The subtitle for SEMI-SWEET, A Novel of Love and Cupcakes,
captures the heart of this charming tale of seven months
in the lives of residents in a small town in Ireland.
Author Roisin Meaney cleverly captures the sweet,
semi-sweet, and bittersweet manifestations of love in its
many forms: romantic, parental, familial, friendly, and
illicit (to name a few). Through events that range from toe
curling to inspiring to heart-breaking, we are reminded
that love is powerful, challenging, and comes with great
risk and sacrifice.
At the heart of the story is baker Hannah Robinson who, on
the eve of opening her new cupcake shop, is left by her
live-in boyfriend, Patrick. Hannah is heart-broken but has
the support of her parents and best friend, Adam. Realizing
Hannah is feeling vulnerable and a little scared about what
the future holds, Adam sets the seven months until his
birthday as the goal. He challenges her to commit to
keeping the cupcake shop open until then, whatever it takes.
SEMI-SWEET captures the life of these characters during that
seven month period.
Adam, who has moved in with Hannah
so he can lend his place to his femme-fatal sister, has his
eye on a shy musician. Leah, pregnant with Patrick's child,
struggles to keep a man who has already strayed once. Leah's
mother deals with the social stigma resulting from Leah's
decisions, especially on bridge night when she comes
face-to-face with Hannah's mom, Geraldine. Alice, Geraldine's
boss at the shoe store, doesn't know what to do about her
husband's excessive drinking. In a small town there are no
secrets and no strangers, so not surprisingly these stories
intersect in interesting and compelling ways.
Life and love are made up of a series of relationships and
events, small and large. Ms. Meaney has created a
delightful version of life's recipe, by blending together
ingredients that range from the mundane to the earth
shattering, and everything in between. A visit to this
small Irish town is a trip worth taking.
From the bestselling Irish author Roisin Meaney, comes a
novel about a cupcake shop owner searching for love after
her boyfriend leaves her for another woman. Hannah Robinson
is just about to open the doors to her new shop Cupcakes
on the Corner when out of the blue her boyfriend Patrick
announces that he's leaving her for another woman.
Faced
with starting a business on her own, Hannah begins to
wonder if her life-long dream has just turned into a
nightmare. So her best friend Adam sets his birthday as a
deadline - seven months to make her shop a success, or
walk away from it all. And as Hannah immerses herself in
her new business, she soon discovers that she's too busy
to think about Patrick and his now pregnant
girlfriend ...or to notice an increasingly regular
customer who has recently developed a sweet tooth for all
things cupcake.
But while Hannah is slowly piecing her
life back together, family friend Alice's is falling
apart. Her husband Tom's drinking is getting out of
control and things are about to get a whole lot worse. As
the seven-month milestone approaches, Hannah must decide
her future. And while she's figuring out what's really
important, it becomes clear to everyone that happiness in
life, and in love, is all in the making.