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10000+ Cake Recipes
Food & Drink and Lifestyle
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If you're looking for that perfect Chocolate Cake recipe you've certainly come to the right place,...
Cake Decorating Tips
Food & Drink and Lifestyle
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The Cake Decorating app is the ultimate app for everything related to cake decorating. The Cake...
Stolen Goods (To Catch a Thief #2)
Book
Catch Me If You Can meets Tangled in this funny and feel-good romantic comedy, new from bestselling...
Contemporary Romance Comedy
Never Have I Ever
8.5
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Have you ever done something so bad, so shameful that you would do anything to keep it secret? What...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2291 KP) rated Bake Offed in Books
Dec 1, 2022 (Updated Dec 1, 2022)
Mystery at the Mystery Convention
Val Deniston and her granddad are going to the Maryland Mystery Fan Fest to help her friend Bethany with it. And Granddad, aka the Codger Cook, is participating in the mystery themed baking competition the first night. One of his fellow contestants is Cynthia Sweet, the woman that Granddad feels stole his shot at turning his Codger Cook recipe column into a book. But when Val finds Cynthia dead in the middle of the night, the two of them start to discover that other people didn’t like Cynthia either. Can they figure out who killed her?
Since the fest is out of town, we don’t see much of the other series regulars, but the series usually focuses on Val and Granddad, so it’s not too big of a loss. This also gives us plenty of time to get to know the new characters, who rise to the occasion. And there is a return appearance by a character from early in the series that is fun. The plot is wonderful. It is intricately plotted, yet it holds together at the end. As someone who complains about the timelines in books when they don’t work, I have to praise this one for holding together perfectly. I got a kick out of the mystery fest setting. The recipes at the end are great fun as well, but I’ll leave that for you to explore on your own. Fans of the series will be happy with this book. If you are looking for a fun culinary cozy series, I definitely recommend you check this one out.
Since the fest is out of town, we don’t see much of the other series regulars, but the series usually focuses on Val and Granddad, so it’s not too big of a loss. This also gives us plenty of time to get to know the new characters, who rise to the occasion. And there is a return appearance by a character from early in the series that is fun. The plot is wonderful. It is intricately plotted, yet it holds together at the end. As someone who complains about the timelines in books when they don’t work, I have to praise this one for holding together perfectly. I got a kick out of the mystery fest setting. The recipes at the end are great fun as well, but I’ll leave that for you to explore on your own. Fans of the series will be happy with this book. If you are looking for a fun culinary cozy series, I definitely recommend you check this one out.
ClareR (5824 KP) rated Sweetness in the Skin in Books
Mar 18, 2025
Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson is a heartbreaking AND a heartwarming story. It’s about Pumkin Patterson, a 13 year old girl living with her grandmother, Aunt Sophie and her mother. They live together in a tiny 2 bedroom house on the wrong street in Kingston, Jamaica.
Pumkin has a dream to follow her aunt to live in Paris and open a Patisserie. She just has to get the grades at the school paid for by her aunt. But things conspire against Pumkin, and she has to work harder to get what she wants. She works hard at school, and on top of that, she has to make money by baking and selling her frankly delicious sounding cakes.
I couldn’t help but cheer Pumkin along and hope that she would achieve what she wanted. She’s such a strong character, with some of that fiery teenage attitude (particularly towards her French teacher!).
I listened to this and read it in parts, too, which I’m glad I had the opportunity to do. The spoken Jamaican English was much easier to understand when I listened to it, spoken by Deja Bowens (the narrator). I think it’s important, when possible, to hear the rhythm and cadence of a language and/ or dialect to really understand it.
This was a really strong story with some serious themes - if it’s a YA book, I would be inclined to keep it to older teenagers. Pumkin does suffer some physical abuse at the hands of her mother.
I loved reading about Pumkin’s determination to leave a difficult life behind her - she’s an admirable, courageous character.
Pumkin has a dream to follow her aunt to live in Paris and open a Patisserie. She just has to get the grades at the school paid for by her aunt. But things conspire against Pumkin, and she has to work harder to get what she wants. She works hard at school, and on top of that, she has to make money by baking and selling her frankly delicious sounding cakes.
I couldn’t help but cheer Pumkin along and hope that she would achieve what she wanted. She’s such a strong character, with some of that fiery teenage attitude (particularly towards her French teacher!).
I listened to this and read it in parts, too, which I’m glad I had the opportunity to do. The spoken Jamaican English was much easier to understand when I listened to it, spoken by Deja Bowens (the narrator). I think it’s important, when possible, to hear the rhythm and cadence of a language and/ or dialect to really understand it.
This was a really strong story with some serious themes - if it’s a YA book, I would be inclined to keep it to older teenagers. Pumkin does suffer some physical abuse at the hands of her mother.
I loved reading about Pumkin’s determination to leave a difficult life behind her - she’s an admirable, courageous character.
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated Amish Cooking Class : The Celebration in Books
Feb 25, 2019
The Cooking Class is back! I'm so glad that Mrs. Brunstetter brought us back to the Troyers and Heidi's cooking class. This one was as addictive as the first two, and Mrs. Brunstetter's extremely captivating talent has shone once again!
I loved seeing the Troyers and Marsha and Randy again. They are wonderfully chiseled characters and really come to life with each story. The other characters that Mrs. Brunstetter created for this one really stole a piece of my heart, too! Being married to my own firefighter, I loved seeing Darren Keller's character worked in there. It was definitely an added bonus to an already amazing novel.
I loved the way Mrs. Brunstetter made this novel about the kids. It was such a refreshing change from the first two, though they were amazing, as well. The different familes that Mrs. Brunstetter created really made the story pop. Each family had a different circumstance, different struggles, and they all felt real to me. The inspiring ways that Heidi Troyer helps each family, really shines.
This is definitely a 5 star worthy addition to a fantastically created 5 star series by the Queen of Amish Fiction. Mrs. Brunstetter adds yummy sounding recipes to the book, making this a tasty treat for all Amish fiction lovers everywhere. While this could easily be read as a stand alone, I don't recommend that you read it as one. Grab this one, along with the first two, and take a trip to the Troyer's farm, to the fun of cooking and baking, and to where God is foremost the center of the story! You won't be sorry!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
I loved seeing the Troyers and Marsha and Randy again. They are wonderfully chiseled characters and really come to life with each story. The other characters that Mrs. Brunstetter created for this one really stole a piece of my heart, too! Being married to my own firefighter, I loved seeing Darren Keller's character worked in there. It was definitely an added bonus to an already amazing novel.
I loved the way Mrs. Brunstetter made this novel about the kids. It was such a refreshing change from the first two, though they were amazing, as well. The different familes that Mrs. Brunstetter created really made the story pop. Each family had a different circumstance, different struggles, and they all felt real to me. The inspiring ways that Heidi Troyer helps each family, really shines.
This is definitely a 5 star worthy addition to a fantastically created 5 star series by the Queen of Amish Fiction. Mrs. Brunstetter adds yummy sounding recipes to the book, making this a tasty treat for all Amish fiction lovers everywhere. While this could easily be read as a stand alone, I don't recommend that you read it as one. Grab this one, along with the first two, and take a trip to the Troyer's farm, to the fun of cooking and baking, and to where God is foremost the center of the story! You won't be sorry!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
Merissa (12507 KP) rated Winning Her (Perfect Stats #1) in Books
Apr 28, 2020
Winning Her is the first book in the Perfect Stats series and we focus on Bane and Dahl, both African-Americans and successful in their own ways. Bane is frustrated because he is blocked by the owner and the coach at the club he works for and constantly feels like he needs to be prepared for the chop. Dahl is an award-winning chef with plenty of TV shows and books behind her. At this point, she is helping her cousin with her restaurant in a vain attempt to keep it afloat.
Now, hold onto your hats, because there is LOT that goes on in this book. I'm still not actually sure when Bane crosses the line of wanting to get back at his ex-wife and just wanting her. I'm also not sure about a lot of went on in this book simply because there is so much. You have all the intrigue of the sports world, the cooking/baking world, drop-beat cousins, cheating cousins, a stalker nanny, (another) ex-wife and her anchor job, and a custody case - to name just a few 'themes' in this story. Due to this, it took me a while to get into it because I just couldn't figure out what was going on!
Once I got into it, I did enjoy the story but I had to work at it. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending and would love to know more about Warner. As for Bane and Dahl, I liked them but found the whole thing a bit too confusing for my tastes.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Now, hold onto your hats, because there is LOT that goes on in this book. I'm still not actually sure when Bane crosses the line of wanting to get back at his ex-wife and just wanting her. I'm also not sure about a lot of went on in this book simply because there is so much. You have all the intrigue of the sports world, the cooking/baking world, drop-beat cousins, cheating cousins, a stalker nanny, (another) ex-wife and her anchor job, and a custody case - to name just a few 'themes' in this story. Due to this, it took me a while to get into it because I just couldn't figure out what was going on!
Once I got into it, I did enjoy the story but I had to work at it. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending and would love to know more about Warner. As for Bane and Dahl, I liked them but found the whole thing a bit too confusing for my tastes.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Final Girls
8.0
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Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back...
500 Pastry Recipes: A Fabulous Collection of Every Kind of Pastry from Pies and Tarts to Mouthwatering Puffs and Parcels, Shown in 500 Photographs
Book
This is an incredible selection of recipes using every kind of pastry: shortcrust, puff, rough puff,...