Review: A very cute, bubbly and fun read..Loved it.. :)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 6, 2013
Brianna or Bree is twenty seven yet she is still "drifting through life with no direction". She has long gone stagnant in a job she had high hopes from, is in a relationship with a boyfriend she no longer feels any passion for and lives in a crappy Boston apartment.So when, owing to her grandmother's death in a hang gliding accident, she is suddenly handed a big house and money, "more money than she could ever dream of needing", she suddenly feels a freedom she has never had and decides to use this opportunity to give her listless life a makeover!But thinking is simple and actually doing is difficult and Bree finds herself undecided on what she wants to do as she has no interests and absolutely no passion for anything."I don't have a passion that I love, something that brings me so much happiness I could see myself doing it every day for the rest of my life. I could do anything with this money, and not a single damn thing pops into my mind."A chance discovery of her grandmother's cookery journal prompts her to signup for a cooking course which is taught by a very handsome instructor with a cute Australian accent, Simon. For someone who has so far relied only on Chinese takeouts, pizzas at your door  and who cant even manage the simple task of re-heating food without actually causing an accident, it comes as a surprise when Bree actually starts enjoying her classes and of course her very charming instructor, Simon!Life finally has a goal and Bree is content for the first time but soon her bubble of happiness is punctured and she is forced to re-evaluate her priorities and her motives before it is too late and before she loses everything she holds dear!I absolutely loved the cover of the book,Baking Bree, which is so so suited to Bree who it seems attracts accidents every time she tries to do something! This is the first book by Sarah West that I have read and I enjoyed reading it. The first part is particularly good with some very ROFL moments that left me laughing so hard that it brought tears to my eyes!Some very memorable moments that had me laughing like a goon are:1) "What did you expect, Brianna?" she asked herself angrily."That you would be lifted onto their shoulders and paraded down the streets because you have an intimate understanding of the inner workings of frozen pizza and Chinese take out?"2) 'Ok, chicken. That cant be too difficult, right? It's meat, and meat has to be cooked. Raw meat is bad. She smiled, proud of herself for remembering at least that much..'3) 'His smile was wide, but his eyes were checking out her dish with apprehension, and maybe a bit of fear. After all, he had to taste it'The characters are beautifully developed and the author has succeeded in extracting the right emotion from the readers for each of her characters. Whether it be the confused and a bit muddle-headed, Bree; the super cool and confident, Ray; the handsome and very composed, Simon; the shy but adorable, Ethan; the controlling and pompous mother of Bree, Kitty; the exact replica of Kitty and Bree's elder sister, Emily etc.The story is breezy, light and an engaging read with many memorable moments in it. I enjoyed the overall cooking plus romance background and specially liked the closure Sarah gave to it. The overall makeover of Bree from a confused, directionless woman to a confident, take charge of your life Bree was a welcome end treat. :)I give Baking Bree a 4 out of 5 and recommend everyone to read this humorous romantic story of Bree who represents many of us who have felt goal-less and direction-less at one or the other point in our lives.I also look forward to reading more from Sarah West. :)This review is also available on blog Njkinny's World of Books..