Book Review: How To Bake A New Beginning by Lucy Knott.

                           Release Date: 9th September (Kindle)
Publisher: HQ Digital
                                Twitter: @lucycknott @theblossomtwins

I've probably said this next sentence over 50 times in the last few months and I know I've got plenty more left in me: I am so, so incredibly proud of my sister. Can you believe I'm actually sat here writing a book review for her DEBUT BOOK? Actually I can believe it! 

A few years ago, I got given a Kindle from a friend who had never used it. I stared at it for a couple of days, very much in the "I only like book, books" camp, until I discovered quite a lot of authors and some fantastic stories that were only published for Kindle format. What had I been missing!!?? One of the companies myself and Lucy found that produced some brilliant Kindle books was HQ Digital. After devouring so many of their stories and revealing a few of their covers on YouTube, where we gushed over how cute the covers looked and how amazing the artists were at HQ, Lucy looked at me and said "I'll have a cover with them one day." 

From that day on, Lucy disappeared into book world and wrote, wrote, wrote. She started writing one story, then promptly deleted the 10,000 some words and started again. She came up with ideas, changed them round, added bits in and basically worked tirelessly to write the book she wanted to see on the shelves. I believe she has done just that. As a matter of fact, when I was two chapters in, I messaged her to say that I think she's written the book I  wanted to see on the shelves!!

I have so much to write about, so instead of writing my own rundown, I'm going to give you the Amazon blurb and also because I can actually write, here is the blurb from Amazon of MY sister's book...

The Blurb!



Here's a few quick tidbits about #HowToBakeANewBeginning, that I hope Luc doesn't mind me sharing:

Luc got the call to tell her that she was going to be a published author the night before we flew to Italy to take our Grandad home and to his final resting place. It was a very bittersweet moment. While the events in the book weren't based on real life - Luc wrote about the sister's Grandpa passing away way before ours actually did, probably three years before - but it all became very real and therefore meant that Luc got to do a bit of research on that trip. You could possibly say it was a little therapeutic. It was a trip we were dreading, but always knew would happen one day. It was both a sad and happy time, as we hadn't seen our Aunties and been to our Nannas childhood home in sixteen years. So, all the love and emotion in this story is very, very real. 

The sisters! Okay, so even though all three sisters are actually very different from myself, Luc and our sister Jen. We have all picked who we are! :p There's very tiny little bits of each of us in Amanda, Sabrina and Louisa, but they are mostly, I think, three different versions of Lucy! I'll leave you to guess who we all picked! ;) The sister bond is absolutely real life. We fight, we disagree, but we love each other more than anything.

They say write what you know. There is so much of our Nanna and Grandad sprinkled throughout #HowToBakeANewBeginning and then also a lot of fiction. The town of Orzoro is based off where they are from and if you fell in love with it in the story, just wait till you see it in person, although I thought Luc did a fantastic job of bringing it to life between the pages. 

As far as the recipes from the this space!!!!! :) 

My Review!

Trust me when I say, Lucy and I are each other's worst critics, so while yes she is my twin, I'm not being biased when I say that this book was an absolute delight. I read so much, so have grown accustomed to different authors writing styles. Some books speak to me right away, others don't. For this being Luc's debut, I think she did incredible! 

I completely fell in love with the girls and their family straight away. I fell into step with them and each of their separate lives, but could also tell how no matter how far apart they were, there was so much love shared between them. I actually said to myself upon finishing it, that this book is like Frozen. You know when everyone was so happy that Disney had released a movie where the characters didn't need a man to save them, rather they had that sisterly love and bond? Well, I feel Lucy captured the essence of this in her book. While yes, there is romance and some mighty fine gentlemen - I mean hello, how can you not fall for Harry Styles and Giulio Berruti lookalikes?? - that to me wasn't the most important part. The pure, heartwarming, makes you all cosy inside love came from the family, the setting and the passions that the girls had. It was prominent in the kitchen, in the family home, when the sisters spoke. It was woven between the pages beautifully. 

In saying all that, I do have to give a proper shout out to the men and the love stories, because they were hopelessly romantic and dream worthy. I myself have a soft spot for a certain drummer. I couldn't resist his charm, but also his caring, protective side. All of the boys in San Francisco Beat could have been arrogant rock stars, but they were all so humble and down to earth. It was refreshing to read about lovely men, who really were good, kind hearted people. 

I will admit to getting very close to tears a couple of times reading #HowToBakeANewBeginning. The Grandpa being the biggest reason. Lucy honest to goodness captured the essence of a man that was just so loved that his legacy lived on and became part of who the girls were. I could feel his presence in everything the girls did and it added a touch of magic that was already very much there. How could it not be in Italy at Christmas time?  

The setting itself is remarkable. There is no place in the world quite like the Amalfi Coast. I'm actually going to curl up at Christmas time and read this book again because I just think it's perfect for enjoying under the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, with a hot chocolate and an Italian cake or two! 

How To Bake A New Beginning is a brilliant debut from an author who deserves all the success in the world. It's proof that dreams really do come true and that love is the most powerful tool you can possess. 

Happy Reading!


  1. Ohhh this is such a lovely review, I can tell how incredibly proud you are of Lucy! It's such a heartwarming story - and I felt hungry the entire way through!
    Lots of love xxx

    1. Aww thank you Hels! <3 Glad you enjoyed the book...I can't wait for book 2 now! :) Thank you again for being part of the blog tour! <3 xx