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Cake and Eat It
Has Anzi found a new recipe for love?
Anzi loves to bake. She’s the pastry chef at the quirky Rose and Thorn restaurant. What she loves most about baking is the precision and predictability. If you have the right ingredients and follow the recipe exactly, success is certain. There’s zero risk.
It’s the same strategy she uses with Austin, her good-natured chef boyfriend and rising star in the Portland fine-dining scene. They’re in a stable relationship, with no surprises, just the way Anzi likes it.
In her downtime, she hosts a pretend baking show on a community access channel. Campy, funny and no-budget—with bedazzled cardboard appliances and a volunteer crew—Anzi is a natural in front of the camera. She uses the show to share her love of baking.
Life is good.
Until Roland—her almost-ex from culinary school days and the perpetrator of “the cake incident”—reappears in her life. He offers Anzi the chance to shoot a pilot for a real national cable TV baking show in New York. Turns out Roland’s boss at EatTV, a new channel devoted to food, saw Anzi’s wacky late-night show. It’s an incredible, life-changing opportunity, but there are two problems.
First, Anzi is still furious with Roland for his betrayal three years ago, and second, she is terrified of flying.
Roland offers to drive her across the country, and with Austin’s blessing, Anzi and Roland set out on a road trip, but she doesn’t plan to enjoy a minute of it. How could she? Stuck in a car with the man who broke her heart and almost ruined her career. Who cares if he’s even sexier and more handsome than he was three years ago?
That lasts until Wyoming.
But falling for Roland again would be a mistake, especially with safe Austin waiting at home—it’s a recipe for disaster, right?
Cake and Eat It, the third book in the Restaurantland Romance series, is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, found-family story crackling with offbeat humor and featuring an eccentric cast of cooks, servers and customers, set in Portland, Oregon, in the fabulous pre-internet 1990s.
Anzi loves to bake. She’s the pastry chef at the quirky Rose and Thorn restaurant. What she loves most about baking is the precision and predictability. If you have the right ingredients and follow the recipe exactly, success is certain. There’s zero risk.
It’s the same strategy she uses with Austin, her good-natured chef boyfriend and rising star in the Portland fine-dining scene. They’re in a stable relationship, with no surprises, just the way Anzi likes it.
In her downtime, she hosts a pretend baking show on a community access channel. Campy, funny and no-budget—with bedazzled cardboard appliances and a volunteer crew—Anzi is a natural in front of the camera. She uses the show to share her love of baking.
Life is good.
Until Roland—her almost-ex from culinary school days and the perpetrator of “the cake incident”—reappears in her life. He offers Anzi the chance to shoot a pilot for a real national cable TV baking show in New York. Turns out Roland’s boss at EatTV, a new channel devoted to food, saw Anzi’s wacky late-night show. It’s an incredible, life-changing opportunity, but there are two problems.
First, Anzi is still furious with Roland for his betrayal three years ago, and second, she is terrified of flying.
Roland offers to drive her across the country, and with Austin’s blessing, Anzi and Roland set out on a road trip, but she doesn’t plan to enjoy a minute of it. How could she? Stuck in a car with the man who broke her heart and almost ruined her career. Who cares if he’s even sexier and more handsome than he was three years ago?
That lasts until Wyoming.
But falling for Roland again would be a mistake, especially with safe Austin waiting at home—it’s a recipe for disaster, right?
Cake and Eat It, the third book in the Restaurantland Romance series, is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, found-family story crackling with offbeat humor and featuring an eccentric cast of cooks, servers and customers, set in Portland, Oregon, in the fabulous pre-internet 1990s.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 3, 2025
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen McFall
17 books140 followersI live, write and play in the Pacific Northwest, not far from vampire country. I love genre fiction, and with Clark, I've written twelve books.
Our first book, published two decades ago, was about a cowboy and vampire falling in love. This sexy, authentically Western, laugh-out-loud series also has a serious metaphysical edge and has now moved into cult-classic status. We wrote four books in the Cowboy and Vampire Collection and then branched out into science fiction, alt-history, and romance. As you can tell by our moving from genre to genre, our interests are eclectic. We like to explore and shake up tropes.
As for my bio, I was born in Washington, DC, and spent many years working as a journalist and science writer. I love to hike, hang out around water and spend time with family and friends. I'm also working on an art project in which I paint geologic slices of the earth. Check out Instagram @katmcfall for more on that.
Our first book, published two decades ago, was about a cowboy and vampire falling in love. This sexy, authentically Western, laugh-out-loud series also has a serious metaphysical edge and has now moved into cult-classic status. We wrote four books in the Cowboy and Vampire Collection and then branched out into science fiction, alt-history, and romance. As you can tell by our moving from genre to genre, our interests are eclectic. We like to explore and shake up tropes.
As for my bio, I was born in Washington, DC, and spent many years working as a journalist and science writer. I love to hike, hang out around water and spend time with family and friends. I'm also working on an art project in which I paint geologic slices of the earth. Check out Instagram @katmcfall for more on that.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 9, 2025
The book was okay overall and there were some things I liked but I definitely wasn't the right audience. This was a quick read with straightforward writing, although it was a bit of a slow starter. This is part of a series and although I haven't read the other books I didn't feel lost. The question of what happened with Roland in the past looms extremely heavily over the majority of the book. The plot structure is built on the tension of that event (along with some other events that happen along the way), which makes the story feel off-kilter most of the time. It's pretty obvious how things are going to unfold. All of the characters come off as varying degrees of immature, and I didn't find any of them to be particularly likeable. Very heavy use of the misunderstanding/miscommunication trope, with a notable lack of curiosity beyond "I've made up my mind what happened and that's the end of things." There are lots of messy relationships here, which is not something I typically enjoy but I can see why it might appeal to other readers. I got a little frustrated with Anzi after a while, just how many of Austin's red flags slapping her in the face is she willing to ignore? I liked the characters at the restaurant and their dynamic. And although I found the overall plot to be lacking in sweetness and light, there were some funny moments. I absolutely loved her TV show, and the '90s pop culture references were fun.
I did not like the amount of cheating and the way it was presented as a plot device to be a means to an end. And although Anzi does beat herself up about it (a little), it's presented as a bit cavalier and as a way for Anzi to realize her feelings for Roland. The book description hints at possible cheating but it turned out to be a bigger plot point than I usually like in my romance books. Also, I get that it was the 90s but unprotected sex with both her boyfriend (who is a cheater but she doesn't know it) and an ex-boyfriend you haven't seen in 3 years? Was no one worried about sexual histories or STDs?
Ultimately this wasn't the book for me. I'm rating this a generous 3 stars, mostly because Anzi's TV show and her restaurant family were enough to keep me reading to the end. This review is based on a complimentary DRC, all opinions are my own.
I did not like the amount of cheating and the way it was presented as a plot device to be a means to an end. And although Anzi does beat herself up about it (a little), it's presented as a bit cavalier and as a way for Anzi to realize her feelings for Roland. The book description hints at possible cheating but it turned out to be a bigger plot point than I usually like in my romance books. Also, I get that it was the 90s but unprotected sex with both her boyfriend (who is a cheater but she doesn't know it) and an ex-boyfriend you haven't seen in 3 years? Was no one worried about sexual histories or STDs?
Ultimately this wasn't the book for me. I'm rating this a generous 3 stars, mostly because Anzi's TV show and her restaurant family were enough to keep me reading to the end. This review is based on a complimentary DRC, all opinions are my own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2025
i really tried to enjoy it but the cheating was my last straw.
thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.
thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2025
📚Cake and Eat It
✍🏻Kathleen McFall
Blurb:
Has Anzi found a new recipe for love?
Anzi loves to bake. She’s the pastry chef at the quirky Rose and Thorn restaurant. What she loves most about baking is the precision and predictability. If you have the right ingredients and follow the recipe exactly, success is certain. There’s zero risk.
It’s the same strategy she uses with Austin, her good-natured chef boyfriend and rising star in the Portland fine-dining scene. They’re in a stable relationship, with no surprises, just the way Anzi likes it.
In her downtime, she hosts a pretend baking show on a community access channel. Campy, funny and no-budget—with bedazzled cardboard appliances and a volunteer crew—Anzi is a natural in front of the camera. She uses the show to share her love of baking.
Life is good.
Until Roland—her almost-ex from culinary school days and the perpetrator of “the cake incident”—reappears in her life. He offers Anzi the chance to shoot a pilot for a real national cable TV baking show in New York. Turns out Roland’s boss at EatTV, a new channel devoted to food, saw Anzi’s wacky late-night show. It’s an incredible, life-changing opportunity, but there are two problems.
First, Anzi is still furious with Roland for his betrayal three years ago, and second, she is terrified of flying.
Roland offers to drive her across the country, and with Austin’s blessing, Anzi and Roland set out on a road trip, but she doesn’t plan to enjoy a minute of it. How could she? Stuck in a car with the man who broke her heart and almost ruined her career. Who cares if he’s even sexier and more handsome than he was three years ago?
That lasts until Wyoming.
But falling for Roland again would be a mistake, especially with safe Austin waiting at home—it’s a recipe for disaster, right?
Cake and Eat It, the third book in the Restaurantland Romance series, is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, found-family story crackling with offbeat humor and featuring an eccentric cast of cooks, servers and customers, set in Portland, Oregon, in the fabulous pre-internet 1990s.
My Thoughts:
Anzi is comfortable in her day job (baking at a restaurant), in her side project (a low-budget baking show on local TV), and in her long-term relationship (with a guy she met at cooking school), but when her former crush Roland gets her an audition for national TV, the opportunity is too good to pass up on.Anzi is an awesome pastry chef and is filming a fun, campy cooking show on a local station that catches the eye of a big city producer. She's dating an award winning chef, who's also a bit of a jerk. In steps old friend, Roland - who works with the big city producer and returns back to Portland to invite Anzi to NYC to test pilot a new cooking show on EatTV.
Thanks NetGalley, Pumpjack Press and Author Kathleen McFall for the advanced copy of "Cake and Eat It' I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#PumpjackPress
#CakeandEatit
#KathleenMcFall
#ClarkHays
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️Trigger Warnings: Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Alcohol and Violence
✍🏻Kathleen McFall
Blurb:
Has Anzi found a new recipe for love?
Anzi loves to bake. She’s the pastry chef at the quirky Rose and Thorn restaurant. What she loves most about baking is the precision and predictability. If you have the right ingredients and follow the recipe exactly, success is certain. There’s zero risk.
It’s the same strategy she uses with Austin, her good-natured chef boyfriend and rising star in the Portland fine-dining scene. They’re in a stable relationship, with no surprises, just the way Anzi likes it.
In her downtime, she hosts a pretend baking show on a community access channel. Campy, funny and no-budget—with bedazzled cardboard appliances and a volunteer crew—Anzi is a natural in front of the camera. She uses the show to share her love of baking.
Life is good.
Until Roland—her almost-ex from culinary school days and the perpetrator of “the cake incident”—reappears in her life. He offers Anzi the chance to shoot a pilot for a real national cable TV baking show in New York. Turns out Roland’s boss at EatTV, a new channel devoted to food, saw Anzi’s wacky late-night show. It’s an incredible, life-changing opportunity, but there are two problems.
First, Anzi is still furious with Roland for his betrayal three years ago, and second, she is terrified of flying.
Roland offers to drive her across the country, and with Austin’s blessing, Anzi and Roland set out on a road trip, but she doesn’t plan to enjoy a minute of it. How could she? Stuck in a car with the man who broke her heart and almost ruined her career. Who cares if he’s even sexier and more handsome than he was three years ago?
That lasts until Wyoming.
But falling for Roland again would be a mistake, especially with safe Austin waiting at home—it’s a recipe for disaster, right?
Cake and Eat It, the third book in the Restaurantland Romance series, is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, found-family story crackling with offbeat humor and featuring an eccentric cast of cooks, servers and customers, set in Portland, Oregon, in the fabulous pre-internet 1990s.
My Thoughts:
Anzi is comfortable in her day job (baking at a restaurant), in her side project (a low-budget baking show on local TV), and in her long-term relationship (with a guy she met at cooking school), but when her former crush Roland gets her an audition for national TV, the opportunity is too good to pass up on.Anzi is an awesome pastry chef and is filming a fun, campy cooking show on a local station that catches the eye of a big city producer. She's dating an award winning chef, who's also a bit of a jerk. In steps old friend, Roland - who works with the big city producer and returns back to Portland to invite Anzi to NYC to test pilot a new cooking show on EatTV.
Thanks NetGalley, Pumpjack Press and Author Kathleen McFall for the advanced copy of "Cake and Eat It' I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#PumpjackPress
#CakeandEatit
#KathleenMcFall
#ClarkHays
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️Trigger Warnings: Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Alcohol and Violence
December 5, 2025
Anzi is comfortable in her day job (baking at a restaurant), in her side project (a low-budget baking show on local TV), and in her long-term relationship (with a guy she met at cooking school), but when her former crush Roland gets her an audition for national TV, the opportunity is too good to pass up on. Despite resenting Roland for an incident in the past, Anzi—terrified of flying—agrees to a road trip across the United States to make it to the audition on New York. On the way, old passions reignite and Anzi must decide if she is willing to take a risk—with her career and her heart.
**In brief**
- Romance set in the 90s
- Forced Proximity
- Second Chance Romance
- Open door: moderate steam, cheating (!)
- Stand-alone
- HEA
**Likes**
- The 90s setting: navigating with maps
- Roland, Roland and Anzi together,
**Dislikes**
- The cheating
- The ott drama
I liked the setting and the humour of this book. I have not read a lot of romance set in a kitchen or in the 90s and I was looking forward to that aspect. Unfortunately we did not spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but I did enjoy the humour in Anzi's cooking show. I got the 90s vibes mostly from the lack of technology: navigating with a map, payphones, leaving meassages—good times. I do think I missed out a little since I did not understand a lot of the more obscure references.
In terms of the found-family trope promised in the description, there were a little too many characters for me to get attached (the initial introduction was overwhelming). The kitchen staff felt like caricatures, or even props, instead of people with real lives, but possibly I am lacking some backstory here since this is the first book in the series I read.
I think the cheating was unnecessary and the story could have been written in a similar way, without Anzi giving in to the sexual tension between her an Roland while still in a relationship. Then I could have enjoyed the romance between Roland and Anzi a lot more. Apart from that, the book was a bit too dramatic for me and felt like a telenovela from start to finish: complete with the emotional outbursts, the loud gossiping in the kitchen, the refusal to listen to each other, jumping to conclusions, and the caricature-like characters. I prefer things done more subtly, I like authors to hint a things and I want my characters to be a at least a little self-possessed.
All in all, I think I was not the target audience for this. I could however be enjoyable for readers who are more tolerant towards cheating and gravitate towards big drama, telennovela-style books.
Thank you Pumpjack Press for providing an ARC of this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
**In brief**
- Romance set in the 90s
- Forced Proximity
- Second Chance Romance
- Open door: moderate steam, cheating (!)
- Stand-alone
- HEA
**Likes**
- The 90s setting: navigating with maps
- Roland, Roland and Anzi together,
**Dislikes**
- The cheating
- The ott drama
I liked the setting and the humour of this book. I have not read a lot of romance set in a kitchen or in the 90s and I was looking forward to that aspect. Unfortunately we did not spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but I did enjoy the humour in Anzi's cooking show. I got the 90s vibes mostly from the lack of technology: navigating with a map, payphones, leaving meassages—good times. I do think I missed out a little since I did not understand a lot of the more obscure references.
In terms of the found-family trope promised in the description, there were a little too many characters for me to get attached (the initial introduction was overwhelming). The kitchen staff felt like caricatures, or even props, instead of people with real lives, but possibly I am lacking some backstory here since this is the first book in the series I read.
I think the cheating was unnecessary and the story could have been written in a similar way, without Anzi giving in to the sexual tension between her an Roland while still in a relationship. Then I could have enjoyed the romance between Roland and Anzi a lot more. Apart from that, the book was a bit too dramatic for me and felt like a telenovela from start to finish: complete with the emotional outbursts, the loud gossiping in the kitchen, the refusal to listen to each other, jumping to conclusions, and the caricature-like characters. I prefer things done more subtly, I like authors to hint a things and I want my characters to be a at least a little self-possessed.
All in all, I think I was not the target audience for this. I could however be enjoyable for readers who are more tolerant towards cheating and gravitate towards big drama, telennovela-style books.
Thank you Pumpjack Press for providing an ARC of this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2026
This was such a fun, cozy romance with just the right amount of chaos.
The story follows Anzi, a pastry chef who likes her life the same way she likes her baking: precise, predictable, and low-risk. She has a steady job, a safe boyfriend, and a very charming low-budget baking show on community TV. Everything is going according to plan—until Roland, her almost-ex from culinary school, shows back up with an opportunity that could change her life.
I really loved Anzi as a main character. Her fear of risk, especially when it comes to love, felt very real, and her passion for baking was woven into the story in a natural way. The baking show details were especially fun and added a lot of humor.
The enemies-to-lovers setup worked well, and the forced road trip created great tension. Roland and Anzi’s history gave their interactions weight, and watching their relationship slowly shift was satisfying. The love triangle with Austin wasn’t dramatic in an over-the-top way, but it still raised real emotional questions about safety versus passion.
The supporting cast and the restaurant setting made the world feel warm and lived-in, and the 1990s pre-internet vibe added a nice touch. Overall, this book was light, funny, and heartfelt, with strong found-family energy and plenty of romantic tension.
A great pick if you like foodie romances, second chances, and slow-burn road trip love stories.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and Pumpjack Press and am voluntarily leaving my review.
The story follows Anzi, a pastry chef who likes her life the same way she likes her baking: precise, predictable, and low-risk. She has a steady job, a safe boyfriend, and a very charming low-budget baking show on community TV. Everything is going according to plan—until Roland, her almost-ex from culinary school, shows back up with an opportunity that could change her life.
I really loved Anzi as a main character. Her fear of risk, especially when it comes to love, felt very real, and her passion for baking was woven into the story in a natural way. The baking show details were especially fun and added a lot of humor.
The enemies-to-lovers setup worked well, and the forced road trip created great tension. Roland and Anzi’s history gave their interactions weight, and watching their relationship slowly shift was satisfying. The love triangle with Austin wasn’t dramatic in an over-the-top way, but it still raised real emotional questions about safety versus passion.
The supporting cast and the restaurant setting made the world feel warm and lived-in, and the 1990s pre-internet vibe added a nice touch. Overall, this book was light, funny, and heartfelt, with strong found-family energy and plenty of romantic tension.
A great pick if you like foodie romances, second chances, and slow-burn road trip love stories.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and Pumpjack Press and am voluntarily leaving my review.
November 28, 2025
Another fun Restaurantland romance. I love the Rose and Thorn and all it's characters!
Anzi is an awesome pastry chef and is filming a fun, campy cooking show on a local station that catches the eye of a big city producer. She's dating an award winning chef, who's also a bit of a jerk. In steps old friend, Roland - who works with the big city producer and returns back to Portland to invite Anzi to NYC to test pilot a new cooking show on EatTV. Only Anzi doesn't know if she can trust Roland, she thinks he ruined her cake years ago and changed the direction of her lift. They take a cross county road trip to NYC because she's afraid to fly - and sparks and more happen along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.
Anzi is an awesome pastry chef and is filming a fun, campy cooking show on a local station that catches the eye of a big city producer. She's dating an award winning chef, who's also a bit of a jerk. In steps old friend, Roland - who works with the big city producer and returns back to Portland to invite Anzi to NYC to test pilot a new cooking show on EatTV. Only Anzi doesn't know if she can trust Roland, she thinks he ruined her cake years ago and changed the direction of her lift. They take a cross county road trip to NYC because she's afraid to fly - and sparks and more happen along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.
January 3, 2026
This is a second chance romance with the main characters of Anzi and Roland. They had met and got close during culinary school. When Anzi's final entry for the dessert competition was destroyed, accusations flew and led to a rift with Roland.
Over time Anzi started working as a pastry chef at a local restaurant and is in a relationship with Austin who was another friend from culinary school. Roland comes to visit Anzi and asks her to shoot a pilot for a new television show on baking. Anzi has already been working on a local cable show and that is what gave her the recognition to audition for a much large network.
This leads to a road trip for Anzi and Roland and gives them a chance to reconnect with each other. They have a strong connection and chemistry and pretty soon are involved with each other. Anzi catches Roland in a compromising position with another pastry chef and this leads to their breakup again.
Anzi decides to do the show from the restaurant where she works and also agrees to marry Austin. When the truth about their past resurfaces, Anzi parts ways with Austin and spends the next few weeks apologizing to Roland through her pastry creations.
The road back to Anzi and Roland as a strong couple has a lot of self-reflection and growth and the story was very enjoyable with entertaining side characters.
Highly recommend 👍🏻
Over time Anzi started working as a pastry chef at a local restaurant and is in a relationship with Austin who was another friend from culinary school. Roland comes to visit Anzi and asks her to shoot a pilot for a new television show on baking. Anzi has already been working on a local cable show and that is what gave her the recognition to audition for a much large network.
This leads to a road trip for Anzi and Roland and gives them a chance to reconnect with each other. They have a strong connection and chemistry and pretty soon are involved with each other. Anzi catches Roland in a compromising position with another pastry chef and this leads to their breakup again.
Anzi decides to do the show from the restaurant where she works and also agrees to marry Austin. When the truth about their past resurfaces, Anzi parts ways with Austin and spends the next few weeks apologizing to Roland through her pastry creations.
The road back to Anzi and Roland as a strong couple has a lot of self-reflection and growth and the story was very enjoyable with entertaining side characters.
Highly recommend 👍🏻
February 1, 2026
This was my first read of the Restaurantland Romance series and I loved it! As I read the first chapters of the story, it really hooked me in with the main character, Anzi and complicated friendships/relationships with the other main male characters. I also enjoyed the many concepts of taking a risk to follow your dream, revisiting past love, and ultimately the reality of how life can be a bit messy to truly figure out what you want.
I felt the beginning of the story had a great pace in sequencing the events of travel as well as incorporating past history/love. I genuinely enjoyed the characters bantering and personalities. I will say towards the end of the story it felt a bit rushed so I’m hoping there may be another story in the making (crossing fingers).
If you are looking for a romance story with some spice, revisiting past love, uncovering the truth of the past, and truly finding what you want for your life, look no further. This McFall and Hays book is for you!
Thank you Kathleen McFall, Clark Hays, Pumpjack Press, and Netgalley for this ARC read. I truly enjoyed reading this story and hope in the future there is another book coming out!
I felt the beginning of the story had a great pace in sequencing the events of travel as well as incorporating past history/love. I genuinely enjoyed the characters bantering and personalities. I will say towards the end of the story it felt a bit rushed so I’m hoping there may be another story in the making (crossing fingers).
If you are looking for a romance story with some spice, revisiting past love, uncovering the truth of the past, and truly finding what you want for your life, look no further. This McFall and Hays book is for you!
Thank you Kathleen McFall, Clark Hays, Pumpjack Press, and Netgalley for this ARC read. I truly enjoyed reading this story and hope in the future there is another book coming out!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews