It’s such a pleasure today to be helping launch the blog tour for the latest book from Jane Lovering, The Recipe for Happiness, and sharing my publication day review. Published today (9th June) by Boldwood Books, it’s now available as an ebook (just 99p, or free via Kindle Unlimited), as an audiobook, and also in paperback. My thanks, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading copy (provided via netgalley).
I was delighted to start this reading year with Jane’s There’s No Place Like Home (you’ll find my review here) – life under canvas on the Yorkshire Moors in the depths of winter, in pursuit of a giant black cat that might or might not exist, with its cast of characters I really cared for, life’s issues and complications, tears and laughter. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Jane’s writing? Mmm, I think I just might have – pop her name into my search bar on the right, you’ll find reviews going back quite a few years now. The only problem she causes me every year is deciding which of her books to include on my Books of the Year lists – for 2022 it was with A Cottage Full of Secrets (published last February, just 99p at the moment or free via Kindle Unlimited – you’ll find my review here), but it could equally easily been The Forgotten House on the Moor (review here). I really look forward to her every new book – and she never keeps me waiting too long…
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.
Seren’s brother is concerned about how small her world has become – not quite agoraphobic, but desperately uncomfortable when forced outside her daily routine working as a cook at Pickering’s daycare centre for the elderly and the small flat that comes with the job, she’s exhausted the possibilities of on-line dating (even they’ve suggested she should get a life, with just TV and reading making it impossible to find her a match). And that’s how she finds herself distinctly out of her comfort zone, at Dungeons and Dragons evenings with a large group of hairy and tattooed bikers, then committed to helping out her brother’s dog trainer friend. That’s how Kez comes into her life – an abandoned border collie who needs a temporary home, and who she keeps hidden (as much as she possibly can – Kez sometimes makes that difficult…) from “the management” at the centre.
And a dog, of course, as well as being great company and someone to care for, needs exercise and time outdoors – and she’s helped with that by her lovely co-worker Ned, who begins to show possibilities of becoming rather more than a friend. But he’s a bit of a mystery too – working as a handyman when he’s clearly capable of more, she thinks he might be homeless and sleeping in his car, perhaps even recently released from prison. His full story slowly emerges – as does Seren’s – along with the reasons that they’re both such damaged people, finding the support they need in each other. And they really do need to pull together as the centre is threatened with closure – it’s a lifeline for the individuals who spend their days there, and the open day that’s increasingly looking to be a washout might be their last chance to save it.
I just adored this book – the two individuals at its centre who entirely won my heart (and, of course, the lovely Kez), but also the wider cast of wonderfully drawn characters. There’s plenty of humour, both gentle and laugh-out-loud – the author has a style that’s entirely her own, that I unfailingly love – but the more emotional content is just perfect too, the whole book infused with warmth and filled with love. I so enjoyed the interactions at the day centre, the way she drew the individuals so superbly, the sadness that many of them were dumped there by their families or left to be collected like unwanted parcels – the story of Mimi, uncommunicative and rigid in her chair near the garden, particularly tugged at the heartstrings and was just beautifully handled. The Yorkshire setting is, of course, as perfectly drawn as ever – and there are recipes in this one too, written by Seren, filled with her quirky asides and observations, and never containing nuts or anything remotely exotic that the folk at the day centre would find entirely unacceptable.
This was another wonderful read from an author who never disappoints – and yes, you’ve guessed it, it might just be my new favourite. Go on, add it to your reading list – you’re going to love it too!
About the author
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.
Twitter | Facebook | Bookbub | Newsletter sign up
