Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
I thought this fictional book about researching traditional English recipes in the early 1930s sounded interesting. The descriptions of variations (even within a town) against a backdrop of post-WW1 poverty and restrictions are realistic, but the atmosphere was ruined by numerous American spellings. I enjoy a good story but the subplot of her adoration of Michael - is he gay or isn't he?-including snooping around his home when he was out was uninteresting. I found the first quarter of the book dreary and stopped reading at that point.

Another book with a lot of grief at the start which I can’t deal with right now unfortunately. Will come back to it at a later date

I'm a huge fan of Caroline Scott and loved all her books I read as their always a time travel, an emotional experience, and a compelling novel.
This one is very entertaining, made me laugh, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
A well plotted and entertaining story that kept me hooked.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I may not have been the target audience of Caroline Scott’s new book, Good Taste, considering I am Irish and this book focuses on one woman’s quest to write a history of English food. But it’s testament to her skill as a writer that I thoroughly enjoyed this story and was totally caught up in the journey that our heroine Stella ventures on. Initially, I thought that, as this was very different from the authors previous brilliant books which were set during the war and the subject matter was in contrast to what I am used to, I wouldn’t find the story completely engaging but Stella is an endearing lead character who gets under your skin. I found there to be a sort of quirkiness amidst the main themes of the story and it never felt heavy. I really felt as if I got an education into the history of English food and to see that in fact said food has been inspired by countries from all over the world. There was a danger that this book could really have strayed into history textbook territory but the deftness of touch and the way Caroline Scott has with words avoided this happening.

Set between the two world wars in 1931, Stella Douglas has returned from London to Yorkshire to live with her father who remains on the family farm. Her father has become very fragile since the death of her mother from cancer and Stella feels she is doing the right thing coming back to look after him. But she is fearful of doing or saying the wrong thing and there are long silences between them. She is desperate to restore the gloss to her father but perhaps the gloss is lacking in her own life too. She rents Celandine Cottage but it is not in the best condition and her creative juices when it comes to writing her weekly column for a cookery magazine are certainly not flowing. Stella is lonely and wishes to be back in London with her friends Michael and Lucien whom she met in college. But Michael’s life is changing too as he is now in a relationship with Cynthia who from the outset came across as just one of those mean girls whose true intentions were only ever concerned with herself. The reader can tell that this new relationship Michael has embarked upon has upset Stella and put her off track with said friendship but she conceals this well.

Life for Stella has become quiet, narrow and colourless. Yorkshire is not providing her with the inspiration she needs and I felt if given a chance she would have grasped any opportunity and gotten out of there. But she feels duty bound to help her father get back on track. But he is a closed book and so set in his ways and it is difficult to reach beneath his exterior. But over the course of the book her father undergoes a remarkable transformation which was a joy to watch and it all develops without Stella even realising what is unfolding. It’s a charming element to the story which will bring a smile to your face and as it occurs so naturally and seamlessly it did allow for the development of Stella’s story to take more focus.

When Stella visits her publishers in London she is tasked with a new project - to write a history of English food. What is particular and peculiar to England? It should be an examination of the nations favourite dishes and should have a broad appeal. At first Stella is flummoxed as to how to go about such an enormous task but when she places a letter in a national newspaper requesting information about food, customs and traditions from around the country she receives an influx of letters some of which are fruitful and some not. Usually when there are letters or little anecdotes scattered throughout a book I tend to skim through them quickly because I find they more often than not bring nothing to the overall story but here it was the complete opposite. Said letters from all walks of life were so interesting, delightful and informative to read. I found they added so much flavour and depth to the overall story and they would make many readers wish to go and find out more when they finish the book.

Although Stella doesn’t feel the same way and she believes her task of writing the book has just become increasingly difficult. I thought she was so down on herself and put unnecessary pressure on herself to produce the best read that she could that as she journeys through the writing process she lost a little bit of herself and became caught up in a world where she lost all sense and purpose. This occurred with the introduction of antique dealer Freddie who rescues her when she breaks down at the side of the road whilst on a research trip. They develop a friendship as she is forced to stay in the village whilst repairs are made to her car.

Freddie is charming, flirtatious and debonair. To me he seemed a bit of a wheeler and dealer when it came to his antique business and I wondered did that spill over into his love life especially the more we discover about him? Stella is caught in Freddie’s spell and over the course of several months they grow closer and he helps with and encourages her research for her book. I think she felt as the door with Michael was very firmly closed was it time for other doors to open and with that thought Freddie was the first to appear and she just became totally caught up in his personality and his dashing about. He bewitched her so to speak and I felt she was losing sight of her current and most important purpose in life. Stella’s journey is one of many ups and downs and I rode every wave with her.

I felt the first half of the book was quite slow in parts but then as Stella emerges from what I felt was clouding her judgement and realising that the worst could happen the book took on an entirely different level and there was a great sense of urgency about Stella. There was no more wallowing that she couldn’t produce the best book possible and she really began to understand the true meaning and the importance of her task . The second half I really loved and I was rooting for her all the way. She was like the butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, all fresh and new and she knew what direction she needed to go in both in a professional and personal capacity and I desperately hoped that she would achieve all that she had set out to do.

Good Taste is an enjoyable, charming and captivating read with the main female character someone you wont forget in a hurry. This a witty read with great light and shade and the cast of supporting characters are all fabulous and with their own stories to tell. Although, I would love to know more about Stella’s neighbour and new friend Dilys as she seemed very intriguing. The reader will become lost in Stella’s quest to learn more about the history and traditions of English food and how she learns much more about herself in the process. This a lovely read that will be sure to please the loyal following that Caroline Scott has and introduce her wonderful work to many new readers.

Way, way too slow for me. I found myself falling asleep to this book because NOTHING was happening. I know that I prefer action-packed plots (rather than lots of thinking and not a lot of doing) and that's not what this book. There's an old saying that you've got ten minutes to pull in a reader/watcher -- I was done after that. Sadly, I think I requested this book thinking it was something else than what I got. Again, there's an audience for this, it's just not for me.

An endearing heroine, a vividly drawn between-the-wars setting, the complications of family and friendships, a mission that proves to be a greater challenge than she ever expected, the many wrong steps she takes along the way… this book was everything I wanted it to be, and I loved every moment.

Stella has had to leave her London life behind, now at Hatherstall in the West Riding of Yorkshire to care for her recently widowed and grieving father. She keeps her head above water and covers the rent on Celandine Cottage – not the rural idyll it might seem – by writing a column for a women’s magazine, the content now distinctly less glamorous to match the needs of the times. The book she’s written and is so proud of with its meticulous research and copious footnotes – the biography of Mrs Raffald, an eighteenth century cook – has had disappointing sales. But she now has a new and exciting commission – to write a history of English food – and a very welcome £40 advance, and sets about her research by placing an advertisement in a number of regional newspapers asking readers to send her their traditional recipes.

The results are desperately disappointing – far too many oatcakes and seedcakes and potatoes, and anything remotely interesting having its roots anywhere other than England. So she decides to do her own on-the-ground research, travelling to gather her own examples and supporting anecdotes, losing hope with every encounter – until, during an unexpectedly extended stay in Gloucestershire, her path crosses with that of Freddie, antique dealer and rogue, who suggests the solution of entering the realm of hypothetical history.

For the foodie, this book is an absolute delight – the notes and anecdotes that arrive in response to her advert pepper the narrative, diverse and quite fascinating, setting her off on various paths for her own discoveries, and new fodder for the flights of fancy that she decides to include. But they also provide a clear picture of the state of the nation – the colourful and exotic, and the plainer sustenance that’s really keeping the country fed.

But this book is about far more than the food – it’s about Stella’s own journey, making many mistakes and errors of judgement as she finds her path between right and wrong while pursuing the new freedoms and opportunities as a woman of her time. There’s a thwarted romance in the background – a close friendship that never looks to become anything more, but a source of support – and another that causes particular complications. And there’s a quite wonderful supporting cast, many of them not being quite what they at first appear to be – I had a particularly soft spot for Lucien, an unexpected ally, with his photograph of Ivor Novello on his bedside table. And I really loved her father – making her life so much more complicated (and her house even more cramped than it already was), but moving on from his grief, bringing a few surprises.

The writing is just wonderful – despite her choices, Stella is an immensely sympathetic character, and you ache for her as her choices begin to backfire. The book’s emotional touch is just perfect – and there are plenty of touches of humour and lightness to bring delight, along with moments of darkness giving light and shade. The research for this book must have been immense – as well as the whole culinary scene, the 1930s setting and the social divide has an exceptional authenticity. I’ll admit that this book might not have been quite what I expected, but I thought it was a real triumph – very highly recommended.

(Review copied to Amazon UK, but link not yet available)

Stella Douglas has been enjoying her life in London in this story set in the 1930s. She has a good friend in Michael, writes books (with modest success) about cooks of days gone by and is content with her life. All of this changes when Stella returns home, to Yorkshire, to be there for her her father.

When Stella returns to London to meet with her publisher, he sets her a task. Stella is to write about British foods in a far reaching compendium. She accepts this challenge which leads to research, writing and travel. Stella meets many along the way. How will her life be changed by this project and where it takes her? Find out in this delightful novel.

For me this book seemed a bit slow at times but I am glad to have read it. I think that those who enjoy women’s fiction, historical fiction, food and more will want to look at this nostalgic title.

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster U.K. and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

I was attracted to this book as I love anything about food and cooking. And although it seemed quite a lengthy book is is a good read and deals with emotions, life, loss and so much more.

This is the story of a writer, about writing, about food from the past and about trying to find what you want and need. But it is also mysterious and is somewhat based on true events. It is a good story but goes a bit overboard with the descriptiveness at times.

It is almost a history lesson but not in the since you of school history as it is much more interesting. But you do learn about life in the past, about the people and how they lived and coped and of course about how war affects so many.

A good read for the most part but would have been a bit better if not so long and drawn out.

I love food, and I have always had a fascination for history, so the blurb for this book made it sound exactly like the sort of book I would love and I wasn’t disappointed.

Stella is a writer. She writes a recipe column for a woman’s magazine and has also written one historically rather dry (apparently) biography on an English cook who should be more well-known than she is, I later discovered through my own research that her cookbook contained the first ever modern version of Macaroni Cheese (however I digress). The book was not the success either she or her publisher wanted it to be, so she presents another idea, to write about the origin of English food and her publisher laps it up.

In the search for this book, we see Stella travelling across the country trying to find the origin of various county and country meals. Still, more importantly, she learns about herself and grows closer to the memory of her mother, who died several years previously.

There are a couple of twists that I truly did not expect and the book was incredibly fun, more so after I realised that certain plot points that were merely hinted at earlier on went far deeper than I could have imagined.

I really, really loved this book! This is such a warm and engaging story - it draws the reader in and you don't want it to end. Set in the early 1930s, Stella Douglas is a young independent woman- a published author, now researching a new book about how the English eat. Stella is a wonderful character, and the book is so much about young women, their hopes and dreams and how they live their lives. Stella has lots to deal with: her recently bereaved father, her best friend's engagement, money worries and the need to create a saleable book. The writing really highlights the roles played by women and their relationships with different men in their lives. The accepted expectations of the period - her father decides to move in with her -with no consultation whatsoever!
This is such a brilliant read!

Struggling writer Stella Douglas has had to return to her home in Yorkshire to be nearer to her recently widowed father. Writing a column for a women's magazine just about pays the bills but Stella relishes researching and writing biographies about 18th century cooks. Unfortunately not everyone is as fascinated by the subjects of these biographies and book sales are low. When her publisher suggests she writes about the history of English food Stella jumps at the chance. Letters fly in from all corners of the country and trips result in her meeting some interesting characters.

Set in 1931, we immediately sympathise with the lead character, Stella, as she has had to leave behind her life in London to return to Yorkshire. London is a heady mix of socialising, restaurants, nightclubs and discovery. By contrast Yorkshire is drab, damp and full of factory chimneys.

Author Caroline Scott vividly describes Stella's life, from the cramped cottage and it's dank furniture, to her clothes and the food she is writing about. Thanks to these descriptions it is very easy to imagine life between the wars.

There are times when the descriptions are actually a little too much. Since the theme of the novel is the history of English food there are descriptions of meals that have now fallen out of fashion, many of them involving offal. As Stella collects anecdotes from around the country we learn all about "nose to tail" eating. Alongside this we also discover how tiny regional variations exist for some foodstuff such as Eccles cakes.

As Stella is researching recipes we meet some eccentric characters and there's even a little romance thrown in too.

More than anything though I felt that Good Taste was more a social commentary. Researching 18th century cooks Stella shows how far we have come in our eating habits. But life in 1931 isn't much different to our life today. There's an obvious North/South divide, people are struggling financially with some having to rely on soup kitchens and there is a decline in bakers and butchers shops. There are even complaints that people have forgotten how to cook, having become reliant on modern culinary trends and labour saving devices. We really don't seem to have moved much in 90 years - apart from eating less offal!