In preparation for Thanksgiving, which I like to think of as the Day of Pie, how about some light, sweet reading?
“Vanity Fare: A Novel of Lattes, Literature and Love” by Megan Caldwell. Soon-to-be-divorced Molly takes a job writing ad copy for a fancy new Brooklyn bakery, giving pastries literary names like Tart of Darkness and A Room of One’s Scone. At the same time, Molly juggles time with her 6-year-old son, her bankrupt mother and the bakery’s two handsome (and conveniently single) owners. Recipes included.
“Sugar Rush” by Donna Kauffman. Pastry chef Leilani moves from New York City to Sugarberry Island, Georgia, and opens a cupcake shop. When her former boss shows up, the possibility of love mixes with sugar, rumors and, of course, cupcake recipes. The first in Kauffman’s “Cupcake Club” series.
“Three Good Things” by Wendy Francis. In the midst of busy careers, romance, marriage, divorce and motherhood, bakery owner Ellen and her sister, attorney Lanie, help each other remember their late mother’s advice: “At the end of every day you can always find three good things that happened.”
“A Teeny Bit of Trouble” by Michael Lee West. In between baking cakes and frosting them, Southern sleuth Teeny Templeton witnesses a murder and learns that her boyfriend might have a love child. The madcap story has enough twists and turns to burn off any sugar high.
Despite all the sugar, these stories are calorie-free. That means you’ll have more room for dessert on the 28th.