Friendship Cake (Hope Springs Series #1)

From Barnes & Noble

This delicious first novel tells the warm and tender story of women's friendships among the members of the cookbook committee of the Hope Springs Community Church -- women whose gatherings with their new lady preacher produce much more than just a selection of marvelous recipes. As this remarkable story unfolds, you'll meet Beatrice, the town busybody, who never dreamed how many people she'd upset with her kindnesses; Jesse, who knows that the first thing everyone notices about her is that she's the only African-American in an otherwise all-white congregation; Louise, who, after 40 years of loving another woman from a distance, finally gets her chance to show how much she cares; Margaret, who sometimes wishes she didn't always have to be the strong one; and Charlotte, who is struggling to find her way as pastor of her first church. Working together, these five women share hopes and losses, new beginnings, and a whole lot more. And, as they exchange recipes and confidences, life goes on in their small North Carolina town, nourishing souls and welcoming all comers with the secret of making real Friendship Cake, along with other timeless Southern treats.

Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction

When five women from the Hope Springs Community Church form a committee to create a church cookbook, they find they've embarked on a much more meaningful project than they'd ever imagined. An "uplifting" read that would "appeal to Jan Karon readers." "The recipes were good - I even tried two!" "I'd definitely recommend it." Others said, "This cake failed to rise. Hinton gathers key ingredients," but it just doesn't happen. "It has appeal, though it lacks flavor - like a fat-free snack."

William Mc Kinney

Friendship Cake could only have been written by someone who knows firsthand that anything can and does happen when faithful, flawed, quirky people gather together in religious congregations. Hope Springs Community Church may be the product of Lynne Hinton's imagination but it can be found on thousands of street corners and village greens across North America. I look forward to the sequel!.\

Rita Mae Brown

Friendship Cake will give you plenty to chew over. Delicious!\

Maya Angelou

I would welcome a friendship with Lynne Hinton. I would welcome an invitation to sit down at her table, but mostly I would welcome her next book.\

William Mc Kinney

"Friendship Cake could only have been written by someone who knows firsthand that anything can and does happen when faithful, flawed, quirky people gather together in religious congregations. Hope Springs Community Church may be the product of Lynne Hinton's imagination but it can be found on thousands of street corners and village greens across North America. I look forward to the sequel!\

Publishers Weekly

How many Southern women does it take to put together a cookbook? Five, in Hinton's sincere but frothy debut novel, in which several female congregants of the appropriately named Hope Springs Community Church in North Carolina decide to create a cookbook; each has her own special recipe to share and a story to tell. On the cookbook committee are pragmatic Margaret, whose down-home wisdom makes her the community confidant; 63-year-old Louise, nursing the unrequited love of her life, another woman, through Alzheimer's; Beatrice, with a finger in everyone else's pie; Jessie, the only black woman in the all-white congregation; and Reverend Charlotte Stewart, their first woman preacher. The project originates as a form of female bonding through food, but as the committee holds meetings to review their progress, a lot more is stirred up than soups and stews. Also on the table are death and sex, friendship and love. The characters introduce themselves in the opening chapters, and their voices are like a potluck dinner, unsophisticated and oddly comforting. Hinton, herself a North Carolina pastor, successfully endows Charlotte with all of the self-doubts that a cleric might feel facing her first congregation. Mostly, though, this is thin fare, with complex issues like interracial marriage and the tragic death of a child resolved by one easy remedy: love. There are 17 recipes included, but these are also pretty basic--banana pudding, relish, grits--leaving readers to wish there were something as satisfying as fried green tomatoes on the menu. Agent, Sally McMillan. 10-city author tour. (May) FYI: A portion of the proceeds will go to Hospice of Alamance-Caswell Counties. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The reaction of the Hope Springs Community Church women's group to the idea of writing a cookbook is lukewarm at best until Beatrice breaks down and confesses that she came up with the idea in hopes that sharing a project will make them better friends. They are an unusual group: Beatrice, the town gossip and make-up artist for the funeral home; Margaret, a reclusive widow; tough Louise, who needs the strength of others as the woman she's secretly loved for 40 years enters the final stages of Alzheimer's; Jessie, an African American, who attended a white church on a dare and found a stronger commitment to the Lord; and Charlotte, the young pastor, who tries to be everything to everyone and risks losing her faith along the way. As these women share recipes and a love of the Lord, they make a friendship cake to last till the end of their lives. Hinton (Meditations for Walking) tackles issues dividing churches today, particularly homosexuality and interracial relationships, in a caring and forthright manner. A deceptively simple first novel; for all collections. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\\\