The Art of Baking Blind By Sarah Vaughan

The Art of Baking Blind By Sarah Vaughan

by Hannah ♥ 1 Comment

This title will be released on August 13, 2015.

There are many reasons to bake: to feed; to create; to impress; to nourish; to define ourselves; and, sometimes, it has to be said, to perfect. But often we bake to fill a hunger that would be better filled by a simple gesture from a dear one. We bake to love and be loved.

In 1966, Kathleen Eaden, cookery writer and wife of a supermarket magnate, published The Art of Baking, her guide to nurturing a family by creating the most exquisite pastries, biscuits and cakes.

Now, five amateur bakers are competing to become the New Mrs Eaden. There’s Jenny, facing an empty nest now her family has flown; Claire, who has sacrificed her dreams for her daughter; Mike, trying to parent his two kids after his wife’s death; Vicki, who has dropped everything to be at home with her baby boy; and Karen, perfect Karen, who knows what it’s like to have nothing and is determined her façade shouldn’t slip.

As unlikely alliances are forged and secrets rise to the surface, making the choicest choux bun seems the least of the contestants’ problems. For they will learn – as Mrs Eaden did before them – that while perfection is possible in the kitchen, it’s very much harder in life.

My Thoughts:

Thank you to lovereading for sending me an advanced copy of this book. I love any books that involve food so this was a definite must read for me. There are five main characters (or should I say bakers) in this story including Mrs Eaden, I thought it was clever of Sarah to entwine Mrs Eaden’s story in to the five bakers stories. Mrs Eaden’s story is very sad and tears may be shed as she touches on a particularly fragile subject, but I won’t go into any more detail as I don’t want to spoil it for those of you that haven’t yet read the book. I found relating myself to some of the other baker’s stories. I got particularly hungry reading about all the cake, bread, pies and pastry making and I had to go and find a biscuit. I love baking so I really found this book enjoyable.

If you would like to have a look at lovereading’s website, please click on the link below:

http://www.lovereading.co.uk/

If you would like to purchase the book once it has been released, please click on the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Baking-Blind-Sarah-Vaughan/

No Place for a lady By Gill Paul

No Place for a lady By Gill Paul

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This title will be released on July 2, 2015.

All’s fair in love and war …

1854. England is in the grip of a gruesome war.

Lucy Harvington, ill-educated beyond how to be a wife, has travelled to the Crimea with her handsome and impetuous officer husband Charlie.
As the day of battle dawns she can only pray her husband survives. If he doesn’t, what will become of her?

Dorothea Gray, volunteer nurse at the Westminster Hospital, is determined to follow her little sister Lucy to the front and to serve her country alongside her heroine Florence Nightingale and the pioneering nurses already risking their lives.

But neither sister could possibly have known the horrors they are about to witness – the courage, the cowardice, the danger – and the excitement – nor could they have guessed the risks they must take, the passion they will taste, and the simple fact that they may never see one another again …

My Thoughts:

I was given an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. I found this book superb, it is mainly to do with what the women did in the war and follows Lucy Harvington who travels to the Crimea with her husband Charlie who is an officer, what she has to witness is truly horrifying and the conditions she has to live in are awful, the other part of the story focuses on her Lucy’s sister Dorothea, who is a nurse and she follows her sister to help serve her country. Her story I found fascinating, though some parts are awful as you can expect. I love the way Dorothea was with her patients and she meets Florence Nightingale which was interesting to read about. After reading this book, I have decided I would like to read more books about our women who served in the war. Such a brilliant read, I couldn’t put down.

If you would like to purchase this book when it is out 2nd July, please click on the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Place-Lady-Gill-Paul

Walking in the Rain: Drumbeats book 2 By Julia Ibbotson

Walking in the Rain: Drumbeats book 2 By Julia Ibbotson

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Jess happily marries the love of her life She wants to feel safe, secure and loved. But gradually it becomes clear that her beloved husband is not the man she thought him to be. She survived civil war and injury in Africa, but can she now survive the biggest challenge of her life?

 

My Thoughts:

This is the second novel in the Drumbeats trilogy, I would thoroughly recommend Drumbeats which is the first novel. This book was just as good. I really look forward to the last book. This book is all about Jess who marries her man and gradually finds out he is not all he is cracked up to be. Julia writes with a lot of description which I really like. The little details Julia gives with her writing are good too. Very enjoyable story.

If you would like to purchase Julia’s book, please click on the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Walking-Rain-worst-nightmare-Drumbeats-ebook

Three amazing things about you By Jill Mansell

Three amazing things about you By Jill Mansell

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Hallie has a secret. She’s in love. He’s perfect for her in every way, but he’s seriously out of bounds. And her friends aren’t going to help her because what they do know is that Hallie doesn’t have long to live. Time is running out…

Flo has a dilemma. She really likes Zander. But his scary sister won’t be even faintly amused if she thinks Zander and Flo are becoming friends – let alone anything more.

Tasha has a problem. Her new boyfriend is the adventurous type. And she’s afraid one of his adventures will go badly wrong.

THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU begins as Hallie goes on a journey. A donor has been found and she’s about to be given new lungs. But whose?

My Thoughts:

Wow! what a book, I certainly didn’t want it to end. I loved everything about this book. It made me laugh and it made me cry.  The story involves three women called Hallie, Flo and Tasha and you see them go through problems I am sure most women can relate to. I loved Hallie who has Cystic Fibrosis, her story just made me cherish the life I have but it also taught me a few things about Cystic Fibrosis that I didn’t know. I loved the way she has set up her own problem page, some of the stories are sad. All the other characters including the women are brilliant. Really loved this book.

Shopaholic to the Stars By Sophie Kinsella

Shopaholic to the Stars By Sophie Kinsella

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Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is in Hollywood! She’s hanging out with celebs . . . or at least she will be, once her husband Luke introduces her to his new A-list client Sage Seymour.

Becky sets her heart on a new career – she’s going to be a stylist to the stars! And when a chance encounter thrusts her into the limelight, she grabs her opportunity. But in between choosing clutch bags and chasing celebrities, Becky loses touch with her family and her best friend . . .

Caught up in the whirlwind of Tinseltown, has Becky gone too far this time?

My Thoughts:

This is the seventh book of the shopaholic series. I found the story quite far fetched so much so it is ridiculous. There are funny parts to this story but I didn’t feel drawn into the story like I did with Sophie’s other books. The main character Becky seems to lose the plot in this story, if you have read any of the shopaholics books before you would know that she is a shopaholic hence the title, this story see’s her kind of going of the rails to become famous. There were parts which were ok, but I didn’t like the way the book ended, I felt a bit cheated.

A Way from Heart to Heart By Helena Fairfax

A Way from Heart to Heart By Helena Fairfax

by Hannah ♥ 2 Comments

 

A knock at the door shatters Kate Hemingway’s life when she’s informed of her husband Stuart’s death in Afghanistan. She struggles to care for their young son George with only Stuart’s aloof best friend Paul as emotional support. Piece by fragile piece, she tries to rebuild her life, realising Paul and her son have formed an unlikely bond.

When Paul agrees to accompany Kate and a group of disadvantaged teenagers on a trip to the Yorkshire moors, he finally reveals something he’s kept secret for years. Kate’s own scarred heart begins to open up … but can she risk her son’s happiness as well as her own? A novel about friendship, loss, and the human heart’s enduring capacity for love, this stunning debut explores one woman’s attempt at survival when her world comes crashing down around her.

My Thoughts:

I was drawn to this book by the cover, it looks so inviting and vibrant. The story is such a lovely and heart warming contemporary romance. This story is about widower Kate and how she has to face bringing up her young son George. Her husband’s best friend and godfather to George helps and supports Kate in everything that she does, When both of them are together she realises he is not the indifferent man she thought he was and their relationship deepens. I was completely caught up in the relationship between them, so much so I wanted them to find happiness. Such a warm and tender book that I just couldn’t put down and managed to read in a day.

If you would like to purchase this book, please click on the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Way-Heart-Helena-Fairfax

I Miss Mummy By Cathy Glass

I Miss Mummy By Cathy Glass

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Alice, aged four, is snatched by her mother the day she is due to arrive at Cathy’s house. Drug-dependent and mentally ill, but desperate to keep hold of her daughter, Alice’s mother snatches her from her parents’ house and disappears.

Cathy spends three anxious days worrying about her whereabouts before Alice is found safe, but traumatised. Alice is like a little doll, so young and vulnerable, and she immediately finds her place in the heart of Cathy’s family. She talks openly about her mummy, who she dearly loves, and how happy she was living with her maternal grandparents before she was put into care. Alice has clearly been very well looked after and Cathy can’t understand why she couldn’t stay with her grandparents.

It emerges that Alice’s grandparents are considered too old (they are in their early sixties) and that the plan is that Alice will stay with Cathy for a month before moving to live with her father and his new wife. The grandparents are distraught – Alice has never known her father, and her grandparents claim he is a violent drug dealer.

Desperate to help Alice find the happy home she deserves, Cathy’s parenting skills are tested in many new ways. Finally questions are asked about Alice’s father suitability, and his true colours begin to emerge.

My Thoughts:

I was given this book by a good friend of mine, having never read any books by this author. Cathy Glass is an inspiration and she does write in the most amazing and dictating way. Poor little Alice does go through so much at the tender age of four. Such a lovely lady is Cathy, what a wonderful thing to do being a foster carer. Lovely written ending. Will be reading more of Cathy Glass’s books.

If you would like to purchase this book, please click on the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Miss-Mummy-story-frightened-desperate

If you would like to read more about the other books Cathy Glass has written, please click on the link below:

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The Longest Holiday By Paige Toon

The Longest Holiday By Paige Toon

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‘Don’t wait for the storm to pass; learn to dance in the rain…’ Laura has been married to the man of her dreams for seven months. But a week before the wedding, Matthew made a terrible mistake. Escaping the humiliation that is now her marriage, Laura is whisked off to Florida’s Key West by her best friend Marty.

A carefree holiday full of cocktails and fun, surrounded by gorgeous, tanned men, is exactly what the doctor ordered. Distraction comes in the form of sexy Cuban scuba diver Leo. Laura’s instant attraction to him knocks her flying, and she falls hard. As the end of the holiday approaches, Laura doesn’t want to go home. Is it time to face the music? Or is there more to Key West than a holiday romance?

My Thoughts:

I am always drawn to a Paige Toon book if I want pure chick lit or a nice easy read to take on holiday with me. I find you always get a feel for the characters and also the places they visit. I loved Laura, she was easy to warm to and just like your best friend, the storyline was so captivating that I hardly left this book alone.I love how Paige is so descriptive with her writing, it makes for a fantastic read, you know when you read one of her books your going to love it, I certainly did.

The Confectioner’s Tale By Laura Madeleine

The Confectioner’s Tale By Laura Madeleine

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At the famous Patisserie Clermont in Paris, 1909, a chance encounter with the owner’s daughter has given one young man a glimpse into a life he never knew existed: of sweet cream and melted chocolate, golden caramel and powdered sugar, of pastry light as air.

But it is not just the art of confectionery that holds him captive, and soon a forbidden love affair begins.

Almost eighty years later, an academic discovers a hidden photograph of her grandfather as a young man with two people she has never seen before. Scrawled on the back of the picture are the words ‘Forgive me’. Unable to resist the mystery behind it, she begins to unravel the story of two star-crossed lovers and one irrevocable betrayal.

My Thoughts:

I managed to read this book in a day, it is a fast paced moving book that is set in the 1990’s in Paris but alternates to 1988 in England. This is a story that is all about forbidden love and family secrets, I liked reading about Patisserie Clermont and all the wonderful things that they made there. I think that was why I was drawn to this book. Well written book.

If you would like to purchase the book, please click on the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Confectioners-Tale-Laura-Madeleine

Little Acts of Love (Mishaps in Millrise Book 1) By Tilly Tennant

Little Acts of Love (Mishaps in Millrise Book 1) By Tilly Tennant

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If you’re new to the town of Millrise, then come and meet the residents. But if you fell in love with Phoebe and Jack last Christmas in Mishaps and Mistletoe, then you’ve just been invited to the best reunion ever…

Almost five months have passed since Phoebe and Jack first met in the grotto of a drunken Santa at Hendry’s toy store in Millrise. Since then, Jack and his adorable daughter, Maria, have turned Phoebe’s life around. As she and Jack get closer, Phoebe decides it’s time to put her stagnating career back on track too, which means going for a big promotion at work.

But nothing is ever simple in the strange little world of Hendry’s, and Phoebe is soon wishing she’d stayed on the tills. At home, things aren’t much better as the couple brace themselves to meet their respective in-laws. It’s clear from the start that making friends and influencing people has never been harder. And to make it worse, Phoebe must compete for the affection of Jack’s parents with the perfect partner and mother – who’s been dead for five years…

My Thoughts:

This story is all about Phoebe and how she is trying to earn herself a promotion at the Children’s toy store called Hendry’s. She hopes to get provide a better life with her boyfriend Jack and his daughter Maria. Phoebe has a best friend called Midnight and I love the way their friendship blossoms, Midnight has such a different attitude to Phoebe’s I think that is why they are such good friends and she brings the fun side out in Phoebe. They both work at Hendry’s and you can see why they would have fun. I really enjoyed this story and really look forward to reading the next one.