The Icing on the Cake

Title: The Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent
Genre: Non-fiction, Romance
Rating: 5/5

Michelle Snow was happy with the path her life was taking when her friends convinced her to try Match.com. Unwilling to settle for anyone but the man who would complete her, finding Todd Bracken's profile within her first set of matches seemed too good to be true. Will their love survive their unconventional meeting and the many obstacles that stand in their way?

The Icing on the Cake is a wonderful love story and a testament to how dreams can be realized with a little help and encouragement. And as the second of two good reads I've received from True Vows, it's leading me to expect great things from this line.

I really enjoyed Alison Kent's writing. It was extremely smooth, with minimal disruption at point-of-view changes. Even the emails were so expertly woven with the surrounding story that you weren't jolted out of the narrative. And her descriptions of Michelle's fabulous creations and of the treats she tries on the bakery tour were mouth-watering. I've never craved cupcakes as much as I did while reading this book.

And I loved the characterizations of Michelle and Todd immediately. They were interesting, complicated and balanced; there was none of the flatness that can be found in other biographical works.

The only thing I found disappointing was the lack of any overwhelming drama. Don't get me wrong, horrible things happened to both Michelle and Todd - she lost her job and he had to deal with his father's illness - but nothing truly seemed to threaten their relationship, the way relationships are threatened in fictional romances.

A wonderful and heartening book, The Icing on the Cake is a must-read for all romance fans. And True Vows is a line to watch in the future for talented writing and moving stories.

Thanks to Health Communications, Inc. for the review copy of The Icing on the Cake. The views expressed above are my own. For more information on The Icing on the Cake, check out the True Vows website.

The Man with the Golden Torc

Title: The Man with the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery
Rating: 4/5

The Drood family has been protecting humanity from the things that go bump in the night for centuries upon centuries. Eddie Drood, the family's black sheep, is one of the best until a mission proves to be a deadly trap. Declared rogue, Eddie must team up with the wild witch, Molly Metcalf, in order to find out who's trying to kill him and what horrid secret is at the heart of the family's power.

I really enjoyed The Man with the Golden Torc, though I found Green to be a bit long-winded with descriptions at points. Or maybe it was just that some of the descriptions seemed a little unnecessary. But since it's the first book in the series and he's setting everything up, I suppose I can forgive that. One thing I did love though was the chapter titles. Normally I don't pay much attention to them in books (since they're often quite boring and self-evident) but most of these were witty and fitting. I also liked the variety in the supernatural/science fiction/horror elements: all the elves, demon cars, aliens, robots and serial killers. It doesn't seem like it would work, but it does.

I really enjoyed Eddie as a character, he seemed pretty well-rounded with some faults but generally a good guy who does what he thinks is right. And Molly was fantastic. I thought she was going to be a little too much or too perfect at first but her naivete when it came to some of her friends and associates kept her realistic. And I loved Mr. Stab (aka Jack the Ripper). I always find it interesting to see how authors deal with people or characters that the reader is already familiar with.

I definitely recommend this book to other readers. And I'll be giving the next book in the series a try; it'll be interesting to see how Eddie deals with how things are left off in this book.