THE CITY BAKER’S GUIDE TO COUNTRY LIVING

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living is a perfectly delicious escape for anyone who wanted a fall trip to the country … but couldn’t quite get there this year. In this sweet, romantic novel, Boston-based pastry chef Livvy moves to Vermont on a whim, needing a change of scenery after a fiasco at work. Taking on a new position creating delicious desserts at the Sugar Maple Inn, she must adjust to a strict new boss, a gossipy small town, and life in the country. But when Livvy opens her heart to new friends - especially one who may become more - she finds herself wondering if her little home at an apple orchard is more than a temporary pitstop: it may be where she belonged all along.

This is a novel that makes you feel wrapped in a warm blanket, curled up by a roaring fire with a cup of tea in hand and an evergreen forest just outside the door. Often, I look to books to enlighten me, surprise me, educate me, make me reconsider what I know. But sometimes I want a book to make me feel like smiling, because it’s so cozy and warm and charming that I don’t ever want it to end. The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living was that book for me. I adored every page!

I love stories with Thanksgiving scenes, and this one is no exception. Livvy bakes pie after pie to bring to the friends who have become her family in Vermont, hoping to wow them with her talent and love in the form of flour, butter and sugar. This Thanksgiving will be a different one for me, and for all of us. It’s the first one ever where I won’t be at a long table surrounded by family. It’s the first one in a long time where we won’t be volunteering with Gods Love We Deliver, because one of my kiddos has to quarantine. But we have so much to be thankful for, and gratitude is about more than certain foods and traditions! This year has shown us a lot about counting blessings and focusing on what matters most. And ok, a little pie doesn’t hurt either. Happy, safe and healthy holiday - I’m thankful for you!