I saw this post on Portobello Book Blog and thought I might join in too, when I can anyway so maybe not every week but we will see.
Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post. Add your name to the Linky widget on that day's post so that everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. Or if you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. This week's topic was submitted by both Cathy at WhatCathyReadNext and Hopewell's Public Library of Life, and is "Books Involving Food"
This week's topic: "Books Involving Food"
Duck à l'Orange for Breakfast by Karina May
What if the person getting you through the hardest time in your life is someone you've never met? Maxine 'Max' Mayberry, an ad executive with writing ambitions, is holed up in a friend's apartment after discovering her long-term boyfriend in bed with another woman. If that wasn't bad enough, Max has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Enter Johnny: a cheeky yet charming Tinder pen pal and the perfect distraction. Together, Max and Johnny flirt and cook their way through The Laurent Family Cookbook, a recipe book from Max's ex-boyfriend's pretentious French family, without ever meeting in person. The 'Fork Him' project starts as a joke, but soon transforms into something more meaningful as Max undergoes brain surgery, travels to Paris for a fresh start, and decides whether she believes in herself enough to chase the life - and the man - she really wants.
I loved this book, despite not being a foodie, I enjoyed the way the cookbook and the food brought them together. This is a book I would like to revisit.
The Cake Maker's Wish by Josephine Moon
Life in the village isn't always sweet and simple . . . When single mum Olivia uproots her young son Darcy from their life in Tasmania for a new start in the English Cotswolds, she isn't exactly expecting a bed of roses - but nor is she prepared for the challenges that life in the picturesque village throws her way. The Renaissance Project hopes to bring the dwindling community back to life - to welcome migrants from around the world and to boost the failing economy - but not everyone is so pleased about the initiative. For cake maker Olivia, it's a chance for Darcy to finally meet his Norwegian father, and for her to trace the last blurry lines on what remains of her family tree. It's also an opportunity to move on from the traumatic event that tore her loved ones apart. After seven years on her own, she has all but given up on romance, until life dishes up some delicious new options she didn't even know she was craving. An uplifting and heartwarming story about the moments that change your life forever, human kindness and being true to yourself.
This was another one I loved and I wish I got to try all the cakes, read my review
The Jam Queens by Josephine Moon
The heartwarming new family drama from the bestselling author of The Cake Maker's Wish Award-winning jam maker Aggie is determined to take her Barossa Valley cafe to new heights. She has put the pain of unsuccessful IVF treatments and a broken relationship behind her, and is focused on the many wonderful possibilities life still holds in store. When an invitation to travel across Australia on the Ghan for her mother's seventieth birthday comes her way, she is at first apprehensive. But the trip offers a precious opportunity to spend some quality time with both her disgruntled mother, Valeria, and her distant daughter, Holly, as well as her meddling great-aunt, Myrtle. The four generations of the family, all single women, will be reunited at last. As the iconic train chugs its way beneath majestic desert skies, Aggie's difficult past resurfaces, her business comes under threat, and long-held family rifts reignite. To complicate things further, she's distracted by the attentions of a handsome younger man on his own search for meaning in some of the country's most remote and magical places. By the bestselling author of The Cake Maker's Wish, this is a sweet and soulful story about women being there for each other through the stickiest situations. It celebrates the joys and sorrows of life, and reveals the essential ingredients of the true recipe for happiness.
Another book I loved, read my review
The Venice Hotel by Tess Woods
When the lives of four very different women become entangled in a boutique Venice hotel, dark secrets unravel and not everyone who checked into the hotel will check out again. Signora Loretta Bianchi, the world famous cook at Venice's Hotel Il Cuore, is forced to choose between once-in-a-lifetime passion and her devoted husband. Sophie, on assignment in Venice as a food writer, finds a lot more than Signora Bianchi's secret recipes to love, but what is the charming Rocco hiding? Law graduate Elena is sinking just like the endangered city she's returned home to, and she'll stop at nothing to be free from her marriage. Grandmother Gayle's dream Venetian holiday turns sinister as she finds herself embroiled in a life or death escape. Set against a backdrop of the romance and tragedy of magical Venice, The Venice Hotel explores the powerful bonds that develop between women in times of crisis, and the healing power of female connection.
I haven't read this yet, but I attended Tess' book launch last night and she said food played a big part in this novel, I can't wait to read it.
The Right Place by Carla Caruso
Can the past show you the way home? Charming and memorable, The Right Place is an Australian novel, combining warm romance with family drama and the longing to fit in. Perfect for readers who love The Missing Pieces of Us by Fleur McDonald and Josephine Moon. With her dreams of dominating Melbourne's fashion scene in tatters, Nella Martini has returned to the last place she wants to be – Torrente Blu, the market garden inherited from her late nonna. She just needs to clean up the property, sell it quickly, and avoid run-ins with her neighbour: surly Adrian Tomaso. But when Nella comes across her nonna's cookbook things start to change. The place, with its endless tomato plants and gallons of olive oil in storage, gets under her skin, as does Adrian with his passion for this life. But her dreams have always meant being anywhere but here – haven't they? Or has the right place been here all this time? For Esta Feliciano in the 1950s, the right place was her Italian village. But in search of a better life than war-torn Italy has to offer, her husband has moved Esta and their daughter to this alien country, settling on a small, flat piece of land that he calls Torrente Blu. Can Esta come to grips with the harsh Australian sun and strange culture? Woven with traditional Italian recipes, The Right Place is the heartfelt story of two women's journeys, as they discover how the right place to call home can be where you make it...
This book is full of recipes, cooking and food, read my review.
The Country Girl by Cathryn Hein
Bestselling Australian author Cathryn Hein returns with a moving and uplifting rural romance about facing hard truths and moving on in pursuit of life. After landing a major cookbook deal, star food blogger Tash Ranger swaps city life for the family farm. But Tash's homecoming is bittersweet, for now she can no longer avoid seeing her best friend Maddie, who was severely injured in a riding accident and unable to communicate. No one knows that Maddie and Tash had a deep falling out and with every visit Tash must pretend to be the friend everyone believes her to be. Patrick Lawson, Maddie's fiancé, battles despair and hope daily as Maddie lies imprisoned in her body, gradually losing his faith in her recovery. When Tash returns to Castlereagh Road with her joy and boundless appetite for life, he realises finally what his loved ones have been trying to tell him for months – that Maddie wouldn't want him to throw his life away. It's time to move on. But letting go is no easy feat, especially if moving on means Tash. He's a country boy and she is a star on the rise with ambitions that could propel her out of reach. Can these two friends step out of the shadow of Maddie's tragic life and accept love, or is the past forever destined to dictate their future?
Food plays an important role in this novel and I liked the way it was weaved into the story.
Wherever You Go by Monique Mulligan
"A deeply affecting, beautifully written story, sensitively told, that tugs at the heartstrings. Readers will love the evocative descriptions of food peppered throughout." - Vanessa Carnevale A life-shattering tragedy threatens to tear apart chef Amy Bennet's marriage. Desperate to save it, she moves with her husband Matt to Blackwood, a country town where no one knows who they are. Forced to deal with her crumbling marriage and the crippling grief that follows her wherever she goes, Amy turns to what she knows best: cooking. She opens a café showcasing regional seasonal produce, and forms the Around the World Supper Club, serving mouth-watering feasts to new friends. As her passion for food returns, she finds a place for herself in Blackwood. But when a Pandora's Box of shame and blame is unlocked, Matt gives Amy an ultimatum that takes their marriage to the edge. Rich with unexpected characters and extraordinary insight, Wherever You Go is a powerful and ultimately uplifting tale of heartbreaking loss, recovery, and redemption. "Unfolding with clear-eyed, soulful understanding and with deep respect for her characters, Mulligan's debut is a novel for those who crave stories about real people grappling with real life. A tender tale crafted with love and steeped in the healing togetherness that comes from sharing great food." - Kim Kelly
I loved the idea of the Around the World Supper Club and would love to join one myself, though I definitely wouldn't be the one cooking. Food is a very important part of the story, it is the way Amy shows the people around her she cares, and the only way she knows to bring people together. I'd visit her Cafe for sure if it actually existed, her food sounded divine and that's from a non-foodie, read my review
The Menu Match by Phillipa Nefri Clark
Quinne is a popular social media influencer. Peter is the new chef at Maple Gardens Assisted Living. They couldn't be more different. When Quinne's mother - a resident who loves to meddle - comes up with the idea of Quinne showcasing Maple Gardens, it is the last thing the busy and somewhat self-centred young woman wants to do. But Peter's ten-year-old daughter is obsessed with Quinne and persuades her to reconsider. Grumpy cook Peter is less than impressed but what can he do? He just works there and has enough on his plate being a newly single dad. It is one thing to spend time together because they have to. But as Quinne rediscovers her love of cooking, and Peter watches his daughter come out of her shell, they move past their differences. A long way past, as unexpected feelings grow. But when an accident reminds them just how different they are, will the matchmaking skills of the Maple Gardens residents be enough to bring together this unlikely pair? Part opposites attract, part single dad, and a touch of enemies to lovers... all wrapped up in a clean and sweet contemporary romance with a heartwarming happy ever after.
A book about bonding over the kitchen and relearning a love of cooking.
Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop by Rebecca Raisin
The trip of a lifetime! Rosie Lewis has her life together.
A swanky job as a Michelin-Starred Sous Chef, a loving husband and future children scheduled for exactly January 2021.
That's until she comes home one day to find her husband's pre-packed bag and a confession that he's had an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, Rosie drowns her sorrows in a glass (or three) of wine, only to discover the following morning that she has spontaneously invested in a bright pink campervan to facilitate her grand plans to travel the country.
Now, Rosie is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime, and the chance to change her life! With Poppy, her new-found travelling tea shop in tow, nothing could go wrong, could it…?
Rosie's talent is cooking and she decides that tea and comfort food will be her new endeavour, read my review
The Sugar Palace by Fiona McIntosh
One woman's ambition
Sydney, 1925: When Grace Fairweather meets the irresistible Londoner Alfie Sweeting, dreams of selling her homemade confectionery are spun into reality. A criminal past When the truth about Alfie's roguish past is revealed, Grace and Alfie's fairytale sweetshop – and their lives – comes under threat. An impossible decision Up against razorgangs, brothel madams and cocaine dealers, Grace will be forced to make the most difficult decision of all. Who can she trust to save the Sugar Palace?
Now, I haven't read this one but everyone says that the sweets made their mouth water, it's on my TBR pile.
So that was a harder one than I anticipated. I am sure I've read a ton of books whose focus is food, but I struggled and really struggled to find a 10th one after inadvertently choosing all Australian authors for the first 9, I felt I needed to find a 10th to round them off.
Until next time, happy reading.
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