Book Review: The Sunshine and Biscotti Club, by Jenny Oliver.
Thank you to Netgalley, Author Jenny Oliver and publishers Carina for gifting me a copy of this book. I was gripped straight away by the title, as those who know me will know I am so a foodie reader!
Description:
Moving to Italy to set up a baking club is a dream come true…
…until Libby catches her husband cheating just weeks before The Sunshine and Biscotti Club opens its doors.
With the first wave of guests set to arrive any day, Libby has no choice but to tie on her apron and get set to bake. But with a dash of sunshine and a sprinkling of old friends, Libby’s kitchen nightmare might just become the best thing that’s ever happened to her.
After all, you can’t bake biscotti without breaking a few eggs…
For guaranteed sunshine all holiday long, pack your bags and escape to The Sunshine and Biscotti Club – the irresistible new book from Jenny Oliver
Published May 19th 2016 by Carina
My Thoughts:
The book revolves around three girl friends meeting up in Tuscany. They haven’t seen each other for a while, so their summer is to be spent helping Libby bring her beloved Hotel Limoncello back to its full beauty. Each of the girls have their issues and problems. But the summer brings them sunshine, friendship and a good dose of biscotti.
I love the idea of a hotel and baking school in Italy, a summer in the sunshine with lemon groves, fresh fruit, herbs and a lake nearby. It sounds totally idyllic. Jenny Oliver’s descriptions are serene, beautiful and really put a vision in the readers imagination.
“The leaves of the lemon grove sat waxy and motionless, the water in the distance was a cool sweep of calm blue..”
Throughout the story, we hear about each of the characters, their problems and their thoughts. The narrative changes from one character to the other as the chapters go on. This is easy to follow, and lets the reader get into the minds of Libby, Eve and Jessica so we can understand each of them. The relationships between the characters seemed real and you can see the changes in their relationships as you read along, from their pasts, to before they met up again and during their summer together.
My favourite character is food blogger Libby, she has caught her Husband being ‘unHusbandly’, so she is whole-heartedly focused on her baking school and also her food blog. I loved the part where we read about her making her vlog post for baking liquorice biscotti.
“…decided to record a midnight feast video for the blog. The garden outside, silent and eerie in the moonlight, was the perfect backdrop.”
And, while outwardly looking perfect and happy, I can tell that the Author knows a bloggers mind, and I felt that I could really relate to Libby when we hear her thoughts about her blog.
“She thought how the blog was the one place that had stayed normal throughout all this. How, whatever was going on outside, she could dive in there and be in complete control.”
I loved The Sunshine and Biscotti Club as its not just your average hotel in Italy, its a cookery school. So, as such, the Author shares recipes with us. We see how the friends make the items that Libby had chosen for them, and some being ‘ok’ cooks, and some giving us laughs at their attempts to follow the instructions. There is a really fun part where they have a bit of freedom to make the best desert that they can. This really fed my foodie readers mind, and my chick lit reader chuckles.
Overall, this book is a story of summer escapism. It has fun, food and sunshine. What more could a summer read give you.
This is the first book I have read by Jenny Oliver, but it certainly won’t be the last. Have you read The Sunshine and Biscotti Club? Leave me the link to your review if you have please. Can you recommend any other Jenny Oliver books? or any foodie books for me? I always love to hear other booklovers thoughts, so please join the booklove in the comments below.
HAPPY READING MY FELLOW BOOKLOVERS!
Links:
- Enjoy your summer reading booklovers.
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Tags: book review, bookbloggers, booklove, carina, chick lit book, chocolatepages, jenny oliver, lemon groves, the sunshine and biscotti club
ChocolatePages 
heather
July 2, 2016 at 11:29 am
This sounds so good! You want Foodie book suggestions. I have lots of those. https://www.pinterest.com/h43050/foodies-read/ Is the Pinterest page for my Foodies Read link up. I recently read The Cosy Little Teashop in the Castle which was so cute.
chocolatepages
July 2, 2016 at 11:41 am
I have heard of The Cosy Teashop book, and it sounds really good. There seem to be quite a lot of foodie summer books out at the moment, which is perfect for me. I will have a look at your pinterest, thank you.
Donna
July 2, 2016 at 1:09 pm
I love the fact your blog is my go-to place to satisfy my food and book cravings. Once again, I am not disappointed! I love the idea of a food blogger being a character and it looks like the author wrote it well enough to work.
chocolatepages
July 2, 2016 at 1:34 pm
Thank you, I was pleased that this Author did include lots of food talk and recipes, along with a good story makes for a great book.
Suze
July 2, 2016 at 5:02 pm
Great review. I recently won this book and now can’t wait to start reading it!
chocolatepages
July 3, 2016 at 9:54 am
I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to reading your review of it. Thanks Suze.
irena_bookdustmagic
July 2, 2016 at 6:20 pm
Ohh I read one Christmassy book called The Christmas Cokkie Club by Ann Pearlman.
It wasn’t my cup of tea and I DNF it, but it is full of recepies.
I think that every chapter had one.
I donated my copy but I wish I tried at least on before doing so…
And as for this book, I had my eyes on it and I heard good things about this author, but I still haven’t read any of her work.
chocolatepages
July 3, 2016 at 9:57 am
Ooh recipes on every page sounds great. I read recipe books aswell as fiction books, as I love to cook and bake. Thanks for the recommendation. I got this from Netgalley if you are interested, although I imagine as with the rest of us bookbloggers, your tbr is huge and growing. xx
irena_bookdustmagic
July 3, 2016 at 10:36 am
I actually am trying to build up my ratio bc it is embarassingly low (only 55%) before I request any book. I hope to reach 80% before winter. We’ll see…
Tracey Bowden
July 3, 2016 at 10:39 am
I don’t read many foodie books but your review has pulled me in and I might try this one as I’m looking for a new read #kcacols
chocolatepages
July 3, 2016 at 10:44 am
Thank you, I hope you enjoy it if you read it.
Wendy Klik
July 5, 2016 at 10:48 am
I haven’t read any of this author’s works but I love a good foodie read and have placed numerous reviews on this site if you care to look them up. Thanks so much for this review. Sometimes you just want a light summer read and this sounds perfect.
chocolatepages
July 5, 2016 at 12:13 pm
Thank you, I just had a little wonder around your blog, and you have some great book reviews and some delicious sounding recipes. Thank you.
Florence
July 5, 2016 at 8:27 pm
I have read Jenny Oliver previously – her Cherry Pie Island series, one being Grand reopening of Dandelion Café, an excellent book so I will look forward to reading The Sunshine and Biscotti Club
chocolatepages
July 6, 2016 at 10:09 am
I like the sound of those 2 titles too. All foodie books by the sound of them.
fairyqueen
July 7, 2016 at 9:33 pm
Sounds a great read and it’s good to see that the writer has an insight into the bloggers mind. I like the quote you have pulled out there to showcase the point:)
mainy – myrealfairy
#KCACOLS
Kat
July 9, 2016 at 11:53 am
This sounds like a really great summer read! I’m on the lookout for new books so may consider this 🙂 #kcacols
chocolatepages
July 9, 2016 at 1:53 pm
I would say perfect for the summer, in the garden or on the beach. But with some snacks. Thank you.
Clare
July 9, 2016 at 1:43 pm
This sounds like a really lovely book, the kind of thing that I would get lost in whilst sunning myself on a beach. I will definitely keep this one in mind when I next need some holiday reading. Thanks so much for linking up to #KCACOLS we hope you come back again on Sunday xx
chocolatepages
July 9, 2016 at 1:55 pm
I think you described it really well there. I’m just waiting for some sun here in Scotland! Well at least I get it in the books. Thanks for the comments and shout outs. See you again at #kcacols
milesmb3
July 18, 2016 at 1:06 am
Fellow chocoholic here!
I love this book cover, and the title would have grabbed me too! Sounds like a good read. Books written from multiple perspectives are always fun!
Thanks for sharing!
chocolatepages
July 18, 2016 at 3:46 pm
Always good to ‘meet’ another chocoholic. Thanks for your comments and follow. 😉