My Barista Crush

by Shawn Bailey

Restaurant owner Sinclair Penn decides to befriend a homeless young man down on his luck and gives him a second chance at life. He never planned to fall in love with someone so young, but fall he did, and hard, for eighteen-year-old Ian Mills, who reminds Sinclair of himself at that age. Exactly twelve years earlier, wealthy mogul Conrad Banks did the same thing for him and all Conrad ever asked was that he pay it forward.

The world was a cold and dark place, and Ian Mills didn’t think he would live to see nineteen at the rate things are going. Not only did his foster parents kick him out of their house with only the clothes on his back, but they cut off all ties with him, leaving him alone and destitute on the streets of Portland. They even took back his cell phone so he had no way to contact anyone for help. When his needed insulin got desperately low, he had no idea where to get a refill.

Then, right before Thanksgiving, an angel of mercy saves him from dying when he passes out in the street after trying to find somewhere to spend the night. When he wakes up safe and sound in a hospital room, Ian promises to repay Sinclair.

73 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 23, 2025

About the author

Shawn Bailey hails from New Orleans, LA, where she works as a programmer and help desk administrator. Shawn loves mangas and anime. Her current hobbies are watching Japanese and Korean dramas, when she has the spare time. She’s also trying to learn to speak and read both Japanese and Korean. She’s also into Korean pop music and can often be found with her MP3 player attached to her head. Shawn is single and enjoying the heck out it.

Reviews

[PJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. I really, really wanted to like this. The first few chapters had promise.

But a lot of the dialogue was just very clunky and awkward, and the promise of those initial chapters evaporated - the last third of the book was one big WTF? moment after another, and read like someone's English 101 paper. This was definitely a case of "show don't tell" - the narrative told us a laundry list of nice things one MC did for another, but didn't really scratch any depth in the story beyond that.

As for the "romance" in the book......I get that the age difference between Sinclair and Ian, as well as Ian's age, meant they might not fall immediately into bed to avoid any sketchiness on Sinclair's part, but the way it all played out made it seem even more inappropriate in some ways, like Ian was expected to be a paid escort in exchange for all he was being given.

Nothing about the book or its title matched what was inside. Kinda misleading.....

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Barista Crush is a tender, emotional romance about second chances, kindness, and unexpected love. Sinclair’s choice to help a homeless teen spirals into a powerful story of healing, trust, and finding family in the most unlikely places. Ian’s struggle is heartbreaking, but his journey toward hope is deeply moving.

I recommend this book to readers who love heartfelt romances, found-family stories, and emotional journeys that stay with you long after the last page.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young man has reached an all time low in his short, trouble filled life. Homeless, out of the medication he desperately needs and no one to help. Until . . .
This was a nice read, a good story, no angst, just kindness.