Frosted Kisses

The Cupcake Queen #2

by Heather Hepler

A delicious follow-up to Heather Hepler's smash hit The Cupcake Queen!

Former Manhattan girl Penny has quickly discovered that life in a small town is never dull. Not when there's a festival for every occasion, a Queen Bee to deal with, an animal shelter to save, and a cute boy to crush on.

There's a new girl in town: Esmeralda. She's beautiful, French, and just happens to be Queen Bee Charity's best friend. Penny hopes the arrival of Esmeralda means Charity might be too busy to keep making her life miserable.

But Penny doesn't have a lot of time to worry about Charity. Her best friend, Tally, has recruited her to help raise money to save the local animal shelter. Then there's Marcus, the adorable and mysterious boy who Penny thinks maybe likes her as much as she likes him. Plus, this is Penny's first holiday season as a "divorced" kid--although she has no idea what this means.

Can Penny help her friends save the shelter, navigate her new family dynamics, and get the boy, or will Charity and Esmeralda find a way to ruin everything?

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Christmas, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary, Teen

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 2015

About the author

I was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which I think is one of the cooler places to be born, because initially people think I’m being funny—like I’m saying I was born on the moon, but then they see I’m actually being serious. It feels like since then I’ve lived nearly everywhere (well, only in the US—which is a bummer because I want to travel so much). In high school, I was in band and honors society and science club and worked on the school newspaper. All this in Texas where football was king and cheerleaders were the school royalty. When people ask me what I remember about middle school and high school, I stand there for several seconds not saying anything. This isn’t because I can’t remember anything, but because I remember too many things and I can’t figure out what to say out loud.

I spent the first part of college in Alaska, which was amazing. The first time I saw Northern Lights, I thought I was imagining it. I just couldn’t get my head around the idea that something so beautiful existed in the real world. That’s when I first started writing. This was my bad poetry phase. I think it was the combination of living there with long very cold winters and being in love with a guy that barely knew I existed that made me do it. People ask me all the time if I write poetry. I wish I could and maybe I will someday, but for now I am firmly a fiction writer.

Reviews

[Haley S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heather Hepler once again successfully shows readers the inside a teenager girl’s life. She flawlessly writes true friendship, as well as its ‘ups and downs.’ I personally think that this was a well written novel, and there were only a few things that I did not like about this novel.
When reading the back cover, I believed that there would be more focus on the ‘dynamite’ of the story, but there were so many chapters leading up to the book that I started to get bored of it. So I personally thought there was too much leading up to the ‘big stuff’.
Considering my dislikes, I still enjoyed reading this book. I loved Tally’s ‘I don’t care what they think of me” personality. She just shrugged any embarrassing moments off. I didn’t exactly understand her back story, but towards the end I finally got it. The ‘Blake and Tally’ relationship was confusing, but I thought they were perfect together. I didn’t know if they were a ‘couple’ or if they were just ‘friends.’ Because Marcus was an all-around nice guy, I can understand why Penny didn’t know if he just liked her or ‘like-liked’ her. And, I totally loved the way that almost every time Marcus was around Penny was most likely either just waking up or in a huge mess.
The ending was cute. So, my honest opinion of this novel is that it is a very sweet book, telling of the truthful life of a teenager. Now, for my star rating—I would give this book three stars.

Title: Frosted Kisses
Author: Heather Hepler
Website: http://www.heatherhepler.com/

This review was written with my own opinions and words.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book and I do encourage others to read it. If you're not comfortable with teenage love, however, I would advise staying away from it.

[Iso · Rating 2 out of 5]

As cheesy as the cover ewwww

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely a middle grade book. Cutsie story about pre-teens making their way through bullies, love, and family struggles.

I wish somewhere on this book it said something about it being the second book. However, I read it and completely understood without reading the first.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as Christmassy as I would have liked (at least half of the book takes place leading up to Thanksgiving) but I really liked the main character’s grandmother. Her Christmas light display sounded awesome.

[Kyndyl Borders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute story! Loved seeing the friendships go through hardships and the young love begin! Definitely a different read from my normal reads but it was a good cleanse to read just a sweet young romance.

[Trissety]

Manhattan girl Penny lives in a small tow and there is a festival going on she wasn't all excited until she found a cute boy and she had fun when she found she had a crush on him. Esmeralda is beautiful, French, and is Queen Bee Charity's best friend. They help with Charity events so shes hard not to love. Penny quickly gets jealous of her.But Penny doesn't have a lot of time to worry about Charity. Her best friend, Tally, has recruited her to help raise money to save the animal shelter.this is Penny's first holiday season as a "divorced" kid and its hard for her...Can Penny help her friends save the shelter, new family and get the boy, or will Charity and Esmeralda find a way to ruin everything?

[Jessica (Goldenfurpro)]

I gave up after 58 pages.

I didn't dislike this book. I just couldn't get into the book. I put it aside to read something else and kind of forgot that I was even reading this one. It just wasn't that memorable. I also didn't love the first book. I thought it was a cute book and I liked it, but I don't think a sequel was needed. I just couldn't see where the plot was trying to focus on. Still, I think others will find this book cute and a great wintertime read.

[Kayla-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about these two people who loves each other very much

[Jaina Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is also available on my blog, Read Till Dawn.

I'll be honest: this is the second book in a series, and I haven't read the first book. I don't really know what's spoilers and what isn't for the first book, so check The Cupcake Queen out on Goodreads here if you want to read it before my review. I don't make a habit of starting series halfway through, but I got an ARC of Frosted Kisses in August, and I just couldn't resist diving into what looked like the perfect end-of-summer read.

The MC Penny is fine, a bit of a vanilla character really, and I honestly felt like the other characters were the ones who stole the show. I appreciated the depth of Penny's worries, though, because mixed right in there with the petty school-girl pranks and fretting about her budding relationship with Marcus are some serious scenes about her absentee father, and about her realization that she can't keep excusing his behavior away. I don't know what happened between Penny's parents in the first book, and I'm not really a fan of divorce in general, but it's compelling to watch Penny struggle to come to terms with her father's parenting fails.

Trouble with bad parents brings me to Penny's best friend Tally, who may or may not have been a little over-the-top (okay, yeah, she was), but was still likable enough. I feel like Hepler probably wanted me to love her even more, but I just didn't really click with her. I didn't dislike her, though, and I enjoyed reading about some of the scrapes she pulled Penny into. I also appreciate that she was dealing with some truly terrible issues, bringing further depth to the story. What I didn't enjoy as much was the way she kept switching back and forth between being friendly and being mysteriously moody, for a reason that wasn't explained until Chapter 17. I think the decision to reveal it so far into the book was a bad one, because it made the entire novel feel more contrived and little bit like a soap opera. If she had just told Penny sooner, or been a little subtler about the whole thing until later, the entire book would have been much stronger.

As for Penny's love interest, Marcus has it all: he's sweet, he's kind, he's loyal, and he's motherless. Marcus isn't really "mysterious," though. I'm really not sure where the synopsis comes off saying that. He's not (unlike most of the other characters) hiding any big secrets, he's not brooding, he's not erratic. All in all he's a nice, normal, sweet boy and the only mystery to be found in connection with him is wondering why Penny could ever doubt his affection for her. He and Penny have a very sweet relationship, and I loved the way they weren't just "Boyfriend and Girlfriend!" with no room for thinking about anything other than impressing each other, and trying to find the privacy to have their first kiss. They were also just friends, and very good ones at that.

All in all, Frosted Kisses is a lot deeper than I was expecting. At the same time, it's still just as shallow. For the first 150 pages I had hope that it would, despite its flaws, end up a meaningful, original, stereotype-bending novel. It didn't - I mean, it had its meaningful parts and its fairly original components, but it also featured a few too many cliches. The mean girl is so shallow and petty I couldn't help finding her funny, and once or twice the action felt forced (like when Blake knew the answer to a question Penny had, and was sitting right there when she asked it, but didn't tell her because he "wasn't going to get involved." I mean, seriously?).

So yeah. I'm not sure whether I'll be going out of my way to recommend Frosted Kisses, but I won't be warning people off of it either. And if you think it looks good, then you should definitely give it a try! Just, um, maybe start with the first book. I can see Frosted Kisses being even sweeter to read if you actually know everyone's backstories.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Sara Crowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the past few months, i've been reading Frosted Kisses. I didn't like it that much. To me, it felt like the story just kept going on. The main character, Penny, was my favorite character because I could relate to her the most. She didn't have her whole family with her, and when she did it was trouble. I liked how Penny had to help in her moms cupcake shop because it helped her learn responsibility. I hate how clingy penny was, she was always worrying about what Marcus thinks and she gets jealous when he's nice to the new girl Esmerelda. I found it kind of ammusing how Charity and Esmerelda were always picking on Penny, because it was relatable to high school today. This book took me a long time to finish because I couldn't get into it. I didn't really enjoy the story line, but I do like how to story ended. Although I didn't like the story line, this book is teaching us about friendship, and how powerful it can be. It shows us that we can make a difference if we really try.

[Mayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penny and Tally are determined to help out the local animal shelter. Between odd jobs to raise money for the shelter, working in the cupcake shop for her mother, and going to school, Penny’s days are pretty full. But the holiday season is fast approaching, and that means another festival to prepare for. But what is really occupying her thoughts are her feelings for Marcus, and his feelings for her. It’s bad enough that Penny still has to deal with her “Mean Queen” classmate, but now a new girl, Esmeralda, has come to town, too, and it seems like Marcus is just too interested in this new girl from France. Adding insult to injury, someone seems to be sabotaging Penny and her endeavors. How all these problems are eventually resolved makes for some thought-provoking reading. This teen novel is just pure delight – with enough complications to keep it exciting and enough romance to keep it interesting. No over-done teenage angst but a good, entertaining story.

[Jeff Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diving into this one, I didn't realize that i was a sequel to The Cupcake Queen, that I haven't read. But this book, which is sort of a romance but also about cupcakes and the holidays, is maybe a little too quiet and light compared to a lot of the similarly-themed YA books out there. It's not to say that every teen romance needs to be edgy or something, but just that this needed a little more.

As a clean, standard teen romance, this isn't bad. You can do a lot worse, but I'm sure you can do a lot better, especially if some of these characters are not ones that you've already fallen for.

[Kaitlyn King]

Kaitlyn King
Block 5


I read the book Frosted Kisses for my English course by Heather Helper. This book was very interesting and exciting to read. There was always something going on in this book. About a teenage girl Penny, living her highschool life. Tennis and academics being some of the most important things to her. With one more thing, her boy crush. In the beginning of the story, she mentions her whole middle school experience, she had an obsession with a boy that she thought liked her back. She was correct, he did indeed have feelings for her but just did not show it as much as he could have. He had feelings for her, so he asked her out going into their freshman year.
They dated for a year, until, Penny had heard from a few people her boyfriend had cheated on her. No way did she believe it, they were in love! The first half of the novel was strictly about her and her boyfriend Jake’s romance. Until, she had found out he did indeed cheat. She was shocked. She was depressed and had trust issues like no other from here on out. “How can I ever fall in love again? He broke me, my heart, and my trust. Not just for him, but for other boys or men yet to come.” (234 Helper).
After trying to harm herself multiple times, the time came where her mother started to notice. She took actions that needed to be taken quickly. Penny was clinically depressed about Jake. Not just that though, her trust issues will remain the same and nothing was getting better over a six month period. Throughout the rest of most of the book, she gets therapy and starts the healing process. Come the end of the book, she begins recovering. Then there is a new boy, but she questions whether to take the risk and hope that the best comes out of the relationship, but the other half of her does not want to get hurt again. You can find out in the second book what happens.
Much of this story revolves around trust and love. Penny thought that she had someone she could always count on. But at some point you will learn, the people you think you can trust, you normally cannot. Be careful who you tell, and think before you act.
This book was a very exciting and fun book to read! It had me on the edge of my seat almost the entire time. I always wanted to continue reading this novel. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys exciting romance novels. Especially if you are one of us teenage girls, very fun and relatable to read about. I related to this story dramatically, which in return made it fun to read.

[Taylen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book Frosted Kisses by Heather Hepler, because of the drama happening at school, cute romance, and the mysterious problem with her friend. I found this book at my school library. It was around Christmas time, so it was the perfect time to read it. Frosted Kisses is about a girl named Penny who has recently moved to a small town in Manhattan called Hogs Hollow. The town is celebrating the holiday season which is a big deal in the town. Penny has a lot in her plate with helping make cupcakes for the holidays, trying to keep up with her crush, and dealing with her enemy Charity. A girl named Esmeralda is beautiful, graceful, and in every way perfect. Esmeralda becomes friends with Charity, for she is staying with her while her parents are gone in ChinaCh. Penny's best friend Tally doesn't like Esmeralda, but Penny believes she is good. Penny starts to fall more and more for her crush. Then all of a sudden something is off with her friend Tally. She became more distant to Penny and moodier. When Penny would try to figure out what was going on Tally would change the topic. Many things are going on between school, holidays, personal life, and Penny is trying to survive it all.

This book was really cute and interesting. Frosted kisses has a good balance of themes because it's not only drama or romance. There are also real-life problems that these characters have to deal with. One thing that stands out is the adorable relationship between Penny and Marcus. Penny and Marcus are a cute couple "I kiss him [...] Marcus girns at me, which I take to be a good sign"(Hepler 261). Although I believe this is a cute book I also believe that Penny's enemy (Charity) is a jerk. Charity doesn't care about anyone except herself "Charity is a mean queen"(Hepler 37). I gave this book a five-star rating because I really enjoyed it. In my opinion, the book has a lovable story plot to read about. I would highly recommend the book because it doesn't take long to read. It's a perfect book to read around Christmas time.

Overall Frosted Kisses is a really fun book to read. It takes you on an adventure of events that are relatable. It has a little bit of romance and drama. Frosted kisses is a book you should check out sometime. I enjoyed this book, and hopefully, you enjoy it too.

[Teija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Days in Hog's Hollow are never dull. There always seems to be something going on, especially for Penny Lane and Tally. There is a festival just around the corner that they still need to plan, a drama queen to deal with every day at school, and a crush that is forming on one of their best friends. Along with everything else, Penny Lane is learning to love the new city that she lives in. Just as everything is calming down and taking a breath, a new girl, Esmerelda, decides to move in. Esmeralda seems to be a little too perfect but she's the new girl so you should give her a chance right?

Penny and Tally have been through lots together. As this story unfolds, another journey reveals itself to each of them and they decide to go through it together. As life goes on for each of them they learn more about themselves and what they want to be like. Conflicts come up that test Penny and Tally. One of the main lessons that is shown in the story is to be kind. It sounds really simple, but it makes a big difference when you are genuinely kind to everyone you encounter.

Although this book gives a good overall lesson, the way the author portrays getting revenge on the ones who haven't been kind to you, I don't fully agree with. Sometimes karma will come and avenge the ones who deserve it but it should be up to karma. If Esmeralda and Charity didn't have to go through all of the human-made pain, then Penny and Tally could have mended bonds between each other.

This story is a typical high school love story. It reminds me of the book To All The Boys I've Loved Before. In To All the Boys I've Loved Before the reader knows the thoughts of Penny and Laura Jean. Laura Jean likes Peter and Penny likes Marcus. As they work through their relationship, the reader is able to understand what they hope the future might bring, including the long-awaited first kiss.

I would recommend this story to teenage girls who like thinking about high-school romance. It is a super cute book that includes lots of fluff.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frosted Kisses by Heather Hepler is a continuation from the book Cupcake Queen. These books are about a girl named Penny who moves back to her mom’s hometown Hog’s Hollow. In the book Frosted Kisses, Penny experiences the holidays in Hog’s Hollow and how special they are. Even though it’s the holidays Penny goes though many difficult situations. Especially since there’s a new girl in town that causes a little bit of trouble. On top of all those things, there is a boy she likes makes things more confusing.
This book is for someone who likes reading about problems that normal girls face but, it also has a little bit of romance. This shows friends and family coming together to have a special holiday. The book shows how friendships and trust can be tested and that your family is always there for you.
Frosted Kisses is a great book! I really enjoyed how Heather Hepler wrote the first book which made me want to read Frosted Kisses. Heather Hepler is a great writer, but personally I thought that some of the book moved along very slow. I also felt a little confused at times but there was a lot going on in the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book I would recommend reading both books.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is the link to my full review: http://polyliteramore.blogspot.com/20...

I first encountered Heather Hepler in middle school. There was a biannual book fair that took place, and I picked up the book The Cupcake Queen. I love to bake, and I love to read, so the title instantly drew me in. In all my middle school innocence, this was my favorite love story, for it was not cliche nor overwhelmingly perfect. The characters mimicked people in my own life, and I read the book at least three times.

Throughout middle school, I collected as many books by Heather Hepler as possible. To this day, I love her style of writing, and her love stories never fail to disappoint when I want a pick-me-up for my singleness. However, The Cupcake Queen has always remained my favorite of her books.

When I saw the sequel to The Cupcake Queen in Barnes&Noble, I immediately placed it at the top of my Christmas list. My mother, as usual, did not disappoint, and I found Frosted Kisses under the tree on Christmas morning.

I sat down to read the book, slightly nervous. It has been nearly four years since I graduated middle school, and I feared the magic of The Cupcake Queen would not affect me as it did my younger self.

Frosted Kisses did not disappoint. Although The Cupcake Queen will remain my favorite book by Heather Hepler, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this sequel. As always, the voice of Penny, the main character, rang strong and true as she tackled bullies, family troubles, and, of course, the cute boy.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly when first picked this up last year at the book fair i though it would be the best book ever because the synopsis of the book was TOTALLY relatable to me. I read till page 30 then DNF'D it for a very long time then i picked up again this year and started reading it was eh at first wasn't really into it but was determined to finish it so I did. Honestly the romance was more corny than cute but still ended great. Her bestfriend Tally had a great storyline and the mean girl stuff if you really listen teaches a lesson and Heather Hepler made it you can relate to what main character Penny was feeling. It wasn't my top book but it put a smile on my face and gave great lessons. This is defintly a middle grade book like grade 4 and 5 would call this their favorite book and i would have too if i was still that age. I recommend this for a rebound from a series or something and a short read for anyone since i just finished the hunger games trilogy

[Kelly Jurado]

I read a book titled "Frosted Kisses." I was inspired by my sister to read this book she said it was a very interesting book and that I should tried it out. This book talks about a young girl named, "Esmeralda, who tends to be new in Manhattan, New York. Her best friend Charity wants to raise enough money for an animal shelter. They must try their best and save the shelter.
I enjoy reading this book. I like every chunk of it as well as the story to save the animals from the shelter with their friends help. I did not really liked the ending because it was confusing how they try to help the shelter at the beginning of story but at the very ending both of the girls want to ruin everything. Instead a girl named, "Penny" tries and helps the shelter with the help of her friend Marcus.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an amazing look into a teenage girls mind. Always picking out the clicks and giving people labels and never really being 100 percent sure of what was to come next. This was the story of a girl named penny who was the new girl but is quickly replaced by an image of perfection, Esmerelda. The girl has a cute french accent and can be friends with anyone and everyone within the first week of her being the country. Penny and her friends don't know what to think of her yet, but in the end a decision was made. It is a realistic fiction book with a bit of romance, I recommend it to any girl that likes to watch drama unfold.

[Betsy :D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was as good as the 1st book. It was a nice little read Again I liked all Penny's friends and the adult around her there like all one big family and that's sweet!So the new girl turned out to be a witch. There were problems but they were all resolved and could have been avoided if she had talked it out but in the end her friends/ family helped and they talked and it was all okay. :)

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

While there's fluff here, there's also plenty going on under the surface. Teens will relate to the issues addressed in the story-bullying, the fuzzy line between opposite sex friendships and romance, the pain when parents aren't reliable or honest, the fun of holidays, the satisfaction when the bad guys get their comeuppance and the sheer fun of making a difference in a way that's enjoyable and appreciated by adults.

[Judine Brey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like its precursor, The Cupcake Queen, this is a book that sucked me in until I finished it. The characters grow, while maintaining their personalities. Penny's conflicts with how she should treat newcomer Esme and crush Marcus seem real and natural for a 14-year-old. Best friend Tally's concurrent storyline about her absentee father makes for a great counterpoint. And Blake's random t-shirt collection just made me laugh.

[Keilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It’s really a book full of suspense but it also is a book that is perfect for teenagers. It it’s so good because I love the romance part but it also has mystery and some suspense! It has a little bit of everything. If you love that kind of book that your can’t stop reading, this is your type of book/series.

[Lucy 80s girl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is just so clique. Like I thought this would finish the first book but it does not. It's way too cheesy. A new girl comes and then like everyone thinks she is nice but she is in the mean girl group by the end and the good girls like get revenge or whatever on the bad people. I thought it was a waste of time and do not read this if you want a good romance. Its cutesy but not my kind of book.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good it had so much action. I really like the characters, I could imagine the characters in my head. They are all cute and should be together with there crush's. I really like this book and hope they come out with a new book. If they come out with a new book I would love to read it.

[B Sev · Rating 4 out of 5]

The unknown answers as she navigates through dramas with family, mean girls at school and boys it’s relatable. It was an easy read, good storyline and I liked it was a cute romance book nothing “dirty” in it besides cute flirting. I’d recommend this book to young ladies to adult women. And in reading this book I did order two more of Heather Hepler’s books.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book about a girl and her life at her new school, her family, friends, enemies, and boys. I never read the first book because I didn't realize it was the second of a series till about halfway through the book.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful follow up to The Cupcake Queen. Great characters--never a dull moment with the story. My only criticism--I HATE the title. It makes the book sound like fluff. I also have a major dislike of photos used in place of illustration in cover art. Still, I REALLY enjoyed this book!