After listening to her closest friends’ latest travails in love, parenting, and careers, superstitious bride-to-be Nicole (Nic) believes she has the perfect recipe for everyone’s happiness: a bridal shower “cake pull” in which each ribboned silver charm planted in her cake will bring its recipient the magical assistance she needs to change her destiny. Melissa (Mel), still ringless after dating the same man for six years, deserves the engagement ring charm. The red hot chili pepper would be perfect for Seema, who is in love with her best male friend Scott, but can’t seem to make their relationship more than platonic. And recently laid off journalist Nic wants the shovel, which symbolizes hard work, to help her get her career back on track. Nic does everything she can to control who gets which silver keepsake – as well as the future it represents. But when the charmed cake is mysteriously shifted from the place settings Nic arranged around it, no one gets the charm she chose for them. And when the other party guests’ fortunes begin coming true, Mel, Seema, and Nic can’t help but wonder…. Is the cake trying to tell them something?

"In this delicious follow-up to There's Cake in My Future, Seema, Nic and Mel are back, adjusting to their new lives as a bride-to-be, a mother-to-be, and a recently single girl looking for love It's been about a year since Mel, Nic and Seema pulled their magical charms out of the cake at Nic's bridal shower and each of their happily-ever-afters seemingly came true. Now, Seema is about to marry Scott in an elaborate three-day affair that's stressing out everyone, including her Maid of Honor, Mel. Nic is glowingly pregnant, and Mel... well, Mel feels as if she accidentally veered off the rails of her life at some point and isn't sure how to get back on. On top of the possible threat of a layoff from her teaching job, she is single yet again, and has to find her own place now that Scott's moving in with her roommate, Seema. Nic thinks Mel just needs a little something to help her figure it all out. and believes a cake pull at Seema's bridal shower will be just the thing. Since she's poured so much attention into building a career, never making time for travel, Mel decides to ask for the passport charm. But once again, the cake proves to have a mind of its own, giving her yet another unrequested charm. Mel decides it's time to take matters into her own hands. A spur of the moment decision leads her to Paris and then Maui, where she finds herself on an adventure that she never could have imagined, experiencing the trials and tribulations of a life suddenly and perfectly unplanned. And she begins to learn that, however nonsensical it may seem, the cake is never wrong"--

Charlize "Charlie" Edwards certainly knows, in theory, what it takes to lead a successful and happy life. She owns a nice house in Silverlake, LA's trendiest neighborhood. She has glamorous and loyal friends who accompany her to the hottest clubs in town. And she works as the personal assistant to Drew Stanton, Hollywood's sexiest movie star. But she's also turning 30, chronically single, and faced with serving as maid of honor at her younger sister's wedding. Charlie finds herself struggling to juggle the chaos of wedding planning (while wondering if she'll ever wear the white dress herself), her all-consuming job for lunatic boss Stanton, and a serious crush on Jordan, a photographer on the set of Drew's latest feature--a man who might actually return her feelings. A page-turner from start to finish, A Total Waste of Makeup puts a fresh face on women's fiction.

Charlize "Charlie" Edwards finally has it all: a house in Silverlake, L.A.'s hippest neighborhood, two fabulous best friends who always have her back, and a great (though hectic) job as the personal assistant to Hollywood's hottest movie star, Drew Stanton. But best of all, Charlie has a newly feathered love nest with Jordan, the sexy photographer she recently started dating. Maybe Charlie's journal of smart-alecky life advice—which she's always been better at writing than following—has finally helped put her on the right track. Unfortunately for Charlie, Drew is causing complete havoc on his new movie set, her eccentric family is descending upon L.A. for the upcoming holiday season, and her love life may be back to square one. Jordan has left L.A. to work on a film shooting in Paris, where the women are gorgeous, sophisticated, and possibly after her man. And Drew's handsome new producer, Liam, is an old crush who has reappeared to tug at Charlie's heartstrings. Charlie's torn between the misery of waiting for Jordan and the tingly feelings she has for Liam. But there's nothing misery—or seduction—loves better than a great glass of cabernet.

Before becoming the first female private investigator in Botswana, eight-year-old Precious Ramotswe tracks down a thief who has been stealing her classmates' snacks.

"Molly suffers from depression, and when she finds out that the exotic fishstore she works at is closing down, her whole life, which is already hanging on a thread, starts to crumble"--

Finding Mr Right and saying ‘yes’ was just the beginning. A delightfully romantic read for fans of Trisha Ashley and Chris Manby.