From debut author Jennifer Gold comes a delicious novel about the sweet and sour ingredients of life and love.Elle, an accomplished baker, has a recipe for every event in her life. But when she discovers her husband’s infidelity, she doesn’t know what to make of it. Jam, maybe? Definitely jam.Fed up with the stale crumbs of her marriage, Elle revisits past recipes and the events that inspired … events that inspired them. A recipe for scones reminds her of her father’s death, cinnamon rolls signify the problematic courtship with her husband, and a batch of chocolate cookies casts Elle in a less-than-flattering light. Looking back, Elle soon realizes that some ingredients were missing all along.
After confronting her husband, Elle indulges her sweet tooth in other ways, including a rebound that just leaves her more confused. As secrets from the past collide with the conflicts of the present, Elle struggles to manage her bakery business and maintain the relationships most important to her. In piecing her life back together, will Elle learn to take the bitter with the sweet?
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This is a cookbook/love story with humor,tears, friendship and fears and oh so many wonderful recipes to make, all rolled and cooked into one delicious novel.
Elle is a bakery owner. This has always been a dream come true.
When she and her husband split up, how will Elle move forward? This was not part of her plan.
Elle’s creations in the kitchen depend on her moods:
Sweet vs sour, good memories vs bad memories all create different delectable goods.
This is an interesting debut story told from past dates and then back to present times.
Looking forward to see what is next for author Jennifer Gold.
Just as Elle’s bakery is starting to grow her marriage begins to crumble. After discovering her husband is having an affair Elle takes a deep look into her life and marriage. Baking thru her emotions is how she heals herself but has her passion for it also been the downfall of her marriage? Through self reflection, memories and and a overflowing binder of her personal recipes, Elle must face the possibilities that her marriage is over and begin a future she hadn’t imagined for herself. Jennifer Gold does a wonderful job of showing the reality, complications and vulnerability of relationships in marriage, friendship and family. This was such a great book! I loved how intimate and real it felt. The story was honest and genuine and her recipes sound amazing! ! I especially enjoyed the ending and can’t wait to try the recipes! The Ingredients Of Us is the perfect blend of hope and despair with a dash of wisdom infused thru delicious recipes!
This book will definitely give you the feels. You’ll have some preconceived notions about how you feel and then Jennifer Gold takes you on a journey of the ins and outs and ups and downs of life, specifically the relationship between Elle and Tom, and those notions are blown away.
Then there are the recipes! I love the way they are written and would definitely buy Elle’s cookbook.
I highly recommend this read!
Overall, great read! It was hard to keep up with at first when bouncing back and forth between years, but once I got a few chapters in, it was easy to decipher where you were if you stopped in the middle of a chapter (like I often have to do). I loved the story line, it was very realistic and relatable to anyone who has had to go through what Elle, the main character, went through. Love, happiness, shock, heartbreak, Lonnie’s, self-doubt, anger, and self-assurance, and forgiveness wrapped up in one book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Jennifer Gold’s debut and I adored it! Two parts sweet and one part sentimental, this engaging story of a young woman and her journey towards self-discovery is a delight! And who doesn’t love a book with mouth-watering baking recipes sprinkled throughout? Yum!
I love a book that isn’t afraid to have a flawed heroine. Elle owns a successful bakery, but her personal life is a mess. The book jumps back and forth between the early years of her relationship with her husband and the time following a major turning point in their relationship. The time shifts allow the reader to see that Elle initially holds herself blameless in how things have worked out, when in fact, there is a lot more to the problem than she realizes. The author uses the secondary characters well, as their interactions with Elle also add to her self-discovery. I like the use of the recipes as Elle’s inner monologues and look forward to trying some of the treats out myself. Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and the author for a digital advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The story of Elle and Tom, their marriage and lives before and after their marriage pulled me in right away and made me want to know more about them. I eagerly read chapter after chapter of their lives, before Elle knew, after Elle knew and way before she knew.
Her steadfast friend, employee and co-owner Bonnie and her husband Charlie were just as important to the story and easily as likable as Elle and Tom. I loved this story and waited impatiently, wondering how things would turn out.
Did I say I waited impatiently? Well, true, but when I wasn’t waiting, I was longing to have a friend that was a baker who would make me all of the delicious sounding recipes in this book! My baker friend never showed up though and I think this author should supply one because damn, these recipes? AMAZING.
The entire book is wrapped up in wonderfully descriptive prose interspersed with those drool-worthy recipes and soon I found myself wanting to know more about Elle and Tom, but wait! Then I wanted more recipes to sigh over. Gosh dang it! Talk about a conundrum. Finish the book or bake? I’m not a baker so I opted to finish without the deliciously enticing treats described within, but I am having cheesecake today, sort of as a consolation prize.
I greatly appreciate having been approved for an ARC at my request. Thanks to the author, Ms. Gold, the publisher Lake Union and Netgalley. My thoughts in this hungry-making review are my own, but suffice it to say that I will be lining up for Ms. Gold’s next book and I have already pre-purchased this book as a gift for a friend who loves to bake.
Well written story about what happens when people in a marriage (or really any relationship) stop speaking to each other. This is a somewhat realistic look into a marriage, but for me I didn’t really like any of the characters in the book enough to really care. He was an immature child and acted out in a way that was awful and so hurtful and inappropriate and she was oblivious and needed to grow a spine and some self respect. The narration was enjoyable and did lend to the story.
Torn on how I feel. I prefer strong female characters and Elle was a little too self centered for me. But I still kept reading and it made me do a lot of thinking. Overall it was a good book and I’d say between 3 and 4 stars.
This book breaks all my rules. First of all it’s told in present tense–not my favorite. BUT … I stopped noticing at the second sentence, so skillfully was it done. Second, I am a linear thinker and like my books going from A to B to C, not jumping all around like this one does. BUT … the story was so compelling it ceased to matter about three chapters in. I just wanted to know what happened!!!
And the ending? I won’t spoil it even though it broke another rule. BUT … it was such a complete, natural, and satisfying ending that it didn’t matter.
If you have rules like I do, sometimes it’s a good idea to try something new. This book is a great place to begin.
This was a great story of how some marriages fall apart,as years & lifetyles change with our careers.Sometimes care & attention can help.You never know.
A wonderful book all together
cute! love the recipes.
Read it in a day.
I listened to this on Audible with Kindle Unlimited and the narration was perfect! Took me awhile to get used to the back and forth, but once I settled in, it was easy to follow. Interesting spin on a broken marriage. I think my favorite part was towards the end when they finally let those feelings out. If you like sweets, great baking recipes throughout the book.
I have a problem with books that skip around in time. Just me someone else may enjoy it.
The Ingredients of Us is a one of a kind novel that mixes womans fiction and a cookbook to create a unique story.
In this novel you are brought into the lives of Elle and Tom, a couple whose marriage is crumbling right before their eyes. Will they be able to find the recipe for love, or is it too late?
I have to say I enjoyed this style of book and found the recipes sounded delectable, and I will definately be trying a few. However, I personally struggled with the timeline that jumps around throughout the whole book.
Thank you to Netgalley, Lake Union and Ms. Gold for allowing me the opportunity to provide my honest opinion of this debut novel
I really enjoyed this book! I read it in one night, it was hard to put down! The recipes all sound good too. Definitely add to your list!
Elle owns a successful bakery, but her marriage is on the rocks after she discovers husband, Tom, has been cheating on her. The story alternates between before and after the affair so that the reader gets a taste of how Elle and Tom met and what their relationship was like before the split. Will they be able to reconcile? Just like a recipe, how will their lives need to be adjusted so they can both achieve the desired results?
“Here’s something life doesn’t give you: a recipe. You have to make it up as you go along, adjusting accordingly.”
First of all, this cover, you guys! It makes me want to eat CAKE. Secondly, the whimsical, fun writing drew me in from the very first pages. I am always a sucker for food references in books and the metaphors and similes made me happy. Take this one for instance:
“As if you yourself were a lemon, let your bitterness pour into this recipe–the more the better. In this case, life’s lemons yield sweet lemon curd.”
Third, the way the author described grief as sometimes hitting out of nowhere was absolutely SPOT ON. Overall, this was a very sweet, promising debut, and it makes my mouth water for more by this author!
“There’s satisfaction in knowing someone so well… Like a recipe by heart… So familiar that it feels a part of her … Each knead like an argument, each release a kiss, until something has been made out of practically nothing, a string of separate of ingredients mixed together like a courtship until they make a whole, grown stronger by each trial.”
Location: Seattle, Washington
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews ‘The Ingredients of Us” by Jennifer Gold, Lake Union Publishing, July 1, 2019
Jennifer Gold, Author of “The Ingredients of Us” has written a delicious, delightful, entertaining, and emotional novel. In addition to the novel are the most amazing recipes for desserts of all kinds. The Genres for this novel are Domestic Fiction, Women’s Fiction, and Fiction. The timeline of the story is in the present and goes back nine years when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her characters as flawed, complex and complicated.
Ellie is a successful partner in a bakery and can figure out almost any recipe and what ingredients can be used to make it foolproof. Ellie lovingly mixes her ingredients and makes and bakes the most wonderful creations. Ellie can bake almost anything to go with any situation. She is stumped when she accidentally finds out her husband Tom has been cheating. Clearly, Ellie doesn’t have a recipe that will be an easy fix for her heartbreak.
Ellie does look back to see what clues or ingredients have been missing from the relationship. I love that the author actually has the most tantalizing recipes for the reader. I also appreciate that Jennifer Gold discusses the importance of family, friends, emotional support, and communication. If something happens to a special dessert, it can be made again sometimes, under the proper circumstances.
This is an emotional and entertaining story that I would highly recommend, Just be sure to have some Kleenex handy.