Book Review: The Missing Cupcake by Megan D. Wood

Author: Megan D. Wood

Title: The Missing Cupcake

Genre: Short Story, Contemporary Romance

Format: ebook

Pages: 23

Published: June 12, 2025

Where I got It: Kindle Unlimited

Summary: 

Lucy works in marketing but dreams of opening her own bakery in the future. She loves testing recipes, posting her creations online, and sharing her most successful treats with the office staff. So when the caterer drops out of one of the corporate events she’s planning and a colleague volunteers her to supply the dessert—one hundred cupcakes—Lucy feels like she has to accept the challenge.

If she performs well, it could lead to the promotion she’s had her eye on, which should come with a pay raise that will help make her bakery dreams a reality.

But there’s a she has to make those one hundred cupcakes in the tiny kitchen of her one-bedroom, Boston-based apartment, and she has to do it in one night. And of course that one night is her anniversary with Ian.

Ian isn’t typically a planner, and Lucy knows he’s gone out of his way to make this anniversary extra special. But this opportunity could be huge for her—for her future, which she hopes Ian will be part of.

Her decision to spend the night in her kitchen instead of at a romantic dinner for two with Ian seems to put a strain on their relationship just as Lucy starts the daunting task of baking and decorating the cupcakes.

Can Lucy finish and deliver all of the cupcakes in time for the event? More importantly, can she do it and somehow save her relationship with Ian?

Review:

This was a random grab a few weeks ago. The cover was just so cute and I had to know about this missing cupcake. I didn't read the summary before jumping in. 

Lucy wants to own her very own bakery. But that seems like a pipedream until a caterer drops out of her corporate event. And now she has a chance to show her skill! She has to make 100 cupcakes and if she succeeds, she might just get the promotion and pay raise so she can start saving for her bakery. Problem is....she has a small apartment and a small kitchen, and she only has one night to bake these cupcakes. Also....it is her anniversary with Ian. Will she be able to have her cake and eat it, too?

Do I remember what I read? Barely. And mind you...it was only like 23 pages. Everything went by in a blur, and the drama was silly. Why is she even concerned? It's just an anniversary that can be celebrated the next day or whatever. :S

Ian was immature. 

Lucy was an overthinker, and she deserved better. 

Sure, it seems Ian does "justice" by her at the end, but I would be pissed if he used one of the cupcakes. >_> DUDE, I have to make 100 cupcakes. Like wtf man. 

I was hoping for some actual mystery and maybe more romance. The chemistry felt as flat as a pancake. 

Maybe, just maybe, I'm not seeing the full picture with this romance. Maybe we need another short of them after she opens her bakery. 

I'll give this 2 stars because I did like Lucy. She deserves the world and more. Go away, Ian. 

Book Review: Wild Scottish Knight by Tricia O'Malley

Author: Tricia O'Malley

Title: Wild Scottish Knight

Series: The Enchanted Highlands #1

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal

Format: ebook

Pages: 316

Published: April 4, 2023

Where I got It: Kindle Unlimited

Summary: 

Opposites attract in this modern-day fairytale when American, Sophie MacKnight, inherits a Scottish castle along with a hot grumpy Scotsman who is tasked with training her to be a magickal knight before the Kelpies wreak havoc on the people of Loren Brae.

The knight was supposed to be a man.

Not me, Sophie MacKnight, a marketing associate from California.

This must be a practical joke that the Scots play on visiting Americans. Because otherwise I’ve inherited a haunted castle in Scotland, along with one irritatingly sexy Scotsman, who would be delighted if I turned tail and ran.

Frankly, I thought I would fly here, sell the heap of bricks, and head back home to a life that I…well, I was comfortable with at the very least. Instead, the people of Loren Brae are in trouble, and it appears that as the new owner of the castle, I’m next in line to reinstate the magickal Order of Caledonia. Which means, first, I have to learn to believe in magick. And secondly, I have to train to become a knight.

And my trainer? None other than Lachlan Campbell, the grumpiest man I’ve ever had the annoyance of meeting. It’s a toss-up who is pricklier, Lachlan, or his kilted Chihuahua, Sir Buster. Not only does Lachlan think that I can’t hack it, but he also resents my claim on his castle.

If only he didn’t look so devastatingly hot in his kilt.

Now, I’m stuck proving myself to him, all while trying to figure out how to help my new friends in Loren Brae.

Sparks fly as our swords meet, and we battle our rising attraction for each other.

Who will win in this (Highland) game of love?

Review:

I adore this author, so I had to check this one out. 

Sophie has inherited a Scottish castle from her beloved uncle. When she arrives, there is alot more than just having a castle to renovate....there are Kelpies out to destroy the village, she is a Knight, she has to learn magic, there are ghosts, and there is a grumpy man who doesn't seem to want her there. 

This was a hoot. I had a lot of fun with our characters and the situation. Poor Sophie. That is a lot to take on, but she needed this adventure. She was stuck in a life she didn't truly want. 

This was def a "light" fantasy, and I appreciated that. I didn't want to get too deep into the weeds of the magical world. Sure, there are real threats and some fights and dramatic moments, but it was cozy in a way. 

One thing that annoyed me was that I struggled with the chemistry between these two until near the end. Maybe he was too grumpy? I loveeeee grumpy, but maybe he was just too closed off for me to buy it. Maybe they were slightly overshadowed because of the chemistry between two side characters. Their banter was on fire. Can we see them finally fall in love? IDK. I just didn't really feel their chemistry at first. 

Other than that, I had a lot of fun with this story. This felt more like a fantasy chick lit tbh. 

4 stars. 

Blodeuedd's Monday Review: Evergreen by Buck Turner

Narrated by: Alexander Cendese

Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins

Release date: 01-20-26 by Tantor Media

YA Fiction(to review)

A coming of age YA book with heart and turmoil.

Cole moves with his mother and sister to a small town after his dad died in an accident. He does not want to move, or start a new school. But almost at once he befriends a pretty girl next door. One who carries a heavy past.

He meets new friends, and also does something no one dares to do. Goes up the mountain to talk with the hermit who lives there. The scary old man who is said to have killed 3 teenagers. But Cole is a good guy and together with his new friends he tries to find out what happened to those missing teenagers to clear the name of his new chess partner.

There is also faith as his new friend takes him to church and he tries to deal with the questions of could he have saved his dad if he had prayed harder?

And something unexplainable comes in at the end. I can not tell you of it, but there is something mystical in those woods.

Heart, mystery, first love and friendship.

Good narration. He had a good feel of the story and it flowed very well and I felt these different characters.

Cole Mercer is a young man angry at the world...and for good reason. After the sudden loss of his father, Cole's mother moves them hundreds of miles away from all that is familiar to the sleepy town of Evergreen, North Carolina. He struggles to settle in, but navigating difficult classmates is offset by the beautiful girl next door. And he begins to understand there's something different about this small southern town and the forest that surrounds it, which seems to have more of a presence than it should.

Nothing in Evergreen is quite what it seems.

Listeners will fall in love with Evergreen's southern charm and the love story at its center which transcends time.

Book Review: Letters from Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien

Author: JRR Tolkien

Title: Letters from Father Christmas

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy

Format: ebook

Pages: 209

Published: February 15, 2012

Where I got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

Every December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R.Tolkien’s children. Inside would be a letter in strange spidery handwriting and a beautiful coloured drawing or some sketches. The letters were from Father Christmas.

They told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how all the reindeer got loose and scattered presents all over the place; how the accident-prone Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas’s house into the dining-room; how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back garden; how there were wars with the troublesome horde of goblins who lived in the caves beneath the house!

Review:

This is just so wholesome. I wish it had been available near Xmas for me, but there was a long line for this little guy! It came precisely when it meant to, I guess. 

This is a compiled collection of Santa letters Tolkien wrote for his children over a span of many years. How freakin' adorable?

I honestly would love to purchase a physical version of this. Yes, the ebook was fine, but I do not think it did the drawings justice. They looked so cute and fun. Those kids were extremely blessed to have a dad do this for them. 

The stories were fun and creative. What else would you expect from the legend? 

The ending had me holding back tears. It was a lovely way to end the letters. I'm sure he was so upset that his kiddos were too old for the letters. You could sense it. 

I would read this again, but I really want the physical version. 

5 stars. 

Reading Challenges

-  Library Love #2