Member Reviews

I mean i really liked the baking parts and the cakes. But the back and forth in chapters did not work for me.
it made me more annoyed than interested. I found Ellie to be somewhat interesting and Tom not so much.

Was this review helpful?

The cover art for this book is perfect for the story, it’s so homey and warm and lends itself to the feeling the story gives. This book will transport you to a bakery and help remind you of the important parts of life such as relationships and love.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.

Was this review helpful?

I liked the idea of this book. I thought it would be similar to The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, but alas, it was not. I really did not like the jumping back and forth. On a kindle this was super difficult to keep straight and so I tired the physical copy and found the same thing. I felt like there were a lot of moments that could have been in one chapter and that nothing really happened in this book. I did not see the point of the flipping back and forth between the past and present. I got to the end and was just like, 'what?'. It made no sense to me.

Was this review helpful?

The Ingredients of Us by Jennifer Gold is a story that we can all relate to on some level. This was wonderful storytelling by Ms Gold. It brought tears to my eyes and made me laugh out loud! Looking forward to more books from Ms Gold.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Really enjoyed this bittersweet love story loaded with baking recipes to make you drool. This hits just right...not too sappy sweet, but real and believable with a sound ending. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing a digital ARC for review

Was this review helpful?

I decided to not keep reading this title. I loved the recipes within the novel but could not connect with the writing style or plot. Thanks for the free copy!

Was this review helpful?

Jennifer Gold presents a novel framed Through fast-forwards and rewinds, Jennifer Gold introduces us to Elle, a bakery owner and wife, framing Elle’s story around the day her main character learns of her husband’s affair.

Elle is unsure how to move forward and finds herself in cringeworthy situations. Any recipe can go terribly wrong with only one deviation. When the recipe is complete, one missed instruction or ingredient puts the food at risk.

While it’s easy to assume Elle’s dedication to her bakery may have led to her unraveling marriage, Gold unwraps the events leading to and following Elle’s discovery, and readers learn
the couple’s problems are more complicated than they seem.

Throughout the novel, Gold treats the reader to recipes—each a delicious fit around the story. When the timer went off, this reader felt The Ingredients of Us was fulfilling, and sad.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to preview this novel.

Was this review helpful?

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I originally could not get into this book, however, once I received the print copy I had trouble putting the book down. Great descriptions, characters, and plot.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a poignant book with memorable characters and delicious sounding recipes. Elle has discovered that her husband is having an affair and she decides to look back on her marriage to find out what and where it went wrong. I really loved this book and read it in a day. Such a lovely read. I definitely recommend this book.

Was this review helpful?

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

Was this review helpful?

This was a charming book with memorable characters and some delicious sounding recipes. Elle has discovered her husband is having an affair and she looks back on her marriage to find out what went wrong. I really enjoyed this book and read it in an afternoon once I got started. 4 stars.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

What a wonderful debut novel by Jennifer Gold! The story caught my attention from the beginning and her writing flowed beautifully from page to page.

This is the story of Elle and Tom's marriage. Elle owns a bakery shop with her best friend. She has recently discovered her husband of almost nine years has been having an affair. The story is cleverly told through chapters of Before Elle found out and After Elle found out.

We slowly begin to learn about Elle's marriage throughout each of the chapters as well as her love of baking. She always associates certain recipes with certain events in her life. I thought it was brilliant how the baking and recipes were added into the story. I wrote some of them down while reading the book. I will make the Banana Bread first! What a great book to read in lockdown with all the yummy recipes provided!

I enjoyed reading about the evolution of Elle's marriage from good times to eventually not so good times. The ending leaves you with some hope and the belief of a promising new beginning.

Was this review helpful?

Elle works hard at making her bakery successful and dreams of more. Her husband puts a kink in those plans. I loved how the recipes tie in to such meaningful moments of her life.

Was this review helpful?

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2020 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this thought provoking emotional book. Well written with engaging characters. I particularly enjoyed the recipes throughout the book and how they were integral to the story. The ending seems open so I would like to read a sequel to see what happened next.

A perfect book for an afternoon on the sofa.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

Was this review helpful?

It's a sweet little story. Quick and light. It's very clear that this author is passionate about baking. The recipes intermingled in the story are written like food porn lite - and I mean that in a purely positive way. This woman takes pride in her baked goods and the healing properties that making them and eating them bring to the soul. The story of Elle and Tom is a tale as old as time - boy meets girl, they fall in love and get married, things get comfortable and they get complacent. He wanders when he's feeling unloved and unappreciated. She finds out and is conflicted. Will they stay together? Should they go their separate ways? Whose fault is it? It's a time for growth and learning and determining if their happily ever after still includes each other.

Was this review helpful?

I love to bake, so any fiction/non fiction book that even resembles baking, Im reading it. I loved the main character, Elle. She bakes and everything has a recipe based on memories. For example, when she bakes scones it reminds her of her father's death. She then finds out that her husband has been unfaithful and is having a hard time coming up with a recipe. The story is told 6 months before she finds out and 6 weeks after she found out.
The story was so easy to follow and you will immediately fall in love with Elle.

I was given an ARC from Netgalley in return for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

A sweet story with some heavy topics woven in throughout the book. An added bonus are the wonderful recipes that go with Elle's moments in her life. The format is sometimes hard to follow and sometimes takes away the flow of the story but after I got used to it I was no longer bothered by it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A great debut novel for the genre of Women's Fiction and I look forward to more books by Jennifer Gold. I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I liked this story even thought I though Elle was a little unbelievable about finding her husband was having an affair. The chapters are all highlighted with headings of day before Elle finds out Tom is cheating or numbers of days after she finds out. I didn't know if I'd like this format but it worked really well with this book. Elle's a baker and associates major events in her life with a recipe she used at the time. I read an ARC and hope the book has the recipes formatted a little better. Some of them look quite good. I would definitely recommend this for a light read, it doesn't get too heavy into cheating and malice. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Was this review helpful?