a cute and charming romance, i enjoyed this read

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

I really enjoyed this one- a quick cute read! I would definitely recommend. Reminds me of something I would see on Hallmark.
Claire Sommers as she works at the bridal magazine Piece of Cake. In order to save the magazine (financial struggles) she will document several big weddings in the surrounding area’s - but her co-worker, Dom is along for the adventure too.

“‘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 @harpermusebooks, @mrssouthernsocial, @asherpaul, and @tlcbooktours for the #gifted book.

Claire meets Dom when he is on a short term contract working with her. She destroyed one career so needs this one to work out. An enjoyable read, an epilogue from Dom's point of view would have been good.

A sweet, clean romance about Claire, a previous Texas socialite, who has fallen out of grace and is trying to make it on her own in Nashville. Claire appears to have the whole world on her shoulders and is striving to please her family as well as hoping her grand idea will keep her company afloat. When influencer, "The Brides' Man" is assigned to help her on this project, Claire struggles to let him in and help. A cute story filled with fun wedding anecdotes, dating fiascos, and bachelorette shenanigans.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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.

Rating: 3/5⭐️

Publication Date: June 20 2023

Author: Mary Hollis Huddleston, Asher Fogle Paul

Review: I felt like I was missing something . This was my first book by these authors and I just felt like I was supposed to know something that I didn’t. It has romance but again it kind of lacked most of the book. It is an interesting book I thought it would be more of a rom com but it really wasn’t.

The story line gets you through to the end but that’s about it kind of boring.

Thank you netgalley and Montlake for the eARC in exchange for an honest review #NetGalley #bookstagram #kindle #kindleedition #eread

So I read the previous book from these authors (borrowed it from the library) and liked the premise but thought that there was too much going on and that the romantic element was unsatisfying because all the options had issues. So I was excited to read this and see how the authors managed to redeem Claire - who was the villain of the piece in the last book. And the answer is: they didn't really. And therein lies the problem. If you haven't read the previous book, you spend a lot of the time wondering how bad she could really have been - and then when you find out what she did, I assume you lose any sympathy you have left for her - if you've managed to keep any with the "oh i'm so poor" thing, whilst living in a flat of her own and driving an expensive car. But, on the plus side - this has less plot elements and there is only one romantic option and he seems like an OK kind of guy - it's just the heroine that's the problem. So all in all, I think this is probably a sign that these authors are not for me. But it may work better for other people as these things often do.

I enjoyed reading this book although I liked Without a Hitch better. I actually thought that I had missed a book in between and looked to see if that had happened but it had not. Claire, was a great wedding planner but screwed that up and was now working for the magazine Piece of Cake which is about weddings. She comes from a very wealthy family but when she messed up for Cedric, the wedding planner, her trust fund was pushed out to age 40 due to a morality clause. Claire is trying to make it on her own. She is doing an OK making ends meet. Her current job is great and her boss brought in Dom. He it to make wedding videos to post on his youtube channel and on Piece of Cake website. He is to work with Claire. That is when the fun begins. They definitely have chemistry. There is of course, wedding drama and Claire's sister is getting married and Cedric is the wedding planner!! I do have to say that this is a fun read and would recommend it while you are reading at the pool! Thanks to #netgalley, #harpermuse and @mrssouthernsocial and @asherpaul for an ARC of this fun read.

"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!
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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #pieceofcake #maryhollishuddleston #asherfoglepaul #whatsnikkireading #whatsnikkilisteningto #audiobook #book40of2023 #audiobookreview #kindleebook #harpermusebooks #harpermuseaudio #brittanypressley

Piece of Cake by Mary Hollis Huddleston missed the mark for me. It lacked the romance in my opinion but tried to provide for it in other areas. I did not enjoy the main character Claire. She and I would not get along in real life and it made it hard to read because of this. The banter was fun and the setting was enjoyable.

"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.

This romance is light on the romance and heavy on over-the-top weddings and workplace struggles. Our main character Claire is essentially the villain in the previous book in this series, Without a Hitch. This story starts a few years later after Claire has had time to self-reflect, take her punishment, and make some changes. She’s definitely come a long way, but still a bit whiny and extremely privileged. Our MMC Dom is talented, kind, and hardworking. But something just felt off in all their interactions- cheesy scenes, awkward dialogue, and lack of communication. This writing style isn’t for me, and I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters. However, I know many readers will love it for the descriptions of the weddings and the sweet hea at the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Very cute and charming! It's a sweet slow burn romance, and I loved the glimpses at wedding planning life (so many situations readers won't expect!). I loved the setting and the characters were authentically finding their way.

This book isn't bad it's just boring. I felt like not a lot was happening. I think I wanted to see a bit more of her emotional growth.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Piece of Cake is a charming read. It’s also sweet, but not in a saccharine sweet southern tea way.
Readers aren’t clued in until late in the story to what exactly Clair did to have to flee to Nashville and start anew.
I won’t lie, I was appalled at the revelation and had respect for those who gave her second chances.
I loved the Nashville setting. I’m very familiar with many of the places mentioned in the book. I hadn’t thought about Opryland for years and it was a shame they closed it.
You’ll want to read this charmer.

Thank you to the author, Harper Muse and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To be fair, I should not have requested this book - unfortunately I didn't realize this until after I was granted an ARC. The much-vaunted Southern charm raises my hackles and OTT weddings with all the trimmings are the opposite of what I believe in. Although the insight into the planning side of things was interesting, this wanna-be romcom was top-heavy on that aspect and much too light on character development - and what there was did not add up. The female lead was characterized as a poor little rich girl cut off by her family, trying to earn a living, but can still afford all kinds of things ordinary working stiffs will have to take a miss on. In addition, both she and the male lead come across more than once as judgemental and mean-spirited. Sorry, but I would give this a miss.

Claire is a wedding planner turned wedding journalist. She and Dom are able to capture the essence of many southern weddings while trying to save their magazine in Nashville. Claire has had a rich and privileged upbringing, but now is suddenly without her inheritance, and must figure out ways to keep her job, the magazine afloat, and not fall for Dom. Will it all work out? Sweet southern romance set in Nashville. Fun to hear and see about places that are familiar!
Thanks Net Galley for the Advanced copy!

I really enjoy this duos writing style. It’s fun, light, and easy to follow along with. I loved the wedding industry setting and all of the funny drama that comes along with that. Going into this book, I didn’t realize that it was connected to Without A Hitch, which luckily I have also recently read. If I am being honest, I just didn’t love that this book was about Claire and her story. She’s is the antagonist in book one so it was hard for me to like her in this book. She came off as very privileged and concerned about what everyone thought of her. I wish that we would have gotten more of her redemption earlier on in the book. I also feel like the storyline of Claire getting fired in the previous book might be confusing to readers who haven’t read without a hitch. Since Claire is so shameful of her past, I feel like those events were really glossed over. Overall, I did enjoy this book and will definitely be reading future releases from these authors!

This book was fine. The story had promise, and the settings/situations were occasionally interesting, but overall it was just average.

Claire, former Dallas socialite, is a journalist for a wedding magazine in Nashville. She had a spectacular fall from grace after betraying her past employer and embarrassing her family, but she has worked hard to move on from that disgrace and reinvent herself. When her magazine is in jeopardy, she comes up with a plan to save it, but it means pairing up with Dominic, a wedding influencer. When her little sister gets engaged, Claire has to confront her past mistakes and decide what she wants for her future.

I liked the southern charm that this book oozed. The author really brought the Nashville wedding scene to life. Dom was an interesting character that I wanted to learn more about. Claire, unfortunately, was not. She was not very likable and didn't get much better throughout the book. Everything was "woe is me" for her. I did like her growth toward the end of the book, but I almost wanted this to be a women's fiction book v a romance, (view spoiler).

Will I give this author another chance? Probably. She seems like she has a hand on the pulse of Southern culture, but could use some editing.