Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent

The Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent
ISBN: 978-0-7573-1535-0
Publisher: Health Communications Inc.
Release: September 2010
Source: I won this book through a giveaway that I entered

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 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 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 will love find its way in the digital age with a “You’ve Got Mail” courtship? 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 mroe plentiful than a shower of rainbow sprinkles?

Michelle is the perfect hostess, taking after her mother. She loves to cook and bake and decorate and entertain! While hosting a part for her close girlfriends, she is dared to sign up for Match.com. Her girlfriends know that she hasn’t had a relationship in years since her last serious boyfriend did a number on her, and she’s allowing her career to take over her life. After much pushing, she agrees to sign up and finds Todd Bracken’s picture soon after. They message and text back and forth seemingly sharing the same sense of humor.

Todd is amazed at his luck finding Michelle at Match.com. They discover they great chemistry when they meet for their first date (which almost doesn’t happen) and seem to connect like they’ve known each other for years.

I’ve read a lot of novels by Alison Kent, but this one was different. It had a different feel to it. On the front cover, the book is described as “The First Reality-Based Romance.” When I first read that, I thought “reality show”. That’s obviously not what was intended. This romance feels real and fresh. It feels like you are having a peek at a real relationship developing in front of you. It doesn’t feel made up. We have two normal, hardworking people with dreams and lives taking a chance on an online dating service and hitting a home run. The characters of Michelle and Todd feel real. They have families and friends which are all well written and add depth and history to them. Th pace of the story is good. Again, it feels like a real life romance. We are taken through dates, meeting the parents, working out issues, etc. I get the impression that this is the first book in a series, with Michelle’s friends serving as the heroines of the books to follow.

I look forward to the next book in the series and am thankful for the opportunity to read this one!

RT BookReviews gave Icing on the Cake 3 stars and had the following to say: “This is a nice, fairly easygoing romance that is entertaining, but not unforgettable. The struggles the main characters go through to make their relationship work are easily understood. Part of the True Vows line, the plot is based on a real-life romance.”

This review is being posted to Loving the Reviews Challenge!