Pine Hollow: Book 6
Publication Date: November 12, 2024
A small-town baker faces off against her longtime nemesis on a reality TV competition in this delightful romantic comedy.
Magda Miller’s feud with rival baker Mackenzie Newton is so old, folks in tiny Pine Hollow, Vermont forgot how it started. But Magda remembers: Ten years ago, she offered Mac her heart—instead, he ran off with her grandmother’s maple cake recipe. Now, Mac traipses all over Magda’s baking territory, just like his oversized tabby keeps sneaking into her house to claim her dog’s favorite bed. So, when Magda gets the call to compete on The Great American Cake-Off, she’s thrilled to finally shine in a Mac-free zone. But when she arrives on set, her devilishly handsome nemesis is already there . . .
It turns out, Mac and Magda’s story has inspired the first ever Arch Rivals edition of Cake-Off, and of course Mac has to raise the stakes with a wager. The winner takes all—the Cake-Off title, the contested recipe, and control of the narrative. Magda is more than ready to kick Mac’s Bundt. But as they spar, on-screen and off, Mac and Magda reveal the best in each other…and the sizzling attraction fueling their rivalry. Only one of them can win, so why does it suddenly feel like they both stand to lose?
Like Cats and Dogs by Lizzie Shane is the sixth and last book in the Pine Hollow series. Set in Vermont with characters I’ve grown to love.
Mac and Magda finally get their turn to star in their own story, and it has been a long time coming. They’ve hated each other for fourteen years but they do say the opposite of hate is love.
We get deep into their rivalry and why they are nemeses, but when they are both invited to be contestants on Cake-Off, the rivalry goes into the stratosphere. Cake-Off is a cooking show with a twist, with all the contestants having a rival who was also invited to compete. There are lots of challenges, and we get to see the process. The baked goods sound amazing, and there are vivid descriptions of everything happening in the kitchen and at their stations. There’s a good flow to the story, multiple stories relayed, and not all occur in the kitchen.
There are tears and meltdowns, lots of competition, friendships formed, practice sessions, rivalries and pairings, and successes and failures. Through it all, Magda and Mac seem to take a step back and start to support each other. There are surprises throughout, but especially where the finale is to take place. The winner was announced, but I’m glad the story didn’t end there but went on a little longer. It was a satisfying read and finale for the series.
Set in Vermont, Like Cats and Dogs is filled with baked goods, competitive characters, a reality cooking show, and more. It was easy to root for the various contestants as friendships formed, and romance was in the air.
As a lifelong dog-lover, Lizzie Shane is a sucker for books about pups dragging their humans into love. Born in Alaska, to a pair of Hawaii transplants, she graduated from Northwestern University and began writing romance novels in an attempt to put a little more love into the world. An avid traveler, Lizzie has written her way through all fifty states and over fifty countries. Her books have been translated into seven languages, and her novel Sweeter Than Chocolate was adapted into a Hallmark Channel Original movie, but her favorite claim to fame is that she lost on Jeopardy!
She is currently based in Alaska and can be found gushing about her favorite books…and her favorite dogs.
