Author: Olivia Ford
Published: January 30, 2024 by Pamela Dorman Books
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Genre: Women's Fiction
First Sentence: Prologue: It was a December night, the sort which usually makes being inside fell wonderfully cozy, but tonight it didn’t. The trees outside looked brittle and lifeless, their unfamiliar contortions a reminder that she was a long way from home.
Blurb: Nothing could be more out of character, but after fifty-nine years of marriage, as her husband Bernard’s health declines, and her friends' lives become focused on their grandchildren—which Jenny never had—Jenny decides she wants a little something for herself. So she secretly applies to be a contestant on the prime-time TV show Britain Bakes.
Whisked into an unfamiliar world of cameras and timed challenges, Jenny delights in a new-found independence. But that independence, and the stress of the competition, starts to unearth memories buried decades ago. Chocolate teacakes remind her of a furtive errand involving a wedding ring; sugared doughnuts call up a stranger’s kind act; a simple cottage loaf brings back the moment her life changed forever.
With her baking star rising, Jenny struggles to keep a lid on that first secret—a long-concealed deceit that threatens to shatter the very foundations of her marriage. It’s the only time in six decades that she’s kept something from Bernard. By putting herself in the limelight, has Jenny created a recipe for disaster?
My Opinion: Jenny Quinn has been married to Bernard for almost 60 years and is looking for a new adventure. Jenny and her husband Bernard never had children, which is a subplot, and she is now looking for something that is all her own. So why not secretly apply to a national baking show where she can share her passion. Never expecting the fateful phone call, she suddenly finds herself lying again. Jenny's application to British Bakes isn't her only secret. There is something she had never shared with Bernard, and her fear of him finding out is beginning to paralyze her. With her sudden rise to fame, she fears it's only a matter of time before her world and marriage come crashing down. But this cooking show is giving her purpose, and is she ready to let it all go to save Bernard pain?
You can't help but cheer for Jenny. Early on, the reader can easily unravel her first secret, but that doesn’t take away the raw emotion you feel on each page as you follow along with her successes, failures, and resilience.
Blurb: Nothing could be more out of character, but after fifty-nine years of marriage, as her husband Bernard’s health declines, and her friends' lives become focused on their grandchildren—which Jenny never had—Jenny decides she wants a little something for herself. So she secretly applies to be a contestant on the prime-time TV show Britain Bakes.
Whisked into an unfamiliar world of cameras and timed challenges, Jenny delights in a new-found independence. But that independence, and the stress of the competition, starts to unearth memories buried decades ago. Chocolate teacakes remind her of a furtive errand involving a wedding ring; sugared doughnuts call up a stranger’s kind act; a simple cottage loaf brings back the moment her life changed forever.
With her baking star rising, Jenny struggles to keep a lid on that first secret—a long-concealed deceit that threatens to shatter the very foundations of her marriage. It’s the only time in six decades that she’s kept something from Bernard. By putting herself in the limelight, has Jenny created a recipe for disaster?
My Opinion: Jenny Quinn has been married to Bernard for almost 60 years and is looking for a new adventure. Jenny and her husband Bernard never had children, which is a subplot, and she is now looking for something that is all her own. So why not secretly apply to a national baking show where she can share her passion. Never expecting the fateful phone call, she suddenly finds herself lying again. Jenny's application to British Bakes isn't her only secret. There is something she had never shared with Bernard, and her fear of him finding out is beginning to paralyze her. With her sudden rise to fame, she fears it's only a matter of time before her world and marriage come crashing down. But this cooking show is giving her purpose, and is she ready to let it all go to save Bernard pain?
You can't help but cheer for Jenny. Early on, the reader can easily unravel her first secret, but that doesn’t take away the raw emotion you feel on each page as you follow along with her successes, failures, and resilience.
