Title: Piece of Cake (from the Smitten series)
Author: Kate Forster
Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult, Realistic, Fun
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Publication Date: August 2013
Pages: 235
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
On the morning that Lola is due to fly to London, her dad’s in an accident. There’s no time to whinge about ruined plans – Lola has to just unpack her bags and act like an adult by taking over her dad’s cafe.

Finding a new chef and working seven days a week is not the gap year Lola had in mind. But then she meets Sam, a hot backpacker and cook extraordinaire with a tragic secret past.

In a whirl of perfect pastries and delicate cupcakes, Lola and Sam start to realise that it’s not just the kitchen warming up. But can their romance handle the heat?

My Review:

Lola loves nothing more than dancing the night away and creating gorgeous cupcakes. But when her father is involved in a car accident she has to step up and take responsibility for her father’s business. Cafe Ambrosia is losing business to the new coffee stop up the road and Lola need help. Luckily one of the waitresses knows a brilliant English chef named Sam, who is currently backpacking his way around Australia and can drop everything to work in Lola’s father’s kitchen.

Things are changing everywhere and Lola isn’t sure if it’s all a good thing. With bills needing to be paid, secrets which have been buried for eighteen years finally coming to light and feelings for a boy she can’t have, Lola has to grow up – and quickly.

This is such a sweet story – and not just because of the sugar filled delicacies gracing the cover. Lola is fun and creative. Whilst she may not be passionate about working in the cafe, she’s brave and would do anything she could for her dad. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to ask for help when she needed it and isn’t too proud to take advice from others. Her passion for baking is infectious and had me craving some of her pavlova inspired desserts.

Sam is a gorgeous character too – body and soul. He’s hurting and come from London to Australia to grieve and try to find himself. I loved how he interacted with Lola and the other characters in this book as well as his well-meaning intentions – he’s not afraid to take the hard road when it’s necessary. His chemistry with Lola was a delight to read. The progression of their relationship – from meeting, to friends to possibly something more was paced beautifully. I liked seeing how things would develop and looked forward to reading their shared scenes.

Babcia, David, Jane and the other supporting characters do a great job of keeping the plot flowing and adding a sense of realism to Lola’s story. These are fun characters who have a life outside of the main character and it was great to see them embrace their lives and living each day to the fullest.

I was impressed with how the plot evolved over the novel. This is not a book with any crazy plot twists and unrealistic drama. Rather – its strength lies in the authenticity of the characters and their down-to-earth problems. Kate Forster does a great job at writing a beautiful story that feels like it’s happening to friends – rather than fictional characters.

Piece of Cake is a fun and sweet novel about a young woman finding her place in the world and perhaps a chance at love too. I’ve not read any other of the Smitten series but after enjoying Piece of Cake so much I know that I’ll be reading more of this series.

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