Review: Caramel Hearts bt E.R. Murray

Liv Bloom’s life is even more complicated than that of your average fourteen-year-old: her father walked out on the family when she was young, her mother is in a recovery centre for alcoholics, and her older sister is struggling to step into Mum’s shoes. The only person she can turn to is her best friend Sarah, who gets out of scrapes at school and is a constant source of advice and companionship. One day Liv discovers a book of recipes written in her mum’s handwriting, which sets her off on a journey towards self-discovery and reconciliation – but a theft, a love rivalry and a school bully are just some of the many obstacles on the way.

Structured around real cake recipes, Caramel Hearts is a coming-of-age novel about love, disappointment and hope, and discovering the true value of friends and family, no matter how dysfunctional they are. 

Can I just say that the Author is one of the loveliest ladies on twitter only with her help did I get hold of a copy of Caramel Hearts!

Caramel Hearts tells the story of Liv a teenager currently living with her older sister while her alcoholic mother is in rehab. In the mothers bedroom Liv discovers a book, one filled with recipes that her mother has written. She instantly feels the need to try and bake one of the delicious things in the book to get to know her mother better, the real mother, before the alcohol. Money however is one thing Liv and her sister haven't got spare so Liv has to come up with ideas to get the stuff that she needs, those ideas however aren't always her best ones. After some bad decisions Liv's relationship with her sister Hatty struggles more then ever. But when a boy shows interest in Liv her life spirals out of control even more...

This is such a realistic view on the problems families face when a member is struggling with alcoholism, its very touching and heart breaking. But this is far from being the only topic in this book, its also about bullying, not fitting in, about family and friendship and about finding something you love doing! This book is just so real and raw. The relationship between Liv and Hatty is just the right dose of love and annoyance and I cant help but love both of them.

But wait up, this isn't all of it, on top of all that you get actual recipes... yay!! And let me tell you they all sound delicious. Made my mouth water and I certainly want to try them all.

This book gave me all the feels. And I mean all of them. There was people I loved and people I really disliked. I was angry and sad and happy. And I cant say this enough but it is just so relatable and believable. I think especially for the younger readers this is something they can relate to in one way or another.

This has been a really well written story which I found myself picking up at every opportunity. I enjoyed it very much and I am looking forward to reading more from Murray in the future.

Relatable, real, touching and eye opening!

This is one book that shouldn't be missed.

Thank you very much to Alma Books for my beautiful copy.