Mrs Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford

 Jenny Quinn is 77 years old and a great fan of the Britain Bakes TV show.  She is, herself an accomplished baker, and so decides to apply to be on the show. She has been a stay-home wife of Bernard for almost 60 years, and is embarrassed to tell him that she has applied.  Instead she makes excuses for trying out new and ever more complex recipes.  As her journey toward fame goes forward, the old family recipes she bakes bring up memories of a single devastating mistake from her past. Will her success in the kitchen give her the courage to face the bitterness of the past?

A friend recommended this to me and I really enjoyed it.  After all the shallow, self-centered characters of the previous book, the deep rich relationships in this one are as sweet and Jenny's treacle tarts. The writing is lovely, and Bernard is the most unlikely but likeable of all love interests.  I also enjoyed the "behind the scenes" view of being in a televised baking show.  I wonder if the author was allowed to visit and research what it is like to be on the British Baking Show (for that it what it was) or if she just has a very vivid imagination. The book was very sweet and poignant, but also delightful. I will be recommending this one to a lot of friends who like clean reads. (284 p. 2024)