Review: The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living

Today I’m sharing my review of The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller. This is the perfect holiday book, I can’t recommend it enough!

Synopsis

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.

Why I decided to read this book

This book was described as giving the same comforting feelings as the tv show Gilmore Girls. As soon as I heard that I knew I had to read it (it’s one of my favorite tv shows). I am in the mood for all the holiday cozy reads right now.

Rating

4.5 Stars (An Excellent book!)

My Thoughts

This is the perfect holiday book in my opinion. I hadn’t been able to finish a physical book in over a month and this book got me out of that funk! If I had to describe this book with a few words it would be delightful and cozy. I think I read this book at the right time for me and that is why I loved it so much. Don’t you love when that happens?

I couldn’t get enough of these characters I thought they were well developed and funny, I could probably read an entire series of these characters. I would say this is a fairly predictable book (think hallmark movies) but for some reason it worked for me and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Be ready to get hungry and want to bake all the pies. I’ve never made apple pie but now all I want to do is bake and will be baking an apple pie this week. We’ll see how it turns out. So you’ve been warned, do not read this book while hungry. Overall, it was a great light book and I read it at the perfect time. I’m looking forward to reading more from the author.

Content Warnings

Death, Cancer, Infidelity. Also, do not read while hungry!

Who I recommend this book to

If you like cozy holiday books this is for you. If you like the tv show Gilmore Girls and are looking for a similar feeling/vibe read this book!

Get the book!

Did this review of The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living convince you to read it? You can get the book from Bookshop.org here. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering. If you’ve read this book let me know your thoughts in the comments!