Book Review: Eat the Cake
Reviewed by Dorothy Garcia.
When reading a love story you expect a sugar cookie. Something sweet, with a satisfying texture and the lingering taste of happy on your tongue. Eat the Cake has all the promise of a sugar cookie. The title of the book brings to mind the adage, “Life is short. Eat dessert first.” You would be mistaken. The expected “meet cute” at the beginning of the novel is missing and instead we are introduced to a grieving protagonist.
Our protagonist, Leah aka “Tandy” is a podcast host who lost her husband a year ago. She is still struggling to get out of bed and wear something other than sweatpants.
Dressed only from the waist up (to hide her disfunction) she proceeds to host a show and respond harshly to two of her call-in viewers seeking encouragement. Pep talks are the whole point of her show. Her meltdown and possible loss of her livelihood raises the stakes.
Leah’s pain is understandable in the context of the story, but our introduction to her lacks the hint of an inner quality that make you want to root for her. We’re more than half-way through the book before we see a glimmer of a Leah you’d want to befriend.
The story proceeds as her sister-in-law, Megan, arrives to rescue Leah from the almost certain loss of her podcast and the chaos in her home. It turns out Megan is pretty great. The two women discover Leah’s deceased husband had planned a trip to Italy for their anniversary. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find the trip is a “scavenger hunt” with a series of touch-points that force Leah to face her fear of flying, her distaste for her father-in-law, bridges, and a few other things. Would a loving husband really plan an anniversary trip filled with two weeks of unpleasant exposure to real fears?
In the end we learn the true meaning of the book’s title, “eat the cake,” and why the husband planned such a painful trip for his wife. We are left with a protagonist who’s gained sufficient self-awareness to be a woman we can root for. The writing is competent. The plot and pacing make this a quick read. The author made an admirable attempt to provide a modern twist on a love story, but ultimately the book doesn’t deliver the sweet satisfaction of a sugar cookie.
