Bellas Christmas Bake Off by Sue Watson

Bella Bradley is the queen of television baking – a national treasure. Her Christmas specials have been topping the ratings for years and her marriage to Peter ‘Silver Fox’ Bradley is the stuff of Hello magazine specials.

But this year things are going to be different.

For Amy Lane, Bella’s best friend from school, life hasn’t held quite the same sparkle. And when Amy’s husband walks out three weeks from Christmas, it seems their lives are further apart than ever.

Amy has watched Bella’s rise to fame fondly, despite the fact Bella was always a terrible cook. But when she realises that Bella’s latest Christmas book is made up entirely of Amy’s mother’s recipes, the gloves are off…

After winning a competition to appear on Bella’s TV show, Amy is going to make sure that for Bella and her viewers, this will definitely be a Christmas to remember…

A hilarious, heart-breaking and feel good read about best friends, baking and the magic of Christmas.

I jumped at the chance to review Bella's Christmas Bake Off after reading Summer Flings and Dancing Dreams by Sue Watson earlier this year.

 I was certainly not left disappointed by the bake off antics, however you might want to avoid reading it on an empty stomach!

Before even starting the book, I could tell that it was going to be a laugh a minute, judging from the imaginative titles for every chapter. This is something I love about Sue's books, the fact that she goes to the effort of summing up each chapter with a hilarious title rather than just plain numbering them.

The story begins with Amy Lane, a maths teacher who's husband leaves her three weeks before Christmas (for a woman with a pole in her bedroom no less!!). Life is pretty dire for her at this point, with her children deciding to spend Christmas away from home, she is left on her own. She is then shown St Swithins, a homeless shelter that one of her fellow teachers volunteers at, who will have to go without a Christmas this year due to lack of funding.

In contrast, there's Bella Bradley, a successful TV personality who can throw money at everything, cooking with the most expensive and highest quality produce. However many moons ago, Amy and Bella were best friends but were tore apart over a 'secret', something which is hinted at throughout the book but is only revealed much later on. 

Wanting to get back in contact, Amy has been sending Christmas cards and her mum's recipes to Bella every year but to no avail. 

That is until Amy switches on the television to watch her old friend to see that she has created a Christmas recipe book, passing off Amy's mum's recipes as her own!! Amy is rightfully angry and when an opportunity comes along to win a week with Bella, Amy comes up with a plan to get her revenge, ensuring St Swithins won't go without this Christmas and hopefully getting a chance to make amends with Bella.

I won't spoil the rest of the book for you but it really is a heart warming and hilarious Christmas read. I love Amy and Bella's characters and as Amy steps out of her comfort zone, it's also apparent that despite having everything, Bella's life is not quite as it seems.

Sue's informal style of writing makes the book flow with ease and I love all of the references to Nigella Lawson and Mary Berry (not forgetting Bella's sliver fox husband who is reminiscent of Paul Hollywood). 

Despite tackling some serious issues, Sue puts a positive spin on things, keeping the book light hearted.  

Bella's Christmas Bake Off is a feel good Christmas read that will no doubt get you into the festive spirit and make you want to reach out for a mince pie or two - I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

I would like to thank Guest Reviewer Katrina for this fabulous review and the team at Bookouture for a review copy via NetGalley - this is our honest opinion.

Bella's Christmas Bake Off as been reviewed as part of #BookoutureXmas

Sue Watson

Sue Watson was a journalist on women’s magazines and national newspapers before leaving it all behind for a career in TV. As a producer with the BBC she worked on garden makeovers, kitchen takeovers and daytime sofas – all the time making copious notes so that one day she might escape to the country and turn it all into a book.

After much deliberation and copious consumption of cake, Sue eventually left her life in TV to write.  After a very successful debut novel, Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes, Sue signed with Bookouture and has gone on to write four fabulous books.

www.suewatsonbooks.com

Giveaway Time!

Throughout the #BookoutureXmas event, I have a chance for you to win a Christmas book bundle to get your festive reading underway! See below for details!

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BookoutureXmas Guest Feature plus Giveaway

As you have probably gathered by now, I'm participating this week in the #BookoutureXmas feature.

Throughout the week, I shall be posting my reviews of the Christmas books out this year published by Bookouture.

Today though, I'm going to mix it up a little!

I love hearing how people spend their Christmas day, you'd think that we would all be doing the same considering its all on the same date, but behind every holy wreath decorated door, there are many different and individual traditions.

Growing up for me, Christmas was crazy! There were seven of us in my household (I lived with my mum and brother, plus my aunt, uncle and 2 cousins - hence the crazy!!) and we would start by opening our stockings as some ridiculous hour of the morning in our respective parents rooms before being told to go back to sleep for a little longer!! 

After we would gather downstairs for mugs of hot chocolate and bacon sandwiches before opening our sacks of gifts from my mum. 

We had one rule in our house and that was no diving in as it was my mums pet hate, so each year we took it in turns to start the gift unwrapping. Looking back now, I can see the benefits of this, it allowed us time to take in what we had opened and appreciate it whilst the others has their turn.

Once this one completed, and I kid you not, it would take us ALL morning, we then showered and dressed before a traditional Christmas dinner, it also gave us time to ring grandparents and my beloved Dad - tradition since his death is now an alcoholic drink rather than a phone call, he'd be so proud haha!

After dinner, we would then open gifts from other household members, which took up most of the afternoon.

Evenings were spent round close family friends playing silly games and having laughs a plenty.

When we arrived home again, we would jump into our PJs and watch a festive film if we could stay awake long enough.

Boxing day morning we would finish opening gifts from other family members such as grandparents and aunts and uncles, whilst the afternoons were filled with football matches if a home game, or chilling out with our new bits and bobs if away.

I'm delighted to have four lovely ladies by the names of Holly Martin, Sue Watson, Jenny Hale and Mandy Baggot, join me on the blog today to share how they spend their Christmas day...

"Christmas Eve will be spent at a friend’s house, we'll eat all day, play silly games and argue over the rules of our secret Santa competition which normally involves some complicated method of selecting who gets to choose a mystery present first, arguing over how many swaps we can do and who has bought the best present. We'll wear silly jumpers and roast marshmallows on the fire, we even stand around the piano and sing  carols,badly. Christmas day is with my mom and dad, we'll have bacon sandwiches for breakfast, open presents then have our turkey lunch followed by playing games in the afternoon."

~ Holly Martin

"We will be baking the day before Christmas so that we can leave cookies and milk for Santa. We don't have a chimney, so we leave an enormous, iron key outside on Christmas Eve. This allows only Santa to enter our home while we're sleeping. In the morning--Dare I call it morning? It's usually four a.m.--the kids wake us up and we go downstairs to see Santa's loot. After, we eat breakfast and then unwrap the gifts from our family. Once the floor is covered in wrapping paper, boxes, and new things, we lounge around the house as a family and have a pretty lazy afternoon"

~ Jenny Hale

                        

                                         

       "I have no idea yet! Last year my mum and step-dad came for a couple of nights and I did the turkey dinner! I'm hoping I might get invited somewhere so I don't have to cook. I've cooked for the last three years! I hope my mother-in-law is reading this... I'll help wash up!"
                                 ~ Mandy Baggot

"I always spend Christmas eating … sometimes I stop eating to bake, then I eat what I’ve baked and the cycle continues until New Year when I find myself standing in a long queue at Weight watchers!

This year we are spending Christmas in Manchester at my mum’s which I LOVE because it feels like a holiday.  Mum always makes the house look and feel so Christmassy, you walk in to cinnamon warmth, the tree glitters and the fairy lights twinkle – just arriving at Mum’s means Christmas is here and I’m like a child again.  The cupboards groan with extra special Christmassy food and Mum makes thee most delicious Christmas dinner which I enjoy all the more because I’m merely the sous chef and spend most of my time drinking and talking while the dinner gets made. 

As a wife and mum who works from home I really appreciate staying somewhere different and having someone else cook – and Mum’s a far better cook than I am so I just know Christmas dinner will be fantastic as always. My mum is also a great baker and makes the most amazing Christmas cakes and mince pies which I enjoy throughout the season.  So as I stand in that Weight Watchers queue on a cold January morning in 2016 I can always say it’s not my fault – it was Mum’s  wonderful cooking that did it!" 

                                                                                                                                       ~ Sue Watson

I would like to thank Holly, Jenny, Mandy and Sue for taking the time to share their Christmas day's with us, and a huge thank you to Kim @ Bookouture for organising their responses.

I would LOVE to know how you spend your Christmas ~ why not comment below and let me know?

Before you do that though, I've a Giveaway for you....

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Summer Flings and Dancing Dreams by Sue Watson

The review for Summer Flings and Dancing Dreams is by guest reviewer, Katrina 

Dance like nobody’s watching. Love like you’ll never get hurt…

Laura Watkin’s heart isn’t broken, she’s just forgotten how to use it.

After years on her own, the highlight of single mum Laura’s week is watching Strictly Come Dancing with a glass of Pinot Grigio and a large helping of imagination.

With her daughter Sophie going travelling, Laura knows the time is right to do something for herself for a change. One disastrous Zumba class later and Laura ends up at the feet (literally) of gorgeous dance instructor Tony Hernandez.

A natural dancer and inspiring teacher, Tony rekindles in Laura a passion she inherited from her ballroom dancer father – and with it comes a dream… to make him proud.

But when Tony enters them to perform at the National Championship, can Laura’s new-found confidence survive the test? And with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn Flamenco in Spain, could Laura truly learn to dance like nobody’s watching… and love like she’ll never get hurt?

A laugh-out-loud, uplifting comedy about finding the courage to be yourself, the importance of dreams, and learning to grab life by the glitter balls.

When Laura asked if I would like to review a book for her from her NetGalley page, this is the one that immediately caught my eye. From the blurb it appeared to be an easy reading chick-lit and that is exactly what the book delivered.

The story starts with the protagonist Laura trying to comfort her daughter, who's just been jilted at the altar. Laura's left feeling more than a little sorry for herself when her daughter Sophie gives her a few 'home truths', her marriage was supposed to save her from becoming like Laura. She didn't want to end up as a single supermarket cashier who relishes in watching Strictly once she reaches her age. This obviously hurt Laura, even if she does see a little truth in it, and six months later when her daughter goes travelling, she decides to kick start her new life with a Zumba class, a decision which eventually does change her life.

The Zumba class was a complete disaster (I could emphasise with Laura's self consciousness in the class) however she is rescued by the gorgeous Tony Hernandez who is a dance teacher and is keen for Laura to join his class. Her parents were brilliant dancers so she joins in and ends up being just as amazing as they were, which sparks the start of a new life for Laura.

We see a big change in Laura, as the pounds drop off her, her confidence grows and she develops into Lola the dancing queen. I won't spoil the end of the book for you, but one of the key messages for me is that it is never too late to make a change in your life and to try and live your dreams.

The crazy chapter titles made me laugh, as well as other moments in the book however the story is also tinged with sadness as you learn about Laura's parents and why she is so determined to succeed with her dancing.

There were no big shockers in this book, it was just a nice easy read, perfect holiday reading material. Laura is a character that everyone can relate to in one way or another and was a very likeable protagonist. Her friendship with Tony is also one of the great things in this book. The moral of the story is that sometimes you just need that push of motivation, and with that it is possible to achieve your dreams if you get out there and try. It's never too late to do so.

I did enjoy this book and I look forward to giving some of Sue Watson's other books a read in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sue Watson and the team at Bookouture for the copy of this book and to Laura for letting me review it on her behalf. 

I would like to thank Kat for reviewing this for the blog ~ Lx