The Icing on the Cake by Janice Thompson

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STORY: Being able to start her business on the upscale end of downtown Galveston is all Scarlet Lindsey has ever wanted. Aligning herself with Galveston’s most prominent businesswoman, Bella Neeley seems like a good idea at the time only now Scarlet begins to wonder if she’s up to the task. When Bella’s wild brother, Armando Rossi breezes into town, Scarlet finds herself working with him for various projects. Everything from bringing up to code outdated soundboards for a church program to a baking contest. All reveals that there may be more to Armando than parties and wanderlust.

Much as she loves creating the perfect confectionary delight at her business Let Them Eat Cake along with her trusty assistant, Kenny mounting pressure from her aunt – who has funded Scarlet’s venture, and the impending nuptials of her best friend, Scarlet soon finds herself battling her own dreams at the cost of a love that may be right in front of her… and her health.

The Icing on the Cake, by Janice Thompson | Book Review

As a “sidekick” character, Scarlet was a fun presence. As a leading character, she’s one of the most memorable women to grace the pages of this genre. Instead of the typical leading lady (a paper doll stereotype), Scarlet is her own person; a young woman who will resonate with some part of all of us. Not only is the girl spunky, something that undeniably endears her but she also suffers maintaining a healthy weight. (Who among us doesn’t!) Instead of focusing on balancing a healthy lifestyle with eating habits, Scarlet is her own worst critic and uses extreme methods to attempt to feel better. Thompson writes this with delicacy sans the reaction of Aunt Willy whose opinion seems to wear the story down.  

This then leads me to my next point of contention: the familial relationships. Don’t get me wrong, I do adore all the crazy-ness and people who surround the first-person narrative. It’s just that in ‘Icing,’ the eighth book in which familiar characters routinely pop up, it seems like too much of the events or character personas fall into the trap of being exactly the same as previous books. For example though she evolves in a different situation, while reading this novel, I constantly think of Hannah’s story (Picture Perfect); I find myself making many comparisons of Scarlet’s story to Hannah’s or even Bella’s. I think were their more individuality and exclusion, there’d be room for growth.

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Particularly interesting to the outline of this book was what the author’s note revealed; Armando playing a significant role was an afterthought for the outline of the story. Reading through the book and getting a different, better perspective on Armando made me glad that he did find a spot in the concept. Janice doesn’t just write an excellent study of contemporary women, she also writes a humorous behind-the-scenes of wedding planning; and she is no stranger to the realism of wedding planning having planned weddings and decorated multiple wedding cakes. Putting all her first-hand knowledge to good use puts a unique spin on The Icing on the Cake. The book has everything a good romantic-comedy should; hilarity, memorable personalities and of course, a smoldering hero. With all that, it’s not difficult to understand having one’s cake and eating it too. ♥

About the Book:

Author: Janice Thompson
Publisher: Revell
Publication Date: 2013
Find the Review Elsewhere: Goodreads :: WordPress
Series: Weddings by Design – Book 2
Genre: Fiction; Contemporary Fiction, Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5  

Sincere thanks to the publisher for providing a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own.