Skip to main content

Review: The Confectioner's Tale

The Confectioner's Tale The Confectioner's Tale by Laura Madeleine
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The premise of this book had me eager to delve into this title. It enticed you in with the promise of a secret hidden in Paris.

At the famous Patisserie Clermont in Paris, 1909, a chance encounter with the owner's daughter has given one young man a glimpse into a life he never knew existed: of sweet cream and melted chocolate, golden caramel and powdered sugar, of pastry light as air. But it is not just the art of confectionery that holds him captive, and soon a forbidden love affair begins.

Almost eighty years later, an academic discovers a hidden photograph of her grandfather as a young man with two people she has never seen before. Scrawled on the back of the picture are the words 'Forgive me'. Unable to resist the mystery behind it, she begins to unravel the story of two star-crossed lovers and one irrevocable betrayal.

The bits of the book written and based around Paris in 1909 were enjoyable enough to read and the writing was as beautifully described at times like Kate Morton or authors of that ilk, unfortunately however, the introduction of the modern day grand daughter in search of the secret behind a photograph was dry and I found it almost impossible to empathise with her as a character or stir up any reaction to the biographer that was clearly seeking the same information.

This made the book grind to a holt for me and despite several attempts to draw myself back in when I got to the Paris Confectioners parts I inevitably found me back with the lack lustre grand daughter.

This is only my personal opinion and would in no way deter people from reading this book as it may be more up your street, it just didn't promise to be what I hoped it would be for me.

**This title was provided to me by Netgalley for a free and honest review**


View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Loving Husband by Christobel Kent

The book starts by introducing Fran Hall and her husband Nathan who have moved to a rural farmhouse to bring up their two children Emme and Ben.   At the opening of this book Fran is awoken by Ben only to find Nathan gone from their bed.  After searching the house she moves outside and discovers his body. After reporting the situation to the police Fran finds herself under suspicion  and we begin to see a side of Fran's past that she may be running away from.  As well as a darker side to her husband Nathan's life that remains unrevealed. Unfortunately I was unable to finish this book.  I read 54% before I just had to surrender. I love a good psychological thriller and have read a few good thrillers this year, so when I saw the synopsis for the story of The Loving Husband, it looked like a compelling fast paced read. Unfortunately I should have followed my gut after the first few chapters.  Straight from the off I found it very hard to associ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: the darkness

the darkness by Ragnar Jónasson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Firstly I would like to thank Michael Joseph for the opportunity to give a true and honest review of this book. This is my first experience of a Nordic Noir Thriller and I have to say I am so glad I started with Ragnar Jonasson. He is a well-respected author from Reykjavik and began his career at the age of 17 translating the works of Agatha Christie into Icelandic. This particular novel was the runner-up of the Novel of the Year Award 2015 in Iceland. This is a start of a new trilogy based around Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir a member of the Reykjavik police force who is being forced into early retirement by her commanding officer. Hulda uses this conversation to utilise her final days investigating the cold case of a young female asylum seeker found dead in the remote countryside. Her death was ruled as a suicide after a short investigation, but it soon becomes clear to Hulda that there is a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko

The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko by Scott Stambach My Rating: 4 stars ** Please note that the Arc copy of this book was received through NetGalley for a true and honest review ** This book is written in the first person in regard to a 17 year old boy called Ivan who has grown up in an asylum for gravely ill children, it is implied that he and his fellow residents are all suffering from the after effects of Chernobyl which took place in 1986 and continued to effect this and near by villages with Radiation poisoning as this went into food and water supplies in that area. The catastrophic impact of this event although not eagerly confirmed by the Russian government is that there was an increase in both deformities, health issues and cancer in the people residing near this event. I would have liked this to have been fleshed out at the beginning of the book to give some explanation to those who may not be aware of this event (as I believe this is meant for a YA audience...
Post a Comment
Read more