The Parisian Christmas Bake Off

Welcome to the most celebrated patisserie competition in Paris – ready, steady, bake!

Watching snowflakes settle on the Eiffel Tower, Rachel Smithson’s cosy English village feels very far way – as, thankfully, does her commitment-phobic ex, probably already kissing someone else under the mistletoe. But Rachel hasn’t come to Paris to mope she’s come to bake. Hard.

Because the search for Paris’s next patisserie apprentice is about to begin! And super-chef judge Henri Salernes is an infamously tough cookie. But Rachel isn’t about to let her confidence (or pastry) crumble. She’s got one week, mounds of melt-in-the-mouth macaroons and towers of perfect profiteroles to prove that she really is a star baker.

As well as clouds of flour, and wafts of chocolate and cinnamon, there’s definitely a touch of Christmas magic in the air… Rachel hasn’t come to Paris looking for a fairy-tale romance, but the city of love might gift-wrap her one anyway…

Not even a dusting of icing sugar could make The Parisian Christmas Bake-Off a more perfect Christmas treat!

My opinion: I really liked the look of this book. What's not to like about Christmas, Paris and baking?!

Rachel is a primary school teacher who has a real talent for baking, but due to the memories it evokes, she has kept the talent, and her past, buried away. When her friends arrange for her to join an exclusive competition in Paris to win an apprenticeship with a top pastry chef, she not only had to let her talent shine through, but also face her past.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a mix of cake, Paris, romance and coming to terms with things that are in the past, and it worked so well. It was well paced, well written and had some great characters. I'll definitely read more of Jenny's books and I hope she writes more about Rachel's life after returning to the UK.

I'd definitely recommend this book as a great Christmas read that will leave you feeling warm inside, and also very hungry!

My rating: A fab four stars

I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review