Louise Miller

"When Olivia Rawlings, Boston pastry chef extraordinaire, sets not only her flambâe dessert but the entire building alight, she escapes to Vermont stay with her best friend Hannah, who lives in a town famous for Bag Balm and contra dancing. Since her previous post at the exclusive Boston club has probably also gone up in smoke, Olivia gratefully accepts a job at the Sugar Maple Inn, not realizing at first that she's been hired to help the cantankerous owner reclaim the inn's blue ribbon status at the annual county fair apple pie contest"--

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living

When Olivia Rawlings, Boston pastry chef extraordinaire, sets not only her flambé dessert but the entire building alight, she escapes to Vermont stay with her best friend, Hannah, who lives in a town famous for Bag Balm and contra dancing. Since her previous post at the exclusive Boston club has probably also gone up in smoke, Olivia gratefully accepts a job at the Sugar Maple Inn, not realizing at first that she's been hired to help the cantankerous owner reclaim the inn's blue ribbon status at the annual county fair apple pie contest. Livvy soon finds herself immersed in small-town life, and when she meets Martin McCracken, a native who has returned to take care of his ailing father, she begins to understand that she may not be as alone in the world as she once thought.--

** spoiler alert **
           Only two stars? Yes. The unconventional main character was cool, interesting and relatable, the story was engaging and not too predictable, and loved the writing style. BUT the male love interest was a one dimensional, emotionally frigid nerdy type (and a cheater too), also the ending ruined everything for me: a boring ass conventional ode to maternity and settling down. The lady deserved better!

Kayla 

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller
⁣
This was an easy book to ease into. I was in the mood for something that I could just pick up and not have to think too much about.
⁣
We have a lovely small town setting and a cosy inn vibe in this book. Olivia escapes from Boston after a disastrous series of events both in her personal life and at her job. Let’s just say she really does not have it together and has a lot of things to work through.
⁣
She arrives in Guthrie to be greeted by her friend who later scores her an interview as a baker at the towns inn. This book has a lot of wonderful baking descriptions!
⁣
We have a moderate amount of character growth, I think there could have have been a bit more. What turned this book from a 4 to a 3 star was the amount of things that seemed to be happening in the second half of the book. I felt like there were too many people with a lot of problems and that Olivia seemed to be at the center of them all, even though she had just met them.
⁣
Some issues were brought up and never resolved—the man yelling at her at the bar...did he hate her forever because of something she had no control over? So odd. I also felt like it was slightly on the verge of becoming one of those, every guy in the book falls for her in some way and thinks her to be the most extraordinary person. She can be that person without every male character wanting to be friends/date her.
⁣
I was skimming the last 100 pages.
⁣
I enjoyed the first half more than the second, I really liked all the baking descriptions more than the plot lol, I felt like the drama got in the way.

Lulu Bonning

2.5 stars. In the first half, the narrative was sweet but the writing majorly bothered me. By the second half, I stopped caring about the writing, but the plot got so random and all over the place, it just didn't fill me with coziness to the extent I was expecting! Still a cute book though, definitely one to read if you enjoy reading about food!

Heather M

Pooja Mahesh

Nicole Salcedo

Jessica Post

Lisa Merriam

Teaghan Grayson

Liz Carpenter

Meghan Todd

Gabriella LePage

Michelle Newitt

Rebecka S.

Corey White

ChiaraB

"Mix in one part Diane Mott ­Davidson’s delightful culinary adventures with several tablespoons of Jan Karon’s country living and quirky characters, bake at 350 degrees for one rich and warm romance." --Library Journal A full-hearted novel about a big-city baker who discovers the true meaning of home—and that sometimes the best things are found when you didn’t even know you were looking When Olivia Rawlings—pastry chef extraordinaire for an exclusive Boston dinner club—sets not just her flambéed dessert but the entire building alight, she escapes to the most comforting place she can think of—the idyllic town of Guthrie, Vermont, home of Bag Balm, the country’s longest-running contra dance, and her best friend Hannah. But the getaway turns into something more lasting when Margaret Hurley, the cantankerous, sweater-set-wearing owner of the Sugar Maple Inn, offers Livvy a job. Broke and knowing that her days at the club are numbered, Livvy accepts. Livvy moves with her larger-than-life, uberenthusiastic dog, Salty, into a sugarhouse on the inn’s property and begins creating her mouthwatering desserts for the residents of Guthrie. She soon uncovers the real reason she has been hired—to help Margaret reclaim the inn’s blue ribbon status at the annual county fair apple pie contest. With the joys of a fragrant kitchen, the sound of banjos and fiddles being tuned in a barn, and the crisp scent of the orchard just outside the front door, Livvy soon finds herself immersed in small town life. And when she meets Martin McCracken, the Guthrie native who has returned from Seattle to tend his ailing father, Livvy comes to understand that she may not be as alone in this world as she once thought. But then another new arrival takes the community by surprise, and Livvy must decide whether to do what she does best and flee—or stay and finally discover what it means to belong. Olivia Rawlings may finally find out that the life you want may not be the one you expected—it could be even better.

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living

Reviews