Summary:
Welcome to the most celebrated patisserie competition in Paris – ready, steady, bake!
Watching snowflakes settle on the Eiffel Tower, Rachel Smithson’s cosy English village feels very far way – as, thankfully, does her commitment-phobic ex, probably already kissing someone else under the mistletoe. But Rachel hasn’t come to Paris to mope she’s come to bake. Hard.
Because the search for Paris’s next patisserie apprentice is about to begin! And super-chef judge Henri Salernes is an infamously tough cookie. But Rachel isn’t about to let her confidence (or pastry) crumble. She’s got one week, mounds of melt-in-the-mouth macaroons and towers of perfect profiteroles to prove that she really is a star baker.
As well as clouds of flour, and wafts of chocolate and cinnamon, there’s definitely a touch of Christmas magic in the air… Rachel hasn’t come to Paris looking for a fairy-tale romance, but the city of love might gift-wrap her one anyway…
Not even a dusting of icing sugar could make The Parisian Christmas Bake-Off a more perfect Christmas treat!
Watching snowflakes settle on the Eiffel Tower, Rachel Smithson’s cosy English village feels very far way – as, thankfully, does her commitment-phobic ex, probably already kissing someone else under the mistletoe. But Rachel hasn’t come to Paris to mope she’s come to bake. Hard.
Because the search for Paris’s next patisserie apprentice is about to begin! And super-chef judge Henri Salernes is an infamously tough cookie. But Rachel isn’t about to let her confidence (or pastry) crumble. She’s got one week, mounds of melt-in-the-mouth macaroons and towers of perfect profiteroles to prove that she really is a star baker.
As well as clouds of flour, and wafts of chocolate and cinnamon, there’s definitely a touch of Christmas magic in the air… Rachel hasn’t come to Paris looking for a fairy-tale romance, but the city of love might gift-wrap her one anyway…
Not even a dusting of icing sugar could make The Parisian Christmas Bake-Off a more perfect Christmas treat!
Summary and Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 139 pages (Kindle)
Available Formats: E-book
Available Formats: E-book
Publication Date: October 23rd 2013 by Carina UK (first published October 22nd 2013)
Last month I was granted access (much to my surprise) to the ARC of this book via Carina UK and one quiet December day (I think it was the same day I was approved) I sat down to read it and ended up ploughing through it.
I'd never heard of Jenny Oliver before so I'm glad I took a chance on read a book from a new to me author because The Parisian Christmas Bake Off was such a charming read that I just loved the whole thing and the fact that it had baking in it which is one of my favourite themes in books really sealed the deal on this one.
While I've seen this shelved as romance quite often the story is more about Rachel's journey of discovering herself, what she wants and showing herself that she is willing to fight for what she wants out of her life more than romance which is why I enjoyed it so much.
Rachel was a really good character. She was very real to me and I liked seeing her struggle with her loss of losing her mother and the love they shared for baking, to working past those issues in order to truly compete in the competition which her friend signed her up for.
I just thought the whole story was marvelous and while she does have a love interest in the story I'd say he only takes up about 2 percent of the over all story. I'm glad this was a change of pace from the typical holiday story with a cookie cutter ending, because the ending did leave me mildly surprised and I think that's because of how she wrote the ending.
Overall, I was extremely pleased with this ARC that I received and I recommend this to everyone looking for a lovely holiday read to curl up with. The holidays may be over but as long as there's snow on the ground I say there's always time for a little Christmas magic. I can't wait to read more by Jenny Oliver in the future.
Last month I was granted access (much to my surprise) to the ARC of this book via Carina UK and one quiet December day (I think it was the same day I was approved) I sat down to read it and ended up ploughing through it.
I'd never heard of Jenny Oliver before so I'm glad I took a chance on read a book from a new to me author because The Parisian Christmas Bake Off was such a charming read that I just loved the whole thing and the fact that it had baking in it which is one of my favourite themes in books really sealed the deal on this one.
While I've seen this shelved as romance quite often the story is more about Rachel's journey of discovering herself, what she wants and showing herself that she is willing to fight for what she wants out of her life more than romance which is why I enjoyed it so much.
Rachel was a really good character. She was very real to me and I liked seeing her struggle with her loss of losing her mother and the love they shared for baking, to working past those issues in order to truly compete in the competition which her friend signed her up for.
I just thought the whole story was marvelous and while she does have a love interest in the story I'd say he only takes up about 2 percent of the over all story. I'm glad this was a change of pace from the typical holiday story with a cookie cutter ending, because the ending did leave me mildly surprised and I think that's because of how she wrote the ending.
Overall, I was extremely pleased with this ARC that I received and I recommend this to everyone looking for a lovely holiday read to curl up with. The holidays may be over but as long as there's snow on the ground I say there's always time for a little Christmas magic. I can't wait to read more by Jenny Oliver in the future.
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.
I read this book for the following reading challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge
Loved It!
★★★★★
★★★★★
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Sounds delicious
ReplyDeleteI love it when I discover a book and just can't stop reading it. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it. :)
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