What do you think?
Rate this book
Cake Time
Winner of the 2015 Red Hen Press Fiction Award.
A new Novel-in-Stories that New York Times bestselling author Jillian Lauren calls -a delicious indulgence.-
Daring yet aimless, smart but slightly strange, Cake Time's young female protagonist keeps making slippery choices, sliding into the dangerous space where curiosity melds with fear and desires turn into dirty messes. In -How Not to Have an Abortion, - the teenaged narrator looks for a ride from the clinic between her AP exams. In -Easy Target, - the now-college-grad agrees to go to a swingers party with a handsome stranger. A decade later, in -Glow, - she is suddenly confronted by the disturbing and thrilling fact of her lover's secret daughter. Ultimately, this unflinching novel-in-stories grapples with urgent, timeless questions: why intelligent girls make terrible choices, where to negotiate a private self in an increasingly public world, and how to love madly without losing a sense of self.
A new Novel-in-Stories that New York Times bestselling author Jillian Lauren calls -a delicious indulgence.-
Daring yet aimless, smart but slightly strange, Cake Time's young female protagonist keeps making slippery choices, sliding into the dangerous space where curiosity melds with fear and desires turn into dirty messes. In -How Not to Have an Abortion, - the teenaged narrator looks for a ride from the clinic between her AP exams. In -Easy Target, - the now-college-grad agrees to go to a swingers party with a handsome stranger. A decade later, in -Glow, - she is suddenly confronted by the disturbing and thrilling fact of her lover's secret daughter. Ultimately, this unflinching novel-in-stories grapples with urgent, timeless questions: why intelligent girls make terrible choices, where to negotiate a private self in an increasingly public world, and how to love madly without losing a sense of self.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
246 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2017
7 people are currently reading
814 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
March 17, 2017
This is my book so I'm biased! I hope you enjoy reading it -- Feel free to drop me a note via my website: sielju.com.
April 15, 2017
Really strong debut collection of stories dealing with relationships and one woman's evolution from a teen in trouble to a woman taking her own lead in life and love. Siel's wit reminded me of Michelle Tea and her blunt treatment of sexuality was refreshingly candid and fun. Can't wait to read more books by her.
April 28, 2017
Siel Ju's linked collection of stories follow the misadventures of a young woman coming to terms with her sexuality. Most of the stories are set in L.A., a place that encourages people to put off coming to terms with pretty much anything for as long as possible. With language that is seductive and sharp Cake Time serves up a portraits of heartbreak with biting humor.
August 26, 2019
Unapologetically bold and sexy this book was.
February 20, 2017
Siel Ju's Cake Time is an encyclopedia of modern dating. The novel-in-stories follows the protagonist from relationship, or hook-up (as her friend Erin says in the book, "Dated? Or slept with?"), to relationship over the course of close to two decades. Ju's writing is refreshingly honest, the characters' situations at once familiar and made new. Her writing about sex is often both painful and hilarious. In the title story, "Cake Time," for instance, the protagonist and her college roommate taunt the roommate's brother that if he's going to make out with his drunken girlfriend in front of them, he might as well just "do it" in front of them. He nervously, angrily takes them up on their challenge. The book is about much more than sex and dating, though: among other things, it's about loneliness and the search for connection. In "The Supplies," the young protagonist has a brief fling with an older, married coworker at the business she's temping at and imagines a relationship blooming where there isn't one. After, she thinks "...I started getting that Groundhog Day feel, like I was watching my life on a loop. I was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of tired resignation." Cake Time a riveting book that I struggled to put down. I'd follow this protagonist for another twenty years.
March 12, 2020
The writing is excellent in terms of imagery and word choice, but I did not particularly care for the story itself. The protagonist only ever approaches feeling/showing emotion but then doesn’t at the last moment. She is indifferent to the other characters at best, other times disdainful of them.
Which is not to say that this disdain is unwarranted; the men are all terrible.
“There’s a part of you that’s excited to be having this conversation, that’s proud in a way to have surprised him, to know more than he does.”
There is something satisfying in seeing a man not in control of every situation.
“On Saturday Ryan arrives fifteen minutes late.” Because of course he does, fucking Ryan.
“Get lost on the way to the clinic and argue about directions. He tries his way, then yours. You’re right of course...” Fucking Ryan.
“It’s Helen, a girl in your chemistry class.” There’s something perversely ritual about all of these young women gathered together to get abortions.
The back cover says this book “grapples with urgent, timeless questions: why intelligent girls make terrible choices...” I feel like this description is inherently sexist. If this were a novel about a man, it would probably be described as a brilliant coming of age tale. Boys will be boys and all that.
The protagonist seems to be a product of our culture, but at the same time outside of it, like her indifference gives her the air of an outside observer in order to illustrate the hideousness and ridiculousness of the often toxic ways we relate to one another, particularly in heterosexual relationships.
“I felt like a box of cereal in an aisle full of cereal boxes, in a supermarket in a city with countless supermarkets, at a time when no one ate carbs. All the good things in life seemed to happen only through rare intersections of luck and timing, chance meetings that never happened for me.”
Which is not to say that this disdain is unwarranted; the men are all terrible.
“There’s a part of you that’s excited to be having this conversation, that’s proud in a way to have surprised him, to know more than he does.”
There is something satisfying in seeing a man not in control of every situation.
“On Saturday Ryan arrives fifteen minutes late.” Because of course he does, fucking Ryan.
“Get lost on the way to the clinic and argue about directions. He tries his way, then yours. You’re right of course...” Fucking Ryan.
“It’s Helen, a girl in your chemistry class.” There’s something perversely ritual about all of these young women gathered together to get abortions.
The back cover says this book “grapples with urgent, timeless questions: why intelligent girls make terrible choices...” I feel like this description is inherently sexist. If this were a novel about a man, it would probably be described as a brilliant coming of age tale. Boys will be boys and all that.
The protagonist seems to be a product of our culture, but at the same time outside of it, like her indifference gives her the air of an outside observer in order to illustrate the hideousness and ridiculousness of the often toxic ways we relate to one another, particularly in heterosexual relationships.
“I felt like a box of cereal in an aisle full of cereal boxes, in a supermarket in a city with countless supermarkets, at a time when no one ate carbs. All the good things in life seemed to happen only through rare intersections of luck and timing, chance meetings that never happened for me.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2017
So sad and good at the same time,took me a while to get into it,but really worth it.
March 19, 2018
This book appeared to have been written for an audience of women like me, but I found most of it to be very uninteresting and unrelatable. Parts of it are also nauseating. There are two reasons it gets two stars from me: 1) Siel Ju is clearly very good at writing. I don’t mean storytelling, but I do mean that her word choice is great and her syntax is beautiful. 2) on occasion, this novel does touch on some important topics.
Over all, though, I found the narrator’s callousness to be really unappealing. She never “saves a cat,” which is something a main character is supposed to do at some point in order to be relatable. She is rude and judgmental to and about pretty much everybody, including people she considers to be friends. Including herself, too, by the way. I repeatedly wanted to ask her, “WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS??” But I couldn’t. Unfortunately, the book offers no explanations. The ending is just as unsatisfactory as an unfinished blowjob, which makes sense, because that’s what it’s about.
Over all, though, I found the narrator’s callousness to be really unappealing. She never “saves a cat,” which is something a main character is supposed to do at some point in order to be relatable. She is rude and judgmental to and about pretty much everybody, including people she considers to be friends. Including herself, too, by the way. I repeatedly wanted to ask her, “WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS??” But I couldn’t. Unfortunately, the book offers no explanations. The ending is just as unsatisfactory as an unfinished blowjob, which makes sense, because that’s what it’s about.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2017
What is so impressive about Siel Ju's Cake Time is not only the wit, craft, insight, and sheer entertainment infused into each individual story, but also how effortlessly these qualities build and ripple through the collective, like how each chorus and verse combines to make your favorite song. Indeed, all collected the effect is skilled and symphonic, greater than the sum of each part, greater still in subsequent readings, and building in us a terrific anticipation for what Ju has planned next, given how masterfully this flavorful novel-in-stories is presented. Truly, this is a work to be savored, and not to be missed.
July 10, 2017
Cake Time is smart, witty, and breezy, with poignant insights about human behavior that sneak up on you. Siel Ju is at once merciless and tender towards her intuitive, flawed narrator in stories that provide a delightfully fresh take on what, in another author's hands, could be considered the tired trope of youth and dating in a glamorous metropolis. The subject matter never feels cliche because the author subverts all of the reader's expectations and serves up a collection of very intelligent and funny vignettes. Cake Time is a confection with heft. You'll feel nourished after devouring it.
June 9, 2017
I feel sorry for this author. I hope she finds men who treat her better in the future or finds more respect for herself.
May 6, 2017
Siel Ju's novel Cake Time, winner of the Red Hen Press Fiction Award, 2015, is called a novel in stories. In the first story, "How Not to Have An Abortion," the narrator, a teenager, has apparently learned enough to warrant the story's title. And by story’s end has a notion that she is following a script, acting out “a long-ingrained habit” she did not know she had. This truth will follow her throughout the book’s pages. By the second story, the one giving the book its title, the main character is a college student at a "no-name" liberal arts school in rural Pennsylvania--on scholarship. The story centers on her roommate Carrie's twenty-first birthday. After some partying at a local hangout, the revelers decide it's "cake time" and take the party back to the apartment, where Ben, Carrie's brother, and Marcy, his girlfriend, take up the dare to "do it" in front of the narrator and Carrie. There's been much drinking and in the morning a lot of apologizing. All is taken very casually, except by story's end, the narrator can't forget how Marcy "kept covering her breasts." She says, "The feeling behind the gesture seemed oddly familiar..." although she “couldn’t remember ever taking it on.” Each of these carefully crafted stories is punctuated with an ending sentence that is at once opaque and revealing. And so it goes—throughout the book there’s a lot of sex, often bleak, a lot of sex, but without real connection. We follow the narrator to work in LA. By the last story, she is reunited with her boyfriend Alek after a brief breakup. Although this relationship seems on no better footing than it had 24 hours before, the narrator describes their sex, if not as romantic, then at least exciting, until that is, his instruction to her about her technique puts the relationship in sharp relief, hitting her as comic, even with an urge to laugh, “though the feeling faded” and she did not. Ju is a master at creating sex scenes. There is no gauzy filter, no florid prose—and that suits her purposes just fine. This is an engaging collection by a very savvy writer.
April 2, 2018
I always tell my students that "not relating" to a character does not mean the book is bad, but I don't know that I've ever come across a protagonist I felt so distant from.
It wasn't the promiscuity that bothered me, or even the unapologetic cheating. It was the fact that there was absolutely no character growth whatsoever. I start out disliking her, then I hated her, than I hated her more for not changing. Basically, my thoughts towards her could be summed by asking, "Why are you like this and have you tried NOT being like this?"
Because there's never a reason given for how damaged she is and she never moves past it at all.
I'll add that I found her narration self-aware to the point of being contrived. Every sex scene is like, "When we started doing it, he was confident and not at all apprehensive the way he was 5 minutes at dinner when his drinking problem was super apparent and then the sex was basically okay." She seems to hate everyone, including herself.
When I finished the book, I threw it and then because it was a crappy throw, I picked it up again off the bed 3 feet away from me and threw it across the room so I could get some sort of joy from the experience of reading it.
It wasn't the promiscuity that bothered me, or even the unapologetic cheating. It was the fact that there was absolutely no character growth whatsoever. I start out disliking her, then I hated her, than I hated her more for not changing. Basically, my thoughts towards her could be summed by asking, "Why are you like this and have you tried NOT being like this?"
Because there's never a reason given for how damaged she is and she never moves past it at all.
I'll add that I found her narration self-aware to the point of being contrived. Every sex scene is like, "When we started doing it, he was confident and not at all apprehensive the way he was 5 minutes at dinner when his drinking problem was super apparent and then the sex was basically okay." She seems to hate everyone, including herself.
When I finished the book, I threw it and then because it was a crappy throw, I picked it up again off the bed 3 feet away from me and threw it across the room so I could get some sort of joy from the experience of reading it.
June 20, 2017
Full Disclosure: the author and I have met a couple of times.
That said, this was a powerful debut full of flawed characters that you can't help but root for. It's a novel-in-stories and at first I didn't pick up on the interconnectedness of the individual stories, but as I got further into it they subtle ties become more prominent. Rather than a traditional novel structure, the novel-in-stories approach allows the reader to get a glimpse into the main character's life at different times. Each moment carries a poignancy that would otherwise be hard to convey. I found myself rooting for her even as I wanted to intervene in some of her more obviously bad decisions.
This book will hold your attention. The unabashed prose makes a strong statement for confidence and pride even in the 21st century when all our worst moments seem to live forever online.
If you liked this, make sure to follow me on Goodreads for more reviews!
That said, this was a powerful debut full of flawed characters that you can't help but root for. It's a novel-in-stories and at first I didn't pick up on the interconnectedness of the individual stories, but as I got further into it they subtle ties become more prominent. Rather than a traditional novel structure, the novel-in-stories approach allows the reader to get a glimpse into the main character's life at different times. Each moment carries a poignancy that would otherwise be hard to convey. I found myself rooting for her even as I wanted to intervene in some of her more obviously bad decisions.
This book will hold your attention. The unabashed prose makes a strong statement for confidence and pride even in the 21st century when all our worst moments seem to live forever online.
If you liked this, make sure to follow me on Goodreads for more reviews!
July 17, 2017
4.5 stars. I love the idea of having short stories make up a larger novel. The prose is precise, and at times, wanders into beautiful nuances.
I think Ju does a great job of creating a character that's real and authentic. The unfiltered emotions of the narrator really feel true. Specific details of the Los Angeles setting bring a unique urban flavor to the novel. Also, I think it's an excellent look at the tumultuous roller coaster that is dating and navigating the single world in LA.
However, I did take off .5 star because I kept wondering to myself why this girl had so many negative experiences. I guess I'm a HEA kind of gal, which isn't necessarily realistic, but I really hoped that she would have grown a bit more and there'd be more hope in her narrative arc.
I think Ju does a great job of creating a character that's real and authentic. The unfiltered emotions of the narrator really feel true. Specific details of the Los Angeles setting bring a unique urban flavor to the novel. Also, I think it's an excellent look at the tumultuous roller coaster that is dating and navigating the single world in LA.
However, I did take off .5 star because I kept wondering to myself why this girl had so many negative experiences. I guess I'm a HEA kind of gal, which isn't necessarily realistic, but I really hoped that she would have grown a bit more and there'd be more hope in her narrative arc.
May 22, 2017
“Cake Time” is often sexy, at times wryly humorous, and always keenly observational. As you read each piece, you travel forward in time with the same protagonist, learning with her, man by man, friend by friend, experience by experience. The title is apt, these delicious literary confections go down quickly. “Cake Time” will be an excellent summer read for those who desire a touch less fluff and a little more meat in their beach bag.
June 18, 2017
Well-written, engaging, connected stories on one woman's dating life in LA during her twenties and thirties. Easily relatable to my own dating struggles. And as a still recent transplant to LA, I had fun following the character around town. There is a lot of graphic sex throughout the stories, which LA writers love to write about I've noticed. I don't particularly need graphic sex in my books, but I nonetheless enjoyed the stories.
Read
July 16, 2017Siel Ju's collection of linked stories illuminates all the dysfunction people are afraid to see in their relationships: roommate, romantic, and casual flirty interactions. She recalls those awkward moments at jobs and in social situations that no one wants to admit, including the sexual fumbles of firsts. And she does all of this with quirky characters, elegant prose, and details that ground you in time and place. Within the whimsy, she addresses social issues like abortion and environmental responsibility. Ju's narrator exposes all her own flaws and desires, inviting readers to examine their own.
July 1, 2017
I love how the author weaves these stories in her strong, honest, funny, insightful voice. It's a coming-of-age story for someone already pretty much of age; a Bildungsroman Sex in the City set in LA. (And why doesn't spellcheck in Goodreads recognize "Bildungsroman"?)
July 14, 2017
Anyone who has dated in LA can relate to many of these thoughtful, unabashed takes on relationships. Siel Ju's approach takes on the narrative of a close confidant sharing some of the most scintillating, complicated, and disappointing ways people find themselves in partnerships and the decisions involved in continuing or ending trysts. Her storytelling is founded in unraveling threads of complex, character-driven stories.
July 20, 2017
Great summer or anytime read. Siel Ju's original approach to both short story and narrative are amplified by her narrator's ability to expose how we keep emotional distance even in our pursuit of intimacy (and how they often put us at odds with ourselves). Also a poet, Siel Ju's ability to combine lyrical imagery and language within her narratives brings delight even when exploring the darker sides of humanity.
May 29, 2017
Fantastic collection/novel . . . fresh voice, beautiful language, real stuff. Loved it.
September 8, 2017
Wonderful book where each chapter is its own story. Quite deep & even a bit dark yet enjoyable....
Excellent writing Siel Ju keeps one interested with this very interested read....
Excellent writing Siel Ju keeps one interested with this very interested read....
May 24, 2017
Liked this book a lot. Unsentimental and not nostalgic even as it moved through time. The protagonist was specific even as she was anonymous.
September 26, 2018
This only gets two stars: one for How to Not Have an Abortion, and one for The Locust of Desire. That is all.
I was severely disappointed by how much I didn't like this book because I read The Locust of Desire in a creative writing class in college and I really, really loved it. Unfortunately, the rest of the book just isn't up to par. There's a simple formula: the two second person narrated chapters are good, the first person narrated chapters are painful. The problem is that I personally felt a deep sense of alienation from the protagonist and could only empathize with her when she was "you." When she's narrating things as "I" she turns into That Friend who just won't stop making questionable decisions, demands advice, and then wastes your time by not taking it. I was frustrated by her. She frequently harkens back to humiliating college hookups when dealing with negative adult hookups but the outcome doesn't change if the behavior doesn't! And I couldn't even feel satisfied by the fact that the writing is actually good - Siel Ju is a gifted writer, absolutely - but with the protagonist, like That Friend, you just need to leave her to her own devices and not get emotionally involved. I also couldn't even find satisfaction in the blunt portrayal of women's sexuality because I didn't like any of the men the protagonist had relationships with and thought most of them were verging on toxic if they weren't explicitly toxic. The latter chapters were also frankly boring and I found myself skimming pages and hardly reading it. This wasn't a dense or difficult read but it took me so long because I didn't want to pick up the book and read more. I forced myself to finish it so I could just be done with it.
It was really disappointing because it started off so well in How to Not Have an Abortion, which is not only well written but I could empathize with the protagonist deeply and I wanted her to be okay. And The Locust of Desire is simply well written and I loved the structure of that particular story. The rest of the book really didn't come anywhere close to the quality of those two chapters and it's too bad.
I was severely disappointed by how much I didn't like this book because I read The Locust of Desire in a creative writing class in college and I really, really loved it. Unfortunately, the rest of the book just isn't up to par. There's a simple formula: the two second person narrated chapters are good, the first person narrated chapters are painful. The problem is that I personally felt a deep sense of alienation from the protagonist and could only empathize with her when she was "you." When she's narrating things as "I" she turns into That Friend who just won't stop making questionable decisions, demands advice, and then wastes your time by not taking it. I was frustrated by her. She frequently harkens back to humiliating college hookups when dealing with negative adult hookups but the outcome doesn't change if the behavior doesn't! And I couldn't even feel satisfied by the fact that the writing is actually good - Siel Ju is a gifted writer, absolutely - but with the protagonist, like That Friend, you just need to leave her to her own devices and not get emotionally involved. I also couldn't even find satisfaction in the blunt portrayal of women's sexuality because I didn't like any of the men the protagonist had relationships with and thought most of them were verging on toxic if they weren't explicitly toxic. The latter chapters were also frankly boring and I found myself skimming pages and hardly reading it. This wasn't a dense or difficult read but it took me so long because I didn't want to pick up the book and read more. I forced myself to finish it so I could just be done with it.
It was really disappointing because it started off so well in How to Not Have an Abortion, which is not only well written but I could empathize with the protagonist deeply and I wanted her to be okay. And The Locust of Desire is simply well written and I loved the structure of that particular story. The rest of the book really didn't come anywhere close to the quality of those two chapters and it's too bad.
August 23, 2017
This is an ideal summer read: sexy and entertaining, without compromising depth or emotional range. I breezed through it and wished I could follow the unnamed narrator through a couple more decades of relationships. I related immensely to her: she is reserved yet bold, and aware of her mistakes even as she makes them.
Disclaimer: I know the author and received the book for free. Thanks, Siel!
Disclaimer: I know the author and received the book for free. Thanks, Siel!
July 7, 2017
Great storytelling that I haven’t seen in a while. I usually don’t read a lot of short stories, I prefer novels or memoirs but this read more like a novel to me. Each story had a way of making me feel as if I was personally there to witness them. There were definitely parts that I could relate to and this made me want to keep reading. If I start to lose interest in the main character or if the story development seems to go nowhere..that’s where my brain shuts off and I have a hard time finishing the book. This was not the case with Cake Time. Recommend reading!
March 20, 2018
I enjoyed this collection from a small press (Red Hen) which was totally about a lot of the things that people were going gaga about with Cat Person (the story in the New Yorker about unsatisfying relationships and sex on the borderline of not okay). The narrator in this collection (it's more of a collection than a "novel in stories" because it doesn't have an overarching arc) makes terrible decisions and when she comes close to something that might be good with her, gets antsy. I liked the weirdness of it, the crisp prose, and all the callouts to LA.
May 14, 2021
This is the type of book you want to be endless. I love the structure of the stories and how you can read them in a separate order without affecting the final result.
This is a very intimate book and I love how close to home hit the narrator's love life. It left me thinking that I might not be alone in my feelings of despair, and that is what makes a good writer, to be able to make a reader empathic towards the characters.
This is a very intimate book and I love how close to home hit the narrator's love life. It left me thinking that I might not be alone in my feelings of despair, and that is what makes a good writer, to be able to make a reader empathic towards the characters.
January 6, 2020
4.7. I loved this book. It is short stories that are connected, and I couldn't put it down. I wish this woman would write more. I'd gobble up everything she writes. My only criticism is maybe I would have wished for a little more character development. I felt like I didn't know the protagonist as well as I wanted to. But the stories are great.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews