Life’s not always a piece of cake…
Meet Lucy, master wedding cake baker, idealistic school canteen crusader, and someone whose broken heart just won’t seem to mend

Lucy is quietly confident that she has made the right choices in life. Surrounded by friends and family in a small country town, Lucy can easily suppress the feeling that something is missing from her life.

But when a blast from the past arrives in the form of her estranged husband, international celebrity chef Oliver Murray, Lucy’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble beneath her like overbaked meringue.

Is Oliver’s return all business or is it motivated by something more?

A Recipe for Disaster starts long after most love stories would have ended, proving it is never too late to offer someone a second slice of cake or a second chance.

The  will they, wont they story about Oliver and Lucy's relationship, and whether they can learn to work together or whether everything will end up in divorce keeps you reading to the end, whilst optimistically hoping for a happy ending. The story is just like in real life, the characters are making a right mess at things until everything gets eventually sorted out.

This is a great debut novel from the author and I would be interested in reading more in the future.

For Lucy and Oliver, friendship came first, followed by romance and what appeared to be a good marriage and shared reams. Until opportunity arose, Oliver became a celebrity in his field and moved away from home. Leaving Lucy behind, and as with many celebrities, not mentioning the existence of a wife. All of this happens before the book begins.
This story starts when Oliver returns, continuing to pursue HIS dreams as well as some of their shared dreams. He just isn't as upfront and communicative as he should be about it. He means well, but he doesn't go about it the best way. What he also wants is to get their marriage back on track.
Lucy has been getting by, but she still has dreams. Does she want Oliver back? Can they work together towards old dreams? Only time will tell.
All around her, people she cares about are also going through crises of marriage. Her parents, who are very different from each other seem to have made life and marriage work, but others, who seemed to be headed in the right direction, are now floundering. How can one tell what will work or when to call it quits?

While there is conflict and a question of will they or won't they make it, it is a very mild conflict.
I was rooting for them as a couple and as business partners, but I was equally concerned for Lucy's brother's chances as a single parent and best friend Zoe's marriage woes and unpredictable future.
I would have liked to have been more attached to the main couple and unsure of their outcome.
It did not come quickly, but I knew how it would end. 

I guess I just wanted more consequences and impact and to see more character growth.

I loved this sweet light-hearted romance. Perfect summer holiday read!

The story is a simple tale of two people, perfect for each other, torn apart by life circumstances.

It is a perfect read on the beach, or travelling or even just sitting in the garden! Easy to pick up and read a few pages and then go off and do whatever needs doing, to return later and pick up where you left off. The story is fun and easy going and has you thinking “will they, won’t they” all the way through….

I have a sweet tooth and reading all about Lucy's cakes (and icing) was not good for my diet - but ohhh I do love a sweet romance!

I have not read Belinda Missen previously but I do like her style and will have her on my reading list going forward. This is Belinda Missen’s first book (of a six book deal) with HQDigital UK (HarperCollins) and I am eagerly awaiting the next release!

This book starts very differently to most. You see Lucy and Oliver have already been married to each other and then separated. Oliver moved away to a whole new country the other side of the world and Lucy had to learn how to be single again. How to cope alone again. How to move forward. And she did. Lucy has created a new life for herself and has achieved a certain amount of peace of mind. But then Oliver returns. And he’s a big celebrity chef now. And Lucy’s felling become all tipsy turvy. Again
The author has shown us humanity with all its flaws, all its chaos and all its mistakes. And that’s what makes this book so enjoyable. You will recognise elements of yourself and your family and friends in these pages....

Lucy used to love baking, making masterpieces was her passion, then she married Oliver (Ol) everything changed.. They had gone to college together, Oliver decided he wanted more with his profession, asking Lucy to follow him to France.... They ended up separating because of this..... Fast forward several years and Lucy is at a family wedding, there is a surprise guest, this is where the fun and heartbreak begins.  I absolutely loved this story, I had never read a book by Belinda Missen before, but, rest assured I will be reading more! Absolute must read

I loved this story. Good pace to the book. Really fell for the characters. Easy to read but kept you guessing what would happen next

I really enjoyed this book immensely and read it in 2 sittings.
Lucy and Oliver meet on a catering course while very young. Both have ambitions about what they would like to achieve and they fall in love and marry young.
Oliver's ambition is fuelled by an opportunity to work in Europe, where he becomes a famous celebrity chef. Lucy refuses to go and so their relationship disintegrates.
Whilst Oliver's fortunes are on the ascendant, Lucy is left in unfulfilling work and a bad relationship just to make ends meet.
Enter Oliver: he is catering at a wedding and Lucy has been drafted in as an emergency to bake a wedding cake.
This is a book of twists and turns and will they-won't they renew their relationship with mature understanding.
It features a cast of believable characters who all have their own points of view.
I loved it and would highly recommend this.

This was a nice little story but it just didn’t grip me. I found it very hard to persevere to the end.

A sweet book that gave an insight into a setting that I love but don’t know very well - the outskirts of Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. 

Lucy and Oliver are an estranged couple who haven’t seen each other for three years. Oliver waltzes back into Lucy’s life as a successful chef whilst she’s down on her luck and serving school lunches.

What follows is a bit of dance round your handbags and will they won’t they get back together, interspersed with insights into running a restaurant and a cake making business.

Whilst it’s not the deepest or most character-driven book I’ll read this year, it’s another perspective on relationships and how to be supportive of each other.   Overall, the descriptions of the scenery and the cheffy aspects were better than those of the relationship dynamics .

3.5*

This was a light read that was perfect for a recent vacation I took. I generally liked the characters, but the story itself was just okay. I feel like this needed tighter editing because  it dragged once Lucy made a specific decision regarding Oliver. It happens pretty early in the book so the story becomes somewhat moot. Also, this is about Lucy's journey, however, her journey seems to center around her relationship with Oliver so it becomes stagnant mid-way through the book. All in all, this was just an okay read for me.

**Many thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion of this book.**

Rating 3.5 stars

I don't know exactly how I feel about this book, but there is definitely a lot of missed potential. The author handles the ups and downs of life realistically and tries to explore the consequences of that. It's great at times and randomly dropped as sometimes things are wrapped up without being explained or dealt with.

<spoiler> A few things that were point of contention for me: - Oliver (the male lead) abandons Lucy (his wife) for years to become successful then comes back with a pretentious attitude, apologising with words not actions. He gives his wife a job then continues to undermine her or not give her credit. But Lucy is the one apologising at the end.
Also her best friend who has been extremely supportive throughout the whole book suddenly at the end randomly goes on a hate rampage. It didn't make any sense. 
Her mother cares more about her son in law than her daughter, even after he left her, which in my opinion, is just wrong. </spoiler>

While I have my issues with the characters, I have to say Belinda Missen, does a great job of world building and the plot concept is interesting. I often found myself wondering about random side characters and their story.

End all, be all, Ms Missen has a lot of potential a. D I'd definitely be interested in reading more of her work in the future.

My review has been posted to Goodreads. 

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)

Second chance romance.
Lucy and Oliver split up when he went to Paris to set up a restaurant and boost his career. She chose not to go with him. But now he is back in town setting up the business that was always their dream to run together. They are still in love with each other but just need to get past all the issues that led to them splitting up in the first place.

Recipe for disaster is the witty love story of college sweethearts Lucy and Oliver pulled apart by career choices and ambition.

Just like in real life, the characters are making a right mess at things until everything get eventually sorted out.

Clashes of big personalities, misunderstandings and cake mix are at the core of this bittersweet romance who kept me entertained till the very last page.

I think Missen did a great job at showing the chaotic whirlpool that is real life, with characters that are flown, selfish and riddled with doubts just as you would expect them to be.

I really enjoyed this novel, and I wish it came with a slice of Lucy’s fabulous cake, looking forward to read more from this promising author.

The premise of this was ok but the characters were just terrible. Just couldn't get past the immaturity of Lucy, the idiocy of Oliver and the whininess of Zoe. 

Lucy basically lets Oliver walk all over her, treat her like crap, and then is happy about it because hey he came back to her so of course he loves her. 

This book was just not for me I guess.

Lucy and Oliver are married but have been separated for three years until he suddenly returns to her life in a big way. 

Lucy is a baker and Oliver a top chef and he wants her to work with him in his new restaurant - but they haven't exactly seen eye to eye for ages.  In fact most of the interactions between the pair are not exactly smooth conversations, and usually ends up with at least one angry person. 

What is for certain though is that Lucy is a fabulous baker, and the cakes and desserts she creates are impressive and she is generally quite a fiery character. 

However for a book that on paper features everything I love in a story, it just felt like something was missing but I can't put my finger on it that would have taken it from a good book to a fabulous one.  I just didn't seem to connect to any of the characters particularly well, which never helps. 

It was good to see a book set in a small town in Australia where even the nearest big city was a not that close which just shows how large the country really is.  

This is a will they, wont they story about Oliver and Lucy's relationship, and whether they can learn to work together or whether everything will end up in divorce.  It keeps you guessing until the end.  

This is a lovely debut novel from the author and I would certainly be interested in reading more from her in the future. 

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A Recipe for Disaster,  Belinda Missen

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance, women's fiction 

Well, usual pet hate- Women's fiction – why? Why not general fiction – men read romance too! 

I liked the sound of this, light and easy, perfect for a lazy summer day reading. Its a second chance romance too and I'm a sucker for those. 
It started well, and I was soon hooked into Lucy's world, enjoying her anger about school meals, irritation with her boyfriend and loved meeting her family and friends. Lucy is like one of us, ordinary person with ordinary troubles. I felt I knew her, there are Lucys on every street. 

I felt for her when things went wrong at work, and when she started with The Cakes, I was happy for her but...I didn't really understand why someone so focused on ambition gave up everything. Reading later its as if her and Oliver have plans to conquer the culinary world, and then he's gone and she just gives up. Maybe it was that boring thing that affects many of our choices, money. She certainly struggled with paying bills and keeping her house going. 
I think that struggle is one reason I really didn't take to Oliver – he left, became rich and famous and yet didn't think of Lucy, love of his life at one time, struggling financially. Didn't think - “oh, I really ought to keep up my part of the bills” and drop her some cash. Its not like he hasn't got it. 
I didn't really warm to him for a long while, didn't really feel the connection between him and Lucy, and as the story went on I even got irritated at Lucy at times. She let the big things go and nit picked at small ones, and her reactions sometimes got a bit annoying. 
I did like Oliver more as I got to know him, did see he loved Lucy, and her him,  but somehow I wasn't convinced that they could work things out. They were still angry at each other, and they'd said some pretty horrible things. At times too it seemed like Lucy was a convenient wife for Oliver, something to give him a stable background and I kept wondering, did he really want her back or was this another step in his ambition? Lucy was so angry and upset still that I felt there needed to be way more trust, way more talking and understanding if they had a chance of working it out. 
Sometimes love isn't enough, and for me I just felt by the end these two were still on a rocky grounding. 

Stars: I'm rating this a three star read, it was a decent read but I felt they needed more work for that HEA I want in a romance. 

ARC supplied by Netgalley and Publishers