Have you ever seen a Hallmark movie? You know, the ones where the girl and the guy meet and after a few twists and turns, they unexpectedly fall in love. Well, an adorable, lovable Hallmark movie is exactly how I would describe The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin lives Lou Johnson: young chef and owner of Luella’s restaurant. As she attempts to build up her business, a brutal food critic, Al Walters, wanders into her life. He anonymously reviews her restaurant and publishes an article that might possibly end Lou’s career as a restaurant owner. After the review begins to run in the paper, Lou and Al accidently bump into each other at a local pub. They slowly fall for each other, but neither  knows the truth about the other.

Lou hasn’t revealed she is the restaurant owner out of shame, and Al can’t say that he is the critic because he needs to remain anonymous. This improbable couple continues to bend their way around the truth by going on little adventures and touring the city.

As much as I love this book for its quirky and captivating storyline, it isn’t anything new. Again, I must stress that this book strongly reminds me of a love story in a Hallmark movie. This exact description shows the one main issue with this book: it is not a unique concept. After watching countless sappy, but charming, movies with my mom, I seem to have grown tired of the same predictable dance that all the couples appear to know.

It is not hard for me to say that I am quite fond of the book, but it is rather difficult for me to brag about the book to others. I don’t feel so captivated by the novel that I feel the need to push my friends to read it. I like the book, I really do, I just can’t harvest the connection with it that I can with other literature.

Overall, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is a morally contenting novel that no matter how old the concept of the story is, it will bring a smile to your face every time and again.