Blog Tour – The Recipe for Happiness by Jane Lovering @janelovering @rararesources @BoldwoodBooks #BookReview #BookBlogger #boldwoodbloggers #BlogTour #TheRecipeForHappiness

There are certain authors whose work I simply love, and if you’ve read my introduction post, you’ll be aware that Jane Lovering is definitely one of them. I have followed her writing from the earliest offerings and have genuinely loved them all, but it’s her most recent works that have totally captured my imagination. I haven’t always been a book blogger, but I’ve always been a fan. If you’d like to read some of my earlier reviews, you can follow these links: A Seagull Summer and The Forgotten House on the Moor.

Thanks to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the tour invite and for my advance reading copy, gifted to me via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. You can read my thoughts below.

Synopsis

When Seren’s brother Andrew signs her up to Yorkshire Dating, only for them to recommend that she ‘gets a life’ before they find her a match, Seren has to admit that they may have a point.

She loves her job cooking at an elder day centre and her little flat, but it’s fair to say her life is a little short of hobbies and friends. Since she was young Seren has felt safer close to home, but now she’s a thirty-something divorcee, it’s time for a change.

Change arrives in the shape of alarmingly clever collie Kez, who Seren offers to take in ‘temporarily’, and kind but mysterious new colleague Ned. But as Ned and Kez tempt Seren out of her shell, it means facing her fears. And when Andrew finally reveals the secrets of their childhood, Seren’s need for safety suddenly makes sense.

A problem shared is a problem halved, and with friends by her side, Seren might be able to get a life that she loves at last.

Purchase Link

Review

If there’s one word that I can use to describe Jane’s writing, it would have to be atmospheric. Her books immediately transport me to the fictional world that she has created, and I instantly feel at home. So, this time I found myself at an elder day centre in Pickering, Yorkshire, baking treats for the service users.

The characters at the centre were wonderful, and I loved meeting them and their idiosyncrasies. Our protagonist, Seren, is complicated and that is exactly what I love about Jane’s writing. There are always curve balls to dodge and Seren is a particularly big one. She has no knowledge of the reason why, but she has a fear of travelling on unknown roads to unfamiliar places. This leaves her with a rather small life.

With encouragement from her brother and his partner, she agrees to try online dating but creating her profile leads to issues as it becomes clear that she needs to get a life. Duly tasked, she embarks on a dog training adventure that leads to her temporarily fostering a very clever Collie named Kez.

Of course, this is romantic fiction and there’s the rather mysterious Ned helping out at the centre. Seren cannot understand what his carefully guarded past is hiding, but she knows that she’s drawn to him and maybe even trusts him.

This is another wonderful book from Jane, and I absolutely loved every minute. From the wonderful service users at the day centre to the Dungeons and Dragons rock band, there’s a lot packed into this story. But it’s the humanity that shines through. The gentle blooming of Mimi, the kindness of Ned, and Seren’s brother, Andrew, finding the strength to share with her some family secrets. All told with a careful hand and an abundance of empathy.

Of course, as I have come to expect from Jane’s books, Yorkshire plays out as an additional character. It’s easy to see Jane’s love for her home county and her descriptions left me picturing the sweeping landscapes and beautiful walks. I could almost hear the streams tinkling nearby.

I think this may well be a new favourite book from one of my absolute favourite authors.

Author Bio

Jane Lovering is the bestselling and award-winning romantic comedy writer who won the RNA Contemporary Romance Novel Award in 2023 with A Cottage Full of Secrets. She lives in Yorkshire and has a cat and a bonkers terrier, as well as five children who have now left home.