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For me personally there are some books that I pick up because the cover catches my eye which makes me stop to I read about the book and more times than not I find out the story sounds interesting. And then there are books where the cover alone makes you want to curl up somewhere cozy and start reading.
This is why I wanted to share this new book with you because the cover and the story both drew me in. I would like to introduce you to The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller. This is another new Author for me and my mother in law as I plan on sharing the book with her once I finish it.
First of all, look at this cover! It is this beautiful, soft blue with snow-covered Christmas trees, and you know me—I love me some snow! Then there is that little red truck carrying a Christmas tree. And you better bet your bottom dollar that caught my attention.
My mother-in-law and I would both love to have one of those little red trucks. So right from the beginning, this book already feels like something I would want sitting on my bookshelf during the holidays.
But then I started reading what the book was actually about, and I became even more interested. This is Louise Miller’s debut novel, and she happens to be a pastry chef living in Boston. Her main character, Olivia Rawlings, is also a pastry chef, working for an exclusive Boston dinner club. A job I wouldn’t mind having. How about you?
I’ve always thought it would be fun to experience one of those fancy dinner clubs. And I’ve never had a flambéed dessert, so when I discovered that Livvy’s story begins after she sets not only her dessert but the entire building on fire, I knew this was going to be an interesting adventure. Sometimes you just need to leave town after a dessert goes up in flames!
Livvy escapes to Guthrie, Vermont, where her best friend lives. Guthrie sounds like one of those charming little towns where everybody knows everybody, there’s always something happening, and the local characters are just as important as the main story.
And if you’ve been around Greatful Moments for any amount of time, you know exactly what I thought when I read that. Gilmore Girls. I mentioned this to David and told him this is the type of Town I would like to visit during Christmas and he said to find one and we could go. That sounds like a Road Trip to me. Would you want to come with us?
If you could give me a small New England town with quirky characters, local traditions, food, cozy places, and people who somehow know everybody else’s business, you know I’m in!
The book even has that little feeling of “Gilmore Girls, bon appétit.” I can almost imagine myself sitting at Luke’s Diner with a cup of coffee while somebody in the background is talking about the town’s latest event.
Instead, Livvy finds herself at the Sugar Maple Inn, where she moves into a sugarhouse on the property with her larger-than-life dog, Salty. And there’s an orchard just outside the front door.
An orchard! I can already picture myself walking through the trees, looking at the apples, enjoying the crisp air, and then going back inside where something delicious is baking.
That sounds like my kind of place. There is also a county fair apple-pie contest something else I’ve always wanted to attend. Would you want to come with me? Which was another reason I wanted to read this book.
There is a recipe in the back! The book includes a recipe for double-crust pie dough. Well, now you’ve done it. If I’m going to read a book about a pastry chef, an orchard, Vermont, and an apple-pie contest, I think I’m going to have to make an apple pie while I’m reading it.
I can already see the whole afternoon: a cozy book, a warm kitchen, and an apple pie coming out of the oven. That’s what I call a reading experience. I just hope David is home to help with the Apple Pie because I’m not that good at baking. Are you?
I also love that this is a paperback book because it makes it easy to pick up, easy to carry, and has several chapters, making it perfect for sitting down and reading a little at a time. Not only that it fits perfectly into my backpack and even the glove compartment giving me something to read when where running errands.
This is also a brand-new author for me, and I can’t wait to see what else Louise Miller writes. Her second book, The Late Bloomers’ Club, is also available, so if I enjoy this one, I already have another Louise Miller book waiting for me. Trust me the cover on that book has also captured my attention with the old fashioned green bike on the cover.
And from what I’ve learned about her, she sounds like an interesting person herself. Lousie Miller is a pastry chef and writer who is also an art-school dropout, amateur flower gardener, old-time banjo player, obsessive moviegoer, and champion of old dogs.
I think I’m going to like her in fact I think we could be best friends. What do you think? I believe this is a book for Fall, Christmas, and Gift Giving which is why you will find it in our Summer Gift Guide, Back-to-School Gift Guide as a gift for teachers and parents who survived Summer and even our Christmas Gift Guide.
Even though the story has that wonderful country-living feel, I think this book could be a fun Gift for my best friend because like me she love small Town Country Living. The story would be a great summer reading gift for someone who loves cozy fiction, baking, small towns, or romance.
It would make a lovely Back-to-School Gift Guide recommendation for a teacher, librarian, or someone who loves to read when they finally get a quiet moment. And because of that beautiful snowy cover and little red truck carrying the Christmas tree, I can absolutely see it in our Christmas Gift Guide as a fun Stocking Stuffer and a nice Gift for Mrs. Claus as she waits for Santa to return home.
Honestly, though, I think this may be one of those books that is especially perfect for fall. Apples. Orchards. Pie. Small-town life. A cozy inn. A little romance. And the possibility of finding home somewhere you never expected. That’s a pretty good recipe for a book.
I could also see this being an enjoyable choice for older teens and high school readers. I wasn’t anything in book that would automatically make me say a high schooler couldn’t read it. Of course, parents and teachers know their individual readers best.
I also believe this story could even lead to some great conversations about starting over, finding your place, community, careers, relationships, and what really makes somewhere feel like home.
This is a Penguin paperback book , and the price printed on the book is $16 in the United States and $22 in Canada. I’ll be honest: $16 feels a little expensive to me for a paperback book that I’m buying for myself. I don’t know that I would spend $16 on it personally.
But as a gift? That’s different. I think it would make a really cute gift for a reader, teacher, librarian, baker, or Gilmore Girls fan like my best friend Debbie. Add a pretty mug, some tea or coffee, a pie plate, or even a little baking basket, and you’ve got a whole cozy experience rather than just a book.
And that cover? I’m still not over it. Soft blue. Snow-covered Christmas trees. A little red truck. A Christmas tree in the back. And that whole cozy feeling that makes me want to curl up under a blanket.
Louise Miller, I enjoyed to meeting you between the pages. Guthrie, Vermont felt like the kind of small town I love and one I would like to visit one day. And I certainly can’t wait to try that apple pie recipe.
You can learn more about Louise Miller through her author pages and social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Now I just need to find a quiet afternoon, grab something warm to drink, run to the book store and pick up her second book, and see where The Late Bloomers Club which sound like me would take me because I defiantly feel in love with The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living. Because sometimes the best adventures begin when you leave the city behind.
About the book:
“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.
About: The Late Bloomers’ Club: A Novel
“A downright delightful read. . . [with] everything you want from a small town summer read: sweetness, charm, and a side of romance.” –HelloGiggles
A delightful novel about two headstrong sisters, a small town’s efforts to do right by the community, and the power of a lost dog to summon true love
Nora, the owner of the Miss Guthrie Diner, is perfectly happy serving up apple cider donuts, coffee, and eggs-any-way-you-like-em to her regulars, and she takes great pleasure in knowing exactly what’s “the usual.” But her life is soon shaken when she discovers she and her free-spirited, younger sister Kit stand to inherit the home and land of the town’s beloved cake lady, Peggy Johnson.
Kit, an aspiring–and broke–filmmaker thinks her problems are solved when she and Nora find out Peggy was in the process of selling the land to a big-box developer before her death. The people of Guthrie are divided–some want the opportunities the development will bring, while others are staunchly against any change–and they aren’t afraid to leave their opinions with their tips.
Time is running out, and the sisters need to make a decision soon. But Nora isn’t quite ready to let go of the land, complete with a charming farmhouse, an ancient apple orchard and the clues to a secret life that no one knew Peggy had. Troubled by the conflicting needs of the town, and confused by her growing feelings towards Elliot, the big-box developer’s rep, Nora throws herself into solving the one problem that everyone in town can agree on–finding Peggy’s missing dog, Freckles.
When a disaster strikes the diner, the community of Guth
About the author: Louise Miller
A writer and pastry chef living in Boston, MA. Her debut novel, THE CITY BAKER’S GUIDE TO COUNTRY LIVING was selected as an Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association, a Library Reads pick by Librarians across the U.S., and was shortlisted by the America Library Association’s Reading List Council for best women’s fiction in 2017.
Her 2nd novel, THE LATE BLOOMERS’ CLUB,A New England Society 2019 Book Awards Finalist. Louise is an art school dropout, an amateur flower gardener, an old-time banjo player, an obsessive moviegoer, and a champion of old dogs.
Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates