Taking The Cake is my first tale by Kate Davies, but I am eagerly looking forward to many more. Ms Davies writes with much flair, actively engaging the reader in the storyline. I love the characters Davies has penned, and I thoroughly enjoyed following the heroine, Mollie, on her journey of self-discovery. Taking The Cake is a fabulous, feel-good romance, perfect to buck you up if you are feeling down.

Mollie Mason's wedding is looming on the horizon and everything seems to be going according to plan. Then Mollie's best friend, Caroline, dares Mollie to exchange places with the stripper who is to pop out of the fake rubber cake. Mollie accepts the dare, believing that she and her fiancé will be able to chuckle over her actions later on. Only Mollie's not chuckling when the discomfort of being in a small, hot and cramped environment settles on her like a dark cloud. She cannot wait to escape – though she is nervous about her skimpy costume and the bachelor party's reactions. But nothing could have prepared her for what she hears, or for what she sees. In the midst of his bachelor party, her fiancé, Blaine, is mocking her. Seems that their engagement means little to him. He is marrying her to improve his career image, and has no intention of being faithful – as proven by the sight that greets Mollie when she finally manages to erupt from the cake in a rage. Why, he even dared to tell his friends she's frigid! The nerve of the man! What's worse, none of the guys – not even her soon-to-be-ex-fiancé – realize who she is. None, that is, except Cade, her high school crush and the last man she expected to see at the bachelor party. Oh, the fantasies she used to have about him…And now, it seems to her that Cade is just the man to aid her in a walk on the wild side, to prove to herself that she is not the woman Blaine described. But will Cade be open to her suggestion, or will he turn her down and make her humiliation complete?

Mollie Mason has long been the woman at the core of Cade Gallagher's fantasies, the yard stick by which every other woman is measured. Believing himself beneath her in high school, he did not act on his attraction and feelings for her. Now, after a nomadic existence, he wants to settle down – and the only woman he can think of is Mollie. He returns to his hometown, to visit and see if he has a chance with her, but was disappointed to learn that she was a little over a week away from her wedding – to Blaine, no less. To Cade's mind, the Blaine Cade once knew is no where near good enough for Mollie. In a bid to see if Blaine has changed his ways - hoping he has - Cade accepts the offer to attend the bachelor party, but is horrified and disgusted at the groom's actions and unkind words. When Mollie unexpectedly emerges as a trembling fury from the fake cake, Cade cannot believe he is the only one to recognize her presence, and he sets off after her subsequent to collecting her personal items. The proposition she puts to him is one he never expected to receive, but he is hesitant about accepting for she has placed time constraints where he would wish for none. But when it becomes clear that she'll turn to someone else to help her discover her wild side if he doesn't agree, his possessive instincts spring to the foreground. An intense kiss soon puts paid to her notion of turning to someone else. But will Cade be able to get Mollie to fall in love with him, to want more than a temporary fling? Will his dreams of a relationship with her come true or will she dash them at week's end?

Taking The Cake is a fabulously woven story about a woman duped by her fiancé, who now intends to explore her wild side – and who better to help her let go and unwind than the bad boy from high school? Each character starts out with their own agenda, yet through the course of the story each agenda changes, be it a small or a large alteration. The main characters have been very well developed, and the secondary characters also seem fairly life like. I especially liked Caroline, and look forward to her coming tale. Mollie sets out for a walk on the wild side, but comes to realize that she truly is the woman she becomes. All her life, her true self was stifled beneath a good girl image, but now she has let loose and she is the happiest she has ever been – yet her happiness also depends on an external factor which may cease to exist within a week or two. Taking The Cake focuses both on the emotions of the characters, yet also on the physical. Sex scenes are steamy and described, but do not stray far from traditional love scenes. If you like contemporary romance, if you like a heroine who goes from buttoned down and straight laced to wild and wanton, or if you feel you can identify with Mollie, then I would say that Taking The Cake should be a definite read for you. Though not 100% original, Kate Davies has taken this plot and made it her own, making Taking The Cake a sensual delight of self-discovery.

Reviewed By Elizabeth
© April 2006