Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I live in the Milwaukee area, and it was so fun to read a book where I recognized locations in the story. I've never read a book where I have a personal connection the locations like this. I also really enjoyed the story! The characters were engaging and believable and the food all sounded delicious!!
I really wanted to like this. The You've Got Mail plot with a foodie twist sounded so interesting, but this book had way too much going on and the great premise ended up being muddled. You could tell this author just loved her characters and Milwaukee and food, but it was too much and I got exceedingly irritated at all the side distractions like Devlin's inability to leave Lou alone or John's hidden sense of style or Gertrude and Otto's love story. The main romantic plot took forever to come to fruition. THREE interrupted first kisses, two or three attempts from Al to come clean to Lou, and then two or three attempts at reconciliation. I think there was potential here, some of the food and place descriptions were intriguing, but this needed some definite editing down and refining.
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert is a romantic comedy from the initial meet-cute, to the mistaken identities and misunderstandings, to the inevitable happy ending. Coconut Cake opens with Elizabeth Louella Johnson “Lou” engaged to Devlin who everyone can see is wrong…except for Lou. Through an unlikely set of coincidences, she breaks up with Mr. Wrong and meets Al, Mr. Right…but will she ever recognize this fortunate turn of events?
A Rom-Com in book form with plenty of food and Milwaukee.
For my expanded notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-coincidence-of-coconut-cake-by-amy.html
Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations.
A Rom-Com in book form with plenty of food and Milwaukee.
For my expanded notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-coincidence-of-coconut-cake-by-amy.html
Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations.
"Ingredients in baking were mixed in a specific way to create a specific result–a lot like relationships, Lou thought. If people didn't blend well together, you'd never get the outcome you wanted."
I have a confession to make. I didn't read this book cause of the mentions of You've Got Mail or How to Eat a Cupcake in the synopsis. I have neither watched that movie nor read that book. It was the cover and my urge to want to lick that cake clean. Seriously, talk about a cover that speaks to my heart and my second heart AKA my stomach. I have to say that the outsides matched the insides and by that I mean sweet and satisfying.
"He couldn't help remembering the last time he consumed this dish in this restaurant. But this was different. She was different. He was different."
Our heroine Elizabeth AKA Lou is a woman that wears her heart on her chef's hat. She loves her hometown of Milwaukee, her restaurant Luella's, and a certain vanilla extract she uses as perfume. Then you have Al, he is a grumpy English-born transplant, that loves food, dislikes Milwaukee, and loves writing his food critic column. Lou and Al's lives come together in the most spectacular of fashions. As they coincidentally form a friendship that centers around food (OMG all the mentions of food had me starving) the attraction that both of them feel for one another leads them in a more romantic direction. This would be fine it professionally Al wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to Lou. But neither of them are aware and that therein lies the rub.
"Gertrude had been right. Second chances are good, and they taste like coconut cake."
I really enjoyed The Coincidence of Coconut Cake but more than likely for different reasons than normal. I loved Lou and Al's story. I loved their moments of food and friendship and eventual romance. But it was a tad predictable. It's not as if I needed some crazy plot twist but everything I assumed would happen did. But it still had its' moments of sweetness, swoon, and it managed to make me fugly cry at one point. My real enjoyment of this story came from it's biggest character, Milwaukee. As Lou was making it her mission to win Al over to this Midwest city, she in fact won me over. I live on the other side of Lake Michigan and have never wanted to make a trek to visit until now. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake was just as much a love story about Milwaukee and I fell hard.The Coincidence of Coconut Cake has something special for the foodie and the romantic in all of us.
3.5 stars!
I have a confession to make. I didn't read this book cause of the mentions of You've Got Mail or How to Eat a Cupcake in the synopsis. I have neither watched that movie nor read that book. It was the cover and my urge to want to lick that cake clean. Seriously, talk about a cover that speaks to my heart and my second heart AKA my stomach. I have to say that the outsides matched the insides and by that I mean sweet and satisfying.
"He couldn't help remembering the last time he consumed this dish in this restaurant. But this was different. She was different. He was different."
Our heroine Elizabeth AKA Lou is a woman that wears her heart on her chef's hat. She loves her hometown of Milwaukee, her restaurant Luella's, and a certain vanilla extract she uses as perfume. Then you have Al, he is a grumpy English-born transplant, that loves food, dislikes Milwaukee, and loves writing his food critic column. Lou and Al's lives come together in the most spectacular of fashions. As they coincidentally form a friendship that centers around food (OMG all the mentions of food had me starving) the attraction that both of them feel for one another leads them in a more romantic direction. This would be fine it professionally Al wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to Lou. But neither of them are aware and that therein lies the rub.
"Gertrude had been right. Second chances are good, and they taste like coconut cake."
I really enjoyed The Coincidence of Coconut Cake but more than likely for different reasons than normal. I loved Lou and Al's story. I loved their moments of food and friendship and eventual romance. But it was a tad predictable. It's not as if I needed some crazy plot twist but everything I assumed would happen did. But it still had its' moments of sweetness, swoon, and it managed to make me fugly cry at one point. My real enjoyment of this story came from it's biggest character, Milwaukee. As Lou was making it her mission to win Al over to this Midwest city, she in fact won me over. I live on the other side of Lake Michigan and have never wanted to make a trek to visit until now. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake was just as much a love story about Milwaukee and I fell hard.The Coincidence of Coconut Cake has something special for the foodie and the romantic in all of us.
3.5 stars!
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is a story of love, mistaken identity, and food--the wonderful food of Wisconsin. Lou is a chef in Milwaukee who owns her own restaurant. Her business is small but growing, until the worst day of her life. A cheating fiance leads to a horrible restaurant review, which leads to the slow demise of her business. On the bright side, she has met a wonderful man, Al, a Brit, to whom she is introducing the wonderful food of Milwaukee. A case of mistaken identity and misunderstanding ensues.
This book is very reminiscent of the mistaken identity situation in the movie You've Got Mail and the premise is intriguing. What if you fall in love with the person who unknowingly caused your demise? We are also introduced to the food scene in Milwaukee. I wanted to immediately end my Weight Watchers food plan and jump on a plane to Milwaukee for some fried cheese curds. I could see, smell, and taste the food that was described. Yum. I have never wanted to visit Milwaukee before, until I read about the food festivals and Milwaukee culture in this book. This is a fun read. I fell in love with the characters and with the food.
This book is very reminiscent of the mistaken identity situation in the movie You've Got Mail and the premise is intriguing. What if you fall in love with the person who unknowingly caused your demise? We are also introduced to the food scene in Milwaukee. I wanted to immediately end my Weight Watchers food plan and jump on a plane to Milwaukee for some fried cheese curds. I could see, smell, and taste the food that was described. Yum. I have never wanted to visit Milwaukee before, until I read about the food festivals and Milwaukee culture in this book. This is a fun read. I fell in love with the characters and with the food.
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is about Lou, a small French restaurant owner and chef and Al a food critic. A chef and a food critic- sounds trouble right? With a sweet romance, several secrets that are bound to blow up and humour, the story will pull you in right from the very beginning.
⠀
The story was full of cliches and was so predictable but yet the author managed to keep me hooked till the very end. The writing style was definitely the highlight of the story. It had a narrative feel to it, like the story your parents or grandparents tell you on a cozy wintry night.
⠀
Not to mention the amazing food mentioned. The descriptions were so good I might have drooled a little while reading. Seriously, don’t read on an empty stomach. And the coconut cake recipe at the end was the cherry on top.
⠀
Milwaukee, Wisconsin was described so vividly here. I might add this beautiful city to the list of places I wanna visit someday.
⠀
The characters were very likeable. Al too, despite being a tinsey bit dramatic at a certain point and making some foolish choices to rectify his mistakes. His mistakes were exactly that. Human mistakes. Lou’s perspective was like a breath of fresh air. She was such a sweetheart to read. Selfless, understanding and goal-oriented Lou will definitely make a place in your heart. I loved how her dreams were set apart from the romance in the book.
⠀
I wish I could say the same for Devlin, that Devil’s spawn though. Can I please call him Devil? So Devil here was a self centred jerk and the entire time I just wanted to slap him to oblivion.
⠀
So if you're looking for a sweet romance with a touch of foodgasms, then definitely pick this book up.
⠀
Ps. Swipe to see the original picture.
Buddy read this book with my moxie girls
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
The story was full of cliches and was so predictable but yet the author managed to keep me hooked till the very end. The writing style was definitely the highlight of the story. It had a narrative feel to it, like the story your parents or grandparents tell you on a cozy wintry night.
⠀
Not to mention the amazing food mentioned. The descriptions were so good I might have drooled a little while reading. Seriously, don’t read on an empty stomach. And the coconut cake recipe at the end was the cherry on top.
⠀
Milwaukee, Wisconsin was described so vividly here. I might add this beautiful city to the list of places I wanna visit someday.
⠀
The characters were very likeable. Al too, despite being a tinsey bit dramatic at a certain point and making some foolish choices to rectify his mistakes. His mistakes were exactly that. Human mistakes. Lou’s perspective was like a breath of fresh air. She was such a sweetheart to read. Selfless, understanding and goal-oriented Lou will definitely make a place in your heart. I loved how her dreams were set apart from the romance in the book.
⠀
I wish I could say the same for Devlin, that Devil’s spawn though. Can I please call him Devil? So Devil here was a self centred jerk and the entire time I just wanted to slap him to oblivion.
⠀
So if you're looking for a sweet romance with a touch of foodgasms, then definitely pick this book up.
⠀
Ps. Swipe to see the original picture.
Buddy read this book with my moxie girls
⠀
⠀
⠀
I should have guessed with "quirky" names like Devlin that this novel would be a pandering mess. The most likable characters are Gertrude and Otto and the author kills them off. The main characters also get a lot of "shivers" and "tingles" over nothing. It didn't feel like grown adults falling in love. It felt like middle schoolers finding a first crush. All in all, this book makes me feel all "meh" inside.
Every now and then it's a treat to spend a Sunday afternoon reading an entire book. This book was a treat and well worth my time. It's a feel-good story about two people who somehow find each other despite circumstances that should separate them, with a healthy dose of foodie love thrown into the mix. I loved that the book had a good amount of detail about food, given that one of the main characters is a chef, but it made me want to go into my kitchen to whip something up, as opposed to weighing the story down.
I loved this book. I love books about love, food and just everyday life. I will admit that I went to the store today to make the Coconut Cake that this book is about. The book gives the recipe at the end. I love books about food and when they share a recipe at the end. Makes the book come alive.
Books about food are my love language. A chapter about fried cheese curds and mouthwatering burgers? Absolute perfection. Add some romance and the plot thickens like hollandaise.
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake follows chef Lou, owner of Luella’s, and British food critic Al, a cynical hardass who despises Milwaukee. When Al first sees Lou, however, something in him softens like butter. But then....Al reviews her restaurant on a terrible day. And the review is scathing. Yet Al has no idea that the woman he is enamored with is the chef at the restaurant he just creamed.
Lou and Al begin a friendship that turns into something more, and Lou and Al are both finally happy as clams. Al learns how to love his new city, and Lou moves on from her heartbreak. Then Al finds out who Lou really is...will their relationship make it? Or will it get tossed in the bin with the rest of the food scraps?
This is the cutest book. Sometimes a cliche romance novel with lots of food talk is all you need to sweeten your day. Perfect when paired with the coconut cake you know you will inevitably bake using the recipe included in the book. And it’s delicious, y’all. 4 ⭐️
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake follows chef Lou, owner of Luella’s, and British food critic Al, a cynical hardass who despises Milwaukee. When Al first sees Lou, however, something in him softens like butter. But then....Al reviews her restaurant on a terrible day. And the review is scathing. Yet Al has no idea that the woman he is enamored with is the chef at the restaurant he just creamed.
Lou and Al begin a friendship that turns into something more, and Lou and Al are both finally happy as clams. Al learns how to love his new city, and Lou moves on from her heartbreak. Then Al finds out who Lou really is...will their relationship make it? Or will it get tossed in the bin with the rest of the food scraps?
This is the cutest book. Sometimes a cliche romance novel with lots of food talk is all you need to sweeten your day. Perfect when paired with the coconut cake you know you will inevitably bake using the recipe included in the book. And it’s delicious, y’all. 4 ⭐️