You’ve Got Mail meets How to Eat a Cupcake in this delightful novel about a talented chef and the food critic who brings down her restaurant—whose chance meeting turns into a delectable romance of mistaken identities.In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lou works tirelessly to build her beloved yet struggling French restaurant, Luella’s, into a success. She cheerfully balances her demanding business … balances her demanding business and even more demanding fiancé…until the morning she discovers him in the buff—with an intern.
Witty yet gruff British transplant Al is keeping himself employed and entertained by writing scathing reviews of local restaurants in the Milwaukee newspaper under a pseudonym. When an anonymous tip sends him to Luella’s, little does he know he’s arrived on the worst day of the chef’s life. The review practically writes itself: underdone fish, scorched sauce, distracted service—he unleashes his worst.
The day that Al’s mean-spirited review of Luella’s runs, the two cross paths in a pub: Lou drowning her sorrows, and Al celebrating his latest publication. As they chat, Al playfully challenges Lou to show him the best of Milwaukee and she’s game—but only if they never discuss work, which Al readily agrees to. As they explore the city’s local delicacies and their mutual attraction, Lou’s restaurant faces closure, while Al’s column gains popularity. It’s only a matter of time before the two fall in love…but when the truth comes out, can Lou overlook the past to chase her future?
Set in the lovely, quirky heart of Wisconsin, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is a charming love story of misunderstandings, mistaken identity, and the power of food to bring two people together.
And don’t forget to check out Amy E. Reichert’s fun new novel The Simplicity of Cider, available now!
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I finished this last night, very very cute. It was described as You’ve Got Mail with food (the heroine is a chef instead of a bookstore owner), and it takes place in the Midwest, so…. right up my alley.
It was predictable, but the happy ending was satisfying and the sad stuff made me tear up and the food writing was lovely. The hero is a crabby British food critic who thinks Milwaukee/the Midwest is just cows and beer and farmland, but the heroine shows him otherwise by giving him a tour of the foodie spots of the city, and obviously along the way THEY FALL IN LOVE.
By no means a prerequisite, living a stone’s throw from the Milwaukee area for two decades made turning the pages extra engaging because I read about places we’d actually been and things we’d done.
I’m fairly confident I gained a few pounds while reading THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE! Debut author Amy Reacher engaged all of my senses when describing mouthwatering delicious food, pairings, and menus. As I reluctantly turned the last page of this often humorous book, I considered placing it in the sun so the salivated pages could dry.
Hungry for a good book? This will satisfy your craving!
I loved reading this book of love, food, romance, and second chances. Chef Lou, owner of Luella’s has a very bad day and unfortunately takes it out on her food. By chance, a food reviewer was in that night and she received a review that has horrific consequences. Fortunately, Al is a lover of good food and the thought of a dropped coconut cake that left the smell of vanilla in its path and burned in Al’s brain. When Al and Lou cross paths again, Lou agrees to introduce Al to the finer points of Milwaukee, a town he dislikes. As they venture, Al realizes he has been missing the best things in life, most a wonderful girl named Lou. Al keeps the fact that he wrote that scalding review to himself but as the secret comes out, will the girl go out of his life? A wonderfully cute, romantic read that will leave you salivating as the food is described. This is the second book I have read by Amy Reichert, “Simplicity of Cider” was the first, and cannot wait to read the next one that I have, “Love, Luck and Lemon Pie”. Just great books with characters to which you can connect.
good recipes
The gradual romance between a chef and the food critic who savages her restaurant with a poor review. The characters have depth and the plot unfolds with sufficient subtlety to hold the reader’s interest.
Great book with wonderful characters and character growth but without wallowing in all of the angst. Warning, this book might make you hungry as the heroine and several side characters are chefs, and food is featured in this book (Squeaky cheese curds, anyone?)
I found this book to be as sweet as coconut cake. The story revolves around a chef in Milwaukee who makes this amazing cake. You will learn about the cake in the beginning and the end of the story. Throw in some romance without a lot of the mushy or steamy and still have a really written book. Learn if a bad review can really kill a chef’s dream or make it bigger.
Who can resist a book with such a luscious looking cake on the cover when coconut cake happens to be one of the best cakes ever created? The story begins when the owner of a struggling French restaurant surprises her fiancé with a coconut cake. The consequences of that gesture have a domino effect. Especially after a renown food critic happens to pick that evening to dine and review the restaurant. The restaurant theme and plot were entertaining and the story had a satisfying ending. Particularly fun were the tour of Milwaukee and the adorable German couple who were regular patrons.
I really liked this book about second chances and food. I love a book that has a chef and this one has been on my radar for quite some time. I loved the turn around that Al made when he met Lou and how fate stepped in to make sure they met their soulmates.
This book has great characters and the more I read, the more I wanted to about know them. The plot was complex enough to keep me interested from the first page. If you like books centered around food then you will enjoy this book even more. With or without that interest, it is an awesome read: funny, intriguing, and a good drama with a great romance and a subtle villain.
It’s always a joy to find a (new to me) author. I can’t wait to read her next book – it’s on my wish list.
It looks like I’m enjoying light-hearted books more this year than I have in the past, because I found this book delightful. Even though the book started out with a break-up and there was a certain amount of conflict in the story, I had a smile on my face the entire time I was listening to it on Audible. (Thank you Audible, for putting this in your Romance package).
It’s a fairly predictable contemporary romance, but predictable doesn’t mean boring—it’s comfortable. Like—put on your sweat pants, get the popcorn, settle into to your favorite chair, and enjoy reading some chick-lit—that kind of comfortable. You’ll appreciate those sweat pants because the food descriptions might make you gain a few pounds just reading them.
Predictable doesn’t mean contrived. I chuckled quite a bit while listening to this book because the characters are witty. And real—like the difference noted in the story between imitation vanilla and real vanilla extract. The progression of this romance didn’t feel artificial. Real vanilla may be just vanilla, but it’s distinction makes the dish taste better. This writer took a formula for romance and gave it her deconstructed spin. I liked it.
I’m no food or romance critic, just a gal who likes to cook and read. That said, these are elements some readers might care to know about in advance. This story contains a smattering of coarse language and a tame bedroom scene. The Audible narration was good, with the exception of a not-so-British accent for the male lead. Since men typically don’t talk as much as women do, it was not that much of a detraction from my overall enjoyment.
What I liked in particular about this story. 1) The minor characters of Gertrude and Otto—they were the perfect accompaniment to the main dish. 2) The setting: if you like dining local when you travel, this story might set you up for a great vacation in Milwaukee—if any of the eateries featured really exist.
Full disclosure: While I listened to this book on Audible, I won a hardcopy of this book in a giveaway (can’t remember the source) which did not require this review. I’m grateful for the paperback copy because the recipe for the cake was not included in the narration on Audible. It really should have been. And that is my honest opinion.
This book has been on my radar for a couple of years. I have a sweet tooth and the cover spoke to me and I’ll admit to purchasing her Luck, Love and Lemon Pie book for the same reason. What can I say, coconut cake and lemon pie are two of my favorites!
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake was aptly named as our heroine, Lou, is the chef/owner of restaurant Luella’s in Milwaukee. She has just baked the titled coconut cake to deliver to her fiancee’s house for his birthday. As she was walking to his house, she run’s into our British hero, Al, on the street. He is struck by her smell of vanilla and coconut, and fondly remembers her as he goes about his every day. Lou doesn’t have quite as good a day because she delivers the cake to her fiancee who is caught with a co-worker in their underwear. Dropping the cake, she rushes back to her restaurant and has the absolute worst day of cooking/service ever. Of course, this is the day that Al, the food critic for the local paper, chooses Luella’s to critique. Needless to say, he was pretty brutal. Drowning in her sorrows at the neighborhood pub that night, tipsy Lou, meets charmed Al, not knowing he was “the” food critic and offers to show him around Milwaukee.
This is the set-up for this love story. Through showing Al what the locals love about Milwaukee, she rejuvenates her restaurants vision and also opens Al’s eyes to the charm of this city. The reader is in on who Al truly is, while the two of them are completely ignorant of the fact she is the owner/chef and he the critic that has tanked her restaurant. These two characters were completely likable, the setting original, and the food explored really yummy making this a really light, enjoyable weekend read. A perfect vacation book!
The food references in this book just about killed my resolve. Sweets and cheese being two of my absolute favorites. The city of Milwaukee also needs to put this book in all of the hotels as a guide for what to do and where to eat. Assuming they are all real events and places, I may have to plan a trip to Milwaukee myself. The city was as charming a character as Al and Lou.
I grabbed this book as soon as it came out. With a title and cover like this, how could I resist. Finally I read it and blasted through in a day and a half. It was everything I’d anticipated and more. A delicious delicacy of a love story, between the two main characters Lou and Al, as well as a tribute to all things food, festive and Milwaukee, a place I’ve never been but now feel I have an intimate knowledge of. An enjoyable read with sufficient depth, feeling and humour to make the ride worthwhile. Reichert’s fresh turns of phrase, skillful description, lovable realistic characters, humour and superb dialogue were highlights for me and will bring me back for more of her stories.
The plot was well written and kept me reading even though there was a hint of predictability. I felt the food descriptions were realistic. I was feeling the urge to go to Wisconsin for the food.
Good, easy read.
I really liked this book, especially that it took place in Milwaukee !
Combining food, romance, turn-around of a life in crisis, and a HEA. What’s not to love?
THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE by Amy E. Reichert is book that I loved reading!
It’s the story of Elizabeth Luella Johnson known to everyone as Lou. Lou is a Milwaukee chef who has had to make it on her own after her parents were killed in a car accident. She worked hard and saved until she was able to fulfill her dreams of opening her own restaurant – Luella’s, which she names after her sweet grandmother who taught her the love of cooking.
As luck would have it, things don’t always turn out as planned. After trying to surprise Devlin, her fiancé, on his birthday with one of her delicious coconut cakes, she was the one surprised when she finds him with another woman in the negligee he had gifted to her. Lou had been hoping for some positive reviews for the restaurant to boost business and get it into the black enabling larger profit margins in order to succeed. Unfortunately, the rather pompous newspaper food critic, A. W. Wodyski, picked that very same night to anonymously visit her restaurant to review. Being an emotional wreck, the food went out in uncharacteristic manner and taste leaving a bad taste in the reviewer’s mouth and mind. His review that was published was unkind to say the least leading to pulled reservations and empty tables which eventually lead to the demise of the restaurant Luella along with Lou’s dreams.
A.W. Wodyski’s real name is Al Waters. Since he wants his reviews to be unanimous, he chose an alias for publication purposes. He recently moved to Milwaukee from England and sees nothing good about town or its frigid weather. Al runs into Lou, literally, as she’s on the way to deliver her cake and then again later that evening when she is trying to drown her sorrows at the bar. It’s then that she joking tells him that she can prove to him how great Milwaukee is. Through the follow through on that challenge and Lou showing him through sight, smell and taste all the good points of interest her beloved town, Al realizes not only does he really likes living in this town but that he loves Lou.
It’s not until weeks later on one of their outings that he realizes that Lou is the owner of Luella’s and that it’s review that is leading to its closure. To be in a relationship is to be honest, but he knows if he tells her the truth that he might lose her. He’s not willing to take the chance. What will he do?
Lou realizes that she didn’t “love” Devlin that they really had nothing in common. Whereas, with Al she can be herself and they love a lot of the same things, love spending time in the kitchen together. She’s falling in love with Al. Their relationship develops, grows and heats up.
Devlin, not wanting to lose, is the one pops their happiness bliss by bringing out the truth about A. W. Wodyski and All being one in the same thinking it will bring Lou back to him. However, Lou lets him know that there is no such thing as them as a couple. They happy couple split and Lou goes about final events in closing the restaurant.
Through it all, Otto and Gertrude, an elderly couple that frequented Luella’s, loved Lou as if one of their own. It’s their bequest of their home that gives Lou renewed hope in her dream to have her own thriving restaurant. It’s also at their joint funerals that she sees Al again. She remembers their words to her about love and second chances. Maybe there is a way to have it all!
This is a remarkable love story of two unlikely matched people who really have everything in common overcoming hard times, misunderstandings, disappointments to come around to see the good in life, love for each other and power of forgiveness and a coconut cake. I recommend this book to anyone that loves a book that keeps you turning the pages hoping and wishing that it all works out and leaves you with a smile on your face and wanting see what other books Amy E. Reichert has written.
Enjoyed this book very much! Happiness, sadness, surprises.
Very enjoyable especially if you are familiar with the Milwaukee area. I usually only pick the free books but very happy I spent the $1.99 for this one! Fun and quick.