A Family Recipe

A Family Recipe by Veronica Henry is yet another of my charity shop finds.

It's a split narrative - Jilly lives through the Blitz in Bath, while her grand-daughter Laura deals with family drama and find herself in 2017.

There are some pretty dark themes, though the tone is so light, it really prevents true emotional attachment to what's happening. I did connect with the characters, though, and I was invested in their stories and how they would find a path through the story.

There were perhaps a few too many viewpoint characters (and quite a bit of head-hopping), though it was interesting to see the different perspectives on the modern-day story, so maybe it was warranted by the end.

I was very pleased that Laura find ways to build her own life outside of her relationships before making a decision about what to do regarding those relationships - but I'm not sure I entirely agreed with her ultimate choice.

I guess extreme circumstances can sometimes help you identify what's most important to you - but they can also cloud your judgement and lead to unhealthy choices, so it could go either way as to whether a reader will think the ending works or not.

I particularly loved Jilly as the connection between both storylines and she was definitely my favourite character.

Overall, it was a light, enjoyable read, and I would certainly read more by this author if I come across any.