For the past couple of weeks, Izzy and I have been addicted to cupcake blogs such as Cupcake Takes the Cake and Bakerella. Both of us love to bake and we’re also closet Ace of Cakes wannabe’s and I was just telling her last week that I wish I would have become a baker since it’s a passion of mine (I have so many, let me tell you, haha). I love baking cakes and cupcakes and though I’m nowhere near as good as the pro’s on Ace of Cakes at piping or decorating cakes, my cakes taste good dammit.
With all this talk of baking and cakes and everything, it got me thinking about baking in our romance novels. Are there any books out there where bakeries are featured, where either the heroine or the hero are owners of their own bakeries or bake for a living?
I tried googling it but couldn’t really find much there besides the new series by Susan Mallery, the Bakery Sisters series. I haven’t read the first book yet but I want to even though it didn’t get that many good reviews from my friends, I still want to read them because of the fact that the sisters have a bakery in the family.
So, Izzy and I want to know…does anyone out there know of any good bakery stories out there? A book/series where the hero is a chef or owns a bar/restaurant or whatever. Can anyone tell us of any books they’ve read where the heroine is a bakery owner, works in a bakery, wants to open her own bakery, anything food themed?
Please help us out, we seriously want to read some of these kinds of books! =)
Well, I don’t know any, but my current WIP features a man who owns a bakery as the hero. I know that doesn’t count for much, but at least you know that the concept IS out there, it just has to get published lol.
Lots of Susan Mallery’s books are food themed – she has a family of restauranteurs, a family with a winery, and now the family with the bakery. Some of her earlier stuff was also food related (and better IMHO) – Falling for Gracie’s heroine is a baker and Sweet Success was about a chocolate shop owner.
Also, in Jennifer Greene’s Blame It On Chocolate, the heroine developing a new type of chocolate that turns out to have some interesting side effects.
And, one of Emma Holly’s Black Lace titles (Cooking Up a Storm, I think) has a chef that comes in and stirs up all sorts of excitement at a New England inn.
Agnes from Agnes and the Hitman is a cooking columnist/cookbook author.
Let’s see…Kathleen Nance’s The Trickster’s heroine is an aspiring chef.
And that’s all I can think of. Whew! *wipes brow*
😀
Nora Roberts has a couple…Deidre Martin has some…I know that I have read more just can’t remember.
Nora Roberts had a trilogy where in Nell was a baker of all sorts of confections. It’s part of the 3 Sisters trilogy and was the first book in the trilogy called DANCE UPON THE AIR.
I read a contemp about a year ago where she was a baker and the hero’s nephew or son worked for her. She did cakes, doughnuts, etc. but I can’t for the life of me remember who wrote it. I’ll be back if I do.
Not a romance, but Jeanne Ray’s EAT CAKE will put pounds on just from reading the book. Wonderful book.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley, but its not really romance, even though that’s where it was shelved when I bought it. It is more urban fantasy or general fiction. The heroine runs the bakery.
There’s also a short in the Hot Blooded anthology where the heroine owns a bakery. Or an inn with a bakery and she works the bakery. It is called “The Night Owl” by Emma Holly.
I don’t think are quite what you are looking for, but I thought I’d share what I knew. 🙂
Awwww…that’s so sweet. :o)
I was going to mention the Susan Mallery books, too. I think Maureen Child has one where the heroine live above a bakery and her friend owns it, or am I just making that up?
My friend and publicist Tara is a cupcake fanatic. She has a bunch of blog links on her blog http://www.tarametblog.com.
There’s Kiss the Cook by Jacquie D’Alessandro (possibly htf/oop) where the heroine runs a catering business and (literally) crashes into the hero. I like JD’s books -always romantic with klutzy and sweet heorines. And I liked Emma Holly’s novella in Hot Blooded where she’s a baker — nice kitchen scene 😉
Sarah,
If you ever need anyone to be your guinea pig, you just let me know…a hero who’s a baker? I love it!
C2,
Have I told you that I love you yet today? Cause I totally do, you’re my new favorite right now, THANKS SO MUCH!
Heather,
Thanks, I think I know which books you’re talking about by Deidre Martin but I’ll go check out the NR site to see which ones of hers are food themed, thanks so much!
Rosie!
I do remember that now, you’re right…Nell was a baker, I really enjoyed her book and that series for that matter…thanks, I had forgotten, maybe I’ll reread that one soon.
And if you remember what title that other story is, you just let me know because I’d love to read that one! =)
There is a series by Kerry Greenwood (Australian author) about a baker who owns her own bakery; Corinna Chapman Mysteries. They are mystery suspense, with some romance. At the end of each book are some very yummy recipes.
The books in order are:
Earthly Delights
Heavenly Pleasures
Devil’s Food
Trick or Treat
Karen,
Thanks so much, the title is going on my list. =)
Hmmm….boy, that’s a toughie. I know that in the Irish Trilogy (Jewels of the Sun, Tears of the Moon, and the other one) by Nora Roberts that the family owns a pub.
Other than that, I’m brainfarting.
If you want a cozy mystery there is Joanne Fluke’s series that have really yummy sounding recipes in them, but I have to forewarn that the romance is a triangle and by the latest books I just want it to be over and don’t really care if she ends up with either of them! LOL!
My small press novella “The Good Samaritan” featured a baker heroine, who catered desserts for the hero’s restaurant. Her specialty was cheesecake topped with an edible gold leaf icing. Makes me hungry thinking about it.
hi there 😀 Ironically, the Bakery sisters trilogy by Susan Mallery doesn’t involve the bakery that much ^_^; If not, there’s Just Desserts by Barbara Bretton that I can think of and hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer is great. The heroine is a chef in LA and she comes up with the most delicious sounding daily desserts. She also gives the hero cooking lessons.
And I second Sunshine by Robin McKinley. That book just makes me hungry. Cinnamon rolls as big as your head…
Shirley Jump -wrote about 5 books I think and each book is a certain food theme like one book is baked stuff, one book is chocolate stuff, one book is pasta, one book is seafood.
She puts a recipe in front of every chapter.
The series itself was pretty good with some books better than others. I enjoyed them and the recipes.
Delicious by Sherry Thomas.
It’s male/male, but the manga Antique Bakery is very good for anyone who wants romance and baking.
Forgot this one–it’s an inspirational but it’s great:
Let Them Eat Cake
By Sandra Byrd
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, I’ve added each and every single title to my list and I’m going to be going to the bookstore to pick some of these up soon. =)
Lauren Royal has a fun historical series with baking. Check out the hilarious cover for Lost in Temptation.