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How to Bake a Perfect Life: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

Barbara O'Neal
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)

Print List Price: $15.00
Kindle Price: $11.99 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: $3.01 (20%)
Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
This price was set by the publisher

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Hardcover, Large Print $31.99  
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Book Description

In a novel as warm and embracing as a family kitchen, Barbara O’Neal explores the poignant, sometimes complex relationships between mothers and daughters—and the healing magic of homemade bread.
 
Professional baker Ramona Gallagher is a master of an art that has sustained her through the most turbulent times, including a baby at fifteen and an endless family feud. But now Ramona’s bakery threatens to crumble around her. Literally. She’s one water-heater disaster away from losing her grandmother’s rambling Victorian and everything she’s worked so hard to build.

When Ramona’s soldier son-in-law is wounded in Afghanistan, her daughter, Sophia, races overseas to be at his side, leaving Ramona as the only suitable guardian for Sophia’s thirteen-year-old stepdaughter, Katie. Heartbroken, Katie feels that she’s being dumped again—this time on the doorstep of a woman out of practice with mothering.

Ramona relies upon a special set of tools—patience, persistence, and the reliability of a good recipe—when rebellious Katie arrives. And as she relives her own history of difficult choices, Ramona shares her love of baking with the troubled girl. Slowly, Katie begins to find self-acceptance and a place to call home. And when a man from her past returns to offer a second chance at love, Ramona discovers that even the best recipe tastes better when you add time, care, and a few secret ingredients of your own.


From the Trade Paperback edition.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Rita Award–winning author (as Barbara Samuel) of The Lost Recipe for Happiness returns with the absorbing story of Ramona Gallagher, a 40-year-old woman whose joy in running a bakery in Colorado Springs helps her transcend a life that's anything but perfect. Ramona has a prickly relationship with her large, restaurant-owning family and a deep love for her daughter, Sofia, who Ramona had as a teenager and is now grown and pregnant. When Sofia's husband is injured in Afghanistan and she flies to Germany to be with him, Ramona is left to care for Sofia's 13-year-old stepdaughter, Katie, a scrawny child whose drug-addicted mother is in jail. Over the summer, Ramona struggles to keep her business afloat and find some solid footing with her family, bonds with Katie, aches for what her daughter is enduring, and rekindles a romance from 25 years earlier. O'Neal's tale of strong-willed women and torn family loyalties is a cut above the standard women's fiction fare, held together by lovingly sketched characters and real emotion. (Dec.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Ramona Gallagher does not do well with her family. Born into a long line of restaurant owners, shipped off to the country when 15 and pregnant, and skipped over for promotion in favor of her ex during an acrimonious divorce, she broke away from her family and opened her own bakery. She now leads a quiet life while residing with her pregnant daughter, Sofia, whose husband is stationed in Iraq. When Sofia receives a call that her husband has been injured, she flies to his side, leaving Ramona to take care of Sofia’s stepdaughter, Katie. Katie, 13, has had a rough life with her drug-addicted mother while her father is overseas, and Ramona, out of practice and remembering her own mother, tries her best to deal with the prickly teen. Under Ramona’s care, Katie slowly blossoms until another tragedy threatens to permanently ruin them all. O’Neal’s third novel is, like its predecessors (The Lost Recipe for Happiness, 2008; The Secret of Everything, 2010), a dramatic, emotional story with honest characters and a warm heart at its center. --Hilary Hatton

Product Details

  • File Size: 813 KB
  • Print Length: 417 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0553386778
  • Publisher: Bantam (December 21, 2010)
  • Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B003WUYPQ0
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Lending: Not Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,748 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

The characters were very well written. Monica Caples  |  20 reviewers made a similar statement
Romona, our main character, is so very real. For Love and Books  |  11 reviewers made a similar statement
Barbara O'Neal is one of my favorite authors. acs238  |  9 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Book January 11, 2011
Format:Paperback
With "How To Bake A Perfect Life," Barbara O'Neal once again demonstrates why the Romance Writers of America awarded her their top prize for novels with romantic elements in 2010. And, in my opinion, she's baked her own slice of perfection in this book. Yummy recipes and sensual descriptions of bread making and baking will satisfy the cravings of an ardent foodie. Those who want a story about family rifts and healing will find it in Ramona's dealings with her strong, restaurant-owning clan. Lost love and teenage angst play against a hearty dose of war's realism.

The creation of a book, much like the making of a loaf of bread, requires the careful combination and layering of many aspects--plot, structure, characterization, voice. "How To Bake A Perfect Life" takes all those elements and adds a dash of the unknown, a willingness to take a chance by focusing the story on an older heroine. There's a lot going on, but somehow Ms. O'Neal simply makes it work, and the result is one of the best books I've read in ages.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book! February 8, 2011
By RobynB
Format:Paperback
I had a lot of trouble putting this book down. It was wonderful; made me laugh and cry a lot. I cannot imagine what the one reviewer meant by explicit sex as there were definitely no explicit sexual descriptions in this book. The author writes very well from the perspective of a teenager, and equally well from the mother and grandmother's points of view. I found it well-written and well-edited. The characters were nicely developed and multi-dimensional, and I really cared what happened to them. Highly recommend this book!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful read July 5, 2011
By Pheebie
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Let me begin by saying that I am a picky reader. It seems lately almost every book I begin to read, I find myself putting down after a few pages because the writing is so incredibly poor. (My husband frequently hears me sighing, "Life's too short to read bad writing.") That being said, I went into this novel thinking, "How far will I get into this one before tossing it into the 'give away' stack with the others?"
Thankfully, at last, a book worth finishing - and keeping on my bookshelf as well. I won't detail the plot or well-crafted characters, as others have sufficiently summed up those aspects. I merely wanted to put in my proverbial two cents and give this novel enthusiastic praise. (On another note, I don't understand the review regarding 'explicit sex,' as I don't recall any such elements in this novel, so please do not let that critique deter you from buying this book. Perhaps the reviewer was thinking of a different novel?)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great writing, great story
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Loved the writing style and the story. It made me laugh and cry. Loved the theme!
Published 1 day ago by S. Isola
5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT Book
Such a good book. Easy read. Sweet, fun, enjoyable. Would love to read something else by the same author. A book that makes you smile.
Published 1 month ago by K. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars A hearty fulfilling read. Perfect for spring break.
I loved the story, the flashbacks and the way the recipes were woven into the plot. Heart warming, authentic and simple.
Published 2 months ago by Pamela Smith
3.0 out of 5 stars This was a good beach read
This was a nice light read. I loved the dynamic between several generations in a family. My biggest complaint was the whining by the main character. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lisa
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely book. Just lovely.
I was given this for my Kindle and had no idea what it was when I started reading it. To say I was swept away is an understatement! Read more
Published 2 months ago by JH
4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable
I personally enjoy novels revolving around cooking or creating food, in this case bread. Making bread rescues Ramona from inner-traumas she has had to deal with throughout her... Read more
Published 3 months ago by mzglorybe
5.0 out of 5 stars great book
this was a great book - I would tell all my friends to read it - I will look for other books by this author
Published 3 months ago by knittingnana
4.0 out of 5 stars Baking. life
I enjoyed this book and look forward to trying some bread recipes. in some ways a little predictable but overall glad I read it.
Published 3 months ago by Carol J. Carr
5.0 out of 5 stars From a baker... LOVE.
So good. I seriously could NOT stop reading - tears, smiles, warmth, and compassion. LOVED it. Definitely an author I would buy again.
Published 4 months ago by Alixe Ingoglia
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous
I cant say enough good things about Barbara O'Neal's books. and this one did not disappoint. she is a great writer, draws you in, makes you love her characters and it is always sad... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Becky
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