Bella's Christmas Bake Off - by Sue Watson

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Two best friends. One big lie. The best bake off EVER. Bella Bradley is the queen of television baking - a national treasure. Her Christmas specials have been topping the ratings for years and her marriage to Peter 'Silver Fox' Bradley is the stuff of Hello magazine specials. But this year things are going to be different. For Amy Lane, Bella's best friend from school, life hasn't held quite the same sparkle. And when Amy's husband walks out three weeks from Christmas, it seems their lives are further apart than ever. Amy has watched Bella's rise to fame fondly, despite the fact Bella was always a terrible cook. But when she realises that Bella's latest Christmas book is made up entirely of Amy's mother's recipes, the gloves are off... After winning a competition to appear on Bella's TV show, Amy is going to make sure that for Bella and her viewers, this will definitely be a Christmas to remember... A hilarious, heart-breaking and feel good read about best friends, baking and the magic of Christmas. 

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The story follows Amy, who is alone now, without husband, just before Christmas, he cheated on her. It's hard for her to cope with the situation and then there is Bella's Christmas Bake Off, with Bella, the big star, taking credit for Amy's mum's recipes.

Bella and Amy are old friends, but they lost touch and now Amy sees a chance to contact Bella through her TV show. The two women end up meeting each other and get to talk a lot. At first the atmosphere is icy and cold. Amy blaming Bella and Bella defending herself. Only after a while their old friendship shines through and both women seem to change.

I have to be honest here, it took me quite a while to get into the story, I only started enjoying at more after half the book. Somehow I found it hard to relate to Bella or Amy and their behavior and actions sometimes just didn't make scene at all. 

Spending time together meant for both women to reflect their lives, think about the past and opening up about everything that happened. Quiet a few secrets are revealed and they both learned a lot. I liked the women they developed into and towards the ending there were some very cute and adorable scenes. 

So all in all, I think it's a great story that is written beautifully. I love the idea behind it. 

Rating:

My possible cast:

Amy: Tina Fey

Bella: Amy Poehler

Sue on Twitter: @suewatsonwriter
Website: http://www.suewatsonbooks.com
Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

This review marks the end of #SkysChristmasCorner. Thanks for joining me and Merry Christmas!!!