Bella's Christmas Bake Off by Sue Watson

Two best friends. One big lie. The best bake off EVER.

Bella Bradley is the queen of television baking – a national treasure. Her Christmas specials have been topping the ratings for years and her marriage to Peter ‘Silver Fox’ Bradley is the stuff of Hello magazine specials. 

But this year things are going to be different. 

For Amy Lane, Bella’s best friend from school, life hasn’t held quite the same sparkle. And when Amy’s husband walks out three weeks from Christmas, it seems their lives are further apart than ever. 

Amy has watched Bella’s rise to fame fondly, despite the fact Bella was always a terrible cook. But when she realises that Bella’s latest Christmas book is made up entirely of Amy’s mother’s recipes, the gloves are off… 

After winning a competition to appear on Bella’s TV show, Amy is going to make sure that for Bella and her viewers, this will definitely be a Christmas to remember… 

A hilarious, heart-breaking and feel good read about best friends, baking and the magic of Christmas. 

I would like to thank Bookouture for approving me to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When Amy's husband leaves her for a younger woman it feels like her world has ended but with the help of her friends she slowly learns there is more to life.  As she watches old friend Bella's TV show she realises she is using Amy's mums recipes that she has been sending her over the years since Bella dramatically left Amy's life.  This sets in motion a chain of events that will change Amy's life and outlook.

Bells on the other hand is the queen of tv and to the outside world her life is perfect.

Amy and Bella are thrown together again when Amy wins a chance to appear on Bellas show.  Sue brings out the most in these two characters with her witty one liners.

Sue's writing is fantastic and bringsthis story to life in so many ways and right from the first page I couldn't help but love all the characters.   I wouldn't recommend reading this without having a stash of cake as the food references made me hungry. 

I laughed and cried as I read the pages and couldn't stop reading until I had finished it.  The story is about friendship and family, it really shows what is important at Christmas.

This is a fabulous festive read and is sweet and touching also showing the true meaning of Christmas, so when you tuck in to Chrismas dinner, remember that not everyone is as lucky as you are, I know I will be thinking that way.

 Sue Watson was a journalist on women’s magazines and national newspapers before leaving it all behind for a career in TV. As a producer with the BBC she worked on garden makeovers, kitchen takeovers and daytime sofas – all the time making copious notes so that one day she might escape to the country and turn it all into a book.

After much deliberation and copious consumption of cake, Sue eventually left her life in TV to write.  After a very successful debut novel, Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes, Sue signed with Bookouture and has gone on to write four fabulous books.

www.suewatsonbooks.com