The Art of Baking Blind - Sarah Vaughan

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.

The most obvious comparison to be made with this book and it's competition to find the New Mrs Eaden is the Great British Bake Off. If you are a fan of that TV show then this book will appeal to you, in fact this book does more than cover the baking competition, we get to go behind the scenes in each of the contestants lives.

For some reason I could not get the characters straight in my head until around half way through the book. Each one is introduced in turn, but a couple of them seemed to be similar and so I struggled to know who was who for a while. It is for this reason only that I gave four out of five stars.

That point aside, I really enjoyed the book. Not only do we have the back story of each character taking part in the contest, but also the back story of Mrs Eaden - the 1960s cookery writer. In this respect it reminded a little of Julie and Julia book/film. As a child on the 60s it was interesting for me to read the social content side as portrayed by Mrs Eaden - it really brought to life for me what it would have been like for my parents.

My favourite character in the book was Jenny, the empty nester. However there is just so much more to her character than her children having left home. I won't spoil the plot, but I was behind this character all the way.

I did feel the book could have delivered a little more, as it really only scratched the surface with the back stories, with the emphasis being on the cookery competition.

Four out of five stars for this book from me. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hodder Paperbacks for allowing me an advance copy of the book to review.

Scandalous Lies - Nigel May

Move over Jackie Collins, there’s a new blockbuster star in town.’ New! Magazine

Lovers and liars, divas and sinners, welcome to a world of scandal, where one woman will pay the ultimate price.

SUSPENSE: Georgia’s best friend, ballroom dancing sensation Mitzi, has vanished with boyfriend Foster while on holiday in California. Can Georgia get to the truth of their disappearance before it’s too late?

SECRETS: Reality TV star Nova could give the Kardashians a run for their money. But while she allows millions of viewers into her fabulous home, she’s unaware what her husband, celebrity mogul Jacob, is up to behind closed doors …

SEX: Tanya is filthy rich, married to a man who adores her but she is restless. And her sexual appetite is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

SCANDAL: Victoria, once the trophy-wife, has lost her mojo. Determined to get her life and marriage back on track, she’s desperate to inject some excitement in her life – but at what cost?

From the glitz of Hollywood to the glamour of Milan and the exotic luxury of India, Scandalous Lies is a deliciously unputdownable read.

As a crafter I see a lot of Nigel May on the Craft channel - so I'm always intrigued to read his wonderful books too. 

l read Trinity Nigel May's first book, but then got mixed up with the order of release, so Addicted should have been my next book to read not Scandalous Lies. Having said that I don't think it matters which order you read them in, as although one of the characters features in Trinity - you don't need to know that story to read Scandalous lies.

I enjoyed Trinity but where I enjoyed this more was the fabulous whodunnit played out in the book. Several back stories kept my interest as we flipped from one to the other and then neatly they all came together to make for a perfect summer read.

I must say that Nigel has a very in depth knowledge of ladies fashion brands - there were some I had never even heard of - I obviously don't move in the right circles.

For me this was Jackie Collins meets Agatha Christie!

Off to read Addicted now!

My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book to read.

Manhattan Mayhem - a collection of short stories

Best-selling suspense novelist Mary Higgins Clark invites you on a tour of Manhattan's most iconic neighborhoods in this anthology of all-new stories from the Mystery Writers of America. From the Flatiron District (Lee Child) and Greenwich Village (Jeffery Deaver) to Little Italy (T. Jefferson Parker) and Chinatown (S.J. Rozan), you'll encounter crimes, mysteries, and riddles large and small. Illustrated with iconic photography of New York City and packaged in a handsome hardcover,Manhattan Mayhem is a delightful read for armchair detectives and armchair travelers alike!

Well! NYC and mysteries - was all I needed to request this book to review, topped by a picture of the Empire State Building on the cover - pity it is only a e book.

When I was a child in the 70s I read a lot of Ellery Queen stories - I loved the cleverness of them and the twists and turns. The stories in this book remind me so much of those stories - the plots are quirky and different and a joy to read.


I don't do spoilers so it is difficult to review without giving something away and also as they are short stories they are a little light on depth and character development, so not too much for a reviewer to get their teeth into. As a reader though - the stories are just the right length, just enough suspense and just enough of a twist to make you realise you aren't as clever as you thought you were!

My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book to review.

You, Me and Other People - Fionnuala Kearney

THEY SAY EVERY FAMILY HAS SKELETONS IN THEIR CLOSET . . .

But what happens when you open the door and they won’t stop tumbling out?

For Adam and Beth the first secret wasn’t the last, it was just the beginning.

You think you can imagine the worst thing that could happen to your family, but there are some secrets that change everything.

And then the question is, how can you piece together a future when your past is being rewritten?

To be honest I chose to review this book based on the fact that I liked the cover, shallow I know. But sometimes a cover can really make you want to read a book and this is what happened to me.

To begin with I thought this was going to be a bit of a pedestrian book with the usual husband cheats, wife finds out etc. Then I got drawn into the wonderful layers that this book has, the insightful writing which just called out to me, yes, this is what it is like, this is what happens in real life. 

But then other layers began to peel back, there was more than one story here, more than one lie. There is so much more to this book than one storyline and the characters really began to feel real to me. With the book being told from two perspectives, it also wasn't easy to hate the wrong doer as you saw it through his eyes too. 

If I had one criticism it was that I got so engrossed that when each chapter ended and another began it wasn't immediately obvious whose voice was narrating. It did alternate across the chapters, but when you are really into a book, you aren't thinking, one character just narrated so now it will be the turn of the other one. 

A great read and even a little teary eyed in places.

My thanks go to Netgalley and HarperFiction for a free e review copy of this book.

Lost and Found - Brooke Davis

THE INTERNATIONAL NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER

Millie Bird is a seven-year-old girl who always wears red wellington boots to match her red, curly hair. But one day, Millie’s mum leaves her alone beneath the Ginormous Women’s underwear rack in a department store, and doesn’t come back. 

Agatha Pantha is an eighty-two-year-old woman who hasn’t left her home since her husband died. Instead, she fills the silence by yelling at passers-by, watching loud static on TV, and maintaining a strict daily schedule. Until the day Agatha spies a little girl across the street.

Karl the Touch Typist is eighty-seven years old and once typed love letters with his fingers on to his wife’s skin. He sits in a nursing home, knowing that somehow he must find a way for life to begin again. In a moment of clarity and joy, he escapes. 

Together, Millie, Agatha and Karl set out to find Millie’s mum. Along the way, they will discover that the young can be wise, that old age is not the same as death, and that breaking the rules once in a while might just be the key to a happy life. 

A lot of comparisons have been made between this book and "The one hundred year old man". I enjoyed The one hundred year old man so thought I would read this book.. 

I struggled with the book to begin with, possibly because it was an alien concept. A little girl left alone in a department store fending for herself. All the things that I thought would have happened in real life didn't- that is she wouldn't get away with it.

Once I suspended that disbelief I got on a little better with the book, but it was still a bit off the wall for my taste. There was also a lot of swearing at one point - didn't bother me as such, as it was part of the character and their make up, but could offend some people I guess.

My other point I put down just to my own stupidity. I thought the book was set in England as there were many references (mainly TV) that signposted this in my mind. So when they set off for Melbourne (and I knew it wasn't the one in Derbyshire UK), I thought "how are they going to do that without Millie's passport". Of course it is actually set in Australia!

For me the book came into its own once Millie joined forces with Karl and Agatha - then it really got going and I found myself laughing out loud at some of the antics and expressions used. There are also some lovely poignant pages where Karl recalls his wife.

So I will say as Millie would "I'm sorry for your loss" and "we are all going to die"...........

My thanks to netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for a free advance copy of this book to review.

Broken Promise - Linwood Barclay

From the New York Times bestselling author of No Safe House comes an explosive novel about the disturbing secrets of a quiet small town.… 

After his wife’s death and the collapse of his newspaper, David Harwood has no choice but to uproot his nine-year-old son and move back into his childhood home in Promise Falls, New York. David believes his life is in free fall, and he can’t find a way to stop his descent.

Then he comes across a family secret of epic proportions. A year after a devastating miscarriage, David’s cousin Marla has continued to struggle. But when David’s mother asks him to check on her, he’s horrified to discover that she’s been secretly raising a child who is not her own—a baby she claims was a gift from an “angel” left on her porch.

When the baby’s real mother is found murdered, David can’t help wanting to piece together what happened—even if it means proving his own cousin’s guilt. But as he uncovers each piece of evidence, David realizes that Marla’s mysterious child is just the tip of the iceberg.

Other strange things are happening. Animals are found ritually slaughtered. An ominous abandoned Ferris wheel seems to stand as a warning that something dark has infected Promise Falls. And someone has decided that the entire town must pay for the sins of its past…in blood.

I am a BIG Linwood Barclay fan and could not wait to read this his latest novel. I actually have two novels I haven't yet read, just in case he doesn't bring out any new ones and I still have those to look forward to. Plus I have his back catalogue shipped from the USA to read. So as I say I am a BIG fan. 

All the other books I have read by Linwood Barclay have been so densely populated with little nuances and ideas woven in and out of the storyline that you can't keep them all in your head. But at the end, it all comes together. 

This book didn't disappoint in most of those things, but unfortunately in my opinion, that coming together did not entirely happen in this novel. I can only assume that for the book to end with a cliff hanger this means there is going to be a sequel - and soon please, before I forget everything I just read and need to know the answers to. [I have just discovered that the sequel is called Far From True and is out in March 2016].

This is also the first book by Linwood that I have guessed what was happening - so either he wanted it to happen that way - as there are bigger things to come in the next book. Or, I have read so many of his books I can second guess him now! 

So overall I give this book 5 stars as Linwood is still the master of storytelling with a twist. Also those two books I am saving, turns out one of them is about the main character in this book - so proves it stands alone, but a pity I didn't realise that.

My thanks go to Netgalley and Penguin Group (USA) for allowing me an advance copy of this book to review.

If I Could Turn Back Time - Beth Harbison

Thirty-seven year old Ramie Phillips has led a very successful life. She made her fortune and now she hob nobs with the very rich and occasionally the semi-famous, and she enjoys luxuries she only dreamed of as a middle-class kid growing up in Potomac, Maryland. But despite it all, she can't ignore the fact that she isn't necessarily happy. In fact, lately Ramie has begun to feel more than a little empty. 

On a boat with friends off the Florida coast, she tries to fight her feelings of discontent with steel will and hard liquor. No one even notices as she gets up and goes to the diving board and dives off...

Suddenly Ramie is waking up, straining to understand a voice calling in the distance...It's her mother: "Wake up! You're going to be late for school again. I'm not writing a note this time..." 

Ramie finds herself back on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, with a second chance to see the people she's lost and change the choices she regrets. How did she get back here? Has she gone off the deep end? Is she really back in time? Above all, she'll have to answer the question that no one else can: What it is that she really wants from the past, and for her future?

One of the things I love to read is time travel novels - and I have read a lot. So I think of myself as a hard to please reader in this genre as mostly I've read it all before.

So I was pleasantly surprised when this book took a different tack with the whole time travel idea. Instead of Ramie waking up as her current self in another time, she wakes up as her teenage self. This also gives a different slant in that she can now see things through the eyes of an adult which maybe first time around her teenage eyes didn't pick up on.

One of the things that rang true for me was when Ramie has to go to school and she doesn't know what her timetable of classes is - this is a dream I have had a lot in the past! Luckily for her it is soon rectified and apart from some references to email and mobile phones she seems to get on fine in the past. Especially as she can remember the events - and can she change them?

Ramie also goes on a tour of her neighbourhood just so she can relive things that no longer exist in the present, such as restaurants etc. On a side note the British Film Institute have just released online films of everyday life. For me watching a trip through my home city on a tram in 1902 was the closet I will get to time travel. So I really identified with what Ramie was doing.

The book certainly had me thinking - what if and a different road travelled al a "Sliding Doors". There's a neat twist and as always I am saying no more for want of spoiling the plot.

The book is out on 28 July 2015 and my thanks go to Negalley and St Martins Press for supplying me with an advance e copy to review.