How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal

At this year's RITA awards (which is the romance world equivalent to the Oscars), I had two books that I was cheering for in the Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category. One was The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn (love this series, especially Nicholas Brisbane) and the other was The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley. If you have read my blog for any length of time you might have noticed that I am a Susanna Kearsley fangirl and have been for a while now. Unfortunately, neither of those two books won the coveted prize, but rather this book won and it wasn't the first time the author had won this award. While I was disappointed that my favourites didn't win, I did think that maybe, maybe I should try one of Barbara O'Neal's books so I requested this one. I will leave it to the end of this post to tell you whether I am happy with that decision or not.

The main character of this books are Ramona, her daughter Sophia and Sophia's step daughter Katie. Each of the women are dealing with their own issues but together we get a storng picture of a family growing together and dealing with their issues to the best of their abilities.

Ramona is the owner of a specialist bakery. Although she could be part of a family run corporation, she is determined to do this on her own, even if that means that when things go wrong, broken water heaters and the like, then it means that she is running very close to the wire financially. Ramona loves to bake, and she can clearly identify the times in her life when baking and specifically baking bread saved her emotionally. The first time was when she was a young girl, pregnant and sent away from her family to stay with her aunt to have 'a holiday' and then come back to her family, preferably without the baby in tow. Ramona's relationship with her own mother is difficult and she is upset at being shunted away from her family. While baking saves her, another strong factor is her friendship with a young man who works in the local record store. As well as providing her with the friendship she needs, Jonah also helps her learn about different types of music. It is a friendship that is misunderstood by those around them and so is discouraged before anything more is really even given the chance to develop.

Now that Sophia is a grown woman, pregnant with her own child, Ramona is called on to provide a home to Sophia's troubled step daughter Katie when Sophia's husband is severely injured when serving in the military in Afghanistan. Not only does Katie need to deal with the stress and worry associated with her dad's injuries but she is also dealing with the aftermath of living with her junkie mother and being away from the only friends she has ever had.

Each of the main characters is given their page time: Ramona thinking about how difficult it was to be young, unwed mother and then to raise her daughter, as well as a disastrous marriage and what it might mean when Jonah comes back into her life; Sophia trying to support her husband physically and emotionally while dealing with the upcoming birth of her baby as well as worrying about Katie; and Katie try to find her place in the life of a family where she is almost, but not quite a member, at least in her own mind.

This is fantastic foodie fiction with recipes sprinkled throughout the book . There were so many mentions of really tasty food, especially bread. At one point, the author had me seriously contemplating making my own bread starter and then trying to keep it alive. I have no idea why...I have never made a loaf of bread in my life. Just the way that she described it made it sound almost therapeutic to be able to tend to the starter each day and also then to knead the bread. I can't see myself actually doing it, but I did like reading it. 

If you like really good foodie fiction with strong characters, interesting storylines and emotionally engaging voices, then give this book a go.

One of the recipes in the book was for Easy Pain au Chocolate so I thought I would give it a go (being much easier than making bread from scratch. Here is the recipe which luckily was on the author's website.

Just out of the oven

Easy Pain au Chocolat


2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed*
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tsp water
12 oz bittersweet chocolate (chocolate chips work fine)**

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment or oil lightly. Cut each sheet of pastry into 12 squares* and brush the tops of each with egg glaze, then sprinkle ½ oz chocolate (a few chips) on each of square and roll up tightly around the chocolate. Place on the baking sheet, seam down. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Remove pastries from fridge, preheat over to 400 degrees. Brush the tops of the pasties with remaining egg glaze, and then dust lightly with sugar and bake for about 15 minutes. Better to cool them at least a little or the butter taste is a little overwhelming.

*I am not sure how big sheets of frozen puff pastry are in the US but to cut our sheets into 12 would have been tiny, so I cut mine into 6 rectangles. 

**I was a little more generous with the chocolate (and I used Chocolate melts because that is what I had in the cupboard). Still pretty happy with how they turned out.

Oh, and in relation to the question I posed at the beginning of this post, whilst The Rose Garden would have still been my choice (big surprise, I am sure), this book is a worthy winner. I have already requested my next Barbara O'Neal book from the library, as well as another book by this same author that was released under the author's other name of Barbara Samuels. Fans of authors like Erica Bauermeister might like to read this book.

Rating 4.5/5

Synopsis

In a novel as warm and embracing as a family kitchen, Barbara O’Neal explores the poignant, sometimes complex relationships between mothers and daughters—and the healing magic of homemade bread. 

Professional baker Ramona Gallagher is a master of an art that has sustained her through the most turbulent times, including a baby at fifteen and an endless family feud. But now Ramona’s bakery threatens to crumble around her. Literally. She’s one water-heater disaster away from losing her grandmother’s rambling Victorian and everything she’s worked so hard to build.

When Ramona’s soldier son-in-law is wounded in Afghanistan, her daughter, Sophia, races overseas to be at his side, leaving Ramona as the only suitable guardian for Sophia’s thirteen-year-old stepdaughter, Katie. Heartbroken, Katie feels that she’s being dumped again—this time on the doorstep of a woman out of practice with mothering.

Ramona relies upon a special set of tools—patience, persistence, and the reliability of a good recipe—when rebellious Katie arrives. And as she relives her own history of difficult choices, Ramona shares her love of baking with the troubled girl. Slowly, Katie begins to find self-acceptance and a place to call home. And when a man from her past returns to offer a second chance at love, Ramona discovers that even the best recipe tastes better when you add time, care, and a few secret ingredients of your own.

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