What it’s about:
‘I’m looking for that perfect blend of flavours; the taste that used to be you. If I find it, I know you’ll come back to me.’
It’s been 18 months since my husband was murdered and I’ve decided to finish writing The Flavours of Love, the cookbook he started before he died. Everyone thinks I’m coping so well without him – they have no idea what I’ve been hiding or what I do away from prying eyes. But now that my 14-year-old daughter has confessed something so devastating it could destroy our family all over again, and my husband’s killer has started to write to me claiming to be innocent, I know it’s only a matter of time before the truth about me and what I’ve done is revealed to the world.
My name is Saffron Mackleroy and this is my story.
Review:
Firstly, I’d just like to mention that I think this is one of the most beautiful book covers I’ve ever seen. I feel like at the beginning, I spent more time oogling over the cover that actually reading the book! I bought this book as a present for my mum on her last birthday and I was thrilled when I picked it out of my TBR jar (even though it’s not even my book) because Dorothy is such a fantastic writer, I knew I was in for one hell of a ride and her talent just oozes through the pages. It has left me with one hell of a book hangover! The Flavours of Love follows the story of Saffron Mackleroy who’s husband was murdered 18 months ago leaving her and their two children Phoebe and Zane. Her late husband, Joel, started to write a cookbook called The Flavours of Love which she is hoping to finish – everyone thinks Saffron is coping with her loss but behind closed doors things are very different. Her life starts spiralling out of control when her daughter confesses something about the murder along with a problem of her own and her husband’s killer starts to write letters to her. Saffron will go to great lengths to protect her family but with problems of her own when will it all become too much?
When you’re introduced to Saffron at the beginning, you instantly begin to get an image and feeling of what this woman is like. Her, along with all of the characters have such depth to them that they seem like real people, telling a real story. There’s a lot of switching time frames from present to various points in the past before Joel was murdered and where sometimes that can cause a bit of a stir amongst readers, in this case it was done with such ease. The structure of the paragraphs and chapters made it so easy to read and the flash backs proved to be so important to the story. All the plot-twists and secrets are revealed so slowly which is the ideal approach to make the book impossible to put down! I was so desperate to find out anything I possibly could but Dorothy keeps you guessing until the very end. The letters in particular gave the story a exceptionally thrilling touch and even though at first they are anonymous, you get an idea of the sinister nature of the person behind them.
The emotions of the characters were described exceptionally well throughout this book, Saffron’s grief in particular stands out because you can tell she’s trying to hold it together when there’s someone out there trying to break her. It is impossible not to get emotionally involved with their stories and I actually felt nervous and panicked at one point! Although centring around Joel’s murder and the letters, the rest of the book does delve into some dark and intense situations and looking at the big picture, it really is full of everyone’s (particularly mothers) worst nightmares but at the same time, offers a lot of valuable lessons and insights. I can always tell I’m reading an incredible book by the fact that I don’t write any review notes during – I just don’t have time to think about them! I’d grown to know the characters like friends and want to protect them like family. This book completely consumed me from page 1, I didn’t want it to end.
You can find Dorothy and The Flavours of Love on the following links:
A very beautiful book! Great review. I love Dorothy Koomson.
Agreed! Love her books!
Oh my gosh, this book sounds wonderful, yet very emotional too I would imagine. I have seen this cover a few times before and assumed it was some kind of cook book that wouldn’t really interest me (silly of me, I know!) but now I have read your review I reaaaally want to read it! 🙂 xxx
Haha, the author has created an actual recipe book from some of the recipes which are briefly talked about in the story which all sound super yummy! 🙂 It was incredibly – hope you enjoy it if you ever get around to reading! 🙂 xxx
I put this book on my Kobo this weekend! The Flavours of Love & Perks of Being A Wallflower are going to be my next two reads I think… Not sure what order though, I’m equally eager to read both! 😛 xxx
Oh this book was amazing, you’ll really love it! I’m re-reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower right now, it’s probably my favourite book in the entire world so I hope you love that too! 🙂 xx
Yay that’s great to hear! I’m so excited to start reading them 😀 xx
I’ve got this to read so it’s nice to know you enjoyed it 🙂
Did the cover make you hungry too? Hehe. Xx
The whole book made me hungry! There’s lots of recipes thrown in throughout the book which all sound sooo yummy!
I hope you enjoy it when you get around to reading! 😀 xx
At first I thought it was a cookbook. I agree with you the cover is beautiful, sounds like the book was too.
Ah no! The books does have a lot of cooking and food in it though. Dorothy has a separate book with all the recipes from this one in it! The book was fantastic, highly recommended!