Guest Post: Cindy Arora

Welcome to my second stop for the tour of Heartbreak Cake by Cindy Arora! I reviewed the novel earlier this week (my review is here) and I thought it was really sweet! Today Cindy was kind enough to stop by with a great guest post. I was curious to know how she made her novel stand out when there are all sorts of baking themed chick lit novels out there. I hope you enjoy her post!

When I set out to write HEARTBREAK CAKE, my desire was not to just write about a bakery, but to write about the food world as it stands today. These days, in the world of Twitter, Facebook, food blogs and Pulitzer Prize winning food writing, it can be said that chefs and food people have a certain level of celebrity panache—but  with that also comes a newfound level of accountability.

Here in Los Angeles, food culture has reached a new level of cool. People who are interested can get their daily dose of food gossip from media outlets. People follow with interest when new restaurants open, old favorites are closing, when chefs have tantrums or when they change their seasonal menus. Much like celebrity magazines or online news channels, people who love food and want to be in the know can easily find out “who’s who and what’s what” with the click of their mouse or iPhone.

I come from years of working in the food industry in one form or another—I’ve been a coffee girl, fromager, baker’s assistant, cocktail waitress and ornery breakfast slinger. The last 10 years, I worked as a food writer and publicist, so I was able to get behind the scenes and see how the media has become a huge part of the food industry. It also allowed me to witness how small the world is and how one’s reputation can and does precede you! So play nicely!

HEARTBREAK CAKE is set in a bakery, and there’s plenty of talk about cake, cookies and pie. But at the core of the book, it’s about the unique dynamic of the food community and how the main character, Indira Aguilar, must delicately weave her way through it in order to save her business while also trying to get over heartbreak with the wrong guy, deal with family issues, and also meet a great new guy.

When I created all of the characters, I pulled from different parts of the food world to play important roles for the heroine and her merry band of friends—the city Farmers Market, the luxury resort hotel on the California coast, a national award winning chef who works on a food reality television show, a French patisserie, and the media (blogs, newspapers, social media). They all affect Indira and the decisions she has to make in order to find the right journey for herself.

It’s a tough time for Indira, but nothing a little heartbreak cake, some laughs and good friendships won’t help her get through!

Thanks so much for having me here to talk about HEARTBREAK CAKE! It’s been a real pleasure. You can learn more about me and my book at www.cindyarora.com.

  

Blog Tour: Heartbreak Cake

I was so looking forward to reading Heartbreak Cake, the debut novel from author Cindy Arora. The story sounded delightful! This was a great chick lit novel and, even though I had a few issues with it, I would still recommend it to others.

Here’s the synopsis:

Business is sweet for pastry chef Indira Aguilar. Her indie bakery, Cake Pan, is fast becoming the talk of the wedding circuit for its unique take on cakes and homespun creations for the modern bride, garnering national recognition and drawing in celebrity clients. But while her professional life is blossoming, her personal life is crumbling.
Indira may have a talent for blending buttercream into bliss, but when it comes to relationships, she’s got a lot to learn. Considering that the love of her life, Josh Oliver, is not only married, but also runs the award-winning pastry department of her fiercest competition, Crystal Cove Resort, Indira puts much more at stake than just her heart when she ends her affair with him.
Rumors begin to fly as the small seaside community of Long Beach learns of her secret relationship, and Indira must defend not only her actions, but her wedding business and her reputation while trying to maneuver the choppy heartbreak waters of starting over, finding new love, and facing her past. With the support of friends and family, a fondness for butter, and a determined spirit, Indira may just bake her way back to happiness and possibly into the heart of Crystal Cove’s dishy new chef, Noah. But one thing is certain. Where there’s heartbreak, there must be cake.

My issues came from what I suppose you could call flow problems. I felt like things weren’t explained well enough up front, like what the relationship between Indira and Josh actually was and how long it had been going on. Things were gradually revealed but sometimes in an odd, out of sequence way that made it hard to follow. I also noticed a few little grammatical errors throughout (so I’m really hoping I was sent an advanced copy…). I also couldn’t really understand why Indira made some of the choices she did at the end of the novel. Obviously I can’t say much more than that but I wished she had continued to face her problems instead of running away and I didn’t see why she had to start over new. It just seemed a little odd.

I really did like reading Indira’s story though. She was a smart woman who had made a really dumb decision and was being almost blacklisted because of it. I hated seeing people judge her without having all of the facts but, as she even said herself, I probably would have judged her too. 

I adored the baking aspect of the story. You see cute little bakeries in a lot of chick lit novels but Arora kept things from seeming too familiar. Indira and Pedro have a great chemistry (and I wish he had had just a slightly bigger role in the book) and reading about him interacting with (read: yelling at) the interns was amusing…but makes me never want to become a chef or baker (well, I wouldn’t become one anyway – I hate cooking!). I really wanted to be able to visit the Cake Pan Bakeshoppe and see, and taste, all of the delicious sounding goodies that are mentioned throughout the novel.

Even though I had a few issues with it, Cindy Arora’s Heartbreak Cake was a delicious novel (yes, pun intended). I think all chick lit lovers would enjoy it as I did – especially those who adore a good dessert filled story. Stay tuned as I have a guest post from Cindy coming up on Wednesday the 18th!

*A copy of this novel was provided in exchange for an honest review.*