Review: The Parisian Christmas Bake Off

Posted 16th January 2019 by Emma in Reviews / 1 Comment

The Parisian Christmas Bake Off by Jenny Oliver
Also by this author: The Grand Reopening of Dandelion Cafe
Published by Carina on 22nd October 2013
Genres: Chicklit, Christmas, Humour, Love & Romance
Pages: 139
Format: eBook
Source: I bought it
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle

Welcome to the most celebrated patisserie competition in Paris – ready, steady, bake!
Watching snowflakes settle on the Eiffel Tower, Rachel Smithson’s cosy English village feels very far way – as, thankfully, does her commitment-phobic ex, probably already kissing someone else under the mistletoe. But Rachel hasn’t come to Paris to mope she’s come to bake. Hard.
Because the search for Paris’s next patisserie apprentice is about to begin! And super-chef judge Henri Salernes is an infamously tough cookie. But Rachel isn’t about to let her confidence (or pastry) crumble. She’s got one week, mounds of melt-in-the-mouth macaroons and towers of perfect profiteroles to prove that she really is a star baker.
As well as clouds of flour, and wafts of chocolate and cinnamon, there’s definitely a touch of Christmas magic in the air… Rachel hasn’t come to Paris looking for a fairy-tale romance, but the city of love might gift-wrap her one anyway…
Not even a dusting of icing sugar could make The Parisian Christmas Bake-Off a more perfect Christmas treat!

I was feeling so festive this season that I just wasn’t quite ready to let it all be over so I thought I would treat myself with this little festive story.

Rachel is a school teacher who used to have a passion for baking. Since her mum passed she can’t bring herself to get back in the kitchen. Rachel’s friends, however, are not about to let her give up that easily and enter her into a competition in Paris.

The Christmas element of this story really is background. This could have been set at any time of year and it would have worked. The story is more about falling in love not only with a man but more importantly with baking. Rachel learns to love baking again an that is truly a wonderful thing.

This is not a story of big shocks and twists but neither is it completely predictable. It’s a story about learning to love yourself first and foremost.

I really enjoyed this warm cosy short story. It has everything you need for a good chicklit story. Romance, food and a pretty location. It was great to see glimpses of Paris and all that food! Man, I wanted to eat so much food.

About Jenny Oliver

Jenny Oliver wrote her first book on holiday when she was ten years old. Illustrated with cut-out supermodels from her sister’s Vogue, it was an epic, sweeping love story not so loosely based Dynasty.
Since then Jenny has gone on to get an English degree and a job in publishing that’s taught her what it takes to write a novel (without the help of the supermodels). She wrote her first book The Parisian Christmas Bake Off on the beach in a notebook that would end up covered in sand each afternoon and damp from the sea. This time the inspiration was her addiction to macarons, the belief she can cook them and an all-consuming love of Christmas. When the decorations go up in October, that’s fine with her!
Jenny’s books also feature her love of all things vintage, Sunday morning car boot sales (on the hunt for the thrill of a bargain) and an unwavering belief in happy ever after! (Whatever she’s loving on TV might crop up as well!)
So far Jenny’s books The Parisian Christmas Bake Off, The Vintage Summer Wedding and The Little Christmas Kitchen have enjoyed chart positions in the major supermarkets and other fabulous book shops. Most recently she has written a brand new ebook series, all set around the idyllic Cherry Pie Island, that kicks off with The Grand Reopening of Dandelion Café and (currently) ends with Four Weddings and a White Christmas! Mouthwatering, feel-good and perfect for curling up with on cold winter days.

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