Review: Practice Cake by Dayla Moon

Practice Cake, A Romantic Comedy (Life in Saltwater City) by Dayla Moon 


Description:
There’s one thing Maddie finds more tempting than red velvet cake: her coworker, Drew. All it takes is one of his sly winks or a playful hip-check by the cooler, and she’s incinerating the cookies. Her boyfriend would not approve.

When a reality TV crew descends upon the bakery, her simple summer job gets even more complicated. Maddie could become the Bakery Network’s next breakout star, if she can handle the heat of being cast as a show villain. Drew has an alternate idea: run away from everything, with him and his sexy tousled hair. She decides to take the leap, but when she finds out Drew’s been hiding a shocking secret, Maddie looks down at her packed suitcase and takes a moment to think. Should she fly off to Australia with a guy she hardly knows, or should she pick up her suitcase and hit him with it?Chock full of imperfect people behaving badly, Practice Cake is for readers who enjoy a good laugh. 


My Thoughts:
This was a free Kindle book that I picked up.  I don't usually choose YA contemporary.  The farther I get from my teenage years, the more annoying I find teenagers.  Unless they are saving the world or something interesting like that. 


I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  Maddie is just graduating from high school and is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life.  She gets a job at a bakery and everyone seems to tell her that it is not good enough, although she enjoys the baking quite a bit.  The book is about her struggling through her personal relationships and trying to grow up. I felt bad for her when things were not going well, and I found myself wanting to thunk her over the head and tell her what to do at times, but I think she did alright for herself. 


Overall I enjoyed the story.  It was funny and fairly unpredictable. Although, some of the characters were irritating, and I found myself feeling old when I had to visit Urban Dictionary to understand a few of the references.   


My Rating:  ****
Steam Factor:  !
*note:  underage drinking