The Coincidence of Coconut Cake - Amy E. Reichert 
 Rating: 
 On the same day she crosses paths with Al at a coffee stand while carrying her famous coconut cake, Lou finds her fiance Devlin with an intern in a sexy nightgown and her restaurant Luella's receives the visit of food critic A. W. Wodyski. In the next months, she shows Al the best of Milwaukee (museums, festivals, farmer markets, etc.) and their relationship grows until Al is ready to propose, but Devlin reveals that Al is the food critic that forced her to close her restaurant and they broke up. A few months later, Lou forgives Al and invites him to her new restaurant. 
 While the novel alternates between Lou and Al's perspective, we rarely see the pair of them together and are given only glimpses of their relationship. I loved the side characters a lot more than the main characters, especially Harley and Sue (who discussed Pixar films and Harry Potter while preping the kitchens). The Meyers and Al's parents were also great, and John made me laugh countless times. The description of the food made me very hungry, especially for that coconut cake. Including the author's grandmother Luella's recipe at the end was brilliant.