While the cover and title make you believe that this will be a story surrounding pastries such as cake, the bakery in the story produces yummy, yeasty breads that will have you heading to your local bakery for an artisan loaf! I loved the premise that this is a woman in her mid to late forties, with grown children, who is focusing on her own passions after her husband leaves her for a "younger model." While I think it would be unrealistic to not show her anger and bitterness over the breakup of her family, Castoro manages to not linger on the negatives (which seems pretty difficult when you'd like to choke the younger, tan model!).

Liz Talbot, owner of the No-Bagel Emporium, and dater of the lame-o business owner seeking a thrill, shows herself to be smart enough not to take any old man who takes her out for dinner. I like how Liz is self-assured, even though she carries many of the esteem-ridden problems that many other women also face. At a wedding reception, Liz meets a handsome, broad-shouldered man that she refuses to exchange numbers or information with, and yet for weeks after she finds herself thinking about him. As she deals with the problems of settlements with the ex to getting the word out on her wonderful bakery, her personal life remains at issue.

I honestly really enjoyed this novel. I gave it four stars, instead of five only because I felt that the build-up (or some might say set-up) of the mid section of the book seemed to drag. You can see why she included the story lines and subplots that she did (such as with her grown children, etc), but at times I felt like skimming some of them to get at the heart of Liz's business and personal life. Overall, I still say this is a great, fun read. I could see myself adding this to my "beach read" stack anyday!