“‘And don’t forget,’ added Bob, ‘Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right and the other needs more whiskey.’”

Claire Sommers grew up as a society girl destined to have it all: tasteful Dallas mansion, high-powered career, hot and rich husband. Until a massive mistake left her reputation in tatters and trust fund frozen. Now the former debutante is scraping by as a magazine staffer in Nashville—trading in her diamonds and designer stilettos for rhinestones and cowgirl boots.

But all is not well in the world of print publications. Piece of Cake, the beloved Southern wedding magazine where Claire works, is one issue away from going under. Thankfully, Claire has a plan to save the day and the magazine—a reality show–style docuseries on the South’s most over-the-top and outlandish nuptials. And with country music royalty, Elvis impersonators, and enough drama to make your momma faint, it just so happens that Tennessee is the perfect setting for unscripted wedding day magic. Her boss loves Claire’s idea so much that she even brings in “The Brides’ Man,” New York native and social media star Dominic Gravino, to partner with Claire on the project, despite her protestations.

Dominic’s East Coast confidence and charisma clash with Claire’s Southern breeding and independent spirit as the two unlikely collaborators attempt to create a series that will save Piece of Cake. But in between the million-dollar weddings, Claire and Dom discover they make a great team . . . on and off the job. But letting go of old hurts is harder than she imagines, and soon Claire realizes that she must come to terms with what happened in her past if she’s ever going to embrace the present.

I am from New England, so I always enjoy and am fascinated by stories set in the south where everything is big and over the top as opposed to our tendency to be understated. This book was a fun and quick enjoyable read.

I was also gifted the audiobook via @Netgalley and #HarperMuseAudio and it was fabulous!! The narrator has the most beautiful southern accent that I could have listened to endlessly. She did a great job of differentiating the characters with her tones and accents and just added so much enjoyment to the story. I truly felt like I was transported down south while listening to Piece Of Cake.

Thank you to Netgalley, @harpermusebooks, @mrssouthernsocial, @asherpaul, and @tlcbooktours for the #gifted book and audiobook.

I not an audiobook person, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway. I didn't get real far before deciding that I'm still not an audio book person but far enough to add this to my TBR!

This was a cute audiobook that I listened to in one day. Nothing groundbreaking, but a nice light read. It was very much like a Hallmark movie. But now that I finished it about a week ago, I’d say it’s not very memorable. I enjoyed that the book took place in Nashville, but it all felt a little *too* southern to me. I live in Tennessee and don’t make nearly so many remarks about northerners - that just felt a little cliche to me.

Brittany Pressley is a gem of an audiobook narrator, and I’ll listen to anything she narrates!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

In the same vein as their previous book, Without a Hitch, authors Huddleston and Paul introduce us to Claire Sommers. Claire (a former Dallas debutante) is working for peanuts for an about-to-go-under print bridal magazine in the age of the Internet. She wants to save the magazine, or at least her job, and comes up with the idea of podcasts to go along with the features.

Furious when her boss brings in seasoned podcaster Dominic Gravino from New York, who already has a social media presence as "The Bride's Man" to head up the project, Claire does not welcome him warmly. She desperately wants to make it all work, especially because she has disgraced herself in front of her wealthy family and friends back home in Dallas. She has no choice but to try to work with Dom. The two of them actually manage to work well together, having some laughs along the way as they attend and report on way, way, over-the-top weddings. And even the smallest bit of romance. But, they still need one more wedding to report on and the only wedding extravaganza on the horizon is that of Claire's sister. Back in Dallas.

Claire is coming to the realization that she has to make amends for her mistakes and try to shake off her persona non grata status at home. Dom has no idea of her history with a wedding company in Dallas and her family situation. He is unhappy to find himself in the middle of bitter feelings, work rivalries, and hard feelings. . Will they work be able to save her job and the magazine? Will they be able to salvage their budding romance in the midst of turmoil?

Narrator Brittany Pressley's reading highlights the humor and the angst.

A recommended beach read!

Overall, this was a cute story that I enjoyed listening to. I am from Nashville so I enjoyed all the reference. This book focused on the plot for the vast majority of the book. While I enjoy when romance books have a decent plot, for me this one spent too much focus on the plot and not enough focus on the romance. While there was nothing wrong with the book, I just didn't feel connected to the characters or an emotional pull at all while reading the story. Also there was basically no romance expect for a few kisses and a love confession at the very end. For a book that is marketed as a romance, it missed the mark and read more like women's fiction to me. As I mentioned, I enjoyed the story. I just prefer more romance/angst/tension in the romance books I read. The audio performance was very well done! I would rate this book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4).

Piece of Cake follows Claire Sommers on her journey of independence and repairing her reputation in the wedding industry. Claire, former Dallas debutante, now works for an esteemed wedding magazine in Nashville. Her career is flipped upside down when she is partnered with New Yorker Dominic Gravino to work on a wedding documentary to save Piece of Cake from going under.

What I liked:
- A charming romance novel set in Tennessee (so much southern charm I loved it)
- A classic enemies to lovers storyline
- A little cheesy but in a good way

3.5/5 stars. I found it hard to relate to or have empathy for Claire given her wealthy upbringing. Also, I understood the pandemic maybe needed to be mentioned (given how it affected the wedding industry in real life), but in my fairytale land of romance books, I don’t care to read about it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for the advanced reading copy!

I liked the spin on this romance novel that it was basically based around weddings. I was a little offended with how they talked about Minnesotans, we are very nice people! It was cute but I didn’t feel like the main character actually liked the romantic interest for most of the book. The narrator did a good job giving the southern accent to the book which I enjoyed but all the male characters had the same voice. Overall I liked the book, but it wasn’t my favorite.

As the middle daughter to wealthy successful Dallas socialites, Claire Sommers has always had to compete for her parents' affections and approbation. Her elder sister Evelyn was always the best at everything she did and now runs three thriving businesses, oh and she and her husband are expecting their first child. Her younger sister Lucille is a lawyer, universally adored, and engaged to a guy the family all loves.
Claire has now moved to Nashville after some events that disappointed her family, where she works on a bridal magazine called Piece of Cake. Having worked her way up, Claire is now a journalist on the magazine but the print world is in decline and the magazine is facing a digital-only future unless it can find new revenue streams or increase subscriptions.

I liked this book just fine. It was your typical light-hearted romance, that would make a great feel-good Hallmark-style movie. I enjoyed the characters. This book was an easy listen via audio. I didn’t find it unique in comparison to other similar romance books I’ve read, but again, liked it just find. Overall, a 3-star rating in my opinion, as it didn’t stand out to me or bring any emotion forth as some romances do. I did appreciate the author’s note at the end of the book.

This was super cute. I like the dual authors. This definitely has vibes of 27 dresses with the wedding planner. This rom-com definitely keeps it PG, however it still reads super great and the reader can identify with the protagonists and the male character.

An enjoyable read, MCs were good together. Her reluctance to his offered friendship and his sincerity was a good combo for falling in love. The growth from characters was great, she learned from her mistakes and he was there for her. The narrator was brilliant, I loved the accent. It really set the mood for the location the story was set in.

Claire Sommers, socialite & wedding planner extraordinaire, moves to Nashville to rebuild her reputation after suffering self-inflicted disgrace in Dallas. Her new career as a writer for a wedding magazine, Piece of Cake, is going well until the economy threatens the publishing business. Enter New Yorker, Dom Gravino, a successful & famous IG blogger, to work with Claire & try to resuscitate the business.

Typical rom-com issues that must be overcome: parental estrangement, sibling rivalry, new co-worker distrust. Can Claire tackles these issues and rehabilitate her reputation ?

This is a fun rom-com, perfect for your summer entertainment, with very likable characters, amid a good storyline. The writers definitely knew the ins and outs of the wedding business. The settings in Dallas and Nashville were true to reality and added to my interest. I highly recommend the audio version as an escape from the summer heat!

The narration by Brittney Pressley was well done and she did a great job voicing the different characters.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
#PieceofCake #NetGalley
Pub Date 20 June 2023

Now this was a lot of fun! <i>Piece of Cake</i> follows cast-out socialite, Claire Sommers, after she’s spent the last couple years scraping by without her trust fund and, for the first time, truly living on her own. As the magazine she works for is one issue away from going under, she pitches a docuseries to her boss that would save their jobs by having them follow the most outrageous, over-the-top southern weddings of the season. Her boss enlists social media star, the Brides’ Man (Dominic Gravino), to partner with Claire on the project. Sparks fly, romance ensues, and shenanigans prevail.

Getting right into the nitty gritty, my main issue with this book centers around the main character Claire. She didn’t have much of a personality. This might have been purposeful, since much of this book documents her struggle to find herself, however, what was left just didn’t cut it. Claire is at times snobby and lacks self-awareness (Dominic rightfully had to point out that she’s a privileged white girl when she complained about not feeling like her place in the world was secure). When comparing herself to her overachieving sisters, she doesn’t feel that she measures up.

While these flaws and personal conflicts are great meat to work with in the narrative, they felt vaguely underutilized and watered down. I couldn’t find a strong enough quality in her that I could grab onto; this left Claire’s character feeling hollow and lacking the depth that would truly bring her to life. It’s disappointing because I always love a comeback story, especially seeing a villain redeem herself, but Claire started the story out so mildly that I couldn’t even fully hate her—lacking self-awareness regarding her privilege or not. Color me shocked when I learned this book had a prequel and she was the villain in it.

Onto what I loved: the romance and the love interest. Dom was adorable. I loved his honest pursuit of Claire, disguised haphazardly behind wanting to make a work friend. It was also refreshing to see him talk about his preferences in dating—how he likes to form a friendship before pursuing someone. He’s a not-so-secret romantic at heart and it was really fun to see that trait embodied in a male love interest!

The only issue I had with the progression of the romance and, by extension, Dom, was the scene where Claire’s mother almost outs her for her reputation-ruining mistake in front of everyone, forcing her to tell Dom what really happened that caused her to move away. His reaction in this scene felt off and out of character; I imagined when she told him that he would see she’s grown up a lot and changed.

Instead, he reacts poorly as if she just did it five minutes ago (instead of years prior) and the past months working together didn’t happen. He even blames her for her mistake potentially costing them coverage on a wedding, when she had no idea that was going to be the outcome and already warned her boss that she didn’t want to cover the wedding in question. It all felt very overly dramatic and illogical, which veered off course from the way that Dom’s character was being developed earlier in the book.

All that aside, I still really enjoyed this one and look forward to more books from this authorial duo in the future!

Regarding the audiobook, Brittany Pressley never fails! I love her voice. She is the reason I picked up this book and honestly did a fantastic job!

Spice Rating: 🌶️ 1/5 - Doesn’t Exceed Kissing

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up!

<i>A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Harper Muse Audiobooks, for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!</i>

Tropes: one bed, he falls first, forced proximity

I loved this book! It was truly such a sweet book to read. Our FMC attempts to save the magazine she works for from shutting down by introducing a reality show docuseries on amazing/outrageous weddings in the south. Her boss brings in our MMC who is a straight man who specializes in wedding content. They fall in love but not without conflict that is a result of the FMC holding out a secret on why she left her career as a wedding planner to be a wedding content writer. The dynamic between the two characters was perfect and progressed naturally. I am also currently planning my own wedding and was inspired by the descriptive imagery the authors used with the wedding decorations!

This was such a sweet romance and I loved every bit of it. I listened to this in one sitting and am honestly planning to do it again already! Definitely will be following these two authors and anticipating their next release!

Initial Thoughts: Ultimately this book was pretty decent, it kept my attention throughout, and had a plot that will definitely be interesting to some, but I’ve never really been a wedding detail gal so from that perspective I was mostly like “yes yes another wedding lets move it along” (that said, some of the weddings in this book we pretty funny). The book was light hearted and enjoyable, but I found by the end I was losing interest in Dom and Clare’s connection and I was a little annoyed by Clare’s tight-lippedness regarding whatever caused her to leave home. It was also one of those stories where her family was awful until they weren’t, and sure maybe some of it was a miscommunication but some of their behavior should not have been explained away so easily.

For Reader Awareness: This is a clean romance, with nothing more than a kiss or two. After the conclusion of the story there is a “message” from the authors one why this story and their hopes for it and my honest opinion is that the message did not translate in the book.

Recommended for: Fans of clean romance who enjoy the whole wedding industry scene

Audio Notes: I did listen to the audio of this and thought the Narrator did a pretty decent job. Her voice fit the characters and didn’t annoy me.

This was my first ever audiobook and it just wasn't for me. The story was quite sickly sweet and I really didn't like the very American accent of the narrator, which was a bit ironic as I listened to this book on a flight to the US!

This was a cute romance with a dash of family drama and a lot of personal growth. It was a fun easy read- although it was hard to like the fmc for me. She just came off a bit unrelatable for me personally.

"𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘴. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦."

Wedding magazine struggling to keep up with the modern times? ✅

Wedding planner turned journalist running away from past mistakes, as well as family expectations? ✅

Modern day hero from New York who comes in to help try and save the day, causing workplace enemies? ✅

Nashville/southern setting? ✅

Overall, I liked this book, and I think @britpressley killed the audiobook narration 😍

I'm definitely no stranger to parental expectations, BUT the one thing I will say, is that I did find it hard at times to feel bad for the FMC after finding out the extent of what she did. But that's all I'll say on that!

Thank you @harpermusebooks and @netgalley for both the advanced ebook AND audiobook versions of this in exchange for an honest review!
.
.
.
.
#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #pieceofcake #maryhollishuddleston #asherfoglepaul #whatsnikkireading #whatsnikkilisteningto #audiobook #book40of2023 #audiobookreview #kindleebook #harpermusebooks #harpermuseaudio #brittanypressley

This was a simple and cute romance novel with a creative premise. To me the reaction from the love interest was forced and jolted me out of the story. Additionally for how much all the sisters and the main character were impacted by the trauma of their upbringings it was resolved so quickly with one conversation.

"Piece of Cake" was an interesting romance book, and while it lacked in spice, it tried to compensate in other things.

It is a story of self-improvement and loyalty, but also of love and adventure. I liked the chemistry between the main characters, and in all honesty, I missed the potential spice (because I knew it would be good).

The characters - Claire and Dom were likeable, and I enjoyed reading about them. I would've loved to have Dom's POV, but unfortunately, I didn't get it.

It is not a romcom, and while it has romance elements, I think it falls more into the Women's Fiction category than anything else.

Overall, 4/5 it was an interesting book, and I recommend it.

PS: I HIGHLY recommend getting the audiobook, as I think the narrator did a great job.

NetGalley provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.