I'm homesick for these characters and this setting in the best possible way. I didn't want this book to end.
Recipe for a Good Life took me back to my childhood, and I visited with my own lost loved ones while also following the story of Kate and Wallace. That is the brilliance of Lesley Crewes' character development - they read so authentically that they become real and remind you of your own people.
Feel the need to slow down, hug a warm cup of tea, and chat with a kindred spirit? Then, pick up this novel!19 s Olivia4

Lesley Crewe is so wonderful! This book made me desperately wish I lived in a cottage in Cape Breton with a group of sweet dogs. Loved this! 13 s Amy McIsaac18 2

Recipe for a Good Life by Lesley Crewe

“Kitty, is it asking too much to have some peace? How did you know I was here? Can’t this wait?”
“I’m afraid not seeing as I’m about to have a breakdown and may never write again.”

Meet ‘Kitty’ AKA C.J. (Catriona) Faulkner-author of the bestselling ‘Harry Gunn novels. Set against the backdrop of 1955 Montreal, Kitty is having a crisis. Her husband, the handsome actor and leading man extraordinaire, is a mama’s boy, narcissist, and womanizer. On top of that she’s not talking to her father, the inspiration of her Harry Gunn novels. Gaynor, her editor and confidante, suggests that what Kitty needs is just a little holiday, a get-away to re-charge her batteries. Get out of the city and into the country. When Gaynor rents a house in Cape Breton for a couple months and convinces Kitty it’s a ‘writer’s retreat.’ Kitty takes her up on it. What Kitty doesn’t know is that her life is about to get a lot more interesting and a whole lot better!

With beautiful settings, and wonderful characters we fall in love with I didn’t want it to end. Absolutely loved it! My recipe for a good life is to read more Lesley Crewe! 5+ starscanadian-author10 s Eileen Mackintosh148 8

I love these characters so much. I don’t often read as steadily as I did this book but I just had to know how everyone was going to make out. Finished in just over a day and I can see me rereading this one just to spend time with these people again! Terrific family drama. I laughed and cried both and, as usual with a Lesley Crewe book, I thoroughly enjoyed. Easy to recommend. #indigoemployee5 s Karla Westbury9

Another amazing tale that wraps you in the characters a warm blanket. The perfect summer read. I finished the book feeling I made about 6 new friends. There is just so much heart in her writing that you just can’t not love her books. It was funny, warm, loving…just all of the feelings. Adored it!!!! 4 s Sue Slade432 21

Review published in The Miramichi Reader July 10th- 2023.
https://miramichireader.ca/2023/07/re...

“Life is a recipe. What do you want in your life cake? What ingredients do you need to make it rise and taste wonderful? Sometimes the simplest recipe is the best, because the more you add to the mix, the more things can go wrong.” pg 136

I had the immense pleasure of binge-reading Lesley Crewe’s latest and maybe even her best novel yet, Recipe for a Good Life. Set in 1955, it accurately depicts rural hospitality and cooperative community spirit.

Kitty Wagner aka C.J. Faulkner bestselling author of the Inspector Harry Gunn novels, has hit a creative brick wall. Her editor Gaynor and her husband Simon come up with a plan for Kitty to go on a writer’s retreat to Cape Breton for two months to recharge her batteries and get her creative juices flowing again with her publishing company Empire and Bloom picking up the tab.

With her famous actor husband on his way to New York for his next movie, 33-year-old Kitty and her dog Pip pack up and leave Montreal, crossing the brand new Canso Causeway on their way to the remote Cape Breton Island. When they arrive at their destination, it isn’t at all what they expected. The cabin, better described as a shack, is on a dirt road in the middle of the woods, it’s drafty, with a lumpy bed and no shower. It has a wood stove, a party line telephone, and wild animals that may mistake her small dog for lunch.

Within a short period of time Kitty discovers that despite the cabin appearing to be remote and isolated, she was far from being lonely she was in Montreal. Shared meals with neighbours, the joy of children, happy conversations, and community gatherings, every day she spent in this rural community she was discovering what was missing in her life.

Lesley Crewe hits the nail on the head with her descriptions of life in rural communities with the speed and popularity of gossip and everyone knowing your business. But they also pull together to help one another and have lots of community fun. As with all of her novels, the cast of characters in this story are well-developed, with very unique personalities that you can’t help but fall in love with.

“Once they were sorted, Bertha, Jean, and Ruth sipped their tea and ate gingerbread cake heaped with whipped cream. “pg. 130

Warning: This story should also come with a “reader’s beware”: Do not read if you are trying to diet. Once finishing this tasty book you may also have the urge to bake some cookies for your neighbours.

“Food is her language of love. She keeps filling you up, in more ways than one.” pg 213cape-breton fiction nova-scotia3 s Jill175 6

Recipe for a Good Life by Lesley Crewe

Thank you to Nimbus Publishing and NetGalley for the ebook to read.

This is not the genre that I typically read, but I did enjoy it. A story of loneliness and finding the meaning of belonging and being loved when you least expect it. The characters of Cape Benton in Province of Nova Scotia, will snuggle in your heart and you won’t soon forget them. A light read that I found I couldn’t put down. I’ve never read anything by Lesley Crewe before and will look at other books she has written.3 s Marcia359

Crewe’s novel are infused with warmth, love and humour and Recipe for a Good Life has these heart-warming qualities and more. Kitty is a successful mystery writer living in Montreal. One day she meets with her editor and declares that she is finished with writing. Not wanting to lose one of their most popular writers, the editor and publisher suggest a writer’s retreat in Cape Breton. They rent a house for her for 3 months. Kitty packs up her car and she and her dog head for the wilds of mid-1950s CB. Here she finds the joys of family, friends and a special friend. A tad too long, this is a wonderful pick-me-up.2 s Dawn Quilty42

Everytime I finish a Lesley Crewe book I want to give it a hug and say thank you for the story. This book is no different. I already miss the characters they came to life with each page. An incredible story of the women of cape breton.
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