COURTSHIP OF THE CAKE (MUCH "I DO" ABOUT NOTHING #2) has a multitude of characters, many whom are harboring secrets, and when thrown together what happens next is anyone's guess!


Topper's COURTSHIP OF THE CAKE connected us to the first book in the series, DICTATORSHIP OF THE DRESS, which was a nice segue. Dani, is a free spirit, that tends to get herself in jams. She's the black sheep of her over achieving and very staid family. She's also vowed never to get married. When she goes on tour with a rock music festival as the massage therapist for the band members she gets more than she bargained for. She ends up being hired by rock star, Nash Drama, to be his personal masseuse. Although nothing romantic happens between them he does need her to play the part of his loving fiancée when he returns to his hometown to be given the key to the city. That leads to nothing but trouble for Nash, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child, Quinn, and his best friend Mick who had a one night fling with Dani but they don't want anyone to know they've even met before. Quinn's brother, Bear, was often the voice of reason, and Nash's son, Logan, was a nice addition to the story. The characters all had many layers to them and it was fun to see their interactions. The dialogue was often confusing since the title of the chapter told you who was speaking and I sometimes had to flip the pages back to remind me. There were family and friends, disagreements, a history, sadness, tears, grief, disbelief, laughter, romancing and love along with lots of music and musicians. Heaven's Half Acre, the B & B, owned and run by Quinn, seemed like an interesting place to grow up and also live in. There were a few happily ever afters but the wedding was not the one I was expecting. There were a lot of twists to the story and some closure.

Topper is a new to me author having read the first two books in the series and I look forward to reading other books in the MUCH "I DO" ABOUT NOTHING SERIES. I do love the alliteration of the two titles in the series so far.

I rated the book 3.5 stars but rounded to 4 stars here and on other sites.

So I didn't love this one but it had its moments. I read the first one a few years ago and I think I liked that one a little bit better. There just seemed to be something a little off with this one and the plot just a little forced.

Mick and Dani shared an intimate night after her sisters wedding. But when Dani woke up, Mick was gone. Fast forward in time and neither can seem to forget each other even though they are trying. When Dani shows up at Mick's bakery wearing his best friends engagement ring, all bets are off. Even though the engagement is fake. Yup, that's right. Superstar Nash Drama needed a fiance for a return trip home and Dani fit the bill. And here's one of the major problems I had. What the hell was the engagement for? We're told it's to show Nash in a better light because of his bad boy ways but that didn't make any sense. The only people who really saw them were his family/friends and no one seemed to care that he was engaged. This is where the forced plot came in. Nothing about this felt real or needed. And they were lying to the people closest to him and his own son!

Which leads me to my next issue. Mick had no problem going after his best friends girl. Who cares that they're engaged! And instead of telling Nash (the fiance) that they knew each other, both of them lied and hide their past. This book was full of liars! And I wasn't a huge fan of Dani. She was very wishy-washy and just seemed fake most of the time.

So why three stars? Mick was fun. But I really loved Nash's son, Logan and his uncle, Bear. The scenes with Mick and Logan just tugged the heartstrings. And I really liked that the author made him hearing impaired. The musician father trying to connect with his deaf son was a good plot line.

Overall, it was okay. The ending came really fast and all wrapped up prettily. But there were some fun parts along the way.