Book of the Week: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, Amy E. Reichert

This book.

Ahhhh. This book.

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake.  I think I waited too long to read it. It's been sitting around for a few weeks while I traveled and I pretty much devoured it once I started.

First of all, look at the cover.

Warning: if you haven't yet found me on Instagram then you don't know that my friends ooohed and ahhhed over the cover as soon as I shared it. You will, too. For sure.

I mean - right? Don't you want a slice? I'm not even the hugest coconut dessert fan (too many years of macaroons for Passover!) and I want this entire cake. Looks. SO. Good.

Amy E. Reichert's first novel is one that drew me in from the start.

Yes, yes, the cover is amazing and yes, I DO judge books by their covers.

Come on, you do, too. Admit it.

But the story pulled me in beyond that.

I loved Lou. From the moment I met her I wanted good things for her. And I immediately didn't like (or trust) Devlin. The fiancé. As soon as Lou described him as her very own Disney prince I wasn't thrilled. Because Disney princes may be the be all when it comes to animated movies, but have you looked at them? I mean, really, really looked?

Coiffed hair.

Cheshire cat smile.

The sparkle off of the teeth.

No thanks.

I feared bad things from this man.

And I was right not to trust him. I love that Reichert didn't let him disappear, and he continued to surface throughout the story. It worked well.

Admittedly a few aspects of Devlin, Lou, their relationship and how it progressed were things I predicted early(ish) on. And despite that? I enjoyed the book anyway.

Lou meets Al on the day all things fall to pieces.

She doesn't know it's going to be that day when she meets him.

We don't know whether we like him or hate him when we meet him.

And we don't know how things are going to unfold ... or truth be told unravel ... once we realize that we might not like him very much and our hearts ache for Lou.

Their connecting continues and they find themselves growing closer together. But there are secrets between them - secrets (one big one) that might blow their not-quite-yet-a-relationship apart before it even begins. Or quite possibly after. Which would be worse?

We don't know. Can you tell we don't know a lot of things?

We just know we like Lou and we like her friends and we want her to be happy.

We like her restaurant - I almost forgot one of the most important things. Lou is a chef and restaurant owner. Her staff and her customers are her family. And I loved each of them. Honest. I did.

And there's another story that is a part of this book that strongly connects to Lou and her relationships, and so as not to give it all away - I'll simply say that Reichert tugged at the heartstrings, bringing me to tears a few times. Good stuff. *sniffle*

So. Lou. Al. The restaurant.

And another character we cannot overlook? Milwaukee. Yes. The city.

The way the author shared her city with us was phenomenal. And now I totally want to enjoy a culinary tour of Milwaukee with a native. Stat.

So - there's my review and recommendation. Get yourself a copy as this is a great end-of-summer read, or the perfect book to usher you into fall. You need to learn about and dive into The Coincidence of Coconut Cake.

** Heads up: I reviewed this book completely on my own. I bought myself a copy with my own money and decided as soon as I finished it that I needed to share it. Sometimes I do that sort of thing. This is one of those times. There are affiliate links throughout this review that would grant me a few pennies towards my next book purchase should you use them. So thanks in advance. And go order this book, m'kay? **

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