ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND CUPCAKES

Title: All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes
Author: Betsy St. Amant
Genre: Romance

Blurb:Kat inspected rows of the same old cupcakes. They seemed to blink back at her, as if they knew she was capable of so much more.

Kat Varland has had enough of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.

At twenty-six years old, Kat is still living in the shadows of her family in Bayou Bend, Louisiana. Still working shifts at her Aunt Maggie s bakery. Still wondering what to do with her passion for baking and her business degree. And still single.
But when Lucas Brannen, Kat s best friend, signs her up for a reality TV bake-off on Cupcake Combat, everything Kat ever wanted is suddenly dangled in front of her: creative license as a baker, recognition as a visionary . . . and a job at a famous bakery in New York.

As the competition heats up, Lucas realizes he might have made a huge mistake. As much as he wants the best for Kat, the only thing he wants for himself her is suddenly in danger of slipping away.

The bright lights of reality cooking wars and the chance at a successful career dazzle Kat s senses and Lucas is faced with a difficult choice: help his friend achieve her dreams . . . or sabotage her chances to keep her in Louisiana.”

I have the pleasure of reading my second book from Miss Betsy St Amant, she wrote a book for the A Year of Weddings Series, A February Bride, which I enjoyed very much and she did not disappoint with this one.

Kat Varland gives a new term to the phrase, scaredy cat.  She complains about her life all the time but is afraid to do anything about it.  Her main problem is that she has absolutely no confidence in herself.

She is fed up of always baking vanilla, strawberry and chocolate cupcakes in her aunts bakery and would like to experiment and try new things in the store but her aunt always tells her no. That coupled with her low self esteem and you have one miserable baker.

It would have been okay if her family believed in her for her, but no such luck.  Unintentionally they have put Kat down throughout her life, making her feel like she is less than she is.  The only saving grace is her best friend Lucas Brannen, who picks up the slack and shows her everyday that he has faith in her.

Everything was going along like it always does until Kat and Lucas start acting weird around each other.  They both have strong feeling for each other but are too afraid to say anything and ruin a perfect friendship.

Kat keeps waiting for Lucas to make a move and Lucas wants to make a big dramatic gesture.  His original idea was to propose when he finally purchases the land he always wanted but a different opportunity in the form of Cupcakes Combat arises.  Lucas signs Kat up, unknowingly to her and she was accepted.

Excited that she got through Lucas was not expecting the full blown panic that was Kat’s reaction to the news.  The prize is a year internship at a prestige bakery in New York, Kat already feel insecure in her small hometown can she even make it in New York.

Lucas is not much better off, he thought that the prize would have been monetary, not Kat ticket out of town; for Lucas knows that if Kat wins, she would never return.  Would Kat take the opportunity of her lifetime or would Lucas or herself talk her out from even leaving. Find out in All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes.

Betsy St Amant is a you ought to know author (taking a little something from VH1)  This book had me frustrated, but in a good way.  How can two people who knew each other for their entire lives, not know how the other is feeling.

Lucas let so many opportunists go, like that time on the bed when he was over her and her face was aglow with laughter, I kept saying “Kiss her, Kiss her you fool” and did he kiss her, NO!  That big dummy, I had my tablet in my hands and was shaking it, wishing that is was Lucas instead.  For all his confidence, he loses it really quickly when it comes to Kat.

Is love like that?  It’s very scary if it is, I’ve never been in love so I don’t know the feeling. 

I was stuck between liking Kat and wanting to put her out of her misery.  Do it, don’t do it.  She was always in a constant state of limbo with herself and she thinks the worst of people.  She was doubting Lucas left and right even though he was the only person to believe in her.

They spent a lot of going back and forth and it got irritating and I wanted to go into the book to intervene, but I couldn’t so I was forced to watch as these two kiddies made a mess of their relationship.

With all my complaining, I loved the book and it needed that drama, especially with the “should I burn the cupcakes or not” decision, dun, dun, DUN. 

This book is compelling and it would have you constantly thinking what’s going to happen next.  I recommend this book everyone, especially if you like Cupcake Wars on Food Network.  I wonder if the host in Cupcake Combat is the how the host on Cupcake Wars acts behind the scenes?   That would be very funny and interesting to see!

Thoughts: I had no idea it took days to film a one hour show
Grade: B