ICING ON THE CAKE

Author: Laura Castoro ISBN: 0778324133 1/2007 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: MIRA

When Liz Talbot's husband left her for a woman half her age, Liz put all her passions into her bakery. The problem is that fad diets and fitness crazes are ruining sales and she's barely staying afloat. Liz's luck seems to be changing when her ex dies without changing his will, leaving her the main beneficiary. Unfortunately one of the things she inherits is the advertising agency she left behind to pursue her dream of baking. Her partner? The newly widowed husband stealer, Brandi, with a heart over the i. As the new co-owner of Talbot Advertising, in the toilet since the death of her ex (that's right, she's now the proprietor of two failing businesses), Liz is more determined than ever to break out and make a name for herself as an artisan baker extraordinaire, providing her products can catch the eye of the Nabisco food scout, who is as elusive as he is mysterious.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Initially ICING ON THE CAKE appears to be a book about a divorced woman who is struggling to make a go of a bakery specializing in bread, at a time when diet gurus and exercise mavens have pronounced bread the enemy of firm derrieres everywhere. But as I read past the first chapter, I realized that ICING ON THE CAKE is much more than that. It is not simply Liz the baker's story, but the stories of many women who are, like Liz, looking for happiness.

When Liz Talbot's husband leaves her for another woman, she does as most women do. She moves on. But with a fat file of delicious bread recipes and a bakery situated beside a gym, she can barely pay her monthly expenses. There is, however, a Nabisco representative who could possibly change her life. That is, if she can grab his attention. First, she'll have to deal with the second Mrs. Talbot, someone who's thrust on Liz when her ex-husband passes away and leaves the two Mrs. Talbots to deal with his multi-million dollar estate. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Add Liz's mother, her daughters and friends into the mix and this story is like a great bread recipe. It gets better with every addition and each rising. And the Nabisco rep? Well, I won't give that bit away. Let's just say he's a savory add-in to this tale.

ICING ON THE CAKE is a warm, witty book filled with page after page of convincing dialogue, realistic characters and scenes that many readers will relate to. It is a book that is similar to so many things in a bakery... layered, with every bite a delicious one.

Kay James