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Chocolate Cake for Breakfast
Helen McNeil is a vet in the small rural town of Broadview. While taking evasive action from a dull girl at a party one night she falls over - and fails to recognise - national sporting hero, Mark Tipene. For some mysterious reason Helen never really grasps, Mark finds this charming and appears the next day at the front counter of the vet clinic to ask her out.
A whirlwind romance follows and everything is going swimmingly until one little hiccup changes everything...
Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is the funny and heart-warming story of the pros and cons of dating a man whose shirtless picture adorns a wall in every second lunchroom in the country, of calving cows and crazy cat ladies, and of doing your best when life takes an unexpected turn.
A whirlwind romance follows and everything is going swimmingly until one little hiccup changes everything...
Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is the funny and heart-warming story of the pros and cons of dating a man whose shirtless picture adorns a wall in every second lunchroom in the country, of calving cows and crazy cat ladies, and of doing your best when life takes an unexpected turn.
361 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
61 people are currently reading
723 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Hawkins
6 books197 followersBestselling New Zealand author Danielle Hawkins lives on a sheep and beef farm near Otorohanga with her husband and two children. She works part-time as a large animal vet, and writes when the kids are at school and she's not required for farming purposes. She is a keen gardener, an intermittently keen cook and an avid reader. Her other talents include memorising poetry, making bread and zapping flies with an electric fly swat. She tends to exaggerate to improve a story, with the result that her husband believes almost nothing she says.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
June 23, 2022
This book has a slight case of Second Book Syndrome. My definition is that an aspiring author has all the time in the world to craft & hone their first book. If it is a success, then they maybe don't have enough time or original ideas to plot out the second.
To combat this, Hawkins gives Helen (Nell) McNeil her own profession - a vet. & this becomes as a problem as there is waaay more information than this reader wants about the nitty gritty of being a vet. Sensitive readers may want to skim over the part where Helen gets a dead calf out of a live cow. I could have happily lived the rest of my life without discovering how that is done.
The hero, Mark, is given another easy profession - All Black. Our national rugby team is all over our damn screen from February till November. Easy to research & Hawkins does a good job with this aspect of the book. Or good enough for me anyway - if I never saw or heard about another rugby game ever again, I would be one happy camper!
& a second Hawkins book where the female underling (in this case, vet nurse Zoe) is put down as lazy & with her mind more on social media than her job. Fortunately she gets less page time then Amber did in
Helen's stepsisters are two of the most unappealing children in fiction.
The two scenes where Mark's family members appeared while they were important plot points didn't really drive the story forward. In particular the scene with
Hawkins still has a lovely writing style but even with this gift, the book feels like one episode after the other. Helen is so insecure and needy, I can't understand what Mark saw in her. Until near the end there seems very little chemistry between the two of them.
I always go a little easier on kiwi authors so this book has three very weak stars. I've heard good things about her third book
and I plan to get to that one next year. I'm hoping Hawkins has third book syndrome! :D (learns from her mistakes & makes this one totally awesome.)
To combat this, Hawkins gives Helen (Nell) McNeil her own profession - a vet. & this becomes as a problem as there is waaay more information than this reader wants about the nitty gritty of being a vet. Sensitive readers may want to skim over the part where Helen gets a dead calf out of a live cow. I could have happily lived the rest of my life without discovering how that is done.
The hero, Mark, is given another easy profession - All Black. Our national rugby team is all over our damn screen from February till November. Easy to research & Hawkins does a good job with this aspect of the book. Or good enough for me anyway - if I never saw or heard about another rugby game ever again, I would be one happy camper!
& a second Hawkins book where the female underling (in this case, vet nurse Zoe) is put down as lazy & with her mind more on social media than her job. Fortunately she gets less page time then Amber did in
Helen's stepsisters are two of the most unappealing children in fiction.
The two scenes where Mark's family members appeared while they were important plot points didn't really drive the story forward. In particular the scene with
Hawkins still has a lovely writing style but even with this gift, the book feels like one episode after the other. Helen is so insecure and needy, I can't understand what Mark saw in her. Until near the end there seems very little chemistry between the two of them.
I always go a little easier on kiwi authors so this book has three very weak stars. I've heard good things about her third book
and I plan to get to that one next year. I'm hoping Hawkins has third book syndrome! :D (learns from her mistakes & makes this one totally awesome.)
September 20, 2015
I bought this book because it had a lot of my cat nip: professional woman, rugby, animals, unusual setting-rual New Zealand, funny, and unexpected pregnancy.
I paid a bit for this book but it was totally worth it. I have order her first book already and can't wait to pass this one on to my best friend.
I love this love key romance and the heroine who is utterly compentant and also a bit of a mess. I adore all the details of her work life from co workers, to clients, the gory work of a Vet. I loved how matter of fact, attuned, and human Helen was in the world of work. She is a whole person with a great job, family, best friend, past lover and cat before she meets the hero.
Mark is such a guy. lol He is pretty taciturn and Helen talks a lot. Mark is a great guy though. Helen has a bit of growing to do in the communcation department and that makes for a belivable conflict in the book.
I love that Helen is a dirty mess half the time. I think it is great the Mark as really reflected on his old self.
The writer doesn't put a glow on the physical or emotionial side of pregnancy especially and unplanned one and while Helen adimits to not being the best at times this part of the book is equal parts great and tiresome.
I would have loved to be in Mark's head as he doesn't speak all that much. This would have made for more emotionial balenance in the book and made it a 5 star read.
It was very good. I wish it were in ebook and cheaper but you can't have everything.
I paid a bit for this book but it was totally worth it. I have order her first book already and can't wait to pass this one on to my best friend.
I love this love key romance and the heroine who is utterly compentant and also a bit of a mess. I adore all the details of her work life from co workers, to clients, the gory work of a Vet. I loved how matter of fact, attuned, and human Helen was in the world of work. She is a whole person with a great job, family, best friend, past lover and cat before she meets the hero.
Mark is such a guy. lol He is pretty taciturn and Helen talks a lot. Mark is a great guy though. Helen has a bit of growing to do in the communcation department and that makes for a belivable conflict in the book.
I love that Helen is a dirty mess half the time. I think it is great the Mark as really reflected on his old self.
The writer doesn't put a glow on the physical or emotionial side of pregnancy especially and unplanned one and while Helen adimits to not being the best at times this part of the book is equal parts great and tiresome.
I would have loved to be in Mark's head as he doesn't speak all that much. This would have made for more emotionial balenance in the book and made it a 5 star read.
It was very good. I wish it were in ebook and cheaper but you can't have everything.
November 20, 2013
I was charmed by Danielle Hawkins debut novel, Dinner at Rose's last year and so was eager to read Chocolate Cake For Breakfast, a delightful, contemporary romance set in rural New Zealand.
Country vet Helen McNeil is trying to avoid a dull acquaintance at a party when she trips over the outstretched legs of a man lurking in the shadows. After their brief conversation, she is surprised to learn the man is All Blacks player, Mark Tipene, a national sporting hero, and even more shocked when Mark turns up at the practice to invite her for a drink the next day. Despite their differences, and endless interruptions from autograph seekers and emergency calls, a whirlwind romance ensues, and though Helen can't quite believe that the man who could have any woman on his arm would choose her, she resolves to enjoy their relationship for as long as it lasts. Then Helen unwittingly makes a tiny mistake and suddenly everything is different...
I have to mention that Chocolate Cake For Breakfast has one of the most unusual first date scenes I have ever read, where Helen and Mark are forced to deliver a dead calf. Hawkins, a vet herself, describes the scene quite graphically and it is a situation completely devoid of any romance, yet it somehow naturally leads to Helen and Mark's first kiss.
Chocolate Cake For Breakfast is primarily about romance, focusing on the development of the relationship between Helen and Mark. The couple are faced with a number of obstacles, the romance is strained not only by the practicalities of distance, especially given Mark's frequent traveling, but also Helen's insecurities about dating a famous rugby player and Mark's emotional reticence. These issues become critical stumbling blocks when the relationship is barely three months old and both are forced to reevaluate their future plans.
I liked Helen a lot, she is smart, capable and warm, though occasionally plagued with the insecurities common to most women in a relationship. I loved the glimpses of her relationship with her friends and family, especially her much younger step sisters. I also found Helen's work as a vet interesting, despite some fairly unpleasant scenarios where Hawkins spares few details.
Mark is a bit of an enigma, the strong and silent type, his emotions are never really on display. Largely I think because the story is told in the first person by Helen, and as a consequence I think his character was a bit underdeveloped.
Hawkins writing style is relaxed and warm and I think dialogue is a particular strength of the author's. I particularly enjoyed the lighthearted banter between characters and the occasional pointed but well deserved snarky comment. The pace is good and I happily escaped into the story for a few hours, without putting it down.
Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is a delightful and charming novel which I really enjoyed and I'd happily recommend it to fans of the romantic comedy/chick lit genres.
March 3, 2014
This is another quintessential kiwi novel and I loved it. The main characters are Helen, a rural vet, and Mark, a Blues rugby player. They meet by chance and he is quickly smitten, but only two months into dating, she falls pregnant. This is where things start getting a bit fraught.
The author has the nack of writing light romantic chicklit with humour and heart, and also captures the essence of New Zealanders. I particularly loved reading about Helens vet life, as I myself worked in a vet clinic for many years.
This novel will appeal to a wide range, and I even think the odd man would like it ... Plenty of rugby talk. A lovely read. Highly recommended.
The author has the nack of writing light romantic chicklit with humour and heart, and also captures the essence of New Zealanders. I particularly loved reading about Helens vet life, as I myself worked in a vet clinic for many years.
This novel will appeal to a wide range, and I even think the odd man would like it ... Plenty of rugby talk. A lovely read. Highly recommended.
August 21, 2024
when will an All Black sweep me off my feet
May 3, 2016
This was an amusing read that felt much shorter than it was because I just couldn't put it down. The narration was funny without being over the top or feeling like it was trying too hard and Helen was a very likable and down-to-earth main character for the most part, though there were a few patches where I just wanted to shake a little sense in to her.
If there was an issue with this book then I suppose it's that I felt the epilogue was a little weak and superfluous as I felt the story would have ended on a touching moment without it and it didn't really cover or confirm anything new and interesting that I either cared about or couldn't have imagined myself.
Also it was quite surprising how little Mark, the love interest, contributed to anything. I think in part that's simply because the story is told from Helen's POV, but also it's because he always seemed to be off playing/ training for rugby whilst Helen got on with her career and almost completely separate life. Personally I loved the (somewhat idealised) slice-of-life moments with Helen constantly covered in manure, but it would have still been nice to have seen more of her interacting with Mark and the growth of their relationship/ opening up to each other. The end was sweet but even then it still didn't feel like they knew each other properly, nor that we the reader knew them any better either.
Still, I found the parts that may have been dragged out in an overly long manner easy to overlook because the writing was so easy and relaxing to follow. The everyday mundanities that may have over burdened any other novel were frequently turned in to engaging and subtly amusing episodes in this one, though I suspect that whether you enjoy or become utterly bored with this book ultimately depends on whether your own sense of humour aligns with or repels against the somewhat dry and sarcastic tone taken.
If there was an issue with this book then I suppose it's that I felt the epilogue was a little weak and superfluous as I felt the story would have ended on a touching moment without it and it didn't really cover or confirm anything new and interesting that I either cared about or couldn't have imagined myself.
Also it was quite surprising how little Mark, the love interest, contributed to anything. I think in part that's simply because the story is told from Helen's POV, but also it's because he always seemed to be off playing/ training for rugby whilst Helen got on with her career and almost completely separate life. Personally I loved the (somewhat idealised) slice-of-life moments with Helen constantly covered in manure, but it would have still been nice to have seen more of her interacting with Mark and the growth of their relationship/ opening up to each other. The end was sweet but even then it still didn't feel like they knew each other properly, nor that we the reader knew them any better either.
Still, I found the parts that may have been dragged out in an overly long manner easy to overlook because the writing was so easy and relaxing to follow. The everyday mundanities that may have over burdened any other novel were frequently turned in to engaging and subtly amusing episodes in this one, though I suspect that whether you enjoy or become utterly bored with this book ultimately depends on whether your own sense of humour aligns with or repels against the somewhat dry and sarcastic tone taken.
July 4, 2023
I love this book. It's my absolute favourite. I have to force myself to read it only once per year so I can maximise my enjoyment of it each time.
I have recommended this book to EVERYONE, and have yet to meet an unsatisfied reader.
It's funny, it's quirky, it's real. The characters all behave in a true-to-life fashion, and yet it still reads a bit like a modern fairytale.
Murray the cat is my absolute favourite.
When I first reviewed it, I think I was on a bit of a kick where I thought I had to point out the flaws n everybook, and that was what made a good review for some reason?. Suffice it to say I completely disagree with my earlier self.
Go read this book! You can thank me later.
Below is my original review, which was of a pre-pub copy:
A really good story and as a kiwi I must say I enjoyed all the NZ stuff :P It was a bit frustrating that things seemed to jump around a lot in the story, like we would go from morning to the next evening between paragraphs and it sometimes took a few sentances for this to sink in so I was back on track with the story.
Absolutley loved the characters. I know that some people will be put off by the rather graphic descriptions of the daily lives of a country vet, but I found it added to the story and gave it a sense of realism.
There were a few too many minor characters in my opinion, at one stage there were so many names floating around and without proper grounding for all of them I found it a tad confusing.
Fav moment would have to be the dismantling of the bed.
An absolutley sweet story that's real and not overly soppy with some really clever, witty moments.
Highly recomended for lovers of chick-lit and modern romances...and of course NEW ZEALAND!!!
I have recommended this book to EVERYONE, and have yet to meet an unsatisfied reader.
It's funny, it's quirky, it's real. The characters all behave in a true-to-life fashion, and yet it still reads a bit like a modern fairytale.
Murray the cat is my absolute favourite.
When I first reviewed it, I think I was on a bit of a kick where I thought I had to point out the flaws n everybook, and that was what made a good review for some reason?. Suffice it to say I completely disagree with my earlier self.
Go read this book! You can thank me later.
Below is my original review, which was of a pre-pub copy:
A really good story and as a kiwi I must say I enjoyed all the NZ stuff :P It was a bit frustrating that things seemed to jump around a lot in the story, like we would go from morning to the next evening between paragraphs and it sometimes took a few sentances for this to sink in so I was back on track with the story.
Absolutley loved the characters. I know that some people will be put off by the rather graphic descriptions of the daily lives of a country vet, but I found it added to the story and gave it a sense of realism.
There were a few too many minor characters in my opinion, at one stage there were so many names floating around and without proper grounding for all of them I found it a tad confusing.
Fav moment would have to be the dismantling of the bed.
An absolutley sweet story that's real and not overly soppy with some really clever, witty moments.
Highly recomended for lovers of chick-lit and modern romances...and of course NEW ZEALAND!!!
May 6, 2019
I really loved this - the main character is so gauche, and I just smiled all the way through, laughing out loud in places. I also really enjoyed it being set in New Zealand, as I can't remember reading a novel in that setting before.
Thoroughly recommend this one for a quick, enjoyable read.
Thoroughly recommend this one for a quick, enjoyable read.
March 9, 2016
Read the full review at Forget the Classics I read Romance
When I saw the cover of this book in Waterstones I knew I was going to buy it. That title and those tights won my heart over pretty quickly. I wasn’t sure going in if this was a contemporary romance or a chick-lit but I decided it didn’t matter as I wanted to read a story about a small-town vet and a rugby player! Also this shamefully the first romance book I’ve read set in New Zealand (and I have relatives over there!).
While reading Chocolate Cake for Breakfast I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of detail Danielle Hawkins included about being a large-animal vet. Now I know nothing about veterinary science so Danielle Hawkins could have been making everything up, but I really liked that Helen’s job was an important part of the story. Hawkins didn’t shy away from including some of the grittier realities of being a vet in a largely rural country. In fact one of Helen and Mark’s dates was to pull a rotting calf out of its mother womb... Not the most pleasant moment in the book but Danielle Hawkins still managed to inject an element of humour.
“Pressing a man who doesn’t even have a pair of gumboots into service as a rotten-calf midwife, I thought, has to be some kind of record dating low.”
Although I did love learning about Helen’s job and reading about a strong female character I felt at times it took priority over the romance...
When I saw the cover of this book in Waterstones I knew I was going to buy it. That title and those tights won my heart over pretty quickly. I wasn’t sure going in if this was a contemporary romance or a chick-lit but I decided it didn’t matter as I wanted to read a story about a small-town vet and a rugby player! Also this shamefully the first romance book I’ve read set in New Zealand (and I have relatives over there!).
While reading Chocolate Cake for Breakfast I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of detail Danielle Hawkins included about being a large-animal vet. Now I know nothing about veterinary science so Danielle Hawkins could have been making everything up, but I really liked that Helen’s job was an important part of the story. Hawkins didn’t shy away from including some of the grittier realities of being a vet in a largely rural country. In fact one of Helen and Mark’s dates was to pull a rotting calf out of its mother womb... Not the most pleasant moment in the book but Danielle Hawkins still managed to inject an element of humour.
“Pressing a man who doesn’t even have a pair of gumboots into service as a rotten-calf midwife, I thought, has to be some kind of record dating low.”
Although I did love learning about Helen’s job and reading about a strong female character I felt at times it took priority over the romance...
April 15, 2016
I really, really enjoyed this one! The world-building and character-building were really exceptional. The only reason this wasn't a 5 star read was that I wish we could have had a bit more from Mark's perspective. He wasn't the most communicative dude, and I felt like it relied too heavily on Helen's inability to stand up for herself and communicate her feelings. It would have been nice if the reader could have seen their relationship growth more in tandem, rather than catching up at the very end and in the epilogue. But, I can see how this would be tricky, given that he traveled so much for his job and was out of the country for a lot of the book.
Relationships are hard, and you have to work at them, which this book captures really, really well. People have a lot of hangups, and you've got to work through them. This book had an honest approach to how people's insecurities and preconceived notions can affect our relationships in a negative way.
And I love me some competence porn. Well-fleshed-out characters who are good at their jobs? Sign me up.
This was a great read! This came up as a recommended read and I was immediately taken by the premise. I think I had to order it in print from Australia (via Amazon), and I'm so glad I did.
Relationships are hard, and you have to work at them, which this book captures really, really well. People have a lot of hangups, and you've got to work through them. This book had an honest approach to how people's insecurities and preconceived notions can affect our relationships in a negative way.
And I love me some competence porn. Well-fleshed-out characters who are good at their jobs? Sign me up.
This was a great read! This came up as a recommended read and I was immediately taken by the premise. I think I had to order it in print from Australia (via Amazon), and I'm so glad I did.
April 29, 2019
Don't start reading Danielle Hawkins in the middle of the night as an antidote for insomnia or you'll find yourself like me still reading at dawn when you're supposed to be at work in a few hours!! Laugh out loud funny New Zealand romance which captures Kiwi culture perfectly. The self-deprecating humor, the All Black worship, the staunchly unromantic aspects of rural life. . . I grew up right in the midst of this world and recognized it immediately. It was surprising to me to see it captured so unflinchingly. Have to agree with other reviewers about too much information re the grittier aspects of being a rural vet, though. Yes birthing a dead calf was a very original setting for a first date but whew. . . . didn't need the details.... I was left wondering what on earth she enjoyed about the job! And the half sisters were a pain. But those minor details did not spoil a rollicking romance which had me guffawing in the middle of the night.
May 3, 2020
I originally rated this as 5 stars so I read it again. It was an ok read but not something I want to read again and not 5 stars.
May 8, 2019
Recommended by my teen daughter. Covering animals, New Zealand and rugby, there’s something for everyone!
December 11, 2020
KU read 3.5-4 stars
I recently stumbled across this book in KU ans thought why not?
Quirky character, enjoyable story and feed my love of rugby.
I will read more of this new-to-me author
I recently stumbled across this book in KU ans thought why not?
Quirky character, enjoyable story and feed my love of rugby.
I will read more of this new-to-me author
February 10, 2019
Pretty cute story, and entertaining characters.
April 14, 2024
Pretty sweet and straightforward... my aunty and grandmother recommended this one to me, and it was an easy, relaxed read. I don't really like the trope and didn't know about it going in, so I'm not sure whether that would have affected my decision to read it or not. On the whole though, it was lighthearted and fun to read - I like Helen, and weirdly I liked the unnecessary veterinary details (I did want to be a vet for a while when I was little!).
Sidenote (including spoilers): I don't really like the accidental pregnancy trope. Considering that Helen was very upset about being pregnant and didn't really want to have a baby, I'm not sure I was the biggest fan of her decision to go through with the pregnancy. I'm very much of the opinion that when it comes to pregnancy, if it's not an unswervingly confident 'yes', then it should be a no. Childbirth and parenthood completely changes your life, and while Helen does end up happy, it did make me uncomfortable that her reasoning for keeping the baby was essentially "not wanting a baby isn't a good enough reason not to have it and twenty-seven is old enough to suck it up and deal with the consequences of your actions".
Sidenote (including spoilers): I don't really like the accidental pregnancy trope. Considering that Helen was very upset about being pregnant and didn't really want to have a baby, I'm not sure I was the biggest fan of her decision to go through with the pregnancy. I'm very much of the opinion that when it comes to pregnancy, if it's not an unswervingly confident 'yes', then it should be a no. Childbirth and parenthood completely changes your life, and while Helen does end up happy, it did make me uncomfortable that her reasoning for keeping the baby was essentially "not wanting a baby isn't a good enough reason not to have it and twenty-seven is old enough to suck it up and deal with the consequences of your actions".
November 18, 2013
I really liked this book.
While it isn't my usual genre of book, I received it through First Reads and decided it would make great holiday reading. I just so happened to be heading home to New Zealand for a quick 10 day holiday and thought it was a perfect opportunity. This book certainly didn't disappoint.
It was a very pleasant and enjoyable read. I feel like I could appreciate it more because I originally came from a small town in New Zealand...but that definitely isn't a prerequisite.
I loved each character, although I took some time to warm to Mark. I really enjoyed the way the book was written - a little descriptive but not too much.
I would highly recommend this book if the reader was after something easy to read that included a lot of humour and a little drama. I am now going to go on search of Danielle's first book to read on my next holiday
While it isn't my usual genre of book, I received it through First Reads and decided it would make great holiday reading. I just so happened to be heading home to New Zealand for a quick 10 day holiday and thought it was a perfect opportunity. This book certainly didn't disappoint.
It was a very pleasant and enjoyable read. I feel like I could appreciate it more because I originally came from a small town in New Zealand...but that definitely isn't a prerequisite.
I loved each character, although I took some time to warm to Mark. I really enjoyed the way the book was written - a little descriptive but not too much.
I would highly recommend this book if the reader was after something easy to read that included a lot of humour and a little drama. I am now going to go on search of Danielle's first book to read on my next holiday
January 16, 2014
I read a review in a women's mag and thought I'd give this a try. Glad I did! I loved the rural 'Kiwiness' of it - especially some of the great Kiwi vernacular. Try explaining "rough as guts" or "munted" to friends who may not be familiar! Very down to earth and gave me some moments to really smile at. The storyline was not all that strong IMO, but it was charming all the same. My favourite character - the cat breeder lady. Made me laugh - I've bought cats of breeders just like that. Ha ha, can just imagine the conversations around the vet clinic. Will be recommending this to my vet friends - Danielle writes great descriptions of vet stuff. And yep, it's what it's really like down on the farm folks. A nice easy read - keep it up Danielle!
February 13, 2016
The story is told in the voice of Helen, a vet who meets and starts dating Mark Tipene a member of the All Blacks. Early on in their relationship Helen falls pregnant and the rest of the book is how she deals with this unexpected pregnancy and the effect on their relationship.
Neither Helen nor Mark are well fleshed out characters and at times I found Helen annoying. There are some funny moments thanks to Helen's half sisters Annabel and Caitlin as well as her stepmom, Em. Also am tired of characters who are annoying or put their foot in it being fat, such as Sharon whom Helen meets at the midwife's office - don't thin people ever put their foot in it.
I kept reading expecting something more which never orginated. The word that keeps coming to mind is lacklustre.
Neither Helen nor Mark are well fleshed out characters and at times I found Helen annoying. There are some funny moments thanks to Helen's half sisters Annabel and Caitlin as well as her stepmom, Em. Also am tired of characters who are annoying or put their foot in it being fat, such as Sharon whom Helen meets at the midwife's office - don't thin people ever put their foot in it.
I kept reading expecting something more which never orginated. The word that keeps coming to mind is lacklustre.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2021
I bought this book at an op shop and I liked the title and the cover (how else are we going to judge a book in the shop, right?) it looked like it might be quirky- then I read it was a ‘love story’ and feared it might be something soppy... Ok, so it probably would not be considered a ‘literary’ masterpiece, but this was such a charming book: a good cast with a strong realistic female lead character, good plot/storyline and at times it’s laugh out loud funny. No messy twists, not too strenuous but just all round enjoyable. I like her writing style and dialogue. For sheer enjoyment I’d give it 5 stars, just really liked it.
August 31, 2014
Utterly charming!
March 29, 2024
2/5⭐️
It started out great. But then it started to get really boring at times, which surprised me because the chapters were fairly short and it was pretty fast paced. And then she got pregnant and I was like oh cute. And then the mmc started acting like a douche and not at all the hero of a romance. The heroin wasn’t perfect either, but at least I was privvy her train of thought, and her actions made a bit more sense to me. Then I started to hate their relationship. The H had no personality at all and I really couldn’t feel their love. They didn’t fit together. And then they broke up and I was like oh good maybe she’ll find someone else who will appreciate her. But then they got together a week later and she was like “everything‘s fine now” they didn’t have the big talk or any actions which pointed to their regret of their previous actions😵😵😵.
And even though I get it, I was super mad when her friends and family told her she had been wrong to not expect more from him which ultimately led to him keeping his distance, I was like shut the F up. And then when she had the baby and the doctors said “don’t be silly”🫨🔫 who says that to person who is giving birth?. I guess sometimes I can get a bit blinded by a character when I’m reading it solely from their point of view and I’m sure the situation would look different if I was reading it from a different point of view but since I didn’t…I just hated it when all those people criticized her decisions. I was part of those decisions so it’s like they they were criticizing me!!!!!!😭
Anyways I still felt like they were together for the baby and they didn’t really love each other. Every time they said ‘I love you’ it felt forced. I think part part of it was that we didn’t really see a lot of their intimate relationship since it was very fast-paced, and it jumped a lot and to me, what makes a really really good romantic book IS those small moments that mean so much more than they seem. And instead, the moments they had together just made their love seem so depressing. Their gifts for each other for Christmas? I get that it was supposed to be an inside joke and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that , but it could’ve been presented so much better. And in a way that didn’t make it feel like they didn’t know each other or even liked each other.
It started out great. But then it started to get really boring at times, which surprised me because the chapters were fairly short and it was pretty fast paced. And then she got pregnant and I was like oh cute. And then the mmc started acting like a douche and not at all the hero of a romance. The heroin wasn’t perfect either, but at least I was privvy her train of thought, and her actions made a bit more sense to me. Then I started to hate their relationship. The H had no personality at all and I really couldn’t feel their love. They didn’t fit together. And then they broke up and I was like oh good maybe she’ll find someone else who will appreciate her. But then they got together a week later and she was like “everything‘s fine now” they didn’t have the big talk or any actions which pointed to their regret of their previous actions😵😵😵.
And even though I get it, I was super mad when her friends and family told her she had been wrong to not expect more from him which ultimately led to him keeping his distance, I was like shut the F up. And then when she had the baby and the doctors said “don’t be silly”🫨🔫 who says that to person who is giving birth?. I guess sometimes I can get a bit blinded by a character when I’m reading it solely from their point of view and I’m sure the situation would look different if I was reading it from a different point of view but since I didn’t…I just hated it when all those people criticized her decisions. I was part of those decisions so it’s like they they were criticizing me!!!!!!😭
Anyways I still felt like they were together for the baby and they didn’t really love each other. Every time they said ‘I love you’ it felt forced. I think part part of it was that we didn’t really see a lot of their intimate relationship since it was very fast-paced, and it jumped a lot and to me, what makes a really really good romantic book IS those small moments that mean so much more than they seem. And instead, the moments they had together just made their love seem so depressing. Their gifts for each other for Christmas? I get that it was supposed to be an inside joke and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that , but it could’ve been presented so much better. And in a way that didn’t make it feel like they didn’t know each other or even liked each other.
August 14, 2020
This was a random book I selected from Amazon Prime and first time reading of this Author. With zero expectations, I was absolutely delighted with this story. It is charming in a small town kind of way romance, but not with all of the cheesy cliches that you expect. It is humorous and the characters are so well rounded, you feel like you personally know them and probably do have people like them you’ve come across in your life.
I think that one of the things that I loved the most was the relatability. This was written by a NZ Author, set in NZ and unapologetically didn’t try to be something else. And I loved that. I support so many ANZ Authors, and recently when I asked an Australian Author why she didn’t usually set her stories in Australia, she was very honest to say that for the international market, even with made up places, Americans like to read what is familiar to them (including spelling apparently), whereas European & Trans Tasman audiences are much more forgiving and are also familiar with American back drops, so gives her a wider audience. Whilst I understand that rationale, in a long winded way, I’m saying how refreshing it is to read a story set in a country I’m familiar with, with a true feel, not making it overly rural, to try to make it feel at all cliched or what others may think of NZ is supposed to be. It was a lovely departure of what I normally read.
I really enjoyed this charming book and will most definitely read other novels by this Author.
I think that one of the things that I loved the most was the relatability. This was written by a NZ Author, set in NZ and unapologetically didn’t try to be something else. And I loved that. I support so many ANZ Authors, and recently when I asked an Australian Author why she didn’t usually set her stories in Australia, she was very honest to say that for the international market, even with made up places, Americans like to read what is familiar to them (including spelling apparently), whereas European & Trans Tasman audiences are much more forgiving and are also familiar with American back drops, so gives her a wider audience. Whilst I understand that rationale, in a long winded way, I’m saying how refreshing it is to read a story set in a country I’m familiar with, with a true feel, not making it overly rural, to try to make it feel at all cliched or what others may think of NZ is supposed to be. It was a lovely departure of what I normally read.
I really enjoyed this charming book and will most definitely read other novels by this Author.
December 5, 2017
**SPOILERS**
Set in rural New Zealand, Helen McNeil is a countryside vet where her specialty is delivering cows. She meets an All Black at a party, they date for a few months and then BAM! She's up the duff. The story follows Helen's struggles of dating a very popular All Black while dealing with the fact that she is pregnant and how she's going to work through it.
I liked this book but it wasn't anything to rave about. It was quite cliche with the typical boy meets girl, boy leaves girl, boy gets back with girl and they live happily ever after. The way it was written felt quite rushed. In each chapter, it jumped forward in time and skimmed over important information but it delved quite deeply into the birthing of cows which we didn't really need to read about.
In saying that, I did enjoy the story and I did like that it was set in the city I live in. I could relate to where they were in the story and picture it in my head because I know the areas very well.
It wasn't fantastic but it wasn't crap either.
I would read another of her books.
Set in rural New Zealand, Helen McNeil is a countryside vet where her specialty is delivering cows. She meets an All Black at a party, they date for a few months and then BAM! She's up the duff. The story follows Helen's struggles of dating a very popular All Black while dealing with the fact that she is pregnant and how she's going to work through it.
I liked this book but it wasn't anything to rave about. It was quite cliche with the typical boy meets girl, boy leaves girl, boy gets back with girl and they live happily ever after. The way it was written felt quite rushed. In each chapter, it jumped forward in time and skimmed over important information but it delved quite deeply into the birthing of cows which we didn't really need to read about.
In saying that, I did enjoy the story and I did like that it was set in the city I live in. I could relate to where they were in the story and picture it in my head because I know the areas very well.
It wasn't fantastic but it wasn't crap either.
I would read another of her books.
October 14, 2017
Honestly, not good at all. I was bored out of my mind, since both the hero and the heroine insisted on sitting on their asses doing nothing except ignore each other for most of the book while in a relationship. Then I was annoyed at the constant reminders that the heroine is a vet. I get it. She treats animals for living. There was really no need to go on about calving for a third of the book. And when a major thing happened in Mark and Helen's relationship, it was mostly ignored or basically dismissed for the longest time. It was just this small detail on the incredibly boring journey of Helen, the large cow vet, as she learns treat her boyfriend like he's important to her, rather than acting like he's basically just a satellite orbiting her and her life. What an incredibly unlikeable woman!
May 4, 2018
Danielle Hawkins! Please write more books!
Set in the countryside of beautiful North Island of New Zealand, a vet, a slew of rellies and a champion rugby player make a delightful story.
The naturalness of Helen and graphic descriptions of life as a vet, the depiction of life in that rugby mad country and the joy of real love was an absolute joy.
We’ve all met people exactly like Helen’s cranky Grannie and Aunt Deb, who works in the local pharmacy and knows the life and times of everyone who enters her shop and many other characters.
I cannot believe just how beautifully Danielle portrays these real to life characters.
A joy to read and I want to keep peering into the life of Helen and Mark, Alison and Sam etc. this is one of my favourite books so far this year.
Set in the countryside of beautiful North Island of New Zealand, a vet, a slew of rellies and a champion rugby player make a delightful story.
The naturalness of Helen and graphic descriptions of life as a vet, the depiction of life in that rugby mad country and the joy of real love was an absolute joy.
We’ve all met people exactly like Helen’s cranky Grannie and Aunt Deb, who works in the local pharmacy and knows the life and times of everyone who enters her shop and many other characters.
I cannot believe just how beautifully Danielle portrays these real to life characters.
A joy to read and I want to keep peering into the life of Helen and Mark, Alison and Sam etc. this is one of my favourite books so far this year.
December 26, 2024
I really loved When Everything Turned to Custard by Hawkins and I’ve read other books by her so happily went backwards to read one of her earlier works. It didn’t really disappoint but it felt much less mature - interesting to see how her writing has evolved. It is a good read - light, entertaining and following a reasonable Bridget Jones type prescription. Young vet meets All Black and romance follows which becomes rocky when she becomes pregnant. I enjoyed the veterinary descriptions and loved the dialogue and found Hawkins’ humour warm and often laugh out loud but overall it was just a bit flimsy. Very good holiday read.
March 6, 2019
This book made me think about how we need to trust others and know that the people close to us won't just leave when time get hard. When " mark pushed himself away from the door and held his arms out, and I hurled myself across the room at him" my heart stop as she had been so sad without him. The writer is teaching us that you are no less than anyone else because of little things like money or work. In my opinion, trust is an important thing to have because if you don't trust people you won't get anywhere.
April 19, 2020
Rural New Zealand vet Helen McBain is taking a breather at a party escaping a boring local when she trips over a very tall man outside. Unthinkingly, she asks him what he does for a living only to discover after he says playing rubgy, that he is national hero Mark Tipene, rugby union player for the Auckland Blues and also the All Blacks. Despite the fact that she had absolutely no idea who he was at first meeting (or perhaps because of it) Mark is interested in Helen and he ends up turning up at her work the next day to ask her out.
In between Mark’s rugby commitments and Helen’s busy calving season they find time to begin a fledgling romance. Things are going well, even though Helen is insecure about what Mark could possibly want with someone like her when he could have all manner of blonde, thin, tanned WAG-wannabes. However then an unexpected surprise throws a spanner in the works and Helen finds herself freaking out over everything, most of all making sure that Mark doesn’t feel guilted or pressured into staying.
I loved this book. On the day I started it, I had read a really quick novel in the afternoon, only 177p so I was at a bit of a loss for something to do so I picked up this in order to just read a bit and get started. I ended up ignoring my family for most of the rest of the evening in order to finish it because I couldn’t put it down. It’s funny and clever and taps into that ‘hero falling in love with an average girl’ storyline that works so well in a romantic comedy.
Helen is a country vet specialising in large animals and on her and Mark’s first date she gets a call out that results in them both having to deliver a dead calf from inside the cow. It’s rather graphic and all together very eye opening – I had no idea that these sorts of things happened and that would be how a vet delivered a stillborn calf that had been unfortunately dead for several days. Mark shows a strong stomach during what must’ve been a rather disgusting procedure in both vision and smell and if I were Helen, I’d probably expect to never see someone again after that. However it doesn’t daunt Mark in the slightest and Helen is surprised to find herself slipping into a relationship with the world’s best rugby union lock. Whatever it is that locks do.
I have to admit, I have no idea what it is that locks do. Of the three relatively popular games we call “football” here (I’m not counting soccer although some do call that football as well), rugby union is the one I know least about. I actually don’t really understand the rules (why do they all fall on each other in a big pile? What is that?). This book doesn’t really shed any light on that and I think that the games take up probably a perfect amount of time in the book. Mark is often playing abroad as is the case these days for someone who plays for their country and Helen, not the world’s biggest rugby fan before meeting Mark tends to only watch to make sure he doesn’t get pulverized during the game. The only thing I know about the All Blacks is that they perform the haka before each match and that’s pretty much the best bit! It’s unfortunate that there’s no mention of that here. You definitely don’t have to be a fan or care about rugby union to enjoy this book but it is a bit of a nice look at the WAG phenomenon and gives Helen a legitimate insecurity. If New Zealand is anything like here, they’d be inundated with the WAGs and what they’re doing, wearing etc and she sticks her hands inside cows for a living. But what I loved about this book was that there was no attempt to make the reader see that Helen was rather stunning and everyone saw it except her. She was what she was – and Mark liked her for that. She was down to earth and funny and a bit awkward and Mark was the sort who seemed to not really embrace the limelight any more. He definitely partied and hooked up when he was younger but you got the impression that he was over that and that he was thinking about his future. He was aware that he only had probably a few years left playing rugby professionally and that he was ready to start implementing the next stage of his life. Probably not as quickly as it played out in the book but he still showed a readiness, when Helen let him and gave him a chance. And I think that part of the story played out with a lot of realism. Both of them are unsure and freaked out a bit, they fight, they do the wrong thing, they end up hurting each other. But then they sort it out and try again. And it works.
Chocolate Cake For Breakfast is one of the most enjoyable novels I’ve read in a while, I can’t remember the last time I read one that made me laugh out loud this often. I loved Helen and loved her family, who are all rather eccentric in their individual ways. Her job added a lot of colour (and information – what has been imagined can never been unimagined) and the romance was both sweet and well written. I’ve got to get behind a book with a title such as this one – I remember when I was at university and I would head back to my dorm, my nan would make me a chocolate cake. And for the next 3-4 mornings, chocolate cake is what I would eat for breakfast simply because it was there, it was easy and quite frankly, who wouldn’t want chocolate cake for breakfast? This book is like chocolate cake for breakfast: addictive. And now I need to track down Danielle Hawkins’ first novel, Dinner At Rose’s as soon as possible because I’m pretty sure I’ll like that too.
In between Mark’s rugby commitments and Helen’s busy calving season they find time to begin a fledgling romance. Things are going well, even though Helen is insecure about what Mark could possibly want with someone like her when he could have all manner of blonde, thin, tanned WAG-wannabes. However then an unexpected surprise throws a spanner in the works and Helen finds herself freaking out over everything, most of all making sure that Mark doesn’t feel guilted or pressured into staying.
I loved this book. On the day I started it, I had read a really quick novel in the afternoon, only 177p so I was at a bit of a loss for something to do so I picked up this in order to just read a bit and get started. I ended up ignoring my family for most of the rest of the evening in order to finish it because I couldn’t put it down. It’s funny and clever and taps into that ‘hero falling in love with an average girl’ storyline that works so well in a romantic comedy.
Helen is a country vet specialising in large animals and on her and Mark’s first date she gets a call out that results in them both having to deliver a dead calf from inside the cow. It’s rather graphic and all together very eye opening – I had no idea that these sorts of things happened and that would be how a vet delivered a stillborn calf that had been unfortunately dead for several days. Mark shows a strong stomach during what must’ve been a rather disgusting procedure in both vision and smell and if I were Helen, I’d probably expect to never see someone again after that. However it doesn’t daunt Mark in the slightest and Helen is surprised to find herself slipping into a relationship with the world’s best rugby union lock. Whatever it is that locks do.
I have to admit, I have no idea what it is that locks do. Of the three relatively popular games we call “football” here (I’m not counting soccer although some do call that football as well), rugby union is the one I know least about. I actually don’t really understand the rules (why do they all fall on each other in a big pile? What is that?). This book doesn’t really shed any light on that and I think that the games take up probably a perfect amount of time in the book. Mark is often playing abroad as is the case these days for someone who plays for their country and Helen, not the world’s biggest rugby fan before meeting Mark tends to only watch to make sure he doesn’t get pulverized during the game. The only thing I know about the All Blacks is that they perform the haka before each match and that’s pretty much the best bit! It’s unfortunate that there’s no mention of that here. You definitely don’t have to be a fan or care about rugby union to enjoy this book but it is a bit of a nice look at the WAG phenomenon and gives Helen a legitimate insecurity. If New Zealand is anything like here, they’d be inundated with the WAGs and what they’re doing, wearing etc and she sticks her hands inside cows for a living. But what I loved about this book was that there was no attempt to make the reader see that Helen was rather stunning and everyone saw it except her. She was what she was – and Mark liked her for that. She was down to earth and funny and a bit awkward and Mark was the sort who seemed to not really embrace the limelight any more. He definitely partied and hooked up when he was younger but you got the impression that he was over that and that he was thinking about his future. He was aware that he only had probably a few years left playing rugby professionally and that he was ready to start implementing the next stage of his life. Probably not as quickly as it played out in the book but he still showed a readiness, when Helen let him and gave him a chance. And I think that part of the story played out with a lot of realism. Both of them are unsure and freaked out a bit, they fight, they do the wrong thing, they end up hurting each other. But then they sort it out and try again. And it works.
Chocolate Cake For Breakfast is one of the most enjoyable novels I’ve read in a while, I can’t remember the last time I read one that made me laugh out loud this often. I loved Helen and loved her family, who are all rather eccentric in their individual ways. Her job added a lot of colour (and information – what has been imagined can never been unimagined) and the romance was both sweet and well written. I’ve got to get behind a book with a title such as this one – I remember when I was at university and I would head back to my dorm, my nan would make me a chocolate cake. And for the next 3-4 mornings, chocolate cake is what I would eat for breakfast simply because it was there, it was easy and quite frankly, who wouldn’t want chocolate cake for breakfast? This book is like chocolate cake for breakfast: addictive. And now I need to track down Danielle Hawkins’ first novel, Dinner At Rose’s as soon as possible because I’m pretty sure I’ll like that too.
August 6, 2017
I really wanted to like this book and loved the premise of it, especially being a Kiwi myself. However I wasn't able to even finish it. I found the dialogue really boring and no spark between the main characters. Worst of all though was the graphic description of birthing a dead calf that I found absolutely traumatising and completely out of place in a romantic novel. This put me off the book and I thought it was ridiculous that Mark supposedly "enjoyed" this horrific experience.
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