Icing on the Cake by Janice Thompson

Weddings by Design (Book 2)

Scarlet Lindsey's Aunt Wilhelmina may be Texas's most popular cake baker extraordinaire, but she's also getting on in years. When Scarlet decides to take on the role of cake decorator at her cranky aunt's bidding, it's just the beginning of a series of misunderstandings and mishaps that will lead her to compete in a cake challenge on national television--and might even lead her to finding true love.

Fan favorite Janice Thompson is back with more wit, more weddings, and more of what her readers love best--bridal business drama. Bella and the gang are all here and readers will fall in love with the newest quirky characters straight from the creative mind of a fantastic storyteller.

My Review:
I love the characters that Janice Thompson creates. Boy, do I connect with Scarlet, the main protagonist in this novel. She is the first overweight female I've "met" through reading. Poor thing, Scarlet feels self-conscious about her abundant backside--her "sticky buns," a thoughtless nickname her Aunt Wilhelmina gave her long ago. To further complicate things, Scarlet owns and operates a bakery named, "Let Them Eat Cake" which is financed by the same Auntie, who makes a habit of popping in often to offer her advice.

Scarlet's love interest, Armando Rossi, doesn't notice her (ahem) thickness. In fact, he seems to think she looks just fine. He's an Italian bad boy who has come home to temporarily work in the family business--Parma John's Pizzeria, located next door to the bakery.

I learned about the business of running a bakery, a bake-off competition for a national television show (as in Food Network), and the work involved with raising money for a mission trip. Included is a recipe for an Italian Wedding Cake that I plan to try, even though I know my "sticky buns" will surely expand!

I recommend reading the first book in the Weddings by Design series Picture Perfect. Nonetheless, Icing on the Cake is a delightful stand-alone novel and certainly can be enjoyed without reading any other.

Available August, 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Thank you to Lanette Haskins at Baker Publishing Group for my copy.