The Little Christmas Kitchen

This book follows sisters Ella and Maddie - who lived with a different parent after their parents divorced. That has caused issues between the sisters. Ella feels that her mum didn't fight to keep her- where her mum remembers the way Ella chose which parent to live with differently.

After she finds out that her husband has cheated on her- she feels that she needs her mum and flies out to Greece at Christmas time. Her sister has been longing to stretch her wings and try to make it as a singer in London. So after spending a little time together, Maddie flies to London and stays in Ella's appartment. Having grown up in a really laid back village, she initially finds her neighbours reserve very difficult to handle. How will she ever make friends? But she wins them round with her charm and her cooking!

Meanwhile Ella relaxes a bit and takes stock of her life. At home she has outfits from designers complete with handbags set out so she just chooses that outfit for the day. She lost her personal style. A childhood friend helps her discover herself again. Her mum expects her to work as a waitress in the family place- and she's initially taken aback having come from a high flying career in London. But she soon finds memories flooding back and starts to enjoy being in her family again.

Maddie is finding her childhood dream is more difficult to attain than she expected.
How will the sisters choose to spend the rest of their lives?

It explored family relationships and hidden feelings. I felt it was a little slow in drawing you in. I have read previous books by this author- so I was expecting to love this one and gave it a little time.I did enjoy it.

Loved this book!! Was not expecting much along the lines of a story, but wow, this book was fabulous. I have recommend to a number of people already. Have never been disappointed from Jenny Oliver.

I loved this story of a family grown apart. As children, the parents of Ella and Maddie split up, Ella going to live with her Dad whilst Maddie stayed in Greece with their Mum. The girls have never really had family times together since then and neither relates well with the parent they left behind. Now Ella is highly successful in her advertising job in London whilst Maddie still remains in the little Greek village their Mum settled in. When Ella finds out that her husband, Max, has been cheating on her she decides to run to her Mum where she finds Maddie dreams of singing in a London show and has got herself a job to do just that.

The exploration of interpersonal relationships between members of the family, the misunderstandings that can only be cleared by people being brave enough to be honest and the route to a happy ending are key elements in this story which is told from the points of view of the two sisters. The journey is fraught with difficulties but, with the help of caring friends and relations, maybe even the family running the Little Greek Christmas Kitchen can have a happy ending, too!

Now that its Novemeber, its time for christmas books and well i had to search netgalley, thats where i have found some gems and when i saw this cover, i knew this book was one i had to read, its about christmas and cafes and baking and well come on - thats one of my favourite type of books.

Told from a duel point of view of Ella & Maddy the pair take on a parent trap style lifestyle swap and we learn about the pair as they learn about themselves over the festive period. The book develops each character wonderfully so we learn about their dreams, ambitions and lives to date. Its nice for a book to be so in depth with the characters so allow myself to immerse myself in the world. From the hustle and bustle of london to the laid back life in Greece.

We follow Ella & Maddy as the pair learn not only about themselves but the things they really want, it was everything i enjoy. We followed Ella as she reconnected with her mum, and reminisced wit her as she thought of her childhood, some parts good and some not so much . We follow Maddy as she sets about making her dreams come true in the big london. It was a beautiful read wit the just right amount of festivities

Oliver did a wonderful job of allowing us to immerse ourselves in the lives of the pair, she created characters that were likeable and well rounded, but full of depth and not just face value. I couldnt find a single flaw in the book.

The Little Christmas Kitchen reminded me a little of The Holiday as Ella and Maddy essentially swap homes for the Christmas season, and also of Mamma Mia with the Greek location and all the food. Ella thinks just has discovered that her perfect husband is cheating on her and wants her mum, and Maddy is dreaming of "Making It" in London. The book alternates between the two sisters in their different locations.

Ella and Maddy used to be close when they were little but something went wrong when their parents split up, and since then there has been this competing sibling rivalry where they each think the other has got something they haven't and that somehow they have been missing out. I liked seeing this from a dual perspective of both sisters, and as the reader you get to see that actually if they just talked to each other then there really would not be anything to be jealous of.

To be honest, I found Ella coped with her marriage breakdown a little too well. She didn't really seem to care, especially around the middle of the book when she is on the phone to him, and having got to know Ella, I think she would have cared more. Even if she felt it was the right thing overall, in reality a person would be more upset about it and I don't think they would be able to joke with each other about him sleeping and living with another woman as they do at one point in the book.

This is not a book you should read when you are hungry as it is packed full of mouth-watering descriptions of all kinds of food. It might not be the traditional Christmas food you enjoy, but the book certainly is festive (unlike some other books set over the Christmas period, but it could easily be enjoyed at other times of year). I particularly enjoyed Maddy's time in London as she finds herself in a new place, and helps others along the way.

The Little Christmas Kitchen is a story of families and friendship, neighborliness, growing into yourself and learning to love yourself. For me it was a slow burner, and it took me a while to get into it, but ultimately, it made me laugh out loud and it made my eyes well up with tears. It would make a fabulous festive film with the backdrops of scenery from two incredible locations; Greece and London at Christmas time in the snow.

I felt that the book ended too soon, in that it felt a bit rushed and I also wanted more. I'd love to revisit this family again in the future and see how they are all getting on, and it was definitely the kind of story that could be revisited by the author in a future book or novella!

It is a shame this book is an e-book as the cover is beautiful!

Review: The Little Christmas Kitchen by Jenny Oliver

One of my favorite holiday books last year was Jenny Oliver's Parisian Christmas Bake-off, so I was very excited to read this book. This did not disappoint. Another to add to my holiday favorites.

While I didn't like it quite as much as Parisian Bake-off, I still liked it a lot.

Ella has just learned her husband is cheating on her, so without giving much thought to her actions, she packs a bag and takes off to Greece to stay with her mother and sister - even though she's not been especially close to them since her parents' divorce when she was a teenager.

Her sister, Maddy, in the meantime, has dreams of going to London and singing in a club. Ella offers her the use of her flat, since she won't be there. So we have the two story lines - Ella, working at her mother's cafe in Greece while Maddy is wandering around London on her own for the first time in her life.

What I enjoy most about this story is the complex characters. While the characters may at times perceive some of the others to be all good or bad, it's clear to the reader that isn't the case. While Ella and Maddy are both adults, they've spent years harboring some child like anger toward their parents. They had their reasons, but being in a new location allows both of them begin to see things from a different perspective.

This book is all about finally accepting the past and yourself and your flaws as well as the flaws of the people you love. That sounds kind of hokey, but it's actually really well written and the result is a fun story that has a very powerful underlying meaning to it.

My only issue with the book (possible spoiler, if you're worried I might be giving something away, skip to the next paragraph) was the idea that Ella would prefer life in Greece to life in London. I thought her life in London seemed pretty great. I also have to admit to kind of hoping she would get back together with her husband - despite what he did, he seemed to still love her and she him. I guess I just wasn't all that impressed with the romance in the story. I think what I would have preferred to happen would be Ella saying maybe she needed a break from relationships for a while since she just got out of a marriage, and maybe taking some time to figure out who she was and what she wanted without a guy influencing her decisions.

Overall though, I really liked this book. While I was reading it, I noticed it was free on amazon for a few days and I tried to get everyone I know to download it. And really, whatever the current price is, usually just two or three dollars, is completely worth it. Very good holiday read. Nice, fun story with a good message about family and self perception.

I received a review copy of this via NetGalley.

The Little Christmas Kitchen by Jenny Oliver

The blurb Christmas at the Davenports’ house was always about one thing: food!

But when sisters Ella and Maddy were split up, Ella to live in London with their Dad, and Maddy staying in Greece with their Mum, mince pies lost their magic.

Now, a cheating husband has thrown Ella a curved snowball…and for the first time in years, all she wants is her mum. So she heads back to Greece, where her family’s taverna holds all the promise of home. Meanwhile, waitress Maddy’s dreams of a white Christmas lead her back to London…and her Dad.

But a big fat festive life-swap isn’t as easy as it sounds! And as the sisters trade one kitchen for another, it suddenly seems that among the cinnamon, cranberries and icing sugar, their recipes for a perfect Christmas might be missing a crucial ingredient: each other

WHAT I SAY This is a very good Christmas book again the cover so nice it just makes you what to read part of the book is set in London and part in Greece.

The book about the life of two sisters, Ella who lives in London she just want to get away from the rat race of London and Maddy in Greece Who fed up with her waitress job she want to be a singer in London

when the girl were younger they were split up to live with a parent each . Ella when to London with her Dad and went to a boarding school which she seem to like she a very confident lady now . Maddy stayed with her mum in Greece helping to run a little Greek tavern. Which seem so nice . Most of the story is about the girls now they are older but both show us their point of view of how these events affected their lives as they grew up was it hard for them to be split up ? Both seem to be very different Ella seems like a confident woman that has it all but the betrayal of her husband make her want to back her mum she hopes that her mum will support her. Things are difficult between them they both need to open up to each other Ella just seem to be mopping around were her strong character gone Her sister Maddy does not help as she is wary of her sister and does not make her feel very welcome.

Things improve when Ella gives Maddy the money for the flight to be able to pursue her dream of singing in London for the Christmas period.Maddy just seem to make the best of the things i like her she seem a down to earth girl I like that we got to hear about both girls dreams , ambitions and life's

The book takes you on the hustle and bustle of London back to the laid back life in Greece both so different both told so well you were there with them All the characters were likeable and had a lot of dept to them It was nice to hear how Ella just reconnected with her mum the story like a life swap The relationship between mother and daughter changes and Maddy sees her dad for the first time in a long time. It was so nice to hear what happen I like that the book told from both sisters point of view it shows that family should be honest and brave they should talk to each other Can both get over things ? I really enjoy this book I like the the little christmas kitchen it sounded so warm and lively the book just a lovely warm christmas read 4 stars I like to thank net gallery for letting me read

This was a surprisingly wonderful read. I recommended it to all my followers

I want to begin by thanking Netgalley and Carina UK for an ARC of The Little Christmas Kitchen. Jenny Oliver really hit home with this amazing Christmas story about the true meaning of family and getting back to what's important in life.

Ella and Maddy have been apart for quite some time and have only seen each other in passing over the years. They were split up with their parents divorce - Ella to London and Maddy stayed in Greece with her mother.

Now Ella's life has been turned upside down. The amazing job and grand home as well as awesome closet pale to compare to the fact that her husband cheated on her. She has decided in a split second to go home to Greece for the holidays and forget about her messed up life for the moment.
Maddy on the other hand can't wait to leave Greece but doesn't have the money to go. Then Ella hands Maddy an interesting curve ball, will she take her up on her offer?

Such an amazing story of ups and downs and how this family has found it's way back to each other and met some great people along the way!