Eat Cake    by Jeanne Ray Order:  USA  Can Random House, 2003 (2003) Hardcover, CD Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Melissa Parcel Ruth Hopson has always loved to bake cakes. Baking is the way she relaxes, relieves stress, shows love to her family, and fights insomnia. When her husband, Sam, is fired from his job as a hospital administrator, Ruth's world is turned upside-down. To help cope, she makes even more cakes in order to center herself on something familiar. Though her family enjoys the cakes, Ruth bakes them so often that they have become a commonplace occurrence. Ruth's mother, Hollis, moved in with them after her home was robbed and she no longer felt safe. Then out of the blue, Ruth's long-lost father, Guy, ends up with two broken wrists and joins the menagerie. Hollis and Guy have been divorced for years, and their relationship is anything but pleasant. As the family comes to grip with all of the changes, they also need to figure out how to earn enough money to live on. Jeanne Ray has written a delectable novel. The characters come to life with humor that had me laughing out loud and reading passages to the rest of my family. The interactions between Hollis and Guy are hilarious and true-to-life. Sam and Ruth's relationship is filled with emotion. Readers will be able to identify with their struggles and the decisions they need to make. Anyone who has experienced a job loss can readily comprehend the shock and understand the transitions that this event produces. The descriptions of baking, selecting ingredients, and eating the different varieties of cakes make for mouth-watering reading. There are recipes included for many of the cakes described for readers to make at home. I am definitely going to try 'Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Frosting'. The merging of fiction with descriptions of cooking has long been a winning combination, and this novel touches the heart as well as the stomach. Eat Cake is another engaging offering from Jeanne Ray, also known for Step-Ball Change and Julie and Romeo. Grab yourself a piece of cake and be prepared for a delicious experience! Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews