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The Way to a Woman's Heart

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 94 ratings · 14 reviews

Cooking seemed like the perfect distraction - until a delicious chef was thrown in the mix ...

Escaping from corporate city life into the heart of the Berkshire countryside, Ella Maloney hopes to find rural tranquillity and a chance to sort out the problems in her long-term relationship. On arriving, she realises tranquillity is in short supply, but welcomes the distraction...more

Paperback, 455 pages

Published February 1st 2011 by Piatkus Books (first published November 1st 2010)

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May 31, 2011 Rea Sinfield rated it 5 of 5 stars

As most of you will know from my previous reviews I am a keen reader. My favourite Author by far is the lovely Christina Jones. I have read every one of her books and I can honestly say they have never disappointed me.
Christina's newer books such as Moonshine, Happy Birthday and Love Potions are all stories set around the surrounding villages of Bagley-cum-Russet, Fiddlesticks and Hazy Hassocks. Each book sees a new character brought in around these villages but characters from the other books...more As most of you will know from my previous reviews I am a keen reader. My favourite Author by far is the lovely Christina Jones. I have read every one of her books and I can honestly say they have never disappointed me.
Christina's newer books such as Moonshine, Happy Birthday and Love Potions are all stories set around the surrounding villages of Bagley-cum-Russet, Fiddlesticks and Hazy Hassocks. Each book sees a new character brought in around these villages but characters from the other books all seem to make an appearance in each of the books. Although having said this I personally do not think you need to read any of these books in a particular order as they do all stand alone in their stories and are not a continuation series of books.

I have long waited for Christina Jones to bring out her new book The Way To A Woman's Heart to be released. As soon as I got home I started to read it....... oh ok and I finished it too!!!!

***PLOT***
Ella Maloney has come to a point in her life where she wants more in life. The job she has she doesn't enjoy, the relationship she is in is going nowhere. She finds a way out of this life after finding an advert in the paper to move to the country and help a lady, to look after her little boy George.
Ella knows she has made the right choice but when she meets Poll she reveals that there is more going on at this house which she hadn't informed Ella about. Poll is opening up her home to the lost causes who need a home, Ash, Billy and Trixie who each have their own unique characters but have two things in common, their love for cooking and their favourite T.V show Dewberrys Dinners.
The book comes into its own when the Dewsberrys Dinners show are looking for guests to compete on their show with a winning cheque and a chance to open their own restaurant.

***My Opinion***
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I could not put it down. Each of the characters I found I warmed to straight away. I also liked the way that the characters all flowed together nicely as there were quite a few strong characters in this book and I sometimes find with books that have too many lead characters I get a little confused as to who is who in certain parts of the book but I didn't find this happened in this book and I think that is because the characters personality where develop so well. This story is a light and enjoyable read. It is not to challenging and it holds a kind of humour I have read in no other authors books. Although there is a magical element in this book ( as there is with previous Christinas Jones books) this doesn't over power the book or make the book silly in any kind of way it just helps to bring more humour to the book and make it truly unique in its style of books.
I didn't find the book predictable which I enjoyed as you never know what is going to happen in the next chapter which keeps you guessing and page turning! I didn't find any low points to this book where you could just skim over a paragraph which to me makes this another excellent book of hers.
We meet a few of the characters from the previous books again in this book which gives it a nice familiar touch, but again with this book it stands alone and doesn't follow on from a previous book.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to try something a little different with a little humour included. It would be an ideal beach read although if you enjoy it as much as I did I would advise you to take her other books with you as you may need one a day!
I just hope it's not too long before her next book comes out!

Also on my book blog
http://reabookreview.blogspot.com/(less)

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Aug 09, 2012 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars

I mentioned in another review that I have been in a reading funk just lately. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I have been obsessed with the Olympics over the last couple of weeks; nothing seemed to hold my attention for very long, and I went to the library needing a few books that were easy and fun, and nothing that would take too much in the way of concentration. The Way to a Woman's Heart was one that I picked up, and it took me less than a day to get through it.

I have read...more I mentioned in another review that I have been in a reading funk just lately. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I have been obsessed with the Olympics over the last couple of weeks; nothing seemed to hold my attention for very long, and I went to the library needing a few books that were easy and fun, and nothing that would take too much in the way of concentration. The Way to a Woman's Heart was one that I picked up, and it took me less than a day to get through it.

I have read quite a few of Christina Jones' books before; the first being one that I was given for Christmas. When I first read Hubble Bubble , I assumed it stood in isolation, but over the years I discovered many more books that were set in the same area, with the same mystical elements to them. The Way to a Woman's Heart is one of those books. I didn't realise it when I picked it up, but when I started to read it I realised that reference to the storyline of this book had been made in a book I read a few weeks ago.

I knew I was going to enjoy this book. I don't indiscriminately like chick-lit (a term I'm not that fond of); I have been unfortunate enough to read some that are simply badly written. I knew, from previous experience, that this wasn't going to be a problem with a Christina Jones novel. I knew that I would probably like the heroine, in this case, a young woman called Ella who, deciding she needed time out from her busy London life, relocates to the Berkshire countryside. I knew that there would be a romantic interest for Ella, who would be gorgeous and charming; Ash fulfils that role nicely.

The story sees Ella and her new housemates, including Ash, enter a television cookery show. The story is set in a small village just outside the familiar Hazy Hassocks and Fiddlesticks locations that we know from other Jones novels. Where Hubble Bubble gave us magical recipes from an old book found in the attic, and Heaven Sent gave us mystical results from alchemy and fireworks, The Way to a Woman's Heart gives us fairies. The mystical elements of Jones' books are never overt, usually just a suggestion here or there with a fair few cynical characters to wonder about the existence of fairies or ghosts or magical recipes. By setting these books in the same area, Jones allows herself to neatly explain these mystical happenings by suggesting that they live in a particularly magical area.

As with most chick-lit novels, there isn't much here that you won't expect. It would be a disappointment if there wasn't a happy ending, but the fun is in reading about the path of true love, rather than expecting to be surprised by the destination. (less)

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Jun 07, 2012 Nash Nordin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: culinary-theme, chick-lit

Book Review: The Way to a Woman's Heart @ai-Books

I haven’t read anything written by Christina Jones before, and I thought that I should give The Way to a Woman’s Heart a try. But, this book wasn’t really what I thought it would be. I think I might be deceived by its cover, title and summary (which is the reason why I bought the book in the first place)!

The Way to a Woman’s Heart is a light read with light romance, humor and a little magical element in it (with Trixie believing in fairies). But I...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Chanpreet rated it 5 of 5 stars

Christina Jones latest is another "magic" book on her hands and she does a great job with it. She's already had one book about the magic of food, "Hubble Bubble" starring Mitzi Blessings, but she takes this one in a completely different direction.

Ella has left her high paced city job to become a mother's helper. She's young and beautiful and has always wanted to work with children, and has decided to take this chance to try. She's also taking a 3 month sabbatical from her long term boyfriend and...more Christina Jones latest is another "magic" book on her hands and she does a great job with it. She's already had one book about the magic of food, "Hubble Bubble" starring Mitzi Blessings, but she takes this one in a completely different direction.

Ella has left her high paced city job to become a mother's helper. She's young and beautiful and has always wanted to work with children, and has decided to take this chance to try. She's also taking a 3 month sabbatical from her long term boyfriend and co-worker Marcus, to see if they still want to be with each other at the end of the break. She moves in with Poll, a 40 something, slightly ditzy, mother of two year old George. Poll has a secret plan for Hideaway, but she's kept it all to herself and is hoping everything goes her way. The day Ella moves into Hideaway, Ash arrives. Ash is a gorgeous specimen of a man, who comes with his beloved Rory, a python. Ash is a professional chef who lost the roof over his head because of Rory. Along the way, Hideaway collects two more maligned souls, Billy and Trixie, all in according with Poll's plans.

These five have a few things in common. They love to cook, and have their own specialties, and they love watching "Dewberry Dinners" a television show in which a team of amateur cooks goes up against other teams to win money and a chance at their own restaurant. Most of them are also misunderstood by the rest of society and have had troubles. When "Dewberry Dinners" comes to their area, everyone tells the hob-knob family not to join, but do they?

Without giving too much more away, this book is slightly different from the previous Mad Village books in that it is a little longer. This book is a little over 450 pages. The characters are quite likable and the magic is not completely out there. In fact the source of the magic is a quite a nice surprise. The story flows well and you don't really notice the time and pages flying by.
I believe this was Ms.Jones last "magic" containing book. And I must say even if it is, I am eagerly looking forward to getting my hands on her next book. "Never Can Say Goodbye."(less)

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Mar 12, 2011 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars

I savoured reading this book and enjoyed every minute. It was immediately reconisable as a Christina Jones book, set in a relatively familiar location with some old characters popping up, but also in keeping with my expectations for Christina Jones' books it took me a little bit further into another corner of that cosy universe that I hadn't visited before. Ultimately, it's lighthearted, a romantic comedy without too many surprises but just what my flagging spirits needed.

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Feb 15, 2013 Monique Liedtke is currently reading it

Really don't know if I should continue reading ... the start is so dumb!! Right on the first page the main character (Ella) drives almost into a duck pond and twice into someone's garden ... just because she isn't used to driving outside London. I mean, how stupid can you get? Which normal person will do this unless you're utterly totally stupid? I'll give it a go for another chapter or so and if it doesn't improve it will go back to the 2nd hand bookstore.

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Apr 16, 2011 Donna Irwin rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just love Christina Jones - and her new book (which I spotted on the new additions tavle in the library) did not disappoint - funny, well written, usual lisunderstandings , great characters and romance....what more can I say - except I think I have read all her books now!!!

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May 14, 2012 Suze rated it 3 of 5 stars

I like Christina Jones's stories and this one delivers on all i expect from one of her books. If you like her stories you'll love it. If you like stereotyped quaint english village stories with eccentric characters and a bit of magic, you'll love it. Perfect for a sunny day, nice light read. Not my favourite of hers - that goes to stealing the show, with hubble bubble second. So my score is prob a 3.75 really.

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Oct 06, 2012 Dinks rated it 2 of 5 stars

Great concept, the character's backgrounds were good too, I just couldn't get into it. Not sure why.

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May 14, 2013 D.J. rated it 5 of 5 stars

A good read from start to finish with the scene on the last page one of the best endings I have ever read.

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Jan 15, 2013 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this one as the plot did sound a bit on the daft side - but as the book progressed I began to enjoy all the wacky characters and the "come dine with me" type story line.

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Apr 12, 2013 Laura Dobb rated it 2 of 5 stars

Very descriptive, sometimes you just want her to get on with it. An OK book with a typical happy ending. Wouldn't be in a hurry to read any more books by this author though.

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Mar 18, 2011 Kezza22 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads

An ok book but loads of waffle and felt some of what she was describing was a bit lengthy and not really needed.
Wouldn't buy or read the book again but it was ok

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Jan 02, 2013 Louwenna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Christina Jones never dissapoints me, another cracking book.

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May 23, 2013 Anna-Lisa marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: magic, romance

May 22, 2013 Tasha rated it 3 of 5 stars

May 20, 2013 Hevel Cava marked it as to-read

May 10, 2013 Corrie Aw. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

May 01, 2013 Catherine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 23, 2013 Emelie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Apr 22, 2013 Neil Fix added it

Apr 18, 2013 B marked it as to-read

Shelves: new-in-2013, 2013-tbr

Apr 14, 2013 Mena marked it as my-library-c-f

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Apr 07, 2013 Sunflower11 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mar 19, 2013 Els rated it 4 of 5 stars

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About Christina Jones

I've written all my life, but only became a published novelist in 1997. Before that, I wrote short stories and newspaper articles for pin money while doing a series of naff jobs. In fact I've had twenty seven jobs and been sacked from nineteen of them for writing when I should have been working. I've been, among other things, a shop assistant, waitress, cleaner, secretary, factory worker, market-r...more I've written all my life, but only became a published novelist in 1997. Before that, I wrote short stories and newspaper articles for pin money while doing a series of naff jobs. In fact I've had twenty seven jobs and been sacked from nineteen of them for writing when I should have been working. I've been, among other things, a shop assistant, waitress, cleaner, secretary, factory worker, market-researcher, nanny, bookseller, night-club dancer, civil servant, blood donor attendant, fruit-picker and barmaid. I'm now, apparently, a Real Writer.

Writing for a living is wonderful - a dream come true - and I now manage to combine writing novels, short stories and articles with not doing the housework, not doing the gardening, not cooking much, but at least attempting to look after my husband - the Toyboy Trucker - and my daughter and our 17 rescued cats.

I was born in Oxford and have lived in Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Northumberland, London and Jersey. I blame my parents both for my itchy feet and my romantic soul. My Dad was a circus clown - Poor Billy, Prince of Laughter Makers - and my Mum who trained as a teacher, came from an army family, and had lived in six countries before she was 15. They met and fell in love while the circus was off the road and my Dad was working as Santa Claus in a department store. My Mum, at home for Christmas, was the fairy in his grotto. I was entranced by the way they met, that they were from such different backgrounds, and that their love for one another managed to survive every obstacle and objection thrown in its path. Every book I've written has their story at its core.

I grew up in a Berkshire village, in a tight, happy, secure and very working class community. My childhood was idyllically happy, and my friends from those days are still my best friends now. My novels reflect this community spirit, and all have small groups of people - crossing class, age and gender - who are friends and work together through the roller coaster ride of life. Also, because the women I grew up with were, by necessity, tough and go-getting with a sense of humour, my heroines are gutsy and strong. Real women in real situations. And the fact that the backgrounds to my books mirror my own past experiences is no coincidence, either.

My parents were great storytellers and avid readers, and taught me to read long before I started school, so I started writing my own stories at about five years old without thinking it in the least odd. Writing was an obsession, a friend, a way of life. I had my first short story published at 14, still blissfully unaware this was unusual. However, having a novel published was my life's ambition - and one that took another thirty writing years to achieve.

Having won a couple of awards for my short stories, I joined the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1993, and was lucky enough to be voted runner-up for the New Writers' Scheme Award at my second attempt in 1995. Dancing in the Moonlight was published by My Weekly Story Library, and as it didn't have an ISBN wasn't classed as a novel. I was, of course, ecstatic at this literary elevation - and it was at the RNA Awards Lunch that I was approached by an agent who suggested I should try writing full length commercial fiction. Going the Distance was the result, and amazingly it was sold to a publisher straight away and then, equally amazingly, chosen for the 1997 WH Smith Fresh Talent Promotion - and I haven't (touch wood and fingers and all other extremities crossed!) - looked back since.

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