All the Summer Girls by Meg Donohue

Morning, everyone! Today I'm on two tours. First up is Meg Donohue's All the Summer Girls. 

Best friends Kate, Vanessa, and Dani haven't gotten together in ages. They were supposed to be partying in Vegas to celebrate Kate's upcoming wedding, but now the groom has walked and it looks like the whole thing is off. As Kate struggles with her broken relationship and the discovery that she's pregnant, Vanessa has marriage issues of her own. And Dani, well... she's just been fired, again. It's Dani who suggests that the three of them keep their trip plans but move it to the Jersey Shore instead. It'll be a great chance for each of them to take a break and spend time together. But it'll also be the first time they've returned as a group to the place Kate's twin died so many years ago - an event none of them has truly recovered from and one they've all been keeping their own secrets about. 

After Donohue's How To Eat a Cupcake, I kind of expected something a little lighter in tone than All the Summer Girls. This is not to say that her debut was all that light and fluffy - I mentioned in my review of that one that I found it had quite a bit of welcome substance, but still, All the Summer Girls was definitely heavier in tone.

While I found I could easily sympathize with each of the characters at times, I also found that there were moments when I didn't completely like any of them. It's hard to be too critical of that considering it's all the lumps and bumps - or in this case personality quirks - that make the characters seem real. It was that lack of connection, though, paired with the weightiness of the book (and the fact that I'd read this one and He's Gone one right after another) that turned me off of this one a bit. I have to say this was a downer of a weekend in terms of reading!

Like He's Gone it was still a good read and one that I've no doubt lots of folks will enjoy. It was certainly bad timing on my part, though!

Rating: 3.5/5

To see other stops on the tour, check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Meg Donohue and her work, visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donohue

I've been craving cupcakes all week and it's all Meg Donohue's fault! I mean really, what did I expect from a book called How to Eat a Cupcake, right? I should have had some on hand for while I read.

Annie Quintana grew up alongside Julia St. Clair. Annie's mother was the St. Clair's housekeeper and Julia's nanny after all. But a terrible rumor in high school and Annie's mother's death proved to be a permanent breaking point for the two women -- until now.

Julia is planning her wedding and keeping a secret. In a last ditch effort to get her mind off things, she decides to pitch Annie on a business plan. Annie is a baker with a special talent for cupcakes and Julia thinks the market is ripe for a cupcakery. If they can stick to business, they may be able to succeed, but the close contact also brings old issues back from their past.

Donohue's debut is just shy of a fluffy read. In fact, it has a bit more substance than you might initially expect -- a little unexpected twist in the end that I sure didn't see coming. Even so, How to Eat a Cupcake remains light and quick and made for a really fun weekend read.

Be forewarned, sweets are not included. Buy your own and keep 'em close!