I loved this book and gobbled it up in one day. The book was cleverly set out like a recipe book with sections called Cakes, Biscuits, Bread, Pies & Pastries, Puddings and a Celebratory Tea, to coincide with each section of the baking competition.

I felt like I was living a series of the Great British Bake Off whilst getting to know the contestants and being privy to their innermost thoughts and feelings - why each one is compelled to bake and why they have each entered the competition.

The icing on the cake was the little snippets of Kathleen Eaden's story that were slipped into each chapter. Kathleen Eaden - the perfect baker that all the contestants aspire to be. I found myself looking forward to Kathleen's story as I raced through each chapter - as she becomes more of a real person with a less than perfect life underneath the façade of the perfect Kathleen Eaden. Kathleen's story was heartbreaking at times - will she ever get the family she craves or will a gingerbread family be all that she can create?

A lovely story that will have you reaching for your mixing bowl and favourite baking books.

I received this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Audiobook
As a fan of The Great British Bakeoff this was too temping to pass up. I don't think I even read the books description all the way before I was purchasing it. "What a joy" see I sounded like Mary there didn't I ? LOL
So this book takes you into the live of a cooking contest and into the lives of the contestants. What is driving them, who is behind them, where did they come from, where are their hearts ?
I could hear "bake" and see the people scrambling to get their crusts and rises done in time. It is about the bakes, and so much more. *Warning do not read while hungry. There are cakes, biscuits, pies, pastries and things I've never seen but would be more than willing to taste. Life does not begin and end in the test kitchen for these people, they have a home life. Each contestant has a life, some filled with drama, abandonment, self-esteem issues and more. Baking and stepping out into the spotlight changes each of them, brings things left in the dark for years to the surface. Emotionally charged, changes each better than when they started. I cheered for each of them through the contest and I felt the truly best baker won in the end. Woot Woot ________ !
I really loved listening to this audiobook. The narration was fantastic. It was a feel good read about good realistic people and baking. ( )

I loved this book! My only hesitation in giving it 5 stars was because I initially found the multiple narrative perspectives confusing - a few of the contestants are similar ages and I kept getting them mixed up. I would also have liked some of their stories to be more fully developed, a couple of them seemed to be simply filling out the novel as stock figures.

Having said that, I found myself increasingly captivated by the characters' lives, the competition, and the central story of Mrs Eaden herself. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys either a good character driven story, or baking! ( )

This book is so charming! I have watched all of The Great British Bake Off and I needed more so I turned to fiction. This did not disappoint! It was inspired by the show and provides many of the same warm fuzzy feelings I got watching it. Some of the characters I cared less about than others, and I thought that it was a bit odd that the author chose to give different characters some of the same interests and characteristics, for example there were two characters - Karen and Frances - who were both sort of cold, bitchy mothers who have become distant from their families with their lack of emotional warmth.
But overall, this is a really pleasant read, super quick and a nice reprieve from a lot of heavier stuff I'd been reading recently. ( )

If you like making cakes, you’ll enjoy this book. It’s full of recipes, ingredients, mixing, kneading, weighing and baking. ‘The Art of Baking Blind’ by Sarah Vaughan is a two tier story. In the 1960s, Kathleen Eaden’s husband owns a supermarket and she becomes an overnight marketing sensation. Now, a baking competition is announced in ‘Eaden’s Monthl’y, the supermarket’s own magazine. Four women and one man reach the final.
The book reminded me of the Julia Child film, ‘Julie & Julia’, starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. In an attempt to emulate Julia Child, played by Streep, Adams cooks her way through Child’s cookbook. In a similar way, this story is told with Kathleen Eaden as its spine. Her diary entries and excerpts from her books feature heavily. Baking is at the centre of the story. It is a lightweight, enjoyable, holiday read.
Two confessions from me. One, I kept getting the women muddled – the only one I was clear about was Jenny. Two, I was slightly niggled that we didn’t get the point of view of the male competitor, Mike, until quite a way in. I missed his voice. Disappointingly, Mike remains a mystery, lightly-drawn, unsatisfying. Sarah Vaughan writes with confidence about baking, I just know she baked the cakes and pies she writes about.
There are lots of innuendos about kneading dough and rising temperatures. All five competitors seem to lack love and sex, leading me to the rather simplistic assumption that baking replaces sex, which seems a little unfair. So which question made me turn the page – who will win the competition, what is Karen’s secret, or who will shag who? Rather contrarily, the sections I enjoyed reading belonged to Kathleen Eaden because it was obvious that all was not as the supermarket marketing image suggested.
By the end I could have done with less cake description. I was left with a feeling of irony that there were competitors seeking to be the new Mrs Eaden, when the real Mrs Eaden was a marketing invention. All four women – and Mike - must re-examine who they are and what they want.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )