Review: "How to Eat a Cupcake" by Meg Donohue

Title: How to Eat a Cupcake
Author: Meg Donohue
Publisher: Harper, 2012
Release date: March 13, 2012

It's been 10 years since Annie Quintana and Julia St. Clair have seen each other—10 years since a deep betrayal, since the end of their friendship, and since Annie's mother's sudden death. But now fate has thrown the two women together—one a successful businesswoman, and the other a creative and extremely talented baker. They will try to get past old wounds, and new painful secrets, to open up a successful cupcakery in their city of San Francisco, despite someone's determination to see that they fail.

This novel is told from both Annie's and Julia's perspectives, chapters alternating between the two. Annie is very wary of Julia, who stabbed her in the back by starting rumors that led to a deterioration in the relationship Annie had with her mother right before her death. Annie has not forgiven Julia for that, and is only going along with this scheme to get to her goal of owning her own bakery. Julia, on the other hand, has a secret she's hiding from everyone, including her fiance Wes, and it could be something that will end their engagement. In order to get past the pain of this secret and focus on something else, she comes up with the plan to start this business venture with Annie when she tries one of her cupcakes for the first time at a party her mother throws.

I really liked this. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it was completely what I was anticipating when I opened it up. Annie is sarcastic and funny; I'd describe her as a firecracker. She's got a lot of passion for what she does, and a lot of emotion buried deep inside her. I really enjoyed her sections of the book, not only because I was interested in her story, but because I loved her voice. Julia is very unlikable at first, but as the chapters go on, we see that undercurrent of loss she's hiding from the world and how that has changed her as a person. I loved seeing the dynamic of their relationship change over time.

Also, there are the cupcakes. I love reading about baking and food, and if you are like me, this is the perfect book to whet your appetite. Literally. I wanted one of those gourmet cupcakes Annie bakes, especially one with the unusual but delicious-sounding ingredient combinations.

I was surprised to find that this book also had elements of a thriller. There's a vandal targeting the cupcake shop, and we're not sure why. It all comes to a fairly exciting conclusion toward the very end of the book, and I was pleased with how Donohue worked it in so well.

I did have a few problems with the book, unfortunately. Some of you may know my pet peeve of an author using one particular word far too often to describe something. Well, Julia's mother Lolly never says anything, she always ALWAYS "rasps" it. Why? It's not necessary to have that there every. single. time. Another element I didn't like was the not-so-subtle foreshadowing that goes on. The "Maybe if I had known what was coming, I wouldn't have done this." A variation of that sentence appeared so many times that I got very irritated with it. And to make matters worse, it made the upcoming events sound way more awful and terrible than they actually are. It was like there was a cloud of doom hanging over the cupcake shop for no reason most of the time. I mean, yes, bad things do happen, but don't make it sound like everyone dies.

As far as teen appeal goes, some might be turned off by the older narrators (they're both 28), but Annie gives the story enough kick to give interest, in my opinion. Aspiring bakers or cupcake lovers will probably enjoy this story, too.

But, despite my misgivings, this was a fun book with some drama that comes together in a satisfying way at the end. Plus, you know, cupcakes.

Disclosure: This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: "Love Unlisted" by Stephanie Haddad + giveaway

Title: Love Unlisted
Author: Stephanie Haddad
Publisher: Stephanie Haddad, 2011

Grace makes lists. Lots of them. Lists for her favorite things, the pros and cons about certain decisions she makes, even about the men she dates. She has to be in control of situations, and the lists help her do that. But her life is beginning to get much more complicated when her brother invades her three-bedroom apartment that she shares with her best friend, Bernsie; she's got the chance to become a full-fledged event planner instead of just as assistant, but she needs to prove herself first; not to mention she keeps bumping into Colin Kilbourne, a sexy musician with the geek look Grace so loves (Pro) but with unfortunate facial hair (soul patch) and the tendency to spill coffee on her (Con). She needs to figure out a way to get a handle on things—or just lose control completely.

So let me start my review with a story. I walked into a local coffee shop with my fiance where Stephanie Haddad had set up a table with her books, selling and signing. I approached her just before we were about to leave and asked if she would consider giving me a book for an honest review, and she accepted my offer. I'm glad I went up to her—she definitely has talent as a writer and gives Grace a fun, quirky voice that won me over.

I enjoyed Love Unlisted for the most part. The story was nothing too crazy, just a twentysomething woman at a crucial moment in her life and trying to get through it (though her compulsion to list is a main part of how she deals with it, not something typical of most people). The plot itself was not really what kept me reading, since the only things happening were at Grace's job, the stuff going on with her brother moving in, and the relationships going on. Though it was fun to see all the ways things turned out wrong for Grace in the party planning stuff.

What I really liked was watching how Grace and Colin developed their relationship, and watching the secondary characters' going about their own business. Grace also really has to wrestle with her listing habit, especially when it gets in the way of not only her relationship Colin but the rest of her life, as well.

Being from Boston, I loved reading a book set in my city. I don't live in the city, but if I were to pick one to be mine, I'd definitely pick Boston. I've been to the places Haddad writes about, so it was just a little extra fun thing for me.

This is technically an adult book, and I would classify it as chick lit, but I could easily see teens reading this. There are no explicit scenes and I think the only obstacle for teens reading this would be the inability to relate to Grace's situation as a young woman in the workforce.

My biggest gripe about this book is all of the typos throughout. It wasn't enough to drive me crazy, but there were more than normal. Granted, this is a self-published title and the typos were mostly things a spell-check wouldn't catch, but they were there. But that's my biggest problem, and it wasn't really too big of a deal.

Overall, I liked this book. Not the greatest I've ever read, but it had a fresh feel, the language had some kick to it, and it was nice to just sit down with a fun book.

If you'd like to read this or any other books by Haddad, check out her website. She lives in my hometown, which is of course how I met her, so if you're in the Boston area check to see if she'll be anywhere nearby anytime soon. She's a nice lady.

If you'd like a copy of Love Unlisted, I'm going to pass on my (signed!) copy to one of you! To enter, just leave a comment on this post with a way to reach you (email would work just fine for that). I'll announce the winner on Friday, January 27. And also, her other book A Previous Engagement is available free right now in ebook form pretty much everywhere they sell ebooks. Here's a link if you have a nook, and here's one if you have a Kindle.

Disclosure: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Review: "Millie's Fling" by Jill Mansell

Title: Millie's Fling

Author: Jill Mansell

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2009

Millie has not had the best of luck in the man department, especially lately. But when she stops bestselling romance novelist Orla Hart from hurling herself off a cliff, things are gonig to change. But Millie isn't sure it's for the better. Orla decides she wants to make a departure from her normal writing, namely about glitzy celebrities and high living, in favor of normal, everyday people. And she's willing to pay big money to Millie to tell her ALL about her love life. Trouble is, Orla isn't going to let Millie go on her own, and tries to set her up with any number of men.

This British chick-lit is great fun. It is full of what I can only describe and crazy shenanigans. Millie's trying to keep her attraction to Hugh, a young widower, secret, especially from Orla, since the novelist already told her he was off limits. Millie's flatmate, Hester, is super annoying and can be a total slut when she wants to be, since she's got the hots for Lucas Kemp, a guy they both knew in high school who is now back in Newquay and sexier than ever--despite her boyfriend Nat, who is miles away in Glasgow working as a chef in a restaurant.

Seriously, the things that happened in this book were fantastic. One twist after another, and misadventures galore. One of my favorite scenes had to do with a kitchen fire, a mud wrap, and some missing clothing. There were so many delicious misunderstandings, and the humor was rife with British slang, which is funny to me regardless.

Just to let you know, this is an adult title, but I think older teens would really enjoy it. Millie is only 25, after all.

If you're just looking for a feel-good romantic comedy type book, I'd definitely check out Jill Mansell's stuff. I'm sure her other books are just as good and funny, and I am looking forward to reading them.

Disclosure: I got this as a free nookbook from bn.com.