Not just with eating it - though she loves that too - but with writing about it as an aspiring cookery reporter. But food journalism jobs are more coveted than cupcakes, and so Sydney is stuck working for one of TV's biggest egomaniacs - until she's left scrambling for shifts at the local farmers' market.
Selling muffins at the Wild Yeast Bakery is hardly going to make her the next Nigella. But soon Sydney is writing the market's weekly newsletter, and her quirky stories gain attention from a prominent food columnist. After years of being left on the shelf, she's even dating again. And then Sydney gets a shot at the story, one that could either make her career or burn it to a cinder - along with her relationship and her reputation.
I really enjoyed reading Dana Bate's debut novel The Secret Supper Club so when I was asked to be part of the blog tour for her new novel The Stall of Second Chances I didn't hesitate to say yes.
When we first meet Sydney Strauss she is just about to be laid off from her job at a TV company, a job that she fell into after college instead of pursuing her dream job of being a food journalist, which gives her the chance to reconsider her options and maybe finally follow her dreams.
Until such time as Sydney lands on her feet she takes on a job working alongside her friend Heidi at a farmers food market and starts blogging about food again which soon attracts the attention of the local newspaper and this is when life certainly gets interesting for her...
Sydney was certainly an interesting character and you couldn't help but laugh out loud at some of the sticky situations that she finds herself in especially when it comes to men, and there's no shortage of admirers cropping up throughout the book, and her pursuit of a newsworthy story that could be the break she needs to kick-start her career. Although I found myself at times wondering what she was doing, I could see that she was trying to do the right thing although not necessarily agreeing with the way she went about things.
But I cannot write this review without mentioning the food, there are so many mentions of deliciously sounding breads, cakes & meals that I have to confess to having a couple of cravings for midnight snacks whilst reading but I resisted the temptation!! If you're a foodie who loves to bake you can even try out a few of the recipes for yourself that are at the back of the book, sadly I'm not so I can only use my imagination as to how good they taste.
The Stall of Second Chances is another hit for me from Dana Bate, full of interesting characters and tasty treats, I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next.
I'd like to thank Grace at Little Brown for sending me a copy of this fantastic book to review.
Thanks for the lovely review! You are such a fast reader -- I'm so impressed!
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