Bella's Christmas Bake Off - Sue Watson

I owe all of you a Christmas book for last week, so here it is! This time friendship is the theme and Bella's show is the game. I'm in the mood to bake Christmas cookies and cakes just from reading this one. Let me know if you enjoy this laugh out loud book from Sue Watson.

Rating: 4 stars
Published: October 2015
Many thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Amazon Goodreads

Amy's husband has left her, her kids have plans for the holidays, and her old best friend is taunting her from her television show. Bella's baking show is a huge hit and one day when Amy hears Bella using her mom's recipes she knows she has to do something. After years of not speaking, Amy is entering for Bella's Christmas Bake Off and she's not backing down.

I can't giveaway more in my summary, because the synopsis for the book tells you so much and I want this to surprise readers! I really liked Amy, sure she's going through a terrible part of her life and has some more than embarrassing moments, but she's strong, driven, and totally hilarious. I loved watching her call out Bella, standing up for herself for the first time ever. She's the kind of character who makes you both laugh and want to give her a big hug all at the same time. She's more kind than she is vicious, thinking of what is right always. Plus, her cooking sounded delicious, like a true passion. Bella, Amy's polar opposite, is the kind of rich I would never want to be. I wanted to hate her at times, but I knew there was more to her story and as Sue Watson revealed it all my heart just broke. There's a past story here that makes the Christmas spirit come to life as the girls finally talk about it all and lean on each other when they hadn't done so in a long time. Their arguments are hilarious, as seen on the TV show, but also show they really had a lot of feelings they'd been keeping in. The story of friendship is the one that means the most in this book and I love that this wasn't just another Christmas romance book. It's got a bit of it, sure, but it also has character growth, self discovery, and an incredibly meaningful message.

There is a lot of filler material, I skipped through some of it at first, but pushed myself to go back and really finish reading it. Sue Watson is an incredible writer, the kind that brings a scene to life to the point that you can taste the food, but that takes a lot of words. There's also a lot of personal thoughts from Amy that take a lot of pages up, but help you understand who the characters were and have come to be. Some of the scenarios are really cheesy and silly, especially for two adult women, but they bring the characters together and it ends up working out in this book's favor.

I really enjoyed this book and wanted to start decorating my house right away, instead I am going to use the feeling to make my Thanksgiving dinner fantastic. Honestly, if you're looking for a Holiday book with a true friendship and without the romance, look no further than Bella's Christmas Bake Off.