Dress Rehearsal

This romantic caper by O'Connell (Bachelorette #1) is fueled almost entirely by heroine Lauren Gallagher's mistaken ideas about love. As in an I Love Lucy episode, the mishaps and disasters can be seen coming from a mile away, but here the impending doom is more exasperating than funny. Lauren, who owns a business specializing in delectable wedding cakes, thinks she can predict-based solely on the couple's cake selection-whether a marriage will fly or not. ""I'm a baked goods bridal barometer. I have the predictive power of pastry."" Her cake theory causes trouble when an ex-boyfriend, Neil, walks into her boutique with a cake order that makes Lauren suspect she shouldn't have let him get away all those years ago. Further complicating matters is a new man, Charlie, who claims neither cake nor wedding is in the picture for him. While astute readers will realize early on that Charlie is far superior to Neil, it takes Lauren many chapters to reach the same conclusion. First, she must orchestrate a silly campaign to get Neil back. Offering relief from this tiresome plot line are Lauren's two best friends-Paige and Robin, a romantic and a bitter divorcee, respectively-plus a book deal, and a grumpy but lovable baker named Maria. Despite the occasional tasty tidbit served up, this dress rehearsal is more an exercise in frustration than a precursor to bliss.