Book Review: There's Cake in My Future

'There's Cake in My Future'
Author: Kim Gruenenfelder


Format: Paperback
Published: St. Martin's Griffin; Dec. 2010
Pages: 368
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: A
Source: Publisher


Synopsis: It began with a silly bridal-shower game. Each guest pulls a charm that corresponds to a fortune out of a cake. Nic, the bride-to-be, pulls the pram, much to her chagrin. She loves her fiancé’s two young daughters but isn’t ready to be a fulltime mom to a needy newborn. Seema draws the shovel, symbolizing hard work ahead, but she really longs for romance with her best friend, Scott. Mel gets the chili pepper, promising her a hot fling, yet she’s ready to settle down with her longtime boyfriend. The three women are quick to dismiss the charmed cake, until the other guests’ fortunes start to come true. The latest romantic comedy from the author of A Total Waste of Makeup (2005) is funny and clever. Despite its whimsical premise, the characters’ searches for fulfillment in life and love are quite believable. 


My Take: How have I never heard of a cake pull before? This sounds like an awesome bridal shower game and yet I've never been to a bridal shower that has one! Apparently they date back to Victorian England and you bake the charms into the cake with a ribbon attached. The charms all mean something different and will symbolize where you want to go or something in your future. A cool, fun idea. Maybe a little messy for the pretty cake but I think it's kind of neat. 


There's Cake in my Future starts at a bridal shower for Nic and she has organized a cake pull. This book is set in Los Angeles (not Victorian England. Apparently cake pulls are gaining in popularity) and she wants to rig the pull as she fully believes in the luck the charms will bring. She has a specific charm picked out for herself and her two best friends, Seema and Mel. Well, what would a novel be if everything went according to plan? So naturally, they all pick the 'wrong' charm and whether or not they choose to believe in its luck, their life continues and things happen and you can blame it on the charm or not. 


I absolutely loved this book! Now, we all know I'm a fan of chick-lit as it is, but most books in this genre are generally a B rating for me, they all are entertaining but not quite enough to make them awesome. They fill a need and not much more. This one however had something special. Told alternately from the three ladies points of views, I think the something special was believability and witty humor. All three said lines to men that I always wish I could when push came to shove.


Nic is getting married to the man of her dreams but not all is as perfect as it sounds since he's been married before so she has to become a stepmother to his two daughters. It's not that she doesn't love them, it's just an instant family. Also she is struggling with having recently become unemployed. Seema is in love with her best friend and doesn't know how to move it to the next level. Plus, she is constantly putting him down to make it seem like she doesn't care that he keeps dating someone else so maybe he doesn't even know she is in love with him. Mel's boyfriend of six years won't commit because he's been cheating around and she has to come to terms with her new life. All of this makes these women people you want to be friends with them because unlike some chick lit novels where the hijinks are unbelievable, these are realistic and so not really hijinks at all. Just life, and real life after all is often just as funny. So yes, put this on your summer reading list!


Cover Lust: Now that I know what a cake pull is, it's a perfect cover!