baking

Life on the Leash + Cran-Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

February 9, 2019 by Megan 1 Comment

Prior to Victoria Schade’s Life on the Leash, I’ve suffered through two 1-star dog-centric reads.* Thank goodness this light-hearted rom com of a novel has broken my mini-streak of disappointing books about dogs!

Cora is the owner of a successful dog training business in D.C. She loves filling her days with tricks, treats and training before coming home to her own loveable pup and an amazing supportive roommate. In growing her business (and smarting from a painful breakup), Cora isn’t exactly looking for love.

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The City Baker's Guide to Country Living + Double-Crust Apple Pie

December 30, 2018 by Megan 4 Comments

Though Louise Miller wrote The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living first, it is the second of her novels that I’ve read. Earlier this year, I picked up The Late Bloomer’s Club and adored it, falling in love with the town of Guthrie (Stars Hollow flashbacks!) as well as her food-filled writing. The paperback cover makes it look perfect for winter reading, so I waited until my holiday break to get it from the library. It wasn’t super winter-y, but it was a lovely read nonetheless!

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller

Olivia Rawlings, Livvy to a privileged few, is a talented pastry chef working at an exclusive dinner club in Boston. When her life there goes up in flames, she flees to the nearest haven -- a truck stop filled with delicious pies -- and onto Guthrie, Vermont, where her best friend Hannah convinces her to put down roots, even temporarily.

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Delicious! + Gingerbread

December 22, 2018 by Megan 7 Comments

The time of year has come where I’m choosing to settle in with cozy books, and Ruth Reichl’s food-centric novel Delicious! fit that bill perfectly. Reichl is a well-known food writer, and her past certainly helped her craft the core of this novel, since the main character Billie Breslin works at the prominent (but fictional) food magazine, Delicious.

Billie has a phenomenal palate and can detect even the slightest amount of ingredients in a recipe with just a bite. It’s this gift -- along with her appreciation of and curiosity about food -- that earns her a job as assistant to Jake, the editor of Delicious. Billie fits in instantly, at home among people who are equally passionate about food, and her future is looking bright. But, when the magazine suddenly shuts down, her work family disperses, and she’s left alone in the office (housed in a 19th century mansion) to make good on the Delicious Guarantee.

The Adults + Christmas Morning Muffins

November 26, 2018 by Megan 3 Comments

Caroline Hulse’s debut novel The Adults is like a Christmas comedy (Four Christmases comes to mind) meets Big Little Lies. Though Claire and Matt are divorced, they decide it’s best for their daughter Scarlett to experience a “normal” family Christmas. So, they book a weekend away at a woodsy resort and bring their current partners along for the ride! What could go wrong?

Claire’s boyfriend, Patrick, couldn’t be any less like her ex, Matt. Patrick spends much of the novel secretly training for an Ironman, at one point even racing through a lazy river to practice his swimming. Matt takes a different approach to life. He has a laissez faire outlook, often “forgetting” important details and preferring recreational drugs to exercising. His girlfriend, Alex, is smart, extremely patient and would probably be friends with Claire in another life. The characters were almost caricatures of real people and weren’t exactly likable, but they were entertaining.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing + Apple Turnovers

November 6, 2018 by Megan 5 Comments

I’m a huge fan of John Green and I heard a lot of amazingness about his brother’s first novel, and that’s basically why I picked up An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. Hank did a really good job. He put together a fast-paced, entertaining novel that I couldn’t put down.

April May is like any other twenty-something in New York City until she literally stumbles into something that will change her life -- and the world -- forever. It’s a giant sculpture standing outside a Chipotle. She calls her friend Andy to come check it out, they make a jokey video where April dubs it Carl, Andy posts the video to YouTube, and April becomes inexplicably tied to the Carls’ fate forever.

Peas, Carrots and an Aston Martin + Carrot Cupcakes

October 29, 2018 by Megan Leave a Comment

For those of you who enjoyed The Afterlife of Walter Augustus, Hannah Lynn is at it again! This time with a more grounded contemporary drama. I am excited to be one of the last stops on her blog tour for Peas, Carrots and an Aston Martin -- the first book in what is sure to be a charming series.

George Sibley has recently died and left his only son, Eric, an unexpected inheritance. Eric is promised his father’s beloved Aston Martin, but it comes with a catch. He’s only allowed to keep it if he agrees to care for George’s allotment every week for the next two years.