A prefect holiday read.
Chocolate Cake for Breakfast
Danielle Hawkins
Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781743315811
Description:
Helen McNeil is a vet in the small rural town of Broadview. While taking evasive action from a dull girl at a party one night she falls over – and fails to recognise – national sporting hero, Mark Tipene. For some mysterious reason Helen never really grasps, Mark finds this charming and appears the next day at the front counter of the vet clinic to ask her out.
A whirlwind romance follows and everything is going swimmingly until one little hiccup changes everything…
Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is the funny and heart-warming story of the pros and cons of dating a man whose shirtless picture adorns a wall in every second lunchroom in the country, of calving cows and crazy cat ladies, and of doing your best when life takes an unexpected turn.
My View:
A delightful holiday read; charming, heart-warming, satisfying. This is pure escapism and I thoroughly enjoyed this read; it is written with a great sense of humour and the author’s passion for the care of animals is obvious and provides a lovely background to the narrative. The author successfully conjures up realistic settings and characters – don’t we all know some of the people/relatives described in this book? New Zealand farms, small towns, animal husbandry, the culture of sport and fame are well documented and open for discussion. I particular liked the ease of the conversations/dialogue in this novel, both spoken and in thoughts; the humour and sarcasm works well and helps provide an insight into the main character’s life.
The main character is appealing; smart, generally happy, easy going and resourceful without being saccharin sweet. Neither was she a victim. I liked this character and the story development.
Although this is not my usual genre of reading it provided the best salve for my soul after reading a particularly gruesome and confronting psychological thriller. This is a great holiday read and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Reading, Writing and Riesling 
Carol – You had me with the title. I love it! And it’s nice to know that one can find a funny romance that’s not cloying. Thanks for sharing this. And I know just what you mean about needing some balm after an especially traumatic read.
Hi Margot – it was the title that got me in too!
I think her first, Dinner at Roses, was even better Carol, have a look for it!
Thanks for the tip Shelleyrae. Haven’t there been some great books this year – particularly towards the end of the year?
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