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How to Eat a Cupcake

by Meg Donohue (Goodreads Author)

3.51 of 5 stars 3.51 · rating details · 2,970 ratings · 539 reviews

Funny, free-spirited Annie Quintana and sophisticated, ambitious Julia St. Clair come from two different worlds. Yet, as the daughter of the St. Clair’s housekeeper, Annie grew up in Julia’s San Francisco mansion and they forged a bond that only two little girls who know nothing of class differences and scholarships could—until a life-altering betrayal destroyed their frie...more

Paperback, 309 pages

Published March 13th 2012 by William Morrow Paperbacks

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The Most Comforting Books (The Literary Version of Bread Pudding)

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Jun 17, 2013 Linda C rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was like an underbaked cupcake. Too many flavors, too many themes and way, way too many cliches. If the author had written a book about two 20 somethings who tried to repair their friendship by going into business together, it might have been a sweet, albeit, light story. Instead, Donahue tries to cover every imaginable theme in only 300 pages, and so does justice to none of them.

And the cliches!!! Of course Julia is tall, thin, blond, gorgeous and rich. Of course Annie is short and cu...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Donohue has blasted her debut novel right out of the ballpark. It was moving, believable, well written and real. The characters were well developed and despite their imperfections you found yourself rooting for them, grieving with them, celebrating with them...just simply feeling for them throughout the entire novel. The novel was perfectly paced and it kept me engaged from start to finish. Just when I thought I may have figured things out Donohue threw me for a loop. I am so excited to see what...more

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Jun 02, 2013 Chick Lit + Wine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit-and-wine-must-reads

I may have a cupcake problem. “Cupcakes, Lies and Dead Guys” was our #1 summer must read of 2011 – and today I’m announcing “How to Eat a Cupcake” is my #1 pick for our holiday gift list. This book is as addictive as it is delicious. (Buy holiday gifts now in the Amazon Chick Lit + Wine Store - 20% of proceeds go to the National MS Society!)

For those of you who caught Meg live at our Ferry Building event this September , you know her writing is laced with sugar and popping with twists as pleasant...more I may have a cupcake problem. “Cupcakes, Lies and Dead Guys” was our #1 summer must read of 2011 – and today I’m announcing “How to Eat a Cupcake” is my #1 pick for our holiday gift list. This book is as addictive as it is delicious. (Buy holiday gifts now in the Amazon Chick Lit + Wine Store - 20% of proceeds go to the National MS Society!)

For those of you who caught Meg live at our Ferry Building event this September , you know her writing is laced with sugar and popping with twists as pleasantly surprising as a dash of cayenne in chocolate frosting.

“How to Eat a Cupcake” follows the interweaving lives and lies of Annie Quintana and Julia Sinclair. The Sinclairs are San Francisco royalty, and Julia is as stubborn as she is entitled. Annie, the daughter of the Sinclair’s housekeeper, is feisty, rebellious – and strives to distance herself from everything Julia stands for after a fateful twist in high school. The two are as close – and as distant – as sisters.

Lolly Sinclair, Julia’s mother, hires Annie years later to cater a party with her famously delicious cupcakes. Julia takes one bite of a mocha cupcake and makes it her mission to open a bakery with Annie. As a savvy business woman she knows she can make all of Annie’s dreams come true. If only it weren’t Annie’s dream to escape Julia – and the Sinclairs – forever.

Curiosity quickly takes over and the two give the business a chance. But when they become the victims of a sudden uptick in vandalism and notice a man lurking outside the shop late at night, the secrets from the girls’ past begin to rise to the surface.

This book is #1 on my holiday gift list because I couldn't put it down. For the first time in my life I actually read a book at the gym. I lost track of time on the elliptical as my mind melted away into Donohue’s exquisite descriptions of Annie’s cupcakes. This book is addictive in the best way.

Cline Cellar’s Viognier is touted as “the best wine you've never tried” – and that’s a bit how I feel about this book. Meg Donohue still a best kept secret. The crisp, floral white balances sweet peach and apricot flavors mirroring Julia St. Clair’s innocent and sophisticated air; but just like the disparate Julia and Annie are destined to be intertwined, this sweet, crisp wine goes best with spicy food.

Make sure you leave the whole evening open when you crack the cover and unscrew the cork. This Viognier is the type of wine you don’t save, but drink right away – and “How to Eat a Cupcake” is a novel you won’t want to put down.

xx,
Syrah(less)

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May 26, 2013 Georgia Herod rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is from the blurb in the book--it's a succinct summary.

“Funny, free-spirited Annie Quintana and sophisticated, ambitious Julia St. Clair come from two different worlds. Yet, as the daughter of the St. Clair’s housekeeper, Annie grew up in Julia’s San Francisco mansion and they forged a bond that only two little girls who know nothing of class differences and scholarships could—until a life-altering betrayal destroyed their friendship.

A decade later, Annie is now a talented, if underpaid, p...more

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May 23, 2013 Arthistorychick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, mystery-suspense, romance

When Annie Quintana was a senior in high school her mother Lucia died. In a cruel twist of fate, that same year Annie’s best friend, Julia St. Clair turned on her, got her kicked out of her fancy prep school and nearly cost Annie her a chance to go to college. Ten years later Annie has built a good life for herself and has no desire to revisit her painful past. She is a master baker who has channeled her mother in the interceding years through her cooking. Though she never found her mother’s ori...more When Annie Quintana was a senior in high school her mother Lucia died. In a cruel twist of fate, that same year Annie’s best friend, Julia St. Clair turned on her, got her kicked out of her fancy prep school and nearly cost Annie her a chance to go to college. Ten years later Annie has built a good life for herself and has no desire to revisit her painful past. She is a master baker who has channeled her mother in the interceding years through her cooking. Though she never found her mother’s original cookbook, Annie has been able to cobble together what she remembers of her mother’s recipes to create the most scrumptious cupcakes. But as we all know, fate often has plans for us that we don’t anticipate or desire.

Here’s what I liked:

*Annie: she is just a delightful character who (like me!) has a tendency to resort to sarcasm and humor when she is nervous. I like that Annie, in a roundabout way, makes the decision (kind of) to confront her past and her ex-best friend, Julia St. Clair. Annie is never going to live the life she has earned without exorcising the demons that still haunt her.

*Julia: I really didn’t want to like Julia but as the plot begins to unfold liking her is pretty much inevitable. She may be rich, beautiful and successful but Julia has demons of her own that she is trying desperately to ignore. Reconnecting with Annie not only helps the two women heal their shared past wounds but also allows Julia to deal with her current demons and move on to the life she deserves.

*The Mystery: Saying too much here would be spoilery and tacky so I will just say this: you kind of don’t see this element coming at the beginning of the read and that is what makes it so intriguing.

*The Cupcakes and the Cupcakery: The recipes and descriptions of how the cupcakes look, smell, and taste is one of the highlights of this read for me. The descriptions and the cupcakes are so rich and vivid that you can all but taste what Annie is baking. Thank God you can’t gain weight from imagining yourself eating a cupcake :) By the same taken, the cupcakery that Annie and Julia create together is magnificent. Again, the descriptions are spot on and are so well-worded that I could absolutely envision what Treat looks like. Plus, it’s a place that smells like and sells nothing but goodness, how can this not be on the “What I Liked” list?

The Bottom Line: I can’t honestly say I jumped for joy over the awesomeness of this read but I did truly enjoy it. It is a solid and well-written novel with endearing characters, a tiny bit of mystery, a tiny bit of romance, and a whole lot of feel-good moments. Also, it is a stand-alone so you won’t have to worry about what came before and/or what comes next; everything is tied up neatly at the end. Enjoy!(less)

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Feb 13, 2013 Leya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-2012, library-book

Meg Donohue's How to Eat a Cupcake is story about friendship. Annie and Julia were as close as sisters, but once they hit theirs teens that bond of friendship started to tarnish. Annie, years later still feels the sting of betrayal but she's willing to give it a try when Julia wants to open a cupcakery together. Slowly those wounds begin to open again, but this time around both Annie and Julia are prepared to listen to each other.

How to Eat a Cupcake is one of those books that I couldn't put do...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Christine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Estranged friends Julia and Anna are reunited after ten years and open a cupcakery together. They work hard to build a successful business and attempt to rebuild their friendship after difficult high school years destroyed their relationship. Meanwhile, Julia struggles with a past trauma and planning her upcoming wedding, while Anna still tries to comes to terms with her mother's untimely death, while dating a man who seems all wrong for her.

"How To Eat a Cupcake" is boring chick lit with compl...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Sara Strand rated it 2 of 5 stars

You know I love me a good chick lit book, but I've grown frustrated with most of what I have read recently. Every story sounds like another book I have read. I feel like this is like a few books but we changed up the setting and put some cupcakes in it.
Part of what made this just a mediocre book for me is that it never hooked me, drew me in to keep reading. I could predict everything that happened, the fights/arguments between Annie and Julia, and the ending. And it's so frustrating because I f...more

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May 23, 2012 Judy rated it 3 of 5 stars

When I began reading this book I thought it might be a 5 star but as it progressed, the plot seemed too contrived. This story (or fairytale) is set in San Francisco where we have two good looking, intelligent, hardworking, independent women who were raised together in a Pacific Heights home. One girl was the only daughter of the wealthy parents who owned the home and the other girl was the illegitimate child of an Ecuadorian teenager who became their cook. The two girls were raised together and...more

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May 15, 2012 Chocolate & Croissants rated it 4 of 5 stars

It only seems fitting that I would read How to Eat a Cupcake as I was on my way to France. The French are apparently obsessed with cupcakes and we are obsessed with their macarons. Why not read a book about the love of baking as I was headed over to the pastry capital of the world. I am proud to say that I gave this book to the front desk clerk at my hotel in Paris and she was delighted by it. You would think that I was giving her freshly baked cupcakes.

How to Eat a Cupcake is a book after my he...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Barbara Nourse rated it 3 of 5 stars

Two young 20 something "friends" work to repair a relationship that went terribly wrong when they were in a private High School in San Francisco. Annie and her mother had come from Ecuador to live in the carriage house on the property of the Pacific Palisades Mansion of the St. Clair's. Lucia had fled her home country when she was pregnant with Annie at the age of 16. Lolly and Tad St.Clair had a baby daughter, Julia as well. Lucia was the nanny and the girls grew up together as childhood friend...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Christie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'll admit the "idea" of a book that involved cupcakes intrigued me. Maybe I was just hungry for something sweet at the time. And this book did encourage that craving...

How to Eat a Cupcake is a light read. It is slow-going at first, but by the last third of the book it does pick up its pace (finally). But unfortunately if you can hang on that long, your patience isn't really rewarded. I was hoping for a sweet story of lost friendship found. And while that is a small part of the main storyline,...more I'll admit the "idea" of a book that involved cupcakes intrigued me. Maybe I was just hungry for something sweet at the time. And this book did encourage that craving...

How to Eat a Cupcake is a light read. It is slow-going at first, but by the last third of the book it does pick up its pace (finally). But unfortunately if you can hang on that long, your patience isn't really rewarded. I was hoping for a sweet story of lost friendship found. And while that is a small part of the main storyline, it is only superficially explored. The whole book felt very superficial- you are only given a surface-level character sketch, the point of view switches between Annie and Julia so you never feel very attached to either one.

Annie is the stereotypical poor girl, the daughter of Julia's nanny. Julia is the stereotypical rich girl, who thinks mainly of herself. Their reconnection is flat and boring. Julia's want to open a "cupcakery" with Annie feels forced. There is a little mystery as to a painful moment of Julia's past (that is fairly easy to guess), what happened to Lucia, Annie's mom, plus where her recipe book is, and who is the strange man that appears outside their store. The mysteries reveals are a case of too much telling and not enough showing. Those moments should have had great lead-ins, where you could start to piece together things on your own, but instead all of a sudden it's all just out there.

I really didn't come to care, empathize or sympathize with anyone. It helps keep your interest if you can at least feel something for the characters... but I really couldn't. As this is a debut work, I can't say that I'm that surprised but I was hoping for something deeper- some sort of connection to characters and more substance to the plot would have made for a stronger story. Maybe my feelings would have been elevated if there were at least some great cupcake recipes included but alas there are not... A missing opportunity there for sure.

Fans of baking/cooking related fiction would do better to read Comfort Food, Sweet Love, Friendship Bread: A Novel or The Love Goddess' Cooking School. All of which have a stronger plot and are increasingly more enjoyable than this middling read. (less)

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Mar 22, 2012 Susan Tunis rated it 4 of 5 stars

I gained weight with every page

I live in San Francisco, where this novel is so evocatively set. After the coldest, dreariest, rainiest week ever, I felt I deserved a treat. I pulled How to Eat a Cupcake off the shelf.

At the novel’s heart, are two very different women with a shared past. Annie Quintana grew up in the carriage house of the St. Clair’s Pacific Heights mansion. Her mother, Lucia, was the nanny to Julia St. Clair, and the two girls were raised practically as sisters. They were the cl...more I gained weight with every page

I live in San Francisco, where this novel is so evocatively set. After the coldest, dreariest, rainiest week ever, I felt I deserved a treat. I pulled How to Eat a Cupcake off the shelf.

At the novel’s heart, are two very different women with a shared past. Annie Quintana grew up in the carriage house of the St. Clair’s Pacific Heights mansion. Her mother, Lucia, was the nanny to Julia St. Clair, and the two girls were raised practically as sisters. They were the closest of friends until a rift in their teen years. The last time they’d seen each other was at Lucia’s funeral, a decade prior.

As the novel opens, Annie and Julia live very different lives. Annie is a baker who has finally accepted a catering job from Julia’s mother, Lolly. What she doesn’t know is that her erstwhile friend has left New York’s high finance whirl and has moved home for the month’s leading up to her wedding. They have an awkward (and engineered) reunion at Lolly’s party.

And that would have been that, perhaps, but Julia needs something to do with herself that doesn’t involve wedding planning and nurturing the secret she’s keeping from her fiancé and the world. In the midst of a sugar high, she proposes to Annie that they collaborate on opening a cupcake shop. Despite her distrust of Julia, Annie can’t pass up the opportunity to make her dreams come true. And so an uneasy alliance is born.

As the two women work together towards a common goal, they work to heal their fractured relationship. There are many allusions to past wrongs before the full story is eventually teased out, and there are an equal number of ominous foreshadowings, because not everyone seems to want these two to succeed. Beyond that there are subplots about men, parents, business, and many, many references to delicious cupcakes! I will warn you now, the cravings became unbearable. Kara’s Cupcakes, That Takes the Cake, American Cupcake, I hit them all! Let this serve as a warning to all dieters.

The fact that debut novelist Meg Donohue’s prose was tempting enough to send me to multiple bakeries speaks volumes. In many ways, How to Eat a Cupcake is fairly typical women’s fiction. There really weren’t too many big surprises along the way, but that’s not why I was reading it. Sometimes some semi-formulaic entertainment is exactly what you’re looking for. For me, in the midst of some god-awful dreary weather, it was exactly the literary comfort food I needed.(less)

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Mar 17, 2012 Kathleen (Kat) Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-literature, contemporary-fiction, romance-fiction

Annie Quintana and Julia St. Clair as a different as night is to day. Separated by ten years, the two find themselves brought together once again. Julia St. Clair is ambitious, sophisticated and is very wealthy. The only daughter of the St. Clair family, she is in the planning process of her wedding to Wesley, a Southern businessman but is hiding a secret she must tell him before she marries. Julia finds herself with time on her hands now that she has quit her job to move back home to San Franci...more Annie Quintana and Julia St. Clair as a different as night is to day. Separated by ten years, the two find themselves brought together once again. Julia St. Clair is ambitious, sophisticated and is very wealthy. The only daughter of the St. Clair family, she is in the planning process of her wedding to Wesley, a Southern businessman but is hiding a secret she must tell him before she marries. Julia finds herself with time on her hands now that she has quit her job to move back home to San Francisco to begin planning her wedding with her mother, Lolly.

Annie Quintana has been used to taking the back seat in life, especially when it comes to Julia or the St. Clair family. Annie's mother Lucia was the housekeeper for the St. Clair's and also became a close personal friend to Lolly during the time she worked there. Annie grew up with Julia since they lived in a small apartment on the St. Clair estate and was provided for by the St. Clair family. Attending the same schools as Julia since they were both only children. It made sense for them to be friends. Lucia died in the kitchen after having a brain aneurism and after attending the funeral and dealing with issues in high school, the girls grew apart.

Now that Annie has been asked by Lolly St. Clair to cater her party by bringing her delicious cupcakes, Annie and Julia are reunited. By this reunion isn't a warm one. The reader gets a sense that something more has happened between the two girls and as they begin to make plans to go into the cupcake business together, the reader is taken on a journey between alternate points of view between Julia and Annie.

As they come to terms with how they can work together in running this business, the reader gets a sense that all is not what it seems to be. Annie is warm and hard working, trying to find a way to make her cupcake business a success while still working through some unresolved issues with Julia that happened in high school. Julia on the other hand remains distant from wedding plans, avoids confrontation with Annie over what issues she has with her, and seeks solace in sharing drinks with her ex boyfriend Jake Logan.

I received How To Eat A Cupcake by Meg Donahue compliments of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. The beginning of the book starts off pretty slow for me trying to figure out where these two fit into each other's lives but about 1/3 of the way through the story picks up. I related to Annie the most, having been raised in Julia's shadow most of her life, she seeks resolution with Julia before she can move forward but Julia is constantly changing the subject or passes it off without realizing the impact it had on Annie's childhood. Julia is a bit self absorbed and likes to be the center of attention, seeking to remain at the top of whatever event is going on at the time. I really liked this book because it portrays a unique connection between the two women who come from different walks of life but are drawn together in a compelling way. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend this one for a great summer read. The only thing missing were some recipes for these delicious cupcakes that are invented along the way!(less)

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Mar 09, 2012 Cheryl rated it 2 of 5 stars

Julia St. Clair comes from wealth, whereas, Annie does not. If it was not for the fact that Annie’s mom used to work for the St. Clair’s than Annie and Julia would never be friends. Julia and Annie used to have a close bond but than a tragic event tore them apart.

Years later, Julia’s mother is hosting a party and convinces Annie to cater and bring her cupcakes. It is at this party that Julia and Annie will reconnect. They decide to go into business together and start their own cupcake shop.

Fir...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Virginia Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: womens-fiction, romance

Meg Donohue's debut work, "How to Eat a Cupcake", is as well-prepared and appealing as the various exquisite cupcake creations described throughout the book! Food is such an integral part of our lives, not just for sustenance, but also for comfort and celebration. Food is also a universal communicator. Many times in our lives we express emotions that we cannot verbalize through cooking and sharing food. Annie Quintara is a baker of captivating cupcakes--blissful bites bursting with familiar flav...more Meg Donohue's debut work, "How to Eat a Cupcake", is as well-prepared and appealing as the various exquisite cupcake creations described throughout the book! Food is such an integral part of our lives, not just for sustenance, but also for comfort and celebration. Food is also a universal communicator. Many times in our lives we express emotions that we cannot verbalize through cooking and sharing food. Annie Quintara is a baker of captivating cupcakes--blissful bites bursting with familiar flavors and unexpected, unique enhancements. Annie's mother, Lucia, was for many years the cook for the wealthy St. Clair family, whose daughter Julia was Annie's childhood friend. As the camaraderie of children gave way to class consciousness and competitiveness, the friendship lost its luster. Julia, the entitled, supremely blonde and beautiful rich girl is jealous of Annie in more ways than she can comprehend. Annie, always a bright and funny free spirit, is comfortable with her Ecuadorian heritage and exotic looks. A nasty rumor, started by Julia and later proven false, almost costs Annie her scholastic opportunities. A decade later, an unplanned reunion brings the former friends back together and sets in motion events which will forever change their lives. I was so drawn in to this story line, and I was quite involved with the characters, even though some of them were at times quite unlikeable. Even though I didn't always like the characters, I very much enjoyed reading their story. Annie is a sweetheart, and you root for her from beginning to end. Julia is much harder to accept, but after you get over the urge to slap her pretty face, then you also want her to find a happy ending. I have always known that the relationships formed in youth will affect us throughout all of our life. We may think that we can leave them behind, but they are woven into our souls with a fine and flexible thread. Meg Donohue is a worthy storyteller to follow, and I am eager to see what she will do with her second book.

Review Copy Gratis Amazon Vine(less)

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Dec 21, 2011 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it 3 of 5 stars

Annie and Julia grew up together in the same house, almost like sisters. Almost, but not quite. Julia’s parents owned the house the two lived in and employed Annie’s mother as the housekeeper. Annie and Julia were friends until gossip, initiated and then shared by Julia and her friends, almost ruined Annie’s life.

Time passes and Annie and Julia meet again and Julia decides to help Annie open a cupcake shop. Hard feelings still exist and Annie and Julia must work at their new relationship if the...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 21, 2013 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mmmm, cupcakes! Mmmm, books about cupcakes. I love foodie fiction and I was very excited to read this book because 1. it's about cupcakes and 2. I had heard some good things about this book from some other book bloggers (and we all know that book bloggers are awesome so there's that). This is also a story about a redeemed friendship.

I really liked both of the main characters in the book. Annie seems like a person that I would really like to be friends with. She seems like a lot of fun. Julia doe...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Janel rated it 4 of 5 stars

I totally enjoyed this book and read it quickly. I liked the structure of it, a split narrative between Annie and Julia which allows the reader to get inside both girls heads and see the same experiences from their different points of view. It was fun, mysterious and had a lot of heart....and cupcakes! I enjoyed the journey more than the destination on this one....It was a fantastic read, the writing was wonderful and the characters felt very real, but things kind of fell apart for me toward the...more

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May 22, 2013 Tyler rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-in-books, bubble-gum-reads

This was a sweet little bubble-gummy book but I'm so glad I read it. It's about friends, friends who fall out and come back together- those are the best types of friends. Friends who fight and love like sisters. And eat lots of delicious cupcakes in between. I got this book cause it was on sale for super cheap at BN online and it just sounded fun. I've always liked books with food in the title I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti and The Toaster Broke So We're Getting Married are two other cheapie...more

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May 19, 2012 Debbie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved pretty much everything about this book. Like a cupcake, it's girly and sweet and fun and satisfying, and I wished I could still enjoy it long after it was gone.

The characters are well-developed and believable, and I thought every conversation rang true. I was completely caught up in all of the plotlines. I liked the way the book is set up - with each girl alternating chapters and giving her point of view. It made me feel that I really understood both of them. Every character was like a r...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Kristi (Books and Needlepoint) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs, nook-book

I really liked the way that the author told Annie and Julia's story. The timeline went from June to May with the chapters alternating between the two young women. It was almost as if they were sitting in front of you, telling you the story as a friend. There were times I wanted to laugh and times I wanted to cry and times I wanted to shake one of them to open up their eyes as to what was in front of them!

The girls grew up together since they were babies - they might as well have been sisters....more I really liked the way that the author told Annie and Julia's story. The timeline went from June to May with the chapters alternating between the two young women. It was almost as if they were sitting in front of you, telling you the story as a friend. There were times I wanted to laugh and times I wanted to cry and times I wanted to shake one of them to open up their eyes as to what was in front of them!

The girls grew up together since they were babies - they might as well have been sisters. Annie got to do a lot of the same things that Julia did, thanks to Lolly and Tad - Julia's parents. Over time, Lucia, Annie's mom, though employed by the St. Clair's, became Lolly's best friend. When the girls entered high school though, the dynamic between the two of them began to change. They went to a private high school, Devon Prep, and for Julia, it was like coming home. She fit in perfectly and didn't think about pulling Annie along with her. Annie, being the daughter of the housekeeper, was only at Devon Prep thanks to Lolly and Tad. She didn't fit in well, but adjusted, until rumors blew her life apart her senior year. Her mother died that summer and she left soon after for college, and did her best to not look back.

Lolly St. Clair, however, kept tabs on Annie, and urged her to provide the cupcakes for one of her charity functions. This is where the story really begins - the above you learn through flashbacks. Annie reluctantly caters the function and runs into Julia, whom she didn't know was back in town. Julia hasn't thought much about how her actions in high school almost derailed Annie for good, and can't understand why Annie is still holding a grudge.
"Of course, that was back when I still cared about making Julia happy, before I realized that the person releasing that peal of laughter was a manipulative, lying, cruel young woman who was trying her damnedest to ruin my life." (p14 - Review copy)

Julia is actually in town to plan her wedding to Wes, a southern charmer who adores her. She is keeping a secret from him though, and the more time that passes, the harder it is to tell him. Instead of planning a wedding she decides she needs something else to occupy her mind. Since she is in love with Annie's cupcakes, she decides that her and Annie should go into business. She would provide the capital and after a year, Annie could buy her out and she would go on with her new married life. She sees no problems with this, as Julia has usually gotten whatever she wanted. I thought this passage described her pretty well:
"I had, I'll admit, affected a certain style - a method, if you will - of cupcake eating. To begin, you remove the cupcake liner carefully so as not to unnecessarily crumble the cake, and set it aside. You then turn the cupcake slowly in your hand, taking bites along the line where cake meets icing, your mouth filling with a perfect combination of both components. Once you've come full circle, you gently twist off the bottom half inch of cake, a move that takes considerable finesse -- leaving a delicate sliver of cake -- the ideal size for lying flat on your tongue and allowing it to slowly dissolve, building anticipation for that final bite. To finish you are left with the center cylinder of cake and icing, the cupcake's very heart, sometimes filled with a surprising burst of custard or jam or mousse, sometimes not, but always, always, the most moist, flavorful bite of the entire cupcake. Take a breath before diving into that final perfect bite, it is to be savored for as long as possible. Finally, of course, you scavenge the crumbs from the cupcake liner you set aside during step one, then ball the liner into your fist and overhand it into the nearest receptacle. Make the shot? You get another cupcake." (p30 - Review copy)

Can't you just picture this woman in your head? I know that I don't eat a cupcake this way (well, I will admit, I did try it today!) Annie is nothing like this, diving right into her cupcake and eating away. This was their take on life as well. Julia's was planned out, well, had been planned out until something happened that made her unable to see her future and really making her wonder about her upcoming wedding and future. And Annie, who has worked multiple jobs just to be able to pay rent, never knowing if she would have enough for the next month. Add to those differences the slight Annie still feels from high school and you have a recipe for an upside down cake!

I liked Annie right off, but took a little while to warm up to Julia. Even by the end of the book, I liked her better, but still wondered if she truly knew, or could even fathom, what she had done to Annie in high school. Coming from her background, I am not sure that is something she could really understand. Oh, and you think you have a nice little chick lit book here, and then the suspense starts to build toward the end as the vandal who has been doing a little nuisance vandalism to their cupcakery ratchets up his game a notch.

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Feb 26, 2012 Sharon Redfern rated it 5 of 5 stars

How to Eat a Cupcake is a book that seems like it would be a fluff piece. It is not! This is the story of Annie and Julia who both grew up in the wealthy St. Clair family home. The difference between them was that Annie was the daughter of the nanny/cook and Julia was a St. Clair. The book begins several years after Annie’s mother has died while at work in the kitchen and Annie is coming back for a party, bringing cupcakes she has made at the bakery where she works. She and Julia are no longer f...more How to Eat a Cupcake is a book that seems like it would be a fluff piece. It is not! This is the story of Annie and Julia who both grew up in the wealthy St. Clair family home. The difference between them was that Annie was the daughter of the nanny/cook and Julia was a St. Clair. The book begins several years after Annie’s mother has died while at work in the kitchen and Annie is coming back for a party, bringing cupcakes she has made at the bakery where she works. She and Julia are no longer friends due to an unknown betrayal by Julia when they were both at an exclusive prep school.
Julia is engaged and has left her job to come back home to her parent’s house. She has also had a traumatic incident that is only hinted at and it seems to be sucking all of the joy out of her wedding planning. After seeing Annie at the house she contacts her onetime friend and proposes a business partnership- a cupcakery. After an initial refusal, Annie agrees and they begin to work together.
It would be so easy for the story to develop into a happy coming together at this point but Ms. Donahue remains true to her characters and makes them work long and hard to even come to being able to be civil to each other. Both women have regrets about things they have done to each other and to other people that they need to work out. Add to the mix a mysterious vandal who seems to be bent on destroying the business and the plot gets even darker.
This book was a great read. The two main characters have a lifetime of shared experiences good and bad for the author to put out there. The members of their families and their significant others also bring out aspects to their characters that provide interest to the reader. There is a surprising twist at the end that works perfectly and brings about a resolution to issues that affect both women and their loved ones. I believe that this is Ms. Donahue’s first book and I look forward to reading further books by this talented author.
(REceived egalley from Netgalley.com)
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Apr 23, 2013 (Lonestarlibrarian) Keddy Ann Outlaw rated it 3 of 5 stars

A quick read, picked up on impulse at the library, versus reading a review or being a fan of a particular author, which is how I usually select titles. This was a first novel. Bit of a fluff actor here, and some predictable stereotypes, but hey -- cupcakes were involved (!), so I gave it a try. I love to bake, can you tell? No recipes here unfortunately (sigh). Rich girl Julie/poor girl Annie, a love triangle and some family secrets form the main plot elements. Once best friends, almost like sis...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Marathon County Public Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mcpl-review, adult-chick-lit

Annie Quintana is a talented but underpaid baker in San Francisco and the daughter of the wealthy St. Clair family's former housekeeper. When Julia, the prodigal St. Clair daughter and Annie's erstwhile friend, returns to her home, the two women rekindle their friendship and open a cupcake shop. They also stir up some buried feuds and solve the mystery of Annie's mother's death. "How to Eat a Cupcake" makes for good chick lit. The alternating perspective between Annie and Julia helps keep the st

...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Hazel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, fiction

When I first picked up this book I was expecting it to be a light frivolous read. I mean, how to eat a cupcake doesn't sound too serious, right? But I was happily surprised. I can see from the other reviews that you will either love it or hate it. I fall into the love it group.

Julia & Annie did start off as stereotypical characters. But by the end of the book there was so many more layers to them beneath the surface that they became more believable to me. I liked that each chapter devoted...more

When I first picked up this book I was expecting it to be a light frivolous read. I mean, how to eat a cupcake doesn't sound too serious, right? But I was happily surprised. I can see from the other reviews that you will either love it or hate it. I fall into the love it group.

Julia & Annie did start off as stereotypical characters. But by the end of the book there was so many more layers to them beneath the surface that they became more believable to me. I liked that each chapter devoted its "voice" to one character. Though I did find that at times it was a little hard to distinguish the differences between them as the tone sounded almost identical. What the Donohue really excelled at was the descriptions of other people through Annie or Julia's eyes. Annie seems the stronger character. Perhaps because her story is more interesting & she's goes through more. The men in this book weren't as strongly defined, which is to be expected given the storyline. What we do learn about them in general is that they aren't always who they seem to be at first glance.

So anyway yes, this book had more layers than I was expecting. It talks about a lot of issues such as friendship, class differences, pregnancy, fidelity, betrayal, childhood upbringing, etc. I don't usually cry easily but I found myself tearing up when Julia finally confesses her secret to Annie & then again when they have a talk just before Julia walks down the aisle. It unexpectedly touched me.

As for the cupcakes, I'm not an expert on those since I bake my own. But some of the flavors did sound absolutely delicious! There are lots of unusual cupcake recipes online. So just google them!

To sum it all up I thought this was a well written book. I would classify this as an intelligent chick lit read. Though it's more about friendship than romance.

P.S. I disagree with other reviews that Annie is described as low income. She has a decent sounding apartment in a neighborhood that's described as up & coming. So I would say she was more middle class than lower class. Though obviously contrasting her with Julia's wealth might make her seem that way. (less)

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Sep 14, 2011 Lisa B. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Book Overview:
Funny, free-spirited Annie Quintana and sophisticated, ambitious Julia St. Clair could not be more different. Yet, as the daughter of the St. Clair’s housekeeper, Annie grew up side-by-side with Julia in the St. Clair’s San Francisco mansion and the girls were as close as sisters until a life-altering betrayal destroyed their friendship.
A decade later, Annie has become a talented, if underpaid, pastry chef who bakes to fill the void left in her heart by her mother’s death. Julia,...more Book Overview:
Funny, free-spirited Annie Quintana and sophisticated, ambitious Julia St. Clair could not be more different. Yet, as the daughter of the St. Clair’s housekeeper, Annie grew up side-by-side with Julia in the St. Clair’s San Francisco mansion and the girls were as close as sisters until a life-altering betrayal destroyed their friendship.
A decade later, Annie has become a talented, if underpaid, pastry chef who bakes to fill the void left in her heart by her mother’s death. Julia, a successful businesswoman, is tormented by a painful secret that could jeopardize her engagement to the man she loves. After a chance reunion prompts the unlikely duo to open a cupcakery, the women struggle to repair their friendship as the shop becomes the target of an increasingly hostile series of incidents. Despite the threats of the present and shadows of the past, Annie and Julia – emboldened and soothed by intoxicatingly delicious cupcakes – learn the power of forgiveness, find love where they least expect it, and discover the importance of family, in all its complex forms.
My Thoughts:
Right up front, I want to say how much I enjoyed this book.
I think this falls into the category of chick lit. This is not a genre I pursue, as I don’t always get the point of reading this kind of story. But honestly, the past several books I’ve read have been stab ‘em, burn ‘em, slash ‘em murder mysteries, that this book was a very welcomed break.
I liked Annie right from the beginning – hard working, down to earth everyday kinda girl. Julia – it took me awhile to like her – seemed a rather snooty rich girl to me. By the end, this had changed and as the overview mentions, we get to see the power of forgiveness and the importance of family. I found that I wanted to pick this book up to see where the story was headed.
I thought this was a great debut. I will not hesitate to read future books by Ms. Donohue. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for allowing me to read the ARC.
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May 20, 2013 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I bought How to Eat a Cupcake as an Amazon special and I am glad I did. The story is told from Annie and Julia's alternating viewpoints over the course of almost a year. The 2 girls used to live together, Annie as the cook/nanny's daughter and Julia as the daughter of the house. As the story unfolds, we find out how intertwined their lives were, how they became unraveled and how they reconnected. In between is the opening of a joint venture, a cupcake shop, revealing Julia's secret, and finding...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Elisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

My sister loaned it to me after her book club read and enjoyed it. I think they even had the author out to answer questions. This book is about a sister-type relationship with two characters who had a major falling out years before. They open a business together, work at repairing their rift and help each other figure out what needs figuring. It covers sister issues, the relationship of employers and domestic employees and the power of communication and how it can affect your life in both positi...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars

This started out as many chick lit novels do, with two young women (Annie and Julia) who grew up as best friends who had a major falling out during the 'mean girl' high school years. Fast forward ten years to the beginning of the novel, and via family connections (Lolly St. Claire, Julia's mother), Annie has arrived at the St. Claire home for the first time in a long time, cupcakes in tow for Lolly's charity event. Julia has recently quit her job and moved back home before her upcoming wedding....more

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About Meg Donohue

Meg Donohue is the author of the bestselling novel How to Eat a Cupcake, which was translated into Dutch, German, Italian, and Polish, and the forthcoming All the Summer Girls. She has an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from Dartmouth College. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she now lives San Francisco with her husband, two young daughters, and dog.

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