Note: clearing old books from before 2019

Did not have time to read this book - still on my TBR. Thank you for the opportunity and my apologies for not getting to it.

Loved this charmer set in Vermont! My favorite state and a cute cast of characters in a bakery, what more could a girl want?!

Livvy and her dog Salty were a cute pair and the desserts made my mouth water. Margaret offers Livvy job, but her real aim is the blue ribbon pie prize. I loved the cast of characters in this small town, Adored the setting and small town life at its finest. Small town gossip can be such a pain though and Livvy has to overcome some things in her new home.

This would make the best Hallmark movie! I just loved the cozy vibes and especially the baking and the setting of Guthrie. It took me right back to Vermont and I really enjoyed the read!

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was pretty slow at the beginning, and just when I started to really like it, I didn't love a major part of the plot. The ending was really sweet, though, and I liked Olivia's character development.

Thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to read this book! I appreciate the kindness. <3

Olivia loses her job at a Boston restaurant and retreats to the country where not much is going on. She gets a job at an inn and starts to connect to the locals. And maybe find a new love.

A bakery chef leaves the city and finds love in the country. Although it is a simple story, there is plenty of angst and pleasant characters who are sufficiently realistic to maintain the reader's interest. I found the landscape descriptions very well done. Also there is pie!

Four and a half stars: A moving story proving family can be found in unlikely places.

When Livvy drops a flaming Baked Alaska after catching sight of her lover’s wife, she flees, leaving behind her career. She takes refuge with her best friend, Hannah, in a small town in Vermont. Livvy has no intention of staying, but Hannah convinces her to apply for a job at the local Sugar Maple Inn. Reluctantly, Livvy interviews with the snippy owner, Margaret Hurley. Livvy lands the job with her amazing apple pie. She agrees to stay for one year. Before long, Livvy has settled into her new life in the small town. She begins to make some friends, and soon finds those new connections becoming like family. Will orphan pastry chef, Livvy finally find a home and a family?
What I Liked:
*The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living is a book with a lot of heart. I loved the characters, the small town setting, the delicious food and the heartwarming story. This is a book perfect for a cold winter’s day.
*Livvy is a character that takes awhile to warm up to. At first meeting, Livvy is a bit of a disaster. She is having an affair with her boss, which goes down in flames. She is an orphan with no ties, she never stays anywhere for long. When Livvy takes the job in Guthrie, she begins to change. She soon finds herself making friends, and putting down roots. I loved watching her grow and change.
*The rest of the characters are outstanding. I especially loved curmudgeonly Margaret. She has a tough exterior, but underneath she is smooshy soft, with a big heart. I loved her even more when I learned her back story. I just wanted to squeeze her. Dottie and Henry are adorable as well. I especially loved Henry. Alfred was also another scene stealer. I loved his kind, big heart, and how generous and sweet he was. Let’s not forget Salty, the lovable dog. I loved these characters.
*The story has a lot of heart. It is about choosing your family. Livvy lost her dad at age sixteen, and her mother was absent for most of her life. She has never really known what it means to be part of a family. Soon she finds herself adopted by the Guthrie family. I loved that this was all about friendships and finding a family.
*This book is packed full of scrumptious food. I enjoying reading about all the food. Some of my favorite scenes involved Livvy baking up decadent pastries. Yum!
The ending was sweet and satisfying. All the loose ends are done up, and it ends in a nice, happy spot.
*I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Jorjeana Marie. I have listened to several books narrated by Ms. Marie, and she never disappoints. Loved the audio version.
And The Not So Much:
*The one thing that held this back from being a five star read for me was the romance. I never felt the romance. It just kind of happens. I wanted more electricity and sparks. I think the problem stemmed from that I didn’t have a strong connection to the love interest. I didn’t think he was as likeable as Alfred. I wish it had more chemistry.
*I was disappointed in they way Livvy treated her best friend Hannah. Hannah was always there for Livvy no matter what, and I don’t think Livvy reciprocated.
*I wanted Livvy and Margaret to really stick it to Jane. Yes, they took the high road, but I wanted some dirt on her. I especially wanted to know how she won the cookie contest at the bake sale.

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living is a sweet and satisfying book, perfect for winter reading. I loved the characters, the small town setting, the heart and the delicious food. This is a book about finding friends and family. It was a story that made me laugh and cry. Loved it! I will definitely be reading this author again.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

Let me start by being superficial and say that I completely adored this cover. I don't usually comment on covers, but this one was just a joy to carry around and set the tone for the entire book.

Olivia is a baker and in the beginning she is working at an exclusive club in the city of Boston. With a little drama at the club, it sends her to visit a friend in Vermont for the weekend and the weekend turns into so much more! A small town Inn calls on her to be their baker and the owner may have more than really good sweets to hire Olivia. And the story goes from there . . .

I would define this book as a combination of women's fiction and romance. I say this because what I love about this combo is you don't know if there will be a happy ending like romance, but there is romance in this one. When women's fiction and romance get together there is more meat and plot and I just love it!

I loved all the hills and valleys of this book. The ups and downs seemed so right and there wasn't one moment where I rolled my eyes or had one iota of frustration. I can't believe I hadn't read this book when it came out in hard cover, I am so glad I read it. When I was pitched the book, I was excited that they told me that they wanted me to include a promotion for her next book - YES! She has another one coming summer of 2018!

What a delicious, fun read! I was hooked by the blub on this one after I read 'pastry chef extraordinaire'. If it has anything to do with food, I'm going to read it. And if it's baking....come on.

Livvy is the pastry chef extraordinaire, who is having a rough go of it. Her parents are gone and she seems a bit lost. After a mishap at her current place of employment, she travels a few hours to visit her friend and find comfort, but instead, she finds a job as the head pasty chef at a Vermont resort. Livvy describes in detail all the mouth-watering delights that she bakes. And she bakes a lot in this one. There is even a large apple pie baking contest at the annual fair which seems to be the biggest competition around. The story is not something I would normally read - it's a bit sweet in terms of girl leaves one guy, finds another guy, heartbreak, and then.....well, it was a bit predictable. But it had a big focus on baking so I gave it a shot. And I was happy to read this one. Sometimes you just need a feel good book. And if includes details on making apple pies, it's just the whipped cream on top. So to speak. Plus, I learned a great new tip on pie/dough making that I can't wait to try out.

I listened to this one on audio. It was an OK audio. I could have either listened or read the print.

Loved this book
Didn't want it to end
Highly doubt

A 5 star well earned for this exciting book about a woman chef starting over after she loses everything. In the idyllic town of Guthrie, Vermont, Olivia Rawlings is starting over from her job as a 5 star pastry chef. She begins work at a local Inn as a baker and soon the Inn is achieving notoriety as a premier bakery for the area. Olivia is enjoying small town life and eventually finds solace and reward in her new job. As she bonds with the townspeople she soon meets a love interest and begins to question who she is before taking the leap. She soon finds her past has not left her far behind and she has life changing decisions to make.
I loved this culinary story and the wonderful descriptions of small town life. It is beautifully written and I look forward to the next work by the author.

Setting:  Between Boston and Guthrie, Vermont

Characters

Olivia, pastry chef, narrator
Hannah, Olivia's best friend
Margaret, owner of The Sugar Maple Inn in Guthrie
Plot:  Olivia Rawlings is having a bad day. After dropping a lit Baked Alaska at a big celebration and consequently setting fire to the restaurant where she works, Livvy packs a bag and her dog, Salty, and hits the road. Her first stop is a favorite greasy spoon for a slice of pie. Her second is her friend Hannah's place in Vermont. After sharing the disastrous story, Hannah sets some wheels in motion that will end up changing a lot of lives before the story ends. 

Even though she isn't quite sure about the position, or her new boss, Margaret, Livvy takes a one-year placement as the pastry chef of the Sugar Maple Inn. She and Salty take up residence in the sugaring cabin on the property and Livvy starts to settle in. She soon learns that life in a small country town is much different from the busy, bustling, big city. Livvy insists that the stay isn't permanent, especially since Margaret seems to be making plans to sell the inn in the new future anyway. Nevertheless, she forms deeper and deeper attachments to her work, the Inn, and the McCraken family. Dorothy McCraken is Margaret's best friend, and there's something drawing Livvy to Dorothy's youngest son, Martin. 

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living is a deliciously satisfying read. It's filled with humor, wit, romance, heartbreak, and bushels of charm. I'm sad the story is over! 

Pacing:  Smooth

Predictability:  Medium

Wild Card:  Don't read this book on an empty stomach! The descriptions of all foods sweet and savory made my mouth water (but especially the sweets!).

The descriptions of the small town and baking in this book are amazing. The characters are well-developed and easily likeable- a good weekend read.

I can't understand why I waited so long to read this. THE CITY BAKER'S GUIDE TO COUNTRY LIVING provided a desperately needed vacation to Vermont, complete with mouthwatering food and gorgeous scenery. It was impossible not to get your heartstrings all tangled around the McCracken family, any more than you could stop rooting for Olivia to nab the blue ribbon at the county pie contest. The descriptions and dialogue in the book were excellent, and I kept wishing I could book myself a stay at the Sugar Maple. Louise Miller is now a close second to my favorite author (Sarah Addison Allen). I can't wait to campaign for this at book club and eagerly await her next book.

A predictable and comforting read. Great if you want a "palate cleanser" between more challenging reads.

I was engrossed by a number of aspects of this novel. The pie, first and foremost, was as engaging as a pie you can’t actually eat can be. That the author is a pastry chef is apparent from every ingredient to every described morsel. I was fascinated by all parts of the actual baking in this book. However, apart from the baking there was a host of likeable characters in this story.

First, Livvy herself was quite charming. I found her to be realistic and had high hopes that such an inn in Vermont did actuallyo exist with Livvy in the kitchen. This hope was coupled with my attachment also for the owner of the inn, Margaret, who was a touch prickly at first but her heart was shown early. You could not help but love her deep (and sometimes hidden) desire to see her staff succeed. I also respected Margaret’s sense of her business and her dedication to the area in which she grew up. There was also a sweet romance unfolding between Livvy and neighbour Martin and it added to the idyllic nature of their surroundings. I became attached to Martin’s family and the home he grew up in, every new family member of his that we were introduced to (and there were many, many of them) just endeared me more to the town, the family and the whole book.

There were of course a number of frustrations to make you want to smack some sense into people (particularly between Martin and Livvy) which made the novel a little bit long for me. On the whole though, I completely lost myself in the beauty of this small town in Vermont and the baking I could almost taste.


Thank you to Penguin Random House for our review copy. All opinions are our own.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ve had my eye on this book for awhile, but only recently read it. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting when I started this book, but it wound up being not exactly what I wanted in a book and yet.. I still really liked it.



What I liked:

The cover.

The town of Guthrie. It’s a small town. It’s got a Stars Hollow-ish feel. It’s the kind of place that I can picture taking children, showing them a real experience- snow, hot chocolate, a deep piney smell of a tree being decorated for the holidays. If Guthrie was a scratch and sniff sticker, I would hand them out to people who need a smile.

The relationship between Livvy and Martin’s father. They each found something they did not know they needed in each other and I loved their interactions.



Bottom line: Livvy was a hot mess a good chunk of the book and I found myself getting annoyed with her, but I felt confident that she would pull it together. The town and the ending put a smile on my face 🙂



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*



Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T

I thoroughly enjoyed this title. The descriptions of food, the Vermont country setting, a dose of romance, all were appeal factors for me. I would consider this title for the book group I lead and have recommended it to patrons and family who are in need of a lighter read.

I thoroughly enjoyed The City Baker's Guide to Country Living! This is a great debut novel by Louise Miller & I look forward to reading more by her. I thought the characters were extremely well written & I loved the sections that included food- especially Livvy's macaroons & the food for the annual town dinner.

And course there was a big dog in the book who kept sneaking his way into the Inn where Livvy worked to sleep on the sofa- LOVED Salty.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.