TITLE: LDS Books		The Icing on the Cake
AUTHOR:		Elodia Strain
PRICE:		$12.74 (Reg $14.99)

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It started with a cake.

A rather innocent-looking cake, too, but that cake would open the door to opportunity - and disaster - for sweet-toothed, bargain-savvy Annabelle Pleasanton. In fact, between a promotion at work, her best friend's engagement, and her discovery of handsome photographer Isaac Matthews, that little cake has managed to turn Annabelle's world upside down.

Things go from complicated to downright crazy as Annabelle discovers that handling her new writing assignment and plotting her friend's surprise bridal shower isn't going as easy as she'd hoped. Okay, okay - and appearing as a graceful, charming woman in the presence of Isaac is turning out to be, well, more than just a bit of a catastrophe.

Not that Rona, a gorgeous boyfriend-snatching flirt, is helping things in the slightest. And just when things couldn't get any worse, smarmy womanizer Patrique worms his way into her life. Managing her life with the two of them in the picture may be more than she can handle.

Then, when a misunderstanding threatens to destroy her job, her most cherished friendship, and her relationship with Isaac, Annabelle's courage and integrity are put to the test. Will she give in to pressure and do what is easy or will she do what she knows is right?

In this hilarious yet inspiring novel, The Icing on the Cake offers comical predicaments, surprising twists, and tender moments that will delight readers of all ages.  

Reviews-

It all started with a cake. Annabelle Pleasanton needs a cake, (not just any cake, a Portuguese cake from a particular bakery) to keep her boss happy and hopefully smooth over past incidents. But the cake brings more than she's bargained for: a cute new guy in her life, a promotion at work, and competition among old acquaintances.

This book really is laugh-out-loud funny! My son kept asking me why I was laughing, because I just couldn't keep it in! (I do read alot, but very rarely ever laugh). It is my ideal romance. Girl meets boy. Girl likes boy. Girl makes fool of herself while trying to appear cool for boy. This book was written by a woman who truly understands the insecurites that girls can have, with appreciation for a good clothing sale. It was a wonderful book and great entertainment for a girl of any age.

This new LDS chick-lit release from first-time author Elodia Strain tells us the story of Annabelle Pleasanton, copy editor at a local magazine. She's been given the opportunity of a life-time - to write an article about the fanciest restaurant in town. She's also been given an assignment - bring a Portuguese cake to the office party. It would appear that getting the cake would be, well, a piece of cake, but the bakery is located an hour and a half away, plus it has moved to a new location since she was there last. While looking for directions, she meets Isaac Matthews, a handsome, charming photographer, who ends up being assigned to work with her on the article.

Their relationship gets off to a great start. He's wonderful, she's smitten, he knows all the right things to say and she's more than willing to listen to them. But the heat is on at the restaurant. She's making mistakes right and left and in order to set everything right, she's asked to date the nephew of the head chef - which makes her new romance very awkward.

In the middle of all this, her best friend is getting married, and the bridal shower is being thrown by none other than the woman who stole Annabelle's prom date years ago in high school, and it looks like she's also after Isaac. Determined not to let anything get in the way of happiness, Annabelle ends up making a bigger mess of things, or so she thinks. With some explaining, some forgiving, and some cake, everything works out all right in the end.

Author Elodia Strain's voice is fresh and up-to-date, perfect for the chick-lit genre. Some of her aside comments made me laugh out loud. There were a few minor misunderstandings that threw the characters off-track for a bit that could have been resolved with a sit-down, let's-talk-about-it conversation, but overall I enjoyed the story quite a bit. I'm seeing a long, successful career ahead for this novelist. And I learned how to spell "Portuguese" just for this occasion.