Middle Grade Review: Crumble

Emily and her aunt Gina have a special gift. They can bake magical treats, which make people feel better. The one rule - you can't bake when you're feeling bad.

Which Emily does after her Aunt dies. She's drowning in grief. Baking helps her feel better. But the outcome is bad: the bake is terrible but people can't stop eating...

My Thoughts: I really liked this graphic novel. Of course, I loved baking and the magical elements. That would be such a cool bakery to frequent. I felt terrible about Emily losing her Aunt. The bakery clearly struggles; Emily's mom runs the business part of the bakery. I bake when I'm stressed, so I understand how Emily can't stop baking even though it's not helping. Grief is a tricky emotion to handle - but I felt bad for Emily that her mother wasn't able to help her. Her mother was barely able to help herself. 

Cover Thoughts: Funny

Source: My Library

Why I read it: I love baking

Library Recommendation: A Great Graphic novel about grief and dealing with your feelings

Hand this book to: bakers and for those who like books about ALL the feels.

Review: Salt and Sugar

 

Lari and Pedro's families own bakeries across the street from each other. They've been feuding for generations. But lately things have gotten worse - much worse. First, Lari's beloved grandmother dies. Second, there's a new box store in town taking away lots of business from both bakeries. They are both struggling to survive.

Lari is tired of her mom always fighting Pedro's mom. They need a plan before both of their bakeries go out of business. Could the answer be in working together? Can Lari trust Pedro with her biggest secret - that she can't bake?

My Thoughts: I loved this book - I was almost late for work twice because I lost track of time while reading it. I loved Lari's secret of no knowing how to cook. I felt terrible for both Lari and Pedro as their families didn't listen to their dreams - only the dreams they had projected for them. I was glad when both of them found their voice. I loved the community moments - but they were also sad too. I loved the friendship moments as Lari finally found herself.  It also made me miss my grandmother. I loved the bond between Lari and hers. This book also made me want to bake something amazing. I can't wait to see what the author writes next! 

Cover Thoughts: Charming

Source: Netgalley ARC / library book

Library Recommendations: Highly recommended for your school and library collections!

Top Ten Tuesday: Food

 This week's topic - ok, I changed my topic because I couldn't make the original one work (geographical terms), so I chose books that center around food. And I read a lot of these! 

Some of these take place in a bakery or restaurant. And some just talk about food often.

Bakery/Coffee Shop

Ice Cream Food Truck

Cupcake Bakery

So many snacks

Farm Setting

Pizza Restaurant

SO much food shared with friends

Family Bakery

Restaurant Job

Cookie Bakery

Nonfiction Graphic Novel of desserts

Yes, these will make your mouth water

Cozy Review: Pumpkin Spice Peril

* Book 12 in the Cupcake Bakery series * 

Mel and Angie are serving cupcakes at their friend's art opening. But her friend's husband has a talk with Mel. He's worried about his wife. When Mel stops by the art gallery to talk about the cupcakes, things go terribly wrong.

Rene is not herself and it's more than just exhaustion from deadline. Mel starts to worry about her. And with good reason. She discovers that Rene's been murdered. And the list of suspects is long - and it includes her.

On top of that, there's someone in the Police Department who's questioning her involvement in previous cases.

My Thoughts: Catching up with old friends is always a treat! Even when those friends have big changes. Nothing will be the same after this book, which is both exciting and a little sad. Because change is hard. I loved the art talk in this book, especially the blown glass details. I felt terrible for Rene and everything that happened to her. Of course I wanted to test out all the cupcakes mentioned. This series always makes my mouth water - and makes me want to bake cupcakes. Can't wait to the next book.

Cover Thoughts: Perfect for Fall
Source: My Library
Library Recommendation: A fantastic series for your cozy mystery section - highly recommended.

Blog Tour: Where We Belong

Book Title: Where We Belong

Author: Shann McPherson

Publisher: HQDigital

Release Date: February 21, 2020

About the Book:

When Alice 'Murph' Murphy's beloved mother died, she promised to keep the family bakery in Graceville, Georgia afloat—even if it meant letting her high-school sweetheart, Nash Harris, go. For years, Murph has been biding her time, waiting for Nash to come back for her.

So when he strolls into Piece O’ Cake, Murph’s heart skips a beat—until he hands her an invitation to his wedding. There are painful secrets in both their pasts that only the two of them share, and Murph can’t bear the thought of Nash belonging to someone else.

There’s only one thing Murph can think of to do: fake a relationship with local bar owner and old friend Harley Shaw to remind Nash of what he’s losing, and win him back for good.

Nash is Murph’s best friend, a vivid reminder of her childhood and all the things she’s lost—but the more time Murph and Harley spend together, the more the lines between real and pretend begin to blur. Can Murph choose between the one who got away and the one who never left - and heal her aching heart?

About the Author: Shann McPherson

With big dreams of being a published author since she was an eleven-year-old girl writing Beverly Hills 90210 fan fiction before fan fiction was even a thing, Shann McPherson has been writing angsty, contemporary romances for most of her thirty-something years. Living in sunny Queensland, Australia, when she’s not writing Shann enjoys making memories with her husband and cheeky toddler son, drinking wine, and singing completely off-key to One Direction’s entire discography.

Review: I Only Have Pies For You

Darcy's family bakes amazing pies - except for her. She can't bake a pie to save her life. But she tries. Maybe it has to be with the curse. Her great-grandmother made the best Heartstring Pie - but she hide the family recipes and no one's been able to find it. Anyone that tries ends up with a disaster on their hands.

Darcy's family pie shop is going through a rough patch - just like the town. Businesses are struggling to survive.

But when local celebrity TV host brings her show to town, things start looking up. They spruce up the down, giving it a much needed makeover. More than anything the TV host needs stellar ratings. What could be better than finding a long lost pie recipe?

Soon Darcy's competing with the TV host to find her family recipes. She's determined to find it first so she can save her family pie shop.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book - and of course it made my mouth water with all that talk about pies. I loved the baking parts - especially learning more about Darcy's Great-Grandmother. I loved the moments in the bakery - with everyone chatting about life. I liked that Darcy had a temper and it often got the better of her. I loved the horses. I enjoyed the scavenger hunt and how Darcy and her friends tried to uncover the recipe. I liked the her moments with her one time rival then turned friend then turned love interest. A really fun read.


Cover Thoughts: Perfect and adorable
Source: My Library
Library Recommendation: Grab this one for your tween collection - for both schools and public libraries.

Blog Tour: A Family by Christmas

A FAMILY BY CHRISTMAS ASSETS

About the Book:

Title: A FAMILY BY CHRISTMAS

Author: Viv Royce

Pub. Date: October 14, 2019

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (Bliss)

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 200

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B and N, iBooks, Kobo

Chocolatier Emma Miller has a new business selling bonbons to the residents of the quaint town of Wood Creek. When a tiny visitor stops by her shop with an interesting request, Emma is intrigued. The young girl needs chocolates that will help her widowed dad fall in love, preferably with her teacher. What Emma didn't count on was Casey's ever so charming and handsome dad, Grant, stepping into her life. She has to remind herself to be cautious because the one thing she learned in foster care is that people always leave. 

Pilot Grant Galloway is touched by his daughter's gift and is curious about the person who made the world-class chocolates. But when he steps into Emma's shop full of delicious smells and tasty morsels, he forgets to breathe. And it has nothing to do with his favorite dessert. She's pretty and kind, and when she has to deal with a difficult client, his protective instincts kick into high gear. But he risked his heart once. When his wife died, it left him broken. He's just now beginning to pick up the pieces, and he and his daughter will be leaving town once the holidays are over.

Thanks to some Christmas wishes, though, these two might discover that their carefully laid plans are about to change.

About Viv:

With the same trademark atmospheric settings, relatable characters and cute canines that made several of her cozy mysteries #1 Amazon US and Canada bestsellers in multiple categories, Vivian Conroy pens romance as Viv Royce, creating heartthrob heroes ranging from rugged pilots to royals reluctant to believe in true love who meet their match in that girl next door or the co-worker with the business ideas exactly opposing their own – happy endings guaranteed! When not frequenting fictional worlds, Viv loves to hike (especially in the mountains), craft with paper, felt and clay, and hunt for the perfect cheesecake. Quite active on Twitter, she's the founder of #HistFicChat, a live Twitter chat about historical fiction, featuring authors like Kate Quinn, Anna Lee Huber and Susan Spann, and would love for readers to follow her and connect via @VivWrites.

Twitter | Goodreads

Follow the Tour:

10/14/2019	Becky on Books	Review
10/14/2019	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Spotlight
10/15/2019	YA Book Nerd	Interview
10/15/2019	Two Chicks on Books	Interview
10/16/2019	BookHounds (or BookHounds YA)	Interview
10/16/2019	Nursebookie	Review
10/17/2019	Dena Garson-Real... Hot... Romance	Spotlight
10/17/2019	Books_AndPoetrii	Review

Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a $15 Amazon Gift Card, International.

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