Review and Book Giveaway: Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match . . . dot com! An online dating service is not Michelle Snow’s idea of how to find love, but when the Big 3-0 hits, Michelle decides she has nothing to lose since she hasn’t brought a date home in ten years, she’s professionally burned out, and her climb up the corporate ladder has come at the expense of abandoning her sweet dream: to own a boutique cupcakery.

Todd Bracken, early thirties and a successful technology consultant, isn’t exactly a player after being off the market for ten years, and pours himself into his dual passions of martial arts and home-sweet-home renovations. Only there’s no one to come home to so he decides to give Match.com a try. Todd isn’t so sure the Internet dating scene is his thing—until a message pops up in the wee hours on a weekend night: ‘I like your smile.’ Todd likes—a lot—the whole package that glides into a French bistro in Washington, D.C.

It’s serious mojo-at-first-sight but there’s a glitch: Todd and Michelle live in different cities. Will love find its way in the digital age with a ‘You’ve Got Mail’ courtship when video cam kisses just aren’t enough? And when Todd challenges Michelle to not only go for her dream but let him share it, will they be able to make it happen together despite obstacles more plentiful than a shower of rainbow sprinkles?

Michelle lets her friends talk her into a 30 day stint on Match.com. She puts off browsing the site for a bit but finally sits down one night and decides to check things out. She browses for a long time and finally finds this profile that she just can’t ignore. She sends a message and lo and behold, he sends one back. Todd and Michelle end up emailing back and forth for a bit and then finally decide to meet in person.  They live about an hour from each other but Michelle isn’t gonna let that stop her from meeting this man who makes her laugh.

Todd is excited to finally meet this woman that seems fun and funny and smart! He’s nervous too though but decides to just be himself. Needless to say the two hit it off and decide to go on date 2. That leads to another and another and pretty soon they’re inseparable. But Michelle’s been hurt in the past and she’s not sure she wants to let someone in to her life that will delve deep into that hurt. There’s only one way to find out as far as I’m concerned…give it a try.

This was a really good book. I thought that Michelle and Todd were just perfect for each other from the word go. They very much lucked out when Michelle hit on Todd’s online profile as I know from a close friend of mine that there are a lot of men out there that are not looking for a long term relationship. But Todd was and the two were perfect for each other. I thought that they complimented each others personalities very well and Todd helped Michelle grow both personally and professionally.

Todd in general was a total keeper.  The man had a sense of humor, a decent job, good friends and a house (although it sounded like it was coming apart at the seams).  He was a sensitive man but not in a bad way – he was sensitive to Michelle and her feelings and really listened to her.  He listened and would get her little gifts based on things she said in passing.  It was just nice to read about a man – that’s not made up! – who was so wonderful. 

The niggle I had with the book was the lack of information that was given about Michelle’s past hurt. I understand that this is a romance based on reality so there are some things that Michelle just wanted to keep private and not let the whole world know, however I think that because it had such a huge effect on the relationship with Todd, as well as the other men in her life for 10 years, that at least some information would have been nice. The betrayal was mentioned more than once but we never got any info on it and I guess it was hard for me to completely understand Michelle’s hesitancy with letting Todd into her life completely without all of the situation being explained.

I have to put a warning on this book: If you’re going to read it feed yourself first or at least have sweets handy because it will make you want for cupcakes! lol Every chapter starts with the name and description of a cupcake…that eventually became reality in Michelle’s cupcakery, but there were also several times that other treats were mentioned and I wanted to eat while reading this book! lol

A very sweet romance and sweet book. If you want to read a book where boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love with very little angst and live happily ever after then this is a perfect read for you.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5

I also have one copy of Icing on the Cake to give away to one lucky winner (US/Canada only, No PO Boxes). Just leave a comment on this post by 11:59pm (pacific) on November 10, 2010 and I’ll announce the winner on Thursday, November 11.

For more info on the True Vows book tour go here.

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