When Only Cupcakes Will Do by Daisy James (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

As soon as I saw that Carina UK would be releasing a new Daisy James book on August 4th I knew I would have to get it. Luckily I was able to do so early thanks to NetGalley!

Friday 56 (share from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice
& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

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Amazon Description

When life gives you lemons, make lemon-drizzle cupcakes…Lucie thought that proposing to her boyfriend in Tiffany’s would be the best day of her life. Until he said no. In just a few seconds, her whole world is turned upside-down! And when she accidentally switches cocoa powder for chilli powder at work, she finds herself out of a job, too…
Baking has always made life better in the past, but can Lucie really bake her way to happiness? Starting her own company, selling cupcakes out of an old ice cream van might just be the second chance that Lucie needs!
Of course, she never expected to find love along the way…

Lucie has two things she loves -- her boyfriend, Alex, and being a pastry chef. For eight weeks she had planned the perfect marriage proposal and when it doesn't go as she had hoped everything starts to fall apart for her, including her job. It's like a domino effect. When dominoes fall unexpectedly you just set them back up in a sturdier and more stable pattern. Daisy James' When Only Cupcakes Will Do is the story of Lucie finding her perfect pattern and it's just as sweet as cupcake icing.... aside from the heartbreaks and frustrations and the occasional need for tissues. 

Even when Lucie's life was falling apart around her, James still made me snort-laugh. Luckily I read most of it while wearing dark clothing so the spurted coffee wasn't quite so visible. The tissues mentioned earlier helped to mop up the aftermath of the snorts even more than the random sympathy tear!

"If you don't mind my saying so, Lucie, you look like you've been flattened by a runaway steamroller and waited while it reversed to make sure the job was done properly." (9%)

All snorting aside, one couldn't help but feel sorry at the mess Lucie's life had become. It didn't pick up for her until she and her sister, Jess, decide to start a cupcake business together. It's so much fun to watch it all unfold -- even though I think I gained ten extra pounds reading about it all! Being a chef isn't just a job, but a passion and a reason to wake up in the morning. The importance of food oozes off of the page like the gooey center of a lava cake. 

"I need to work. I need to cook. Every memory I have has food in it somewhere; whether it be an aroma, a flavour on the tongue, a texture under my fingertips." (21%)

Of course, there's the romance and angst that has to be a part of most chicklits, and it's pretty obvious once you start reading as to who will end up with who. It doesn't matter, though. The how associated with who will end up with who is what matters and here it's done deliciously with a generous sprinkle of laughter.