A Family Recipe: A deliciously feel-good story of family and friendship, from the Sunday Times bestselling author

This was such a lovely book about a family in Bath. The two main characters, Kanga and Laura, were both very strong women and I loved the storyline flipping back and forth between 1942 with the Bath Blitz, and the present day. Laura and Dom have two children, one already at university and one just about to leave, leaving Laura with an empty nest and free time, as she is the homemaker and Dom is the one who works, developing buildings around Bath. Then she finds out a big secret and her life is thrown into disarray and everything she thought was solid in her life turns out to be a lie. So after panicking for a while she slowly takes the bull by the horns and starts doing things for herself, starting a little business and also doing B&B in their large house. The other part of the story is about Laura's 93 year old grandmother, Kanga, who lives in a small cottage they had built for her at the end of their garden. Kanga signed over the large house to Laura and Dom, as she didn't need it, and they had the little house built for her. Such a lovely idea I thought. Kanga (Jilly) was a great character, still looking after herself and driving around Bath, but with her family really close by. Kanga had come through the war years when Bath was bombed and left her an orphan. She was also a strong woman and when faced with adversity came out fighting, as I'm sure a lot of people in her situation did then. Through various events Laura came out the strongest in this book. She wasn't to start with, and used to have panic attacks, especially while one of her daughter's was battling asthma, but she really stepped up and came into her own as the book went on, and realised quite how strong a woman she really was. It ran in the family really, as Kanga was exactly the same. I do love Veronica Henry's writing and this book is probably her best to date. I was so sorry to have to leave the family and Bath. This book was an absolute delight from start to finish.

This book didn't seem to be able to make it's mind up about what it wanted to be - Was it the tale of Kanga and Ivy and their struggles during World War 2? Was it a more contemporary tale about empty-nester Laura? I just felt that two different books had been started by the author and then both had petered out so with a bit of juggling and sleight of the relationship hand they were melded in to one book. Unfortunately, there is such a sharp disconnect between the two that I just could not become invested in either story. Of the two stories being told here Kanga's is far the best. From her first love, through her enduring friendship with the marvellous Ivy and all stops in between she is a wonderful character. Unfortunately, the end of her story is so odd and theatrical that it beggars belief and did ruin the integrity of the character more than a little. Laura on the other hand is a disgrace. The character has no redeeming qualities and how everything she turns her hand to is such a success is beyond me. This is becoming a common theme in books at the moment - woman of a certain age starts her own business from home and is an instant success. It drives me absolutely insane, at least in this one the need for hygiene certificates for a food preparation business is addressed so I should be grateful for small mercies. There is little to really recommend this book as far as I can tell. The only glimmer of hope is that the author can really write and the tale jogs along at a good pace without feeling rushed or dragging along interminably - this is some feat of literary merit when you realise how much the characters and their situations are beginning to grate. It was my first Veronica Henry book and I may give the author another go but from this experience it would have to be at a low, low price. 1 Star for the writing and 1 Star because at least the second world war portion of the plot is interesting and engaging.

What a great story. A lovely family that stick together no matter what problems lie ahead.