All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant

Kat Varland feels stuck in her boring life. She longs to create more with her passion for baking but working in her aunt’s cupcake shop in small town Louisiana has keeps her in a box. Unhappy in her job and in a family where every other member has thrives at what they do, she dreams of having more but fear of failure and rejection keeps her where she is. When her best friend, Lucas Brannen, signs her up for a reality baking show, Kat is faces with more competition than she realized–and not only by the other contestants on the show.

Lucas Brannen wants nothing more than to coach the high school football team, remain in Bayou Bend, Lousiana, and marry Kat. He also knows that Kat questions her abilities and wants to prove to her that he believes in her. When she drags him to California to be her helper in the cupcake competition, things really start to heat up…and crumble in their relationship. Is he willing to let her go and live her dream or will he finally tell her about his own dream?

This book was a fun, quick read. The behind-the-scenes of the cupcake competition was as fun as the back and forth banter between Kat and Lucas. Yeah, there were times I just wanted to scream at the too of them and yell, “Just talk to each other. Tell him/her the truth” but the tension between the main characters is what kept me turning the pages. I rooted for Kat and was happy to watch her confidence in herself grow as she progressed in the competition. Just like taking that final taste of a delicious cupcake, this book left me wanting more.

****Zondervan fiction provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I was not compensated in any way for either a negative or a positive review.