The Icing on the Cake Review: First Line Friday
The Icing on the Cake Review: First Line Friday
Welcome to my The Icing on the Cake review on this First Line Friday. First, the details. The Icing on the Cake is a contemporary Christian romance by author Janice Thompson and published by Revell. The story is 307 pages, and it is an easy read. I read it in only a couple of days with many interruptions. As always, there is a link to the book after my review.
The Icing on the Cake First Line:
“I’ve never understood that expression about how you can have your cake and eat it too.” – Isn’t that a wonderful first line? Insight into the character and theme, all while tempting you with the idea of something sweet.
My The Icing on the Cake Review:
I picked this book up because, well, frankly because cake is in the title and the back blurb mentioned a bakery. I’d never read anything by Janice Thompson before. It did give me a little concern that this is book two in the Weddings by Design series, but that worry quickly vanished. I don’t know how much overlap there is in each of the books, but a reader can enjoy this one completely without having read the first book.
I immediately found flavor ideas I’d love to use in baking videos. Lemon cake with raspberry filling and frosting got my attention on the first page, even over German chocolate. And I’m a chocolate kind of girl. As a bonus, there is a recipe in the back of the book. Not for lemon cake, but for Italian Cream Cake which becomes a bigger deal than sticky buns throughout the course of the story. And believe me, sticky buns plays a big part.
The romance is kind of opposites attract or more-than-meets-the-eye if that’s a thing. I love the look beyond what people see, look beyond the past, see the person as they are now kind of stories. And this one delivers. I love Armando. He’s not the perfect girl for Scarlet, at least not on paper. I love that he sees Scarlet and loves her despite her struggle to love herself.
And boy does she struggle. Family expectations, being what everyone needs her to be even at a detriment to herself, and her dislike of her physical appearance all hound Scarlet. One of the major issues for her that comes up early in the book is her weight. It’s almost distracting it comes up so frequently, but as anyone who has struggled with weight knows, that’s life with a weight issue. It’s that constant nagging in the back of your mind every time you consider what to eat or pass on. Scarlet has a lot of realization and growth that needs to take place throughout the story, and I’m happy the author saw fit to deal with each issue.
This story is a fun reminder to see yourself and others the way God sees them. And it doesn’t happen only with the main characters. Everyone seems to need this lesson. But it’s not heavy-handed at all. The cake of the story is frosted with lovable characters, a wonderful town, and more than a sprinkle of humor. It’s the perfect blend of flavors, and it makes The Icing on the Cake the great read it is.
I give this story a solid four stars. I hope you’ll check it out, because I know you’ll enjoy it.
Get your copy of The Icing on the Cake.
The Conversation
If the book is as fun filled to read as the review, I need to put this one on my To Be read list. Now I wish I had a piece of cake.
You’ll want even more after reading it. But it’s totally worth it.