Book Review: Too Many Cooks by Dana Bate

The lovely people at Netgalley and The Little Brown Book Group UK have let me read a proof ebook copy of Too Many Cooks by Dana Bate. It combines two of my favourite things, reading and cooking. Prepare to never look at a cookbook in the same way again!
                

Book Description

Kelly Madigan seems to have it all: a fabulous boyfriend, a supportive – if eccentric – family, and a flourishing career as a cookbook ghostwriter. But after finding a letter from her recently-deceased mother, criticising her stable but unexciting life, Kelly knows she needs to make a change. When a mysterious new writing opportunity in London presents itself, she jumps at the chance to get away from it all. 

Enter Natasha Spencer – Oscar-winning actress and health nut, not to mention a total nightmare. She’s working on a new cookbook and has asked for Kelly’s help. What Kelly didn’t factor in was meeting Natasha’s dishy MP husband, Hugh Ballantine.
I absolutely loved reading this book, it tingled my taste buds and made me drool with all the lovely recipes especially the banana bread one. Some of which the author has included at the back of the book as an extra little snippet which is fab!
Before I read this book, I never realised what hard work goes into being a cookbook ghostwriter. The main character Kelly has to redo the same recipe over and over again for Natasha Spencer her boss day after day to get the recipe correct. As a reader this gave me sympathy for Kelly and made me dislike the character of Natasha from the start, who gave Kelly very little information to go on, yet expected food miracles from her. Although I don’t condone the actions of Kelly with Natasha’s husband Hugh. There was a little bit of me that was rooting for them in this twisted affair. 
The only thing I would change about this great read is that I would loved to have seen Kelly’s dad included more into the story line. He is such a funny character and we don’t hear too much about him and his eccentric ways. 
A perfect light-hearted, funny romantic read for the summer, very enjoyable.
I have given Too Many Cooks by Dana Bate 4 out of 5 stars.
Publication date 4th June 2015 by Little Brown Book Group UK
Rachel xx

Disclaimer: I received this ebook free of charge in exchange for a honest review. All views and opinions expressed are my own. Book cover image and book description taken from Netgalley.com for purpose of this review only.

Monthly Wins: March

As we are now into April I would like to share with you my complete list of competition wins for March. It has been a very successful month on the win side for books, 13 in fact! That is a record number of books in one month for me! I am very grateful for each and every single win that I receive. 
Every comper has a list of what they would like to win and I’ll share mine with you in a future post, but for now here is the complete list of March wins.
  1. Gillette Venus Snap razor
  2. Book – The Traitors Mark 
  3. Heinz Tomato Seeds
  4. 30p Ace voucher
  5. Book – The Great Zoo of China
  6. Book – A Crown for Cold Silver
  7. Book – Natchez Burning
  8. Book – The Lament of Sky
  9. Wagg Dog Food Treats
  10. Book – Black Star Black Sun
  11. Book – After the Crash
  12. FRijj Friday Vouchers
  13. National Trust Family Pass
  14. Atomicatron Toy Figure
  15. Hedrin Protect and Go Conditioning Spray
  16. Cookbook – Raw
  17. Box of Praline Chocolates
  18. Budweiser Mini Football
  19. Books – Wolf Wolf and A Life in Writing
  20. Book – The Serpent of Venice
  21. Book – Urban Legends
  22. Book – The Writings on the Wall
  23. Mr Kipling’s Easter Hoppy Pack
  24. Book – Patalosh: The Time Travellers    

24 wins in a month is amazing and I’m very thankful! I have lots of books to read and review now! Here is to a just as successful April!
I would love to know what are your most favourite competition wins, or if you are not a comper would you ever consider start entering competitions?
Rachel xx

Brilliant blog posts on HonestMum.com

This Weeks Collection of Wins!

As you all know all my ‘wins’ get sent to my parents house for delivery due to me never being at home. This is what my mum has collected for me this week!
My #FreebieFriday win was with FRijj on Twitter and they sent me 5 vouchers for free bottles of their milkshake which I absolutely love, especially the Fudge Brownie one! The Hedrin Protect & Go conditioning spray I won through the lovely whatkatysaid blog competition, and this will go to my sister for my nephew. I think it will be perfect for when he starts school in September!
I received the lovely cookbook through a Twitter win with Gill & Macmillan Books, it is also signed by the author which I always think makes it such a lovely touch. Cookbooks in my house always come in handy, so another perfect win.
The book in the photo Natchez Burning is from a Goodreads first read competition that i won on the 6th March. It’s nearly 900 pages long so is gonna take me awhile to read, but looks to be a fantastic thriller by the exciting cover, recommendation by my favourite author Stephen King and the exciting description on the back.
In my very first post, I mentioned that I won a watch from Breo, well it finally arrived after me having to chase them after I never received it when they said it was sent! It is a very gorgeous watch with a silicone strap and Swarovski Elements in the dial. Well worth the wait! I don’t normally wear watches during the day as my job does not permit watches to be worn, so I am going to save it for a going out watch.
Rachel xx