Customer Reviews

Let Them Eat Cake (French Twist, Book 1)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I liked this book so much, I scarfed in down almost as fast as I would a piece of my mom's legendary brownie chocolate cake.

While I've enjoyed some Christian "chick lit" lately, some of it can veer into the self-consciously cute and trying a little too hard to be funny zone. Not this book. Sandra Byrd's humor is wryly amusing instead of broadly slapstick, her protagonist's interaction with God believable instead of goofy.

The story is Alexandra "Lexi" Stuart, a 20-something who is having trouble getting her career bearings in a post-college world. When yet another job falls through, this Francophile decides to follow her heart and work for a much smaller paycheck in a French bakery.

Her adventures at the bakery, her attraction to two very different guys, and her steps back to a relationship with God, make for some of the most enjoyable reading I've done in a while. Lexi is an appealing character, and by the time the story wraps up, you feel you've made a friend--and if you're like me, you'll applaud her choice at the end of the book.

After reading this, I handed it off to my 20-year-old daughter, who also devoured it (appropos word for a book largely about food!) in one weekend. While this tale of a "quarterlife crisis" will go over very well with twenty-somethings, age won't matter when it comes to enjoying this book. It's a good story, told with humor and verve, and pages turn effortlessly.

P.S. I really liked the way actual images were interspersed in the copy, such as those of e-mails, application forms, classifieds, personal notes, etc. And the recipes! I'll definitely be trying "Boyfriend Bait Stroganoff."

It's tough being the only failure in your upwardly motivated family. Lexi Stuart has just been fired from a job she hated, but she is afraid to tell her parents. Broke, unemployed, between boyfriends, and about to become homeless, she's between the proverbial brick and a cement block. She finally lands a job working the counter in a gourmet bakery. The pay is barely above poverty level, her fellow employee is snippy, and her parents are disappointed in her career choice. To make matters worse, her brother and his fiance are doing great--no problems, good paying jobs, no clouds on their romantic horizon. Lexi can't help feeling like a failure. She doesn't even feel she fits in at her church anymore. On the up-side, her boss is handsome, and seems attracted to her.

Smart and sassy, Let Them Eat Cake is an enjoyable story about a woman who can't get anything right until she gets right with God. Good Chick-Lit that will keep the reader smiling. And the recipes are good too.

Lexi Stuart needs to find a job. She's graduated from college with a degree in French culture and literature but unfortunately there are no jobs that will pay highly with that degree. After turning in numerous resumes, the only job she finds is at a French bakery. While it is a step down for her, Lexi finds the job to be exactly what she wants. She can combine her love of cooking while being able to use her knowledge of the French language. She soon finds working there to be an adventure, from being with her cute French boss, dealing with her non Christian coworker, messing up orders and trying to find a place to live. It's enough to make anyone quote Marie Antoinette when they're about to lose their head!

Do not read this book on an empty stomach, especially if you are craving something sweet. This book is filled with tons of food. After reading this, I so craved a cupcake. This book was so informative of bakeries and the French culture that I felt like I worked in the bakery myself. I know exactly how Lexi felt in the beginning of the book. I"m going through the exact situation about having a degree but not being able to find a job. It shows the struggle a lot of grads face when they have studied something they love but find out that society demands something else. Also, the story really shows how it's like to be a 20-something in this time period when you want to live on your but you can't so you're stuck with the parents. In fact I think this is one of the few Christian fiction books that I've read that actually has shown this. It doesn't show everyone being all happy that they are staying together. The story isn't preachy at all, in fact I enjoyed for once how a non-Christian actually is interested in learning about Jesus. This book was tons of fun to read. I loved the little notes and illustrations that would pop up randomly in the book. Loved especially the Wikipedia article. It was like reading one of those chain letter books with the letters and invitations that you get to read. It made the story more exciting, I think all books should have these because it really grabs your attention! This book has become one of my favorites of this year. Extremely recommended to read while eating a croissant with a cafe creme.

I'm typically not a huge fan of the so called "chick-lit" genre of books, however I may just change my tune after having read this book. From the very first page I was drawn into the story and couldn't put it down until I read the very last sentence. I am already hoping the author has a sequel in mind!

Let Them Eat Cake is written by Christian Fiction author Sandra Byrd and chronicles Lexi Stuart over a very difficult few months in her life. Within the first chapter, Lexi loses her job (though she hated it anyways) and learns that her parents are giving her 6 months to find a new place to live, before they sell their house and move away. No matter what Lexi tries, she cannot find and keep a job that she enjoys AND pays the rent, resulting in very low hopes of ever finding a good place to live on her own and finally joining the world of the grown-ups.

Lexi takes a job as a counter assistant at a new French bakery that opens in town, hoping that it will get her closer to actually baking food, a hobby that has turned into a passion. While working her way up in the bakery world, Lexi learns a lot about herself, as well as her long forgotten relationship with God. Little by little Lexi grows as a person and learns that she just may have what it takes to make it in the grown up world after all.

The language in this book simply had me salivating for all things French pastry. I loved the descriptions of the food and the character development was absolutely perfect. Mix a little romance with all the pastry talk and spirituality and Byrd has an incredibly successful novel.
As I said before, I really hope the author plans on writing a sequel because I would love to find out what happens to Lexi and her relationship with God (and food) after this book ended. I was very satisfied with how this book turned out, though am still yearning for some yummy mille-feuilles!

Sandra Byrd paints a story that put me smack dab in the middle of the action. I related to the main character's journey as the powerful and subtle metaphors echoed my own life experiences. Issues of meaning, friendship, love, family and worship are explored in the life of this 20-something woman named Alexandra (Lexi). Bonus: she is a true foodie, thus inclusions of mouth watering recipes. The book creatively unfolds in vivid word pictures that include many pop culture references (from Russell Crowe to Simon & Garfunkel) and adding special relevance to the mix. I laughed and cried and found myself wondering what happens to Lexi after reading the last page. Good stuff!

I'm not even a twenty something but I remember what it was like to be one and I loved this book. Lexi is witty, interesting and generous. I loved watching her spiritual journey and seeing the choices and their consequences. This is not a cookie cutter chick lit novel. Nothing is clearcut or predictable. You will find plenty to chew on (no pun intended). And don't forget to try the recipes. The Boyfriend Bait Beef Stroganoff is wonderful even if you aren't trying to catch a beau. I can't wait to try the Let Them Eat a Perfectly Divine Coconut Cake. Let Them Eat Cake has left me wanting more. I look forward to reading more about both Lexi's spiritual and culinary journeys. Delicieux!

I thoroughly enjoyed Lexi's food filled romantic life and could relate to her search for love at that age. I also loved the bits of reality that spiced the pages: job applications, recipes, plane tickets, and the special message on her blood donor card. My 14-year-old daughter read it in two days. Now my 15-year-old is glued to the pages. She's taking her first year of French and loves all the french phrases. I highly recommend it, especially for young women entering adulthood and all the pressure that goes with searching for a job.

I loved this book. I love the passages of the book of Matthew in the Bible throughout the book as Lexi gets serious about her faith and her relationship with God and its place in her life now and in the future. This appeals right to my generation esp. Her college graduation, boy troubles, job troubles, living troubles, family troubles, and faith issues. Even though I think all women will enjoy this sometimes lighthearted with serious elements chick lit. I def. love the ending which leaves you guessing what choice will she make? It makes me want a really good cake better yet cupcakes to eat! I highly recommend this book. :)

I ordered this book because a trusted souce told me that she fell in love with Sandra Byrd's writing style. I'm glad I listened.

"Let Them Eat Cake" is a delightful story of Alexandra, better known to her friends as Lexi, and her quest for the life she's always known she is supposed to live. A recent college graduate who is more in love with French culture and fine cuisine than all the jobs she has been able to land and then lose, Lexi is on a search for it all - home, job, love and happiness. Her parents are disappointed and dismayed when her college degree in French/Literature leads her to a job as counter help in a bakery where the chefs speak french. Next to her brother, a new attorney, and other successful friends and associates, Lexi looks like a failure. However, we get to follow her on her quest for the life she has always wanted which includes her rekindling her relationship with God.

This is one of the most delightful Christian fiction books I've read in a long time - and I read alot. The story definitely left me wanting much more. So I'll ready other Sandra Byrd books while I wait on the Lexi's sequel.

Sandra Byrd's "Let Them Eat Cake" is such a charming novel. Alexandra isn't living her dream. She went to college, got her degree in French, and graduated without that wonderful career. In fact, she's just been fired from her job translating nutrition labels. But she can't tell her family and disappoint her parents AGAIN! In addition, her parents are moving in six months, and she can't come along. Will Alex be able to stand on her own two feet before it's too late?

This touching novel left me uplifted. I can't wait to try the recipes that are included in the text! I was a bit disappointed that the romantic aspects didn't develop further, but that's how life is, isn't it? So, needless to say, I can't wait for a sequel!!! I loved the warming touch that the images and notes sprinkled throughout the text seemed to provide, offering greater believability. I was completely thrilled with how all of Alex's loose ends were tied up. God works that way so often. It's nice to be reminded in my fictional reading that He operates this way. This was a wonderful book - cover to cover.