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Jan 04, 2012

VillaPark rated it:

How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O’Neal is the perfect recipe for an enjoyable read. Ramona Gallagher has weathered everything from becoming a single mother at age 15 to enduring an ongoing family feud that affects her current business situation. She operates a successful bread bakery in her inherited Colorado Springs Victorian home but the slow economy and a series of small mishaps threaten her business and home. Her daughter Sofia receives a call that her soldier husband has been More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 21, 2011

Mary rated it:

You can read my take here

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 17, 2011

Naomi rated it:

Generally a cute story...sort of your typical chick-lit book. I bumped it up to 3 stars for the recipes alone..My gosh, the recipes look so fantastic. I am loving the fact that authors are starting to do recipes with their books..as someone who loves to cook, it is just something that makes them stand out and go POW! And let me add, I have gotten some pretty terrific recipes from these types of books and authors web sites.

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2011

Jessica rated it:

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Oct 27, 2011

Megan rated it:

Generally, I have a tendency to gag while reading a blurb that talks about ~exploring the bonds between mothers and daughters~, and one that additionally drops cliches like "offer a second chance at love." Barbara O'Neal, however, digs deep into characters and relationships, and she pulls out the poignant and the tough and the fragile. And she uses that stuff to tell her story, not the cliches or the stereotypes or the superficial obvious stuff. So while How to Bake a Perfect Life is a More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Angela rated it:

I love her books! This book follows a woman, who is a baker, through her life. I love how it is like I am watching a snapshot of this woman's life. I see the entire gambit of emotions from deep sorrow to true love and everything in between. The characters in the book go through everyday life and all the challenges and surprises that go with it. If you haven't read this author before then you are in for a treat. She always writes about some type of cook or baker and then includes recipes in the s More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2011

Denise rated it:

In How to Bake a Perfect Life a cobbled together family of women struggle to find success and happiness and to understand each other. The book centers around Ramona, a 40 year old woman trying to keep her beloved bakery open. Circling the story of Ramona are those of Sophia, her pregnant daughter, and Katie, Sophia's neglected stepdaughter, in addition to Ramona's mother, grandmother, and aunt. Each woman has to fight her own set of demons and all are strong in their own, unique ways. Woven thro More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 12, 2012

Paula rated it:

Such a fun book! This is the second book of Barbara O'Neals that I've read and I've loved them both.
How to Bake a Perfect Life is set in Colorado Springs in a bakery run by Ramona Gallagher. Ramona inherited the old Victorian house from her Grandmother and has opened her bakery in it where she makes and serves wonderful artisian breads. The story opens with Ramona and her daughter, Sophia, talking in the kitchen when the phone rings and Sophia gets the news that her soldier husband ha More...

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Jan 25, 2011

Sara rated it:

I chose How to Bake a Perfect Life because I like to read and review books that may be good for Book Club. I can see how this book would appeal to many book clubs, but alas I cannot recommend this book for my book club as we know too many military wives and there are too many husbands who are or who will be deployed “over there.” While this book focuses more on the mother, not the pregnant wife of the military soldier who becomes a disfigured amputee, the side story of the pregnant wife is abso More...

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Dec 21, 2011

Poonchka rated it:

"How to Bake a Perfect Life" was about a baker in Colorado who is close to losing her bakery, working through a family feud, takes in her daughter's step-daughter and reunites with a man she loved in her past.

Overall, I liked this book. One thing that stood out to me was how the author incorporated bread starter recipes and recipes for a couple other baked goods. A few of them sounded like something I would like to try! I always think it is neat when an author puts in elements that

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Sep 25, 2011

Elsie rated it:

Okay... I really think the summary tells you most of what you need to know.

Characters: Ramona is wonderful. She has her Book of Breads that she started when she was fifteen and some of the recipes are shared within the chapters of the book (my mom made a couple of them... they're good). Sophia and Katie and book great additions to the story. Sophia is sitting, pregnant, at the bedside of her wounded husband. And Katie is stuck at Ramona's house with her dog Merlin. Jonah is Ramona's ma More...

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Jul 24, 2011

Mary rated it:

One of life’s comforts is a small constants that are always true. If you mix water, yeast, and flour, it will rise and make bread. This is the constant in Ramona Gallahger’s life. Born into a large family, she has been somewhat of an outcast since becoming pregnant at 15. Bread and baking comforted her then and do so now.

Separated from the family restaurant business, Ramona, now 40, owns her own bakery and shares her life with her daughter, Sofia. When Sofia’s husband has been inj More...

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Jan 18, 2011

Deborah rated it:

I don't have the words to describe how much I loved this book. It is warm, funny, and entertaining while still being poignant and heart-breakingly real. It's like a mug of hot chocolate on a frosty cold day...with a shot of Bailey's in it. And as with all of O'Neal's books, the recipes are a great bonus.

Ramona Gallagher is a professional baker who is one plumbing disaster away from losing everying, including her business and her grandmother's falling-apart Victorian. To complicate th More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 25, 2011

Patty rated it:

I think a lot of love goes into Barbara O'Neal's novels. Certainly it is a major theme for the ones I have read. And for me, there is nothing wrong with love winning out in the long run.

I enjoy O'Neal's stories because they are about strong women overcoming adverse and difficult situations. Yes, I always know they will work out. However, she creates enough good tension that I am never quite sure if the situations will work out as I hope they will.

As always, I became invol More...

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Oct 21, 2011

Monica rated it:

I adored this book, far more than I expected to. I typically read historical romance or fantasy, and avoid most contemporary work. I guess I enjoy really escaping from reality into a different time or place. I also usually find the present tense awkward, annoying and confusing when I read novels.

Naturally, this novel was contemporary and in the present tense. I should have hated it. Instead, I found it to be a beautiful story. My eyes teared up on a regular basis, but the overall sto More...

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Feb 20, 2012

Mrs. rated it:

How to Bake a Perfect Life is the story of Ramona Gallagher, a professional baker, mother, and soon-to-be grandmother. After having her daughter, Sophia, at fifteen, Ramona has worked hard to establish herself as a woman who does not need to rely on her family money and influence to make her bakery successful. When Sophia's husband, Oscar, becomes injured in Afghanistan and she has to go take care of him in the hospital, Ramona takes on the responsibility of caring for Oscar's 13 year old daug More...

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Nov 22, 2011

LiteraryMarie rated it:

Ramona was born into a line of restaurant owners and bread bakers. After she was skipped over for a promotion, she broke away from the family and started her own bakery. Everything was fine until one phone call changed her life. Ramona's pregnant daughter, Sofia, received news that her soldier husband was badly burned overseas. Sofia rushed to her injured husband's side, leaving behind a 13-year-old stepdaughter, Katie, in Ramona's care.

The story slowly moves along with Ramona trying More...

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Mar 17, 2011

Kimberly rated it:

I really, really enjoyed this! O'Neal's description is just stunning, and I felt like I knew every nook of her bakery/house (and loved it). The characters were lovely while still being flawed (even when they did ugly things-- which wasn't often, but this is life-- you knew they weren't ugly people. They were so real!). I loved how masterfully she wrote the layers of each character, and that everyone had a journey in the book. The book did "jump" from character to character (smoothly, i More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2011

Alexandra rated it:

I really, really liked this book a lot :) It took me some time to really get into though, for some reason. I'd be fine when I was reading it, but then when I put it down I didn't really have too much of a desire to pick it back up again but I made myself, because I had a feeling it would pick up and I was right.

It was a cute, and very touching story (and at times very emotional and deep) about a woman named Ramona who had a baby very early in life, which changed her life forever. Ho More...

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May 21, 2011

Justin rated it:

The story had everything that a girl like me loves - baking, an awesome dog, a bakery, a bit of drama, some romance and a happy ending. Ramona is such a great character. She's so strong and compassionate, really, truly caring about those in her life. She has some struggles but no matter she's willing to sacrifice for her loved ones. And Katie, poor sweet Katie has seen way too much in her young life, but she's an old soul who has taken those bad experiences and struggles and turned them into More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 11, 2011

Laura rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Aug 04, 2011

Jo rated it:

If you are interested in multi-generational family dynamics; well-drawn characters, especially female, of all ages; creative heroines, who are usually cooks who haven't quite figured out their love lives yet; and the inevitable attractive guy who pleasingly turns up-- Barbara O'Neal is your gal. Oh, and there's always an incredibly sweet dog. I've enjoyed her previous novels, The Lost Recipe for Happiness and The Secret of Everything, and can confirm that the author characteristically writes wit More...

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Jul 07, 2011

Jenn rated it:

This was a fun summer read - great to sit on the porch, watch the fireflies with a cold cocktail in hand (and avoid the mosquitoes!)

I liked how the women in the story all kind of had messy lives. And I liked that there was a big "they all walked into the sunset hand in hand" at the end of the story. You knew that they would continue to have problems, but coming together made them all a little stronger.

This novel was set in Colorado Springs, which I immensely e More...

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Jul 12, 2011

Mary rated it:

More like a 3.6.
Ramona bakes bread - an occupation that has pulled her through a lot of difficult circumstances - like the time she was pregnant and 15 and sent to live with her aunt; or the time when her father hired her cheating ex-husband instead of Ramona for a job she was qualified to take; or when her pregnant daughter has to fly to Germany to bring home her soldier husband who was badly wounded in battle, and who leaves Ramona with an angry 13 year old step-daughter whose mother is a More...

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Feb 09, 2011

Shea rated it:

I was trying to decide whether to give this one a 3 or a 4...so I'll go with a 3.5 overall.
I liked the book. I thought the way O'Neal used the voices of the three generations was creative (Ramona was first person, Sofia's story was through journal entries and Katie was in third person). It was a great way to seperate the characters in my mind so I always knew whose point of view I was reading. I also liked how most of the book takes place in the present day, but in the middle it goes back More...

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Jan 03, 2012

Becky rated it:

The setting for this book is mostly a small private owned bakery, and the blended family and extended family make most of the characters related. The book is full of family conflict which is overshadowed by the love they share. Barbara O'Neal fills the book with wonderful descriptions of sites, sounds, smells, and textures in words and ways I never would have thought. For example, I love how she describes a person by the smell of foods that linger on their skin and the posturing a pet makes t More...

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Sep 24, 2011

Shannon rated it:

Great story and compelling characters. However, there was this thing with the dialogue where the characters never spoke in contractions the way normal people do, and it kept taking me right out of the book, it was THAT distracting. That's just poor editing right there. I can't stand dialogue that doesn't sound the way people actually talk. It'd be one thing were this taking place in the 17th century, but since it was present day and practically local to boot, I feel okay about quibbling.

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Jan 10, 2011

Kelly rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 10, 2011

Rosalie rated it:

If possible, I would have everyone read Barbara's books as examples of perfect writing. And yes, I'm aware I 'wax lyrical'. I love the characters, the setting, her writing. And even though I look forward to a happy ending, I also miss the people just so much when I finish.
Luckily, Barbara is into cooking and includes recipes. I envisage her trying them out as she mulls over her story :) Whimsical maybe? Okay, but it's my life!

Anyway, I highly recommend the Hearty Berry Streusel More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 15, 2011

Pattie rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. Told from three different points of view (and generations), it is a wonderful story of life, love, hardship, discovery, and baking bread. Interspersed throughout the story are tips on bread baking (including how to make your own sourdough starter), history, trivia, and recipes. I was so inspired by both book and recipes that yesterday I baked, for the first time ever, a French baguette! It was less than what I'd hoped, but then again, I've decided to try again (and More...

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