20190627_144117.jpgToday, in celebration of its pub day, I have a review of  by The Ingredients of Us, now available from Amazon Publishing/Lake Union! A huge thank you to Jennifer Gold for my complimentary copy.

My Harper… She is something else! 😂 I’m so grateful she participated in this picture!

My Thoughts:

Elle is a well-known baker, and all her best memories are tied to food. We meet her as she finds out her husband is cheating, which understandably rocks her world. 

Elle can look at a recipe for scones and connect it to a memory about her father’s death. She can bake cinnamon rolls and think of when she first dated her husband. Don’t we all tie some of the best, and most challenging, times of our lives to food? I know I certainly do. Food and music. 

Told in a unique structure,  before the infidelity and after, I found the storytelling supremely engaging. How will Elle come to terms with what has happened,  and what will be the state of her marriage?

First off, I have to mention the yummy and interesting recipes included. I definitely want to make them all! The author has worked in a bakery before,  and it shows.  

Gold’s writing shines, with authentic emotion throughout. Elle is a complex and lovable main character,  and it was intriguing watching her grow. Everything about the story felt genuine,  and I enjoyed the themes of love and marriage, as well as true friendship. 

My favorite thing was how Elle coped with all her emotions by baking and giving gifts to others. She was such a strong character! 

Overall,  I loved this book from start to finish, and I’m excited about Jennifer Gold’s next book! 

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. 

About the Book:

From debut author Jennifer Gold comes a delicious novel about the sweet and sour ingredients of life and love.

Elle, an accomplished baker, has a recipe for every event in her life. But when she discovers her husband’s infidelity, she doesn’t know what to make of it. Jam, maybe? Definitely jam.

Fed up with the stale crumbs of her marriage, Elle revisits past recipes and the events that inspired them. A recipe for scones reminds her of her father’s death, cinnamon rolls signify the problematic courtship with her husband, and a batch of chocolate cookies casts Elle in a less-than-flattering light. Looking back, Elle soon realizes that some ingredients were missing all along.

After confronting her husband, Elle indulges her sweet tooth in other ways, including a rebound that just leaves her more confused. As secrets from the past collide with the conflicts of the present, Elle struggles to manage her bakery business and maintain the relationships most important to her. In piecing her life back together, will Elle learn to take the bitter with the sweet?

Have you read The Ingredients of Us, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR