Icing on the Cake (Wild Wedding, #2)

by Ann Marie Walker

[Lynn]

3.5 stars

Who can't resist a romance at a wedding when a member of the British Royal Family is attending?

Prince Henry's reputation with the ladies has given the tabloid press far too many stories to print over the years. The playboy acknowledges his life and privileged background interests people around the world but sometimes he wishes his every exploit wasn't a headline in a newspaper. When his friend from university invites him to celebrate his wedding, Henry is keen to attend without alerting the paparazzi, so he hatches a plan, calls himself Hank and hopes he can attend without drawing attention away from the bride and groom.

Cassie Miller doesn't have time for men and romance because she has spent all her adult life chasing her dreams. After becoming an accountant, she decides to give it up and become a pastry chef and open her own bakery. She loves what she does, but working sixteen hours a day leaves no time for fun or an occasional fling, a situation she hopes to change after she finishes baking the cake for her brother's wedding.

The dialogue between the protagonists and the secondary characters is fun, and sexy, although sometimes it's a bit excessive, childish and repetitive. As a British Prince, I didn't find his persona convincing and found him immature when I expected him to act with a little more decorum and grace. Those character traits did eventually show, but we had to wait until near the end of the novel to get a hint of the man born to be king. As Hank, his role as average American didn't convince me either, so I was totally unimpressed by him. Apart from his need to bed women, there wasn't much about him that was endearing.

The banter between Cassie and her best friend Olivia is typical girl talk; amusing observations about men and sex. Like Henry, I didn't feel I got to know who Cassie really is throughout the storyline. The concept of the narrative is fun and enjoyable but it lacked character development to make the hero and heroine's relationship convincing.

I really enjoyed Black Tie Optional, the first book in the Wild wedding series and it was nice we can catch-up with Cole and Olivia, the protagonists in Icing On The Cake. What I found difficult in this novel was how different it read from the previous one. Even the dialogue between Cole and Olivia seemed childish and overly sexual. The same for Hank (Henry) Considering he's supposed to be royal, his thoughts and actions didn't fit his persona, even though he was incognito.

Overall, its a fun read even though I prefer the first book in the series because the feel of this one is so different. However, if Ms Walker writes more in this series, I'm likely to pick up and read them when they're released.

***arc generously received courtesy of Swerve via NetGalley***