I was thrilled to receive Judith Fertig’s The Cake Therapist to review. First, I was completely grabbed by the title. Food and feelings just go together, right? This story has grief, hope, healing, and mystery all in one. Just the right ingredients for a great novel.

The story focuses around Claire, who has just returned to her hometown to start her dream business, and get away from her philandering husband. While Claire is on her journey of self discovery and healing, she helps others with her tasty intuition. Claire has a gift for figuring out someone’s “flavor” and helping them along in their own journey of self discovery, healing, and finding hope. But there is also another storyline in the mixture. You’re taken back to the World War II era to follow the journey of two sisters. Fertig does a beautiful job of going back and forth between the eras and creating a mystery. As each scene unfolds you’re yearning to figure out more and how all of these characters fall into the same cake.

Now I’m one for detail when I’m reading. I think every little detail is some type of foreshadowing, so I was piecing this story and the characters together morsel by morsel as I read. When the book ended I was stuck with a missing ingredient. I really thought there was more. Another character we needed to discover and add to the cake. Luckily, I realized that there is a second book in the works which will explain it. I think my hunch is right and I can’t wait to devour the next installment.