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Just when I thought I’d read almost every variant of Western romance, along comes Lynna Banning’s latest. Forget cowboys and ranchers, this is the tale of a town fundraiser and a mail-order bride competition. While the initial set-up of the story is rather contrived, the story does have some rather unexpectedly touching moments. 
Leora (Lolly) Mayfield arrives in Maple Falls, Oregon believing that she is there as a mail-order bride who she will shortly be wed. However, unknown to Lolly, the ladies of Maple Falls have a different idea. They have located three prospective brides for former Colonel Kellen MacReady who will compete for Kellen’s hand in marriage in a competition designed as a fundraiser to rebuild the Maple Falls schoolhouse. Apparently, the schoolhouse needs to be updated since it was built in 1827 – an interesting detail considering that most historical accounts claim that white settlement of Oregon did not begin until approximately the mid-1830s.
Lolly soon meets her competition – local schoolteacher Careen and New Orleans belle Fleurette. Though Lolly fears Kellen will be swayed by the charms of the more worldly lady from New Orleans, she is determined to win since she is, after all, almost thirty and finding a husband will only grow more difficult.
When Kellen meets Lolly, he is immediately intrigued by her, finding her lovely to look at and enjoying her straightforward manner. Lolly, for her part, enjoys Kellen’s company, but it is certainly not love at first sight as she is more focused on her goal of marriage rather than any romantic feelings. Indeed, that seems to be the case with all three women who quickly decide that life will be more pleasant if they are friendly competitors rather than fierce rivals. As a result, they are open with one another about their reasons for competing and the author does a god job of showing the bond that develops between the three.
In addition to enjoying the friendship of the three main female characters, I also relished many of the scenes between Lolly and Kellen. These two related well to one another and their conversations – particularly in the earlier chapters of the book – are fun to read. These aspects of the book, together with a very well-written first kiss between Lolly and Kellen, had me convinced that I would be handing in at least a qualified recommendation.
Unfortunately, as much as I have enjoyed Banning’s previous books, this one had some flaws I just could not ignore. For instance, it contains a few anachronisms, including the one noted earlier. Additionally, the author also uses dialect for her New Orleans character a bit too much and this breaks up the flow of the book. Moderate use of dialect can be successful, but, in this case, every time the Southern lady opens her mouth, she “taks lak thi-is”. As one can imagine, reading her dialogue gets very old very quickly.
On top of all that, there are a few problems in the primary relationship that are worrisome, with the biggest issue involving Lolly, an intelligent newspaper editor and almost thirty years old. However, not only is she a virgin, she seems to have absolutely no idea what goes on between men and women. When discussing a romantic relationship, she has conversations with her newfound friends that sound almost like something one would expect to hear from a child. Lolly is basically a sensible and likable character, but her wide-eyed Cartland-like heroine naivete about relationships grates. The author also throws in a completely unnecessary conflict between Kellen and Lolly near the end that serves no real purpose and almost feels as though it is there on the off chance that someone might object to a romance in which the hero and heroine don’t have to solve a conflict between themselves.
Still, despite its flaws, The Wedding Cake War does have some bright moments. It is a light and humorous read, and Banning is certainly a skilled writer. Were it not for the items mentioned above, I would certainly recommend this book. As it is, this novel was only an average read, but for some readers, those above-average scenes sprinkled throughout may make it all worthwhile.
I enjoy spending as much time as I can between the covers of a book, traveling through time and around the world. When I'm not having adventures with fictional characters, I'm an attorney in Virginia and I love just hanging out with my husband, little man, and the cat who rules our house.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.