Dress Rehearsal [Paperback]

Jennifer O'Connell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2005

No one knows wedding cakes better than the owner of Boston's hottest cake boutique. Lauren Gallagher is a pro at helping brides and grooms pick out the perfect Big Day dessert. She also has a talent for predicting which marriage will last and which is destined to crumble-simply by observing their cake selection process. Her latest prediction, however, is anything but sweet. Unless her marital Magic Eight Ball is off, one of her best friends is about to tie the knot with Mr. Absolutely All Wrong. But while Lauren's trying to prevent a potential mismatch, she's got her own problems-involving an ex-boyfriend, his new fiancée, and the cake of Lauren's dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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 divorcée, 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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Can a couple's choice of wedding cake predict the success of their marriage? Lauren Gallagher, owner of the chic cake boutique Lauren's Luscious Licks, is beginning to think so. Couples who argue over butter cream and marzipan seem destined to argue all the way to divorce court. Her faith in the theory is so unshakable that she pitches it to a book agent and convinces her best friend, Paige, to break up with her fiance. What was he thinking, requesting cupcakes for the reception? When her newly engaged ex-boyfriend waltzes into her shop and orders the very cake she's been saving for her own wedding, she wonders if he was really "the one" after all. This book takes on the common theme of searching for Mr. Right with a sweet twist and inept, funny, and sympathetic characters. Readers will definitely see some of themselves in Lauren and her friends. O'Connell, also the author of Bachelorette #1 (2003), delivers a fun addition to the chick-lit collection. Aleksandra Kostovski
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade; First Edition edition (January 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451213998
• ISBN-13: 978-0451213990
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,999,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Although I've written about a reality dating show, a prescient pastry chef, and a woman who inspired an 80's rock hit, I have not spent hours dissecting The Bachelor, I can barely follow the directions on the back of a Betty Crocker box, and I can only dream of a long-haired, guitar-thrashing rocker even giving her a second glance.
While I cringe at the thought of being called Jenny again after all these years, my first teen book, PLAN B, will be published under Jenny O'Connell by MTV Books (March 2006).

Even if my days as a high school senior are long behind me, I did receive my B.A. from Smith College and my M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and quirky spin on 'happily ever after', May 9, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dress Rehearsal (Paperback)

Lauren is the Vera Wang of wedding cake design. She owns a hip boutique and has an uncanny knack for determining a couples' potential for staying together based on the cake that they choose. Her best friend after all chose the wrong cake and ultimately the wrong groom. When her other close friend makes a near disastrous decision, it is up to Lauren to rescue her from making the same mistake.

Enter ex-boyfriend Neil. He and his fiance show up at her boutique and he chooses the cake that Lauren has already determined will be her cake. Did she make a mistake eight years ago when she sent Neil packing? Despite being in the early throes of a new relationship with marriage-shy divorce lawyer Charlie (who she has so much in common with, including clients), Lauren entertains the idea of pursuing a relationship with Neil before he ties the knot. At the same time, she is trying to launch a wedding cake book, set her friend Paige up with a more appropriate guy, deal with a temperamental head cook, and determine if happily ever after means marriage.

Witty and insightful, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, except for that ambiguous ending. It just seemed to be missing something!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book takes the cake!!, January 30, 2005

By 

Susan Hatler (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Dress Rehearsal (Paperback)

Lauren Gallagher trades in safe and stable boyfriend, Neil, in search of a more adventurous life and ends up finding professional success when Lauren's Luscious Licks becomes the "in" wedding cake boutique in all of Boston. In addition to becoming the Vera Wang of wedding cakes, Lauren discovers her talent for predicting martial bliss (or disaster!) by observing what couples select as their ideal vision of flour & frosting for their wedding day.

For Lauren, the trouble begins when she's forced to apply this frosting forecasting to her own life as ex Neil enters her boutique (w/new fiancee in tow) and selects Lauren's exact dream cake for his wedding! And the chaos ensues when she flip-flops between Charlie, a man who shares her zest for life and her supposed sense of humor regarding the cliche of the happily-ever-after, and the ex who according to her pastry prediction has to be THE ONE!!

Amidst all the delicious fun of cake, fillings, and fondant is Lauren's journey to figure out how to live life w/out a safety net and the risks & rewards of giving in to love when there's no guarantee that your heart won't break like egg shells in the batter. . .As with O'Connell's first novel BACHELORETTE #1, the author manages to get across a meaningful message in a fun and witty page-turner.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A cute read, May 13, 2005

By 

Marley Gibson "Young Adult Author" (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dress Rehearsal (Paperback)

I loved the concept of someone being able to predict a couple's future by the cake the picked out for their wedding. This book contains three very strong charcters: Lauren, the main heroine, and her two best friends, Robin and Paige. They stick together through trials and tribulations, just like good friends do. They also give each other a lot of bad advice that keeps the pace moving and the story interesting. Jennifer O'Connell has a great voice and penned a fun story. And, as someone who lives in Boston (and gets greatly annoyed when Boston references aren't accurate), I must say the author pegged the landscape with topical and accurate references.

My only complaint against the book was that the type font was ridiculously small and it made reading for an extended amount of time difficult on the eyes. But that's the publisher's fault, not the author's. A definite summer beach read.