Book Review and GIVEAWAY: From Scratch, by Rachel Goodman {ends 8/3}

Sighing, I lean my head back and soak up the sun filtering through the overhang of branches, thinking of all the times Nick patched me up when I was hurt. Even now, the faded scars and slight imperfections covering my body tell secret stories of all the knife cuts he bandaged, the oven burns he soothed, the sore backs and throbbing feet he massaged after grueling diner shifts. 

But then, he's also the one who shattered my heart into so many pieces it shocked my soul into silence.

This book definitely reminded me of the movie Waitress, minus the crazy husband, in that it follows a cook-turned-lawyer as she returns back to Dallas to care for her aging father, who has an operation scheduled soon. Lillie escaped to Chicago a few years back, and now has a new job (lawyer), new life, and new fiancee ... but that might change once she runs into her old love and former fiancee, Nick.

Official synopsis:

A down-home, feel-good debut Southern romance, From Scratch explores one woman’s journey back home to Dallas, Texas, where her family is cooking up a plan that doesn’t quite suit her tastes…

Thirty-year-old Lillie Turner grew up with maple syrup stuck to her skin and bacon grease splattered on her clothes, courtesy of working in the family diner. Thank goodness she escaped all that when she moved to Chicago five years ago. Now a successful strategy consultant and newly engaged to a man who complements her like biscuits and gravy, she has everything she wants.

When an urgent phone call about her father’s health pulls Lillie back to Dallas, she soon learns it was a ruse to bring her home so she can run the diner she’d rather avoid and compete in the Upper Crust, an annual baking competition, with no option to withdraw. Lillie is furious and ready to run back to Chicago, but her father’s haggard appearance makes her wonder if he’s hiding something. Things go from bad to worse when Nick, her handsome ex and the only man she ever truly loved, reappears, looking as scrumptious as ever.

Lillie’s trip home forces her to question the path she’s chosen, find her place in the family she abandoned, and wonder if the life she left behind is what she wants after all.

This book ended up making me hungry for most of it, since Lillie is constantly describing her own creations plus the food they serve at her father's diner, which he now wants her to come home to run and manage.

From Scratch is a different sort of novel in that the main character (Lillie) is now engaged to someone else. She has fond memories of her previous fiance, Nick, with whom she grew up with too, but a few years ago, she fled to Chicago because he wasn't himself anymore; training to be a doctor made him angry and cranky, pretty much. She's now engaged to Drew, a man she met in Chicago and has been dating for about two years, but when she sees Nick, her old feelings resurface.

Lillie is also dealing with her father's declining health and the fact that he wants her to compete (and win, of course) the Upper Crust, a baking contest held by the Junior League of Dallas.

This was a fun and quick read. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for "chick lit," although it's a little bit more than that, or those who enjoy baking and/or reading about baking and delicious recipes.

4 stars out of 5.

{Click here to purchase}
{and IMO, at only $1.99, a great deal for an e-book}

*Disclosure: I received an e-copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

Click here to check out a few more excerpts from the book, posted on PopSugar this week.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win an e-book copy of From Scratch!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Monday, August 3rd, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified the next day via email and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

Open to U.S. and international since this is an ebook!

Good luck!

From Scratch