GOODREADS SUMMARY:

The only love Kally Andarakis is baking is in the form of the sweet treats she whips up in her cafe, The Coffee Klatch. Kally never believed herself to be a person worthy of love, but when an intoxicating man she considered out of her league pursues her, she risks everything to be with him. Later, when tragedy strikes, truths are revealed that leave Kally brokenhearted and untrusting. Eight years later, Kally is a successful pastry chef running the cafe she'd always dreamed of owning. With a home of her own, a profession she's passionate about, and the support and love of friends and family, Kally is content with the life she has carved out for herself. Until the day Max Vardaxis walks into her cafe...With arguing parents, meddling relatives, an overly energetic grandmother, a man-crazy best friend, and the long ago, mysterious disappearance of a grandfather, this new man in town is just one more complication in Kally's life, if not the main one.

TEE'S REVIEW:

Love Is What You Bake Of It was such a fun and cute read. I totally devoured the book in a little over a day and I am a card-carrying member of the Slow Readers Club. The story centers are Kally Andarakis and the small bakery/cafe that she owns in the town she grew up in.

Kally is afraid of love, she has been hurt, and she has vowed not to love again, but in walks Max, a local police officer. Max is good-looking and single. He is also afraid to fall in love and is concentrating on raising his daughter Athena, he is also Greek, which would please Kally’s big Greek family.

There were so many things to like about this book… Kally’s family was one. They are humorous and have Kallys best interest at heart, even though at times Kally herself doesn’t always realize this. I especially loved her grandma, who was a bit feisty and seemed to say what she wanted. Like during the romance book club meeting ( yeah Coffee Klatch held book club meetings, how cool is that? ) when she said :

“ The book needs more sex “………” What it is true. I might look old but inside the fire still burns…” 

For some reason, anytime she was mentioned in the book, Sophia from The Golden Girls popped into my head. 

I loved all the Greek traditions that were portrayed in the book, learning about another culture is always an added bonus to me when I read. They gave me the feeling of the tightness and importance of these traditions to the families that keep them alive, the same as so many in my own Jewish culture. This brought me so much closer to all the characters in the book, and the descriptions seem to just open up this new world that beforehand I had no idea about.

Both Kally and Max were very likable, though at times I wanted to bop Kally for being so stubborn. She was determined to set her own path away from her family and I really liked that strength in her. However, she always held her family close and would step up when needed, as when she went to Greece to help out a family member.

Max was a sexy single dad and I loved the relationship he had with his daughter Athena, and the determination he had to raise her properly. 

All in all, I found very little I did not like about Love Is What You Bake Of It, Effie Kammenou's writing weaves together a storyline that is clear and descriptive, she throws in well-developed characters that we all can relate to. The book was humorous, with strong family dynamics and just a sprinkle of mystery and suspense. OH! and I can’t forget one of my favorite parts…BAKING…mmmmhmmm you have to try some of the recipes that are in this book, the blueberry scones are to die for!

** I was gifted  this book as part of a blog tour with Kate Rock Book Tours **