How To Bake The Perfect Pecan Pie

Baking and Lauren Hauser do not go hand in hand. But this year, she’s got to make her grandmother’s famous pecan pie for Thanksgiving. What’s a baking impaired girl to do? She’s going to have to knuckle down and do her best, but when she leaves her shopping till the night before Thanksgiving, she can’t find pecans in any store. But wait! Who’s that handsome man and what is he carrying? He has a bag of pecans and he also has an attitude, but Lauren needs those nuts and she doesn’t intend to give up without a fight.

I’m so happy to see a charming, funny love story about Thanksgiving, one of the loveliest holidays, but the least written about. Kudos!

How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie was simply scrumptious! ( I couldn't resist saying that.) I really, really liked this cute, little story. It was light, fluffy and all kinds of sweet. It was a playful short that was all about family and romance.

About the Characters:
Lauren and Jack were quite the pair. They had such a funny chemistry. Their chemistry certainly had the potential to blossom into something more substantial. I loved how the author gave this great build up to "the kiss." Gah! When it finally happened, I wanted to cheer.

Lauren's family was hilarious. The dynamics that were revealed were not only interesting, but they were also quite entertaining.

Final Thoughts: While I did enjoy this story, I must say that it could have been so much more. It seemed to leave off with a big question mark. Still, I could not be upset about it. In truth, I would have happily read on.

Rating: 4/5 Recommend: Yes Audience: Lovers of insta-like romance, humor and food fantasy fun Status: Clean HEA: ? (My guess is yes, but...)
Other: Super loved this title!!!

Title: How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie Author: Gina Henning Publisher: Carina Series: Home For The Holidays #1 Reviewed By: Arlena Dean Rating: 5 Review:

"How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie" by Gina Henning

Book Description....

"A warm pie. A tasty guy. Happy Thanksgiving indeed.

Lauren Hauser is home for the holidays, and she’s been given a challenge: preparing her grandmother’s pecan pie. The problem? Lauren’s not famed for her baking skills. In fact, while her sister would win Star Baker every week, and her mom at least knows a sieve from a spatula, Lauren’s bakes have always been more dangerous than delicious!

Still, no Thanksgiving would be complete without dessert…which is why Lauren finds herself searching for pecans on Thanksgiving Eve. Stumbling into a gorgeous stranger laden down with bags of pecans seems like a holiday miracle…but despite Jack’s kissable lips he’s frostier than a snow cone…and out of sight before she can say ‘Macy’s Parade’!

As the clock counts down to Thanksgiving dinner, Lauren is running out of time. And without her grandmother’s perfect pecan pie it won’t be a very Happy Thanksgiving!

What Lauren needs is a knight in shining armour. And it might just be that the magic of Thanksgiving will find her one after all…"

What I liked from this novel....

“How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie” was a quick wonderful delightful seasonal read about Thanksgiving and a letter from a sweet grandmother to Lauren. When Lauren inherits this pecan pie recipe from her grandmother that had a stipulation...would Lauren be able to master the art of baking that precious and important pie for the holiday? What was up with those special pecans which will become an adventure for Lauren to get? Who was this mysterious guy who seemed to be a business guy with ties from Texas that Lauren would have to deal with? Well, these questions will definitely be answered as you read "How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie."

What I especially liked about this novel......

“How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie” will definitely leave you smiling as these two characters (Lauren and Jack) come together in this sweet romance, with humor, mystery and oh my goodness that pecan pie. This would be a good Thanksgiving holiday read I would recommend to you.

How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie [Home for the Holidays #1] by Gina Henning Published: November 7, 2014 Publisher: Carina UK Format: via NetGalley Rating: 5/5

Synopsis Lauren Hauser is home for the holidays, and she’s been given a challenge: preparing her grandmother’s pecan pie. The problem? Lauren’s not famed for her baking skills. In fact, while her sister would win Star Baker every week, and her mom at least knows a sieve from a spatula, Lauren’s bakes have always been more dangerous than delicious!

Still, no Thanksgiving would be complete without dessert…which is why Lauren finds herself searching for pecans on Thanksgiving Eve. Stumbling into a gorgeous stranger laden down with bags of pecans seems like a holiday miracle…but despite Jack’s kissable lips he’s frostier than a snow cone…and out of sight before she can say ‘Macy’s Parade’!

As the clock counts down to Thanksgiving dinner, Lauren is running out of time. And without her grandmother’s perfect pecan pie it won’t be a very Happy Thanksgiving! What Lauren needs is a knight in shining armor. And it might just be that the magic of Thanksgiving will find her one after all.

My Thoughts I was so psyched when I saw this read. There are few reads on Thanksgiving while there are tons on Christmas so this was a sight for sore eyes I was so happy when I was approved for it. This is the cutest read I’ve read in a long time, it focuses on Lauren who comes home for Thanksgiving and is set on a mission by her grandmother to bake the famous family pecan pie for Thanksgiving. While she heads out of town to get the pecans that can only be from a certain place it’s one disaster after another. Not enough pecans, her car breaks down and she is stuck in a storm. That’s when Jack appears, the perfect guy but the wrong time. However sometimes fate doesn’t understand time when its right its right. Will Lauren allow herself to just go with the flow and let nature take its course? Hopefully in the end Lauren will have something else to be thankful for.

I truly enjoyed this story on so many levels and for so many reasons. For starters I think everyone can relate to the holidays with the family. Crazy relatives all stuck together for days which you know it will end in disaster at some point. Everyone’s always asking questions about your love life and not minding their own business, nothing screams DRAMA like the holidays. But in the end no matter what craziness happens family is family and they will always have your back. Besides the family aspect I love the whole interaction with Jack. I like how the romance was slowly built up and not force, with in my eyes made him so much more attractive. Although this is a short read about 100 pages or so you will never feel short changed at all, it’s definitely one that needs to be added to your holiday reads. Oh and by the way the next book in the series How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake will be out in early December…I can’t wait!

Lauren Hauser goes home for Thanksgiving, knowing that her crazy family will all be there, too, staying with her parents. Now that includes her brother, sister and their partners as well as her nephew and niece. With too many public demonstrations of affection between her brother and his wife, too many DIY gone wrong tasks completed by her brother-in-law and a sister who is hyper organised and determined to cook an unbelievable thanksgiving meal, Lauren is amazed to find that her Grandmother has sent her a personal message, along with her very secret recipe to bake the perfect Pecan Pie and instructions for her to follow them exactly and not let her sister, Megan, or her Mum take over. Just what happens next you’ll need to read the book to find out but, suffice to say that Lauren is usually a totally hopeless cook but loves her Gran so intends following her directions.

This relatively short book is the second in trilogy and is a delightful, light hearted story to escape in with unexpected snow storms, a puncture, pecan hoarder (Jack) and lots of other things along the way. It is told throughout from Lauren’s point of view - and she has a great sense of humour!

HOW TO BAKE THE PERFECT PECAN PIE BY GINA HENNING

THE BLURB A warm pie. A tasty guy. Happy Thanksgiving indeed.

Lauren Hauser is home for the holidays, and she’s been given a challenge: preparing her grandmother’s pecan pie. The problem? Lauren’s not famed for her baking skills. In fact, while her sister would win Star Baker every week, and her mom at least knows a sieve from a spatula, Lauren’s bakes have always been more dangerous than delicious!

Still, no Thanksgiving would be complete without dessert…which is why Lauren finds herself searching for pecans on Thanksgiving Eve. Stumbling into a gorgeous stranger laden down with bags of pecans seems like a holiday miracle…but despite Jack’s kissable lips he’s frostier than a snow cone…and out of sight before she can say ‘Macy’s Parade’!

As the clock counts down to Thanksgiving dinner, Lauren is running out of time. And without her grandmother’s perfect pecan pie it won’t be a very Happy Thanksgiving! What Lauren needs is a knight in shining armour. And it might just be that the magic of Thanksgiving will find her one after all…

Home for the Holidays series of books

Book 1 - How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie

Book 2 - How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake

Book 3 - Coming just in time for the 4th of July

WHAT I SAY As you can see this book is the first book in this Holiday series it so good you will just love it Again i love the cover .I always find that Carina books cover instantly draw me to their books they are just so cute and colourful. I just love them all . I pick this book to review today on my blog for thanksgiving as this book all about that . It a nice warm heart novella you will love the story .It got cooking , love , family fun , pecan pie and a nice man jack what more could you want .oh and lots of pecan or not !

Lauren not very good at cooking she could be a bit dangerous at times but she just made me smile at her cooking . This Thanksgiving she going to make her grandmother pecan pie she been given her family secret recipe her mum and sister do not know .what is this recipe ? it be a secret for years and she got to keep it that way . Can she make it omg you will laugh so much at her making this pie . She been told only to use Tibor's pecan farm as they do the best pecan she got to get them . Can she do this ? We get to hear all about her trying to get the pecan and how she makes the pie .The book told from Lauren point of view which i liked she could be so funny at times .

All her family were just great characters so crazy and funny but they also seem to be bickering a lot to just like all family do but that just made them more real to me you could relate to them i enjoyed reading about them all they bring the plot to life for me such fun .

All they wanted for Lauren was her to be happy and have a man in her life could that be Jack she spend a day baking with him i not sure why ? They seem to work well together could this be the started of something good ? Did they make the perfect pecan pie ?

I enjoyed their relationship it was fun to read some parts were a little predictable but i still enjoy the plot it did not put me off i just wanted to read to see what was going to happen next with the pecan pie , jack and her family.

The big build to Thanksgiving is just like what we all do here in England for christmas day . We go mad i say each year i not doing .I still do ,i buy and make to much food. I bet you all do too but i love the build up i did in this story too it was so fun to read .

Did you think Jack was Lauren knight in shinning armour ? It a very warm and light hearted read it got a lot of mishap which brought the fun to the story i just loved all the characters they were so fun and very much like a real family . My only criticism was is to short i want to hear more but that what make it so good it a great fun read nice for this time of year 4 stars read enjoy pass on i recommend you all read you will enjoy it so much I can not want for the next book .

Publisher carina Release date 7 nov 2014 Source net gallery Amazon link How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie (Home for the Holidays - Book 1) by Gina Henning http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OORC2HY/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_5wKDub0SKZ6X9

I loved this one. Lauren has returned home for Thanksgiving and discovers that her grandma has chosen her to take over the secret recipe for the Perfect Pecan Pie. She's not renowned for being the perfect cook and doesn't want to disappoint the family. When she reads that the most important ingredient can only be bought in one shop a fair drive away. It's already getting quite late and she has a race against time to get everything before the stores close. When she gets to the Pecan Nut store she is horrified to find the shelves bare because one man appears to have bought the entire stock. The one bag left will not be enough to produce perfection. What is she going to do???????

Disaster strikes on the way home when her car breaks down, her mobile goes flat and the helpful car that stops to help is the pecan hoarder from the shop! Can things get any worse for her?

They come to some sort of resolution and romance seems to be bubbling just above them. But she's from out of time and has bad experiences with long distance relationships. The book ends leaving us wondering and I was delighted to find the follow up book is available. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Many thanks to Carina Uk and Net Galley for a copy of this book.

How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie is the first in the 'How to Bake' series of books by Gina Henning. This first one is set at thanksgiving, and follows Lauren in her quest to bake the perfect pecan pie for the family thanksgiving meal. Lauren is a bit of the outsider when it comes to family baking, with her Grandmother and Sister stealing star baker crowns. However, this year her Grandmother has entrusted Lauren with the special, secret recipe for the perfect pecan pie.

Determined not to let her down, and to follow the recipe to the letter and produce a lie to be proud of, Lauren sets off for her pecans, which must be bought from one special supplier. Cue the start of a comedy of errors. It starts badly when the van she has borrowed from her Mum is playing up, and gets worse when she reaches the suppliers in time to see that they have sold out of the exact amount of pecans she needs.

Enter Jack....laden down with so many pecans that Lauren is sure he will spare her some. Or maybe not! From the outset there appears to be a clear attraction between them, but there is also no chance that Jack will part with any of his stock.

Dejectedly Lauren drives away and just when she thinks she is done for, things all change again. The van breaks down and she is forced to start walking in atrocious conditions until Jack drives up along side and picks her up. Within the confines of his car they are forced to get to know eachother. Will be relent and help Lauren in her ambition to create her perfect pecan pie? Or will he continue to put scanners in the works?

First off, don't be out off reading this book because it centres around thanksgiving. I didn't read it at the time and it didnt make me enjoy the book any less. Thanksgiving provides the backdrop, but this can be easily enjoyed at any time of year.

I really enjoyed the story. It is easy to follow and has some funny moments that made me laugh and cheered me up. I don't want to give the plot away, but there is a twist that I didn't see coming invoking the Grandmother who is living in a nursing home that made me smile and bought the storyline together in a warm sweet way.

I had read mixed reviews about the book, so wasnt quite sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. I found Lauren a likeable character, if not a little naive. She wanted to make her family proud, and not be belittled by her sister who it seemed to me is a bit of the star. The plot is quite predictable. Lauren sees Jack, Jack is a nightmare, before becoming the knight in shining armour. The spark is there but will romance have a chance to blossom? To me these ingredients often make for a fun, romantic read, and this is no exception. I also really liked the family, who would be great to spend an evening having dinner with.

All in all a well written, fun, romantic story with talk of food included which is always a winner for me!! I will definitely be reading the next instalment 'How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake'.

Thank you to Carina for providing a copy in return for an honest review.