★★★★★
A fast read that talks about family, love, grief and finding reasons to be happy!
Rachel’s Pudding Pantry is a story about Rachel, who is a farmer in the modern world, living with her mum Jill and her little daughter Maisy. Rachel and her family has been dealing with a lot of grief in the last couple of years, and are struggling financially to keep the farm running.
The one thing that glues this family together, and keeps them happy is the baking and the making of lovely sweet puddings. They bake all day, especially grandma Jill, and they are the perfect example of what a family should look like – full with joy, love and laughter.
I loved the personality Rachel has;
She always puts her family in the first place, cares about her daughter and mum so much. Everything she is doing, she is doing for them, and she is always positive minded. It was such a refreshing moment for me to find such character.
Rachel and her mum are dealing with grief, losing a person in their family that meant a lot to them. This moment of sadness can be felt throughout the book, and I loved it. It shows that grief is a constant battle – it is not easy to lose someone you love, and you don’t get over it very easily. Years could pass, and you will still have the emptiness in your heart. I felt this on my skin, when I lost my grandfather in January. Even after three months, I still think of him every single day, and hope that he is looking over me and is proud of who I have become.
I was also very positively pleased with the other supportive characters surrounding Rachel’s story. Tom was the perfect neighbour – the one you always call for help and will always help you when you need him. He is always caring and trustworthy, and sometimes, I felt awkward when Rachel always came to him for help. Knowing myself, I would be so embarrassed to keep asking for help.
Then we have her best-friend Eve. She was my superhero, and a friend anyone would wish for. She was always supportive, always there for Rachel with her never-ending love. It is a priceless relationship these two ladies have, and I couldn’t help but be a massive fan of them.
The only thing that kept bothering me throughout the book, and is not that big of a deal anyways, was the fact that despite their financial struggles, Jill kept baking for like thirty people every single day (this is before they started the new business). If that was me, I wouldn’t bake that often. I guess it was a fact that just stuck with me for a while.
Even though it is not my usual read, I honestly really enjoyed this book. I am seriously considering giving this genre more time, and reading more books similar to this.
It was a quick, pleasurable read. It always made me feel happy and content, and eager to go in the kitchen and bake some sweets. Because I am a lazy one, I just bought sweets and ate them instead. Tell you what – that also works quite fine!
Thank you to LoveReading UK, Caroline Roberts and HarperCollins Publishers for giving me an early copy in exchange for this review. All my opinions are my own.
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