw a little.

But it takes a lot to reach that point. On both their ends. Sydney always thinks she's not enough and Pierce can't see how he fits into this new town doing something he enjoys when his family doesn't approve and keeps pushing for different things.

A little snark, a few steamy encounters on a desk, an event that gets people talking, and two people who need to work through their issues before they can make things happen in the long term. *thumbs up*