I love novels centred around food and baking: grandmothers’ handwritten cookbooks discovered in attics; heroines down on their luck finding solace in revamping the failing family restaurant; romance steaming up across a pot of boiling pasta. Unsurprisingly, the very first heroine I wrote myself was a baker. Addie in My Mother’s Shadow works in a small patisserie and her story is chock-full of blueberry scones, pillowy cupcakes and custard tarts. And, yes, romance does blossom as well, across an industrial-sized vat of spilled confectionary sugar…

Given the current state of things in the world, I think there is no better time to start indulging in some seriously delicious foodie reads!

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

A classic that is always worth revisiting even if you’ve already read it. Vianne Rocher has decided to open a chocolate boutique in a small, sleepy French village – directly opposite the village church, where Father Reynaud is busy keeping watch over his flock’s commitment to the abstinence of Lent…

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

In small-town North Carolina, the Waverley women have always cooked up their own special magic from the walled family garden. Until one day, a stranger moves in next door, a vine of ivy starts creeping into the garden, and life as they knew it is about to spin out of control. A magical and delicious gem.

The Sunshine and Biscotti Club by Jenny Oliver

Food Blogger Libby is turning her family’s Tuscan hotel into a Cooking Club and has invited her friends down for help, sunshine and limoncello. But just when she needs everything to be perfect for the Grand Opening, people start unpacking their emotional baggage – and she discovers that her husband has been cheating on her…

Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran

The small Irish town of Ballinacroagh is shaken up by the arrival of the beautiful Aminpour sisters Marjan, Bahar and Layla. Determined to share their Persian kitchen with the friendly locals, they start cooking. Not everyone welcomes the three women with open arms, however. They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach – and the women of Ballinacroagh want their men back. Funny and filled with Persian recipes.

Sophie’s Bakery For The Broken Hearted by Lolly Winston

Young widow Sophie is trying hard to cope with her husband’s death. But it’s not until she’s chucked it all in and opens a bakery, that she can start to heal. A lovely, emotional and ultimately uplifting read.