Love, Lies and Lemon Pies by Katy Cannon
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published By: Stripes Publishing
Pages: 329
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I haven’t found a book that I’ve been completely in love with in a while. This is that book. I LOVED everything ‘Love, Lies and Lemon Pies’ had to offer!

First of all, the setting. It all took place within a secondary school and the majority of characters were in Year 11, so not too distant from my own year group and age. I really liked how natural everything was, and the personalities of the teachers, as well as the students were so believable.

This book reminded me of books written by Cathy Cassidy, because the main character, Lottie, was dealing with something difficult at home – her dad had died and her mum had taken to hoarding junk. I feel that in a lot of young adult books now, the focus is on the character’s romantic relationship, rather than any other relationship and parents are almost non-existent. LLLP had the perfect mixture of the two.

The romance between Lottie and Mac was endearing. I loved how we got to experience them as friends before we saw them as a couple – the romantic gestures of Mac were the most adorable things ever. Although their relationship could be quite circular, as neither participant was telling the truth about their home life or reputation, everything was resolved in a way that didn’t make me want to bash my head against a wall.

The minor characters, especially Jasper and Ella, were all significant, and it turns out that Grace stars in her own novel, ‘Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines’, the next book in this school club series. I’m excited to get to know more about her, as she was one of the less prominent members of the Bake Club. They all had their own stories to tell, after all, and I’m glad they all got exposure.

Which brings me on to the Bake Club in general. Over the last two years, I have been completely obsessed with The Great British Bake Off, so this was the perfect book to satisfy my love of watching people bake. It was so quirky that this book also included the recipes for everything the characters made, which I hope to try out sometime soon!

There’s nothing more exciting than a competition, especially if it involves baking, cakes and romance. Yay!

Gosh, I don’t know how I could give this book any less than 5 stars. It made me feel so warm and sparkly, with its cute couples and underlying messages of truth telling and supporting your friends. This novel delivered on all levels, and I can’t wait to see what Katy Cannon writes next! – Stay tuned for a review of ‘Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines’ soon!