You’ve Got Mail meets How to Eat a Cupcake in this delightful novel about a talented chef and the food critic who brings down her restaurant—whose chance meeting turns into a delectable romance of mistaken identities.
In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lou works tirelessly to build her beloved yet struggling French restaurant, Luella’s, into a success. She cheerfully balances her demanding business and even more demanding fiancé…until the morning she discovers him in the buff—with an intern.
Witty yet gruff British transplant Al is keeping himself employed and entertained by writing scathing reviews of local restaurants in the Milwaukee newspaper under a pseudonym. When an anonymous tip sends him to Luella’s, little does he know he’s arrived on the worst day of the chef’s life. The review practically writes itself: underdone fish, scorched sauce, distracted service—he unleashes his worst.
The day that Al’s mean-spirited review of Luella’s runs, the two cross paths in a pub: Lou drowning her sorrows, and Al celebrating his latest publication. As they chat, Al playfully challenges Lou to show him the best of Milwaukee and she’s game—but only if they never discuss work, which Al readily agrees to. As they explore the city’s local delicacies and their mutual attraction, Lou’s restaurant faces closure, while Al’s column gains popularity. It’s only a matter of time before the two fall in love…but when the truth comes out, can Lou overlook the past to chase her future?
Set in the lovely, quirky heart of Wisconsin, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is a charming love story of misunderstandings, mistaken identity, and the power of food to bring two people together.

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I have seen this book in a lot of different places, most recently on PopSugar’s listing of Perfect Poolside Reads. Since I’ve seen it around so much lately, when I saw it was available on NetGalley I had to grab it. And I am very happy I did. This story was lighthearted and fun and makes a wonderful summer read. Lou is a great heroine and Al’s character evolved wonderfully through the story. I have to say though I think one of my favorite parts of the book is the older couple, Otto and Gertrude. I just loved them. Also watching Lou and Al’s friendship blossom into a romance was entrancing.

While the budding romance between Lou and Al certainly made for an entertaining reading, I felt that it was really the love of food and cooking that are the main focus of this book. I don’t know if any of you readers have seen the movie Chef but there is one scene where the main guy in the movie (the chef) is making a grilled cheese for is son and when he cuts the sandwich in half and you hear the crunch and see the cheese oozing out (I would suggest turning the volume up on the video for the crunch).

My gosh I’m drooling right now just thinking about it. Well that is how I felt while reading most of this book, drooling and hungry. The descriptions of the food are just astounding and make you wish that his book was in fact not fiction so that you could go and taste the exact same foods for yourself. I’m sure that many of the landmarks discussed in the book actually do exist, but what I really want is for Lou to make that pork she made at the barbeque. Anyways, this book is perfect for anyone who lives with a love of food!
This book was an easy read and I think it is perfect for summer. All of the characters were great and the story kept me interested throughout. A great read!

The bottom line: I very much liked this book. I found the characters interesting and liked that they evolved through the story. Great book for foodies, the descriptions of the food will make you drool.