Review: Sisters' Guide to NYC Cupcakes by Nanette McLain, Nerissa Pinkston, Nichelle Walters

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Use this unique travel guide to make the most of your trip to New York City and all the cupcakes it offers. No trip would be complete without visiting Chelsea, Union Square, the East Village, NoHo, SoHo, Nolita, and the Lower East Side. This guide highlights bakeries in each of these areas. The tour was developed based on personal wanderings of three rural Missouri sisters in New York City. The sixty-four-page guide is the perfect size to tuck in a bag while traveling throughout the city. This limited-edition book published by the Donning Company Publishers of Virginia Beach, Virginia, is a must have.
Nanette McLain is from Queens, New York. She is a social worker for a large non-rofit agency serving NYC and Long Island. Because of her growing knowledge of the city, she is a fabulous tour guide for her sisters and friends who visit. It was one of these explorations that sparked the idea for a cupcake travel guide. Nerissa Pinkston is from a rural community in Missouri. She is an RN for a home health agency. When she finds extra time, she loves to escape to faraway places. New York City has been a favorite stop since her younger sister moved there. Nichelle Walters is from a suburban community near Kansas City, Missouri. Before having children, she taught sixth graders in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. She is now a stay-at-home mom. Traveling with two of her sisters has been a delight. They have enjoyed Barcelona, Paris, London, and cities throughout the US, including New York City.

MY TAKE:

Ah, New York. I didn't quite get on the cupcake bandwagon here in the Philippines because most of them are really expensive or seem overpriced and/or overrated. However, I might consider doing the cupcake tour thing if ever I'm in New York. :)

Sisters' Guide to NYC Cupcakes is part New York tour and part cupcake guidebook. The stores are arranged by their locations so it's easy to go from place to place.

The pictures, color palette and layout are very pretty and perfect for a book on cupcakes. I also liked that aside from giving a brief description of the store and its offerings, the book points out some nearby attractions you can see in the vicinity of the cupcake stores.

The only thing I didn't like as much is that for most of the stores, the portion dedicated to discussing the specialties of the store read a little bit more like marketing copy than what you would expect from a guide book. I think it would have been better if instead of using vague terms, they described the ingredients ala what food critics do to make it sound more appealing.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookmasters for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. It's more than just a food guidebook.
2. Nearby tourist-y sites are highlighted.
3. The layout is pretty.

THE BAD:

1. Some of the descriptions read like marketing copy.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

A trip to the Lower East Side would be incomplete without a stop at Babycakes.

READ IT IF:

1. You're going to New York.
2. You like cupcakes.
3. You like going on tours.

RATING:



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