December, 1940: All that Audrey Barton wants is her family together for Christmas. But the war changes everything…
The Barton family bakery in Bournemouth has been at the heart of the town for generations: Audrey and Charlie Barton have never been rich, but their bread and cakes – and their love and advice – have enriched the lives of others in the town for many years.
When war breaks out, it doesn’t take long for trouble to arrive on the bakery doorstep. Audrey’s brother William has joined up to fight, and William’s fiancé Elsie fears she may lose him before their life together has even begun. Audrey’s stepsister Lily comes to stay, but Lily is clearly hiding a dark secret.
And a silent and strange little girl is evacuated to the town – will Audrey get to the heart of what is ailing her?
Audrey battles to keep hope and love alive in tumultuous times. But when disaster strikes at Christmas, will her efforts be in vain?
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Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Heartaches and Christmas Cakes to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Heartaches and Christmas Cakes is the first in a new wartime bakery series from Amy Miller and by the time I finished this story I found it to be one of the better war time sagas I have recently read. Admittedly it did take me some time to really get into the story but once I did there was no stopping me as I raced to the end of the book. There were a lot of characters to familiarise myself with, but I suppose that is what comes with the introduction of any new series. But after a time, I felt like all the characters were firm friends and I was right there with them as they faced the war and all the upheavals that brought with it. This book made me realise more than ever before just how difficult the war years were but through friendship, support and community spirit the people at the time worked together to make the best of a very bad situation. A situation with the outbreak of war they believed would be resolved by Christmas. I wonder would they have upheld the same spirit if they had known six long years of devastation, rationing, blackouts, bombing and hardships lay ahead of them?
The focal point of Heartaches and Christmas Cakes was a bakery in a suburb of Bournemouth. I thought this was a fantastic idea as it became a place for the characters and residents to congregate to discuss problems or even just to share their worries regarding ongoing events of the war. I had never read any story featuring a bakery during war time and I felt it definitely brought something fresh to the saga genre in which so many books are still written every year. This book needed something different to make it stand out and with the inclusion of the bakery but also such strong and varied characters these were the factors that made this book an interesting and increasingly gripping read as the story progressed. The book opens with a familiar scene for many and partly set the tone for the remainder of the story. It is the autumn of 1939 and Audrey Barton is at Bournemouth train station waving goodbye to her brother William, recently enlisted he is off to face the unknown. It is a sad and worrying time for his family but also especially for his soon to be fiancée Elsie. Unfortunately Elsie misses his departure and that is something that racks her with guilt.
Audrey right from the beginning was the real mother hen, who kept so many balls juggling in the air and never wanted to let anyone down. She was the shoulder for people to cry on, the person who slipped in an extra loaf or bun from the bakery if possible and the person who saw people in need and offered safety, comfort and protection. Even a wise word from Audrey, the reader could see meant so much to those who needed it. Beneath her strong, determined, loving exterior I could see she too suffered in her own way. Yes she had the worry of her brother away fighting, combined with the threat of night raids and the attempts to keep the bakery running and profitable, but there was more to it than that. Deep down she was fighting her own battle and it was one she kept to herself when really she should have shared it with others to relieve her burden. Her desire to become a mother was only ever increasing and as she feels time is slipping away, it will become too late and her wish will never be fulfilled.
Audrey's husband, Charlie, in my mind was a strange character, I felt we never got really inside his mind and got to know exactly what he was thinking. He was abrupt with his wife for no reason and it seemed like she was the glue that held the pieces together. Yes he was always busy in the bakery slogging away for long hours but at times he treated Audrey with disdain and didn't value her for all the good work she did and the fact she never gave up on anyone or anything. There is clearly more going on with Charlie and I hope it will be dealt with in future books.
Apart from Audrey, there were lots of other people to get to know but it always came back to the bakery as the centre of the story. This made me understand how important and crucial bakeries were during the war and if this was to go many people would feel its absence. There weren't too many technical terms surrounding baking and bread but what was there felt apt and brought more information and understanding to the reader. The bakery was the focal point of the community and with Audrey there people knew they could rely on her and that despite women feeling useless that they themselves couldn't go and fight in the war that in some ways were doing their own little bit.
Elsie as I have mentioned previously was soon to become Audrey's sister-in-law. In my mind she had the rawest deal of all, the events that befell her family certainly made the heartaches of the title ever more real and very unjust. The incidents that her family have to go through were horrific and I felt anyone weaker would have just given up but Elsie demonstrated she had courage and tenacity and she wasn't going to let her family sit down and shrivel up. She stepped up to the mark and became the woman of the household and did so with aplomb. Just when you thought things might have been settling on an even path for her a situation with William developed. I couldn't make head nor tail of this at all given how much he loved her. It seemed out of the blue and out of character but the author did well to let this aspect of the storyline develop of its own accord and it made my heartbreak ever more when things began to be slowly revealed.
Lily, Audrey's step sister arrives with her own burden and given the past history Audrey has with her family she wouldn't be blamed for turning her away. But again this only served to demonstrate the loving and kind person that Audrey was. A person in need would never find themselves out in the cold. Lily was in an unfortunate situation but at the same time she needed to do a lot of growing up and the bakery may offer that comfort and seclusion she needed to come to terms with her situation. Lily seemed very immature when we first met her but being away from her family and the reasons why she was made her grow up and make decisions for herself as in the end that is who she has to look after. Mary, the little evacuee Audrey takes in was perhaps the sweetest character. For reasons unknown she does not speak but the reader can sense something unspeakable has happened and that she needs time and love to let the real Mary to come through. Mary's storyline only highlighted for me the harsh realities of war and how men, women and children had to have a brave, stiff upper lip throughout to keep going.
I really did enjoy Heartaches and Christmas Cakes, I thought it was a great introduction to a series. A lot of setting up and getting to know characters was covered but at the same time the story did move along. Some storylines were resolved and others began to see the light towards the end and I felt by the conclusion we were nicely set up for book two. A book which I will certainly be returning for as I desperately want to know what happens next for the residents of Fishermen's Road. The only slight problem I had with the book was that at times I felt it became quite jumpy or moved forward a few weeks/months or even between characters and scenes quite abruptly without the reader really realising it. I was reading of one person and then next thing I know it was radically different from the previous page I had read. Knowing this I would be more prepared for this in the second book if the same thing was to happen.
Christmas does feature towards the end as I hoped it would considering it's in the title and the cover itself alludes to Christmas but it's not the main focus of the book. Instead I was glad the characters were allowed to speak for themselves without the sole intent of ramming Christmas down our throats. Heartaches and Christmas Cakes was a really enjoyable read and the more the series progresses the more I know I am going to love it.
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