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How to Eat a Cupcake
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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
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Paperback, 309 pages
Published
March 13th 2012
by William Morrow Paperbacks
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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
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

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
And the cliches!!! Of course Julia is tall, thin, blond, gorgeous and rich. Of course Annie is short and cu ...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 Franci
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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
"How To Eat a Cupcake" is boring chick lit with compl ...more

The fluffy concoction that I was looking for. Meg Donahue is very competent in this field of low key women’s fiction, and the frothy addition of a food theme added to the enjoyable escapism. A wee mystery, a few romances and some fine frosting and I was comfortably satiated, which was my hope for this sweet this book. Three stars for a solid performance.

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 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

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
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

I didn't start this book expecting great things, which usually frees me up to enjoy fluff without remorse.
I still wasn't all that thrilled by it.
Maybe it was all the knowing references to "the effects of aging" by characters who are 28. Maybe I am oddly unmoved by the Poor Little Rich Girl thing. Maybe it was the rather boring who-dunnit sub-plot. Or the lamely two-dimensional male characters. Or that I have a hard time suspending disbelief and thinking of cupcake bakeries as anything like a re ...more
I still wasn't all that thrilled by it.
Maybe it was all the knowing references to "the effects of aging" by characters who are 28. Maybe I am oddly unmoved by the Poor Little Rich Girl thing. Maybe it was the rather boring who-dunnit sub-plot. Or the lamely two-dimensional male characters. Or that I have a hard time suspending disbelief and thinking of cupcake bakeries as anything like a re ...more

Childhood friends with a difficult past are thrown together as adults. And to complicate things further, they are in business together! One is entitled, the other has a chip on her shoulder. Both have some growing up to do if the cupcakery they have opened is to succeed.
Overall this was a decent light read. There was a twist or two to keep it interesting. If you can suspend belief that this arrangement could actually work, pack it in your beach bag and enjoy.
Overall this was a decent light read. There was a twist or two to keep it interesting. If you can suspend belief that this arrangement could actually work, pack it in your beach bag and enjoy.

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
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

Jan 27, 2012
Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com
rated it
it was amazing
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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
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This one was a bookclub pick. I'm sorry, but I was bored out of my mind (I only made it to page 60). I'm still going to the meeting though because most people are bringing cupcakes. :)
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Four stars: A riveting cupcakey read.
Annie closes her eyes, draws a deep breath and tries to vanquish the old ghosts. After ten years, she has returned to the house where her mother worked as a servant for the wealthy St. Clair family during her youth. Ten years ago, her mother collapsed on their kitchen floor and died a few short days later of a brain aneurism. Since then, Annie has avoided the family, until now. Today, she is back to serve her delectable cupcakes for a St. Clair social functio ...more
Annie closes her eyes, draws a deep breath and tries to vanquish the old ghosts. After ten years, she has returned to the house where her mother worked as a servant for the wealthy St. Clair family during her youth. Ten years ago, her mother collapsed on their kitchen floor and died a few short days later of a brain aneurism. Since then, Annie has avoided the family, until now. Today, she is back to serve her delectable cupcakes for a St. Clair social functio ...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. ...more
The girls grew up together since they were babies - they might as well have been sisters. ...more

Two young girls grow up side by side in San Francisco's Pacific Heights district, but they live totally separate lives. Julia St. Clair is the wealthy daughter of Lolly and Tad; Annie Quintana's mother Lucia fled Ecuador as a teenage single mom, and now works as a nanny/cook for the St. Clairs.
Over the years, however, the girls become best friends, attend the same schools (thanks to the largesse of the St. Clairs), and seemingly are like family to one another.
But what happens during the high sch ...more
Over the years, however, the girls become best friends, attend the same schools (thanks to the largesse of the St. Clairs), and seemingly are like family to one another.
But what happens during the high sch ...more

Dec 17, 2011
Melissa ♥ Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
reviewed-net-galley
I knew that I had to read this book from the second I saw that cover and read the title! Isn't is awesome? Clean lines and so appealing...with the perfect mix of colors :) Luckily for me, the inside of the book completely lived up to that wonderful cover. (We're not always so lucky, are we?)
Meg Donohue's writing style and pacing of the novel were perfect. I loved how the narration took turns every other chapter between Anna and Julia. I'm finding that I am really enjoying this trend of dual POVs ...more
Meg Donohue's writing style and pacing of the novel were perfect. I loved how the narration took turns every other chapter between Anna and Julia. I'm finding that I am really enjoying this trend of dual POVs ...more

I must admit when I picked up this book I was looking for a light hearted read, easy going that I could pick up and put down at will. What I got was a brilliantly worked story leaving me turning pages until the early hours (not to mention craving cupcakes.)
Meg Donohue writes this in a way that slowly feeds our the information and secrets right to the very end which is what keeps you hooked.
What I liked: I loved both characters and really connected with them, especially Julia who clearly displa ...more
Meg Donohue writes this in a way that slowly feeds our the information and secrets right to the very end which is what keeps you hooked.
What I liked: I loved both characters and really connected with them, especially Julia who clearly displa ...more

I received a copy of How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donohue in exchange for an honest review.
What a home run of a book! It gives me chills when I find a book that I find irresistible from page one, and this exactly what happened with How to Eat a Cupcake. The dynamic between Annie and Julia was tense, loving, troubled, and supportive –all wrapped into one. These characters really leapt off the pages and made this impossible to put down. I loved the mystery surrounding the death of Annie’s mother an ...more
What a home run of a book! It gives me chills when I find a book that I find irresistible from page one, and this exactly what happened with How to Eat a Cupcake. The dynamic between Annie and Julia was tense, loving, troubled, and supportive –all wrapped into one. These characters really leapt off the pages and made this impossible to put down. I loved the mystery surrounding the death of Annie’s mother an ...more

I am happy to be able to report that I really, really enjoyed this book! The characters were likeable, interesting, and believable. I was very intrigued by the idea of girls who grew up together as sisters, through the odd circumstance of being one's parent employed by, and living with the family of the other. And I thought the book was very realistic in its approach to that premise. The book is set in San Francisco, which adds a nice element. Also, any book that includes so much discussion of c
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Cupcakes!
I really want to rush to a bakery and get a glamorous cupcake and try to eat it the way Julia does, I think I might need to get two because I might not get it right the first time! this was a fun book, relationships re-learning each other, misconceptions, misunderstandings, human.The women in this story are both likeable and while reading you just know it's all going to work out but what keeps you reading is How?
The descriptions of cupcakes did have me snacking my way through the story ...more
I really want to rush to a bakery and get a glamorous cupcake and try to eat it the way Julia does, I think I might need to get two because I might not get it right the first time! this was a fun book, relationships re-learning each other, misconceptions, misunderstandings, human.The women in this story are both likeable and while reading you just know it's all going to work out but what keeps you reading is How?
The descriptions of cupcakes did have me snacking my way through the story ...more

I loved this book. I like that there was a little mystery but not overwhelming the plot of the book. It was interesting to read the story from both perspectives. It made me realize both girls were being ignorant, which I'm sure is the case with me when I'm fighting with someone.
Fun story, really likable characters..... Now if the cupcake shop were real. This book left me craving cupcakes for days (0= ...more
Fun story, really likable characters..... Now if the cupcake shop were real. This book left me craving cupcakes for days (0= ...more

The book had its moments, though not as intriguing of a book as I had thought it was going to be. Might give author Meg Donohue another try though with Dog Crazy. All in all not a terrible book but it didn't have exactly what I was hoping for.
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I loved this book! It's fluffy fun and full of yummy delights and a bit of romance.
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Further proof that you can't judge a book by it's title or cover. Fluff, but lot's of substance. Enjoyable and at times humerous.
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This book was a struggle for me to get through. I really felt like the first half dragged and all the action happened in the last 25%. Character development was lacking- Both main characters seemed one dimensional to me, and they kept alluding to their past falling out, but never really clued the reader in for over half the book. Frustrating to get through. However, I appreciated the themes of change, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

This was a light summer read. I enjoyed the characters as they sorted through their past relationship and moved forward as adults. They decide to go into business together and open a cupcake business. I admit that the description of the cupcakes had my mouth watering. A few recipes thrown in would have been awesome.

Jan 08, 2017
Nicole Roach
added it
Abandoned this book half way because I didn't find any of the characters to have sincere qualities.
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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
How to Eat a Cupcake is a book after my he ...more

Julia St. Clair and Anita "Annie" Quintana grew up together like sisters in San Francisco-Julia the only child of the wealthy St. Clairs and Annie, the only child of the St. Clair family cook. Their friendship was torn apart by an incident that took place their senior year of high school and after graduation, they went their separate ways.
Fast forward 10 years. Julia is a successful business woman in New York who has returned home to plan her California wedding. Annie has followed in her late mo ...more
Fast forward 10 years. Julia is a successful business woman in New York who has returned home to plan her California wedding. Annie has followed in her late mo ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Play Book Tag: How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donohue - 3 stars | 1 | 15 | Oct 16, 2018 02:04PM | |
Play Book Tag: how to eat a cupcake - 2 saccharine stars | 7 | 20 | Sep 15, 2018 06:56PM | |
Goodreads Librari...: isbn is ebook from Harper Collins at various booksellers, not a nook edition | 2 | 154 | Jul 06, 2013 01:56PM | |
CUPCAKES WAR READ...: OUR CHAT WITH MEG DONOHUE | 5 | 19 | May 02, 2012 07:40PM | |
CUPCAKES WAR READ...: Place to Come for Chat with Meg Donohue | 136 | 17 | Apr 25, 2012 06:30PM |
Meg Donohue is the USA Today bestselling author of You, Me, and the Sea, Every Wild Heart, Dog Crazy, All the Summer Girls, and How to Eat a Cupcake. Her novels have been translated into Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she lives San Francisco with her husband, three daughters, and dog. She is currently working on her next n
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