Always the Baker, Never the Bride [Kindle Edition]

Sandra D. Bricker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When diabetic Emma Rae Travis wins the prestigious Passionate Palate Award for her innovative crème brûlée wedding cake, she is thrilled to be offered the position of pastry chef by the new proprietors of the Tanglewood Inn, an Atlanta institution being renovated into a five-star wedding-destination hotel. She is also attracted to its CEO. But Jackson Drake is still mourning his beloved wife’s untimely passing and is unable to reconcile his burgeoning feelings for Emma Rae with his loyalty to Desirée’s memory. Although both consider themselves blessed with supportive family and friends, Emma Rae and Jackson would rather be spared the well-meaning efforts at convincing them to return to their childhood faith. And when Emma Rae’s unappreciative former boss and her ex-boyfriend—the cad and his fiancée are about to become the Tanglewood’s first wedding clients—both suddenly want her back, Bricker’s contemporary inspirational romance really heats up! Topical recipes, menus, and how-to tips entice the reader with an insider’s perspective on the lucrative business surrounding all things bridal. --Lynne Welch

Product Description

Thirty-six-year-old Emma Rae Travis has been baking specialty cakes and melt-in-your-mouth pastries at The Backstreet Bakery in historic Roswell, just outside of Atlanta, for the last six years. But here’s the rub about her job as a baker … Emma is diabet

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 391 KB
• Publisher: Abingdon Press Fiction (September 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00436EZYO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (188 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,306 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #89 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Religious Fiction > Romance

More About the Author

"I'm going to be a writer when I grow up!" Sandra D. Bricker declared these words to her father on a Sunday afternoon in Slidell, Louisiana. She was 5 years old, and was referring to being able to string her cursive letters together to write her full name for the first time, but the declaration proved somewhat prophetic.

By the time she reached high school and her first article was published in The Cincinnati Enquirer, Sandie knew writing was what she wanted to do. For more than a decade, Sandie lived in Los Angeles and, while writing in every spare moment, she studied screenwriting and worked as a personal assistant and publicist to some of daytime television's hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved cross-country to take on a new role: Caregiver.

"I guess most people would see my career as a publicist as a sort of dream job. But giving it up turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me!" she declares. "Not only was I given the gift of getting to know my mother as an adult woman before she passed away, but I was also afforded the blessing of being able to re-focus on writing novels in an effort to pursue my dream of a writing career."

That career weaves a web that draws in every age of reader. Sandie's interest in telling a story knows no boundaries. Three novels for middle readers carved out the beginning of the journey; then Avalon Books followed up with two hardbound romance novels in 2001: unWANTED: Husband (romantic comedy) and Change of Heart (romantic suspense). The response was tremendous, and Sandie was asked to pen a sequel to Change of Heart ... and so Sins of the Past was released in December 2003. Next up was another romantic comedy; Wish I Weren't Here was released in February 2005.

"I'm a Christian woman, first and foremost," she says. "So the last couple of years has been a bit of a dream-come-true. Summerside Press chose me as one of two authors to launch their new Love Finds You line in October 2008 with Love Finds You in Snowball, Arkansas, a romantic comedy for the inspirational market. So the best of all worlds, as far as I'm concerned!"

More hilarity continued to follow from this award-winning author.

Love Finds You in Holiday, Florida (Fall 2009) and Love Finds You in Carmel, California (Fall 2010) for Summerside Press, and The Big 5-OH! (Spring 2010) and Always the Baker, Never the Bride (Fall 2010) for Abingdon Press.

Future books will include sequels, The Big 4-OH! and The Big 3-OH! for Abingdon Press.

After spending nearly 15 years dealing with her celebrity clients' fans, Sandie finds it amusing that she is suddenly the one getting fan mail! "When people were actually buying my books at a recent signing, I found myself wanting to go around and invite them all to dinner or offer to bake them cookies. Hey! In fact ... maybe I'll do that very soon."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scrumptious!!!, September 3, 2010

By 

Jason H Hendrickson (South Berwick, Maine United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Always the Baker, Never the Bride (Paperback)

In a word, Scrumptious! Sandra Bricker's latest release had me laughing out loud, craving crème brule, and aching for the hero and heroine as their faltering hearts brought them two steps forward and one maddening step away from each other. Always the Baker, Never the Bride is a story that will delight from first bite until the last delicious morsel. This contemporary romance left me cracking up with every chapter and growling when I had to put it down. I love the way the plot wove in unconventional patterns, and the rich complexity of characters had them jumping off the page. A second helping, please!
-Emily Hendrickson

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not what I expected, January 10, 2011

By 

Mandy Leap (Dayton, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Always the Baker, Never the Bride (Kindle Edition)

The book started off interesting, but it never picked up. I kept waiting for the relationship between the main character and her love interest to pick up and it never does!!! If you wants lots of wedding advice...this is great. If you are looking for a love story....look elsewhere!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not enough character development, January 18, 2011

By 

Mary Fike "Crochet Nut" (Minneapolis, MN, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Always the Baker, Never the Bride (Kindle Edition)

I was drawn to this because I generally like stories with cooks or bakers as the main character, and Bricker has the basis for some interesting characters. But they are all only outlines, with little real development. I also thought a story about a Type I diabetic would be educational, but this book barely touches on the subject. This is supposedly set in Atlanta, where anyone who has lived there since birth does have a particular accent; Bricker kept emphasizing one character's accent with words in italics, which was annoying. Lastly, I don't mind some religious content in books, but the pastor, Miguel Ramos, was too young and priggish to be giving the sort of advice he was constantly handing out. Jackson spends much of the time avoiding Miguel; I wouldn't have listened to him for more than a minute. The plot was okay, but I found myself skipping whole religious passages toward the end because they did nothing to further the plot, and seemed awkwardly placed. Unless you like your romances with little passion and a heavy sugary dose of religion, I would not recommend this book at any price.