More Than Words Can Say: Book Review & Giveaway!

Being the hopeless romantic who enjoys stories about love and loss from a strong female character's perspective, I have to say I really enjoyed More Than Words Can Say by Robert Barclay.

We begin with our strong female character Chelsea. A very independent woman who comes from a wealthy background, whose entire life changes when her grandmother Brooke passes away, leaving Chelsea her summer home on the lake in the Adirondacks in Upstate, NY. Now, if you have ever been to upstate NY, it is absolutely divine. The author does a phenomenal job of describing the scenery as well as the characters, from their personality traits down to what they are wearing. You can picture each character, every scene, expression and moment. You can't help but get sucked into the story line.

Aside from the lakehouse, Brooke leaves Chelsea a journal and cookbook. Both are links to her past during WWII. Involving love, loss and of course secrets being revealed as to why her grandmother left the cottage years ago never to return. Now there is a reason Brooke specifically left this to Chelsea, not just to learn about more about her grandmother, but to learn more about herself. As Chelsea is drawn to the cottage, extending her stay from what was only supposed to be a weekend on the lake, there are moments of laughter, tears and triumph. 

Wondering where the romance comes in? We are introduced to Chelsea's hunky neighbor, a dreamy doctor named Brandon Yale at the beginning of her stay. Sound pretty perfect? Well it's not! Dr. McDreamy has a few secrets of his own as well. Will Chelsea fall in love with the lake house and decide to keep it instead of selling it as her original intentions were, will she learn from her grandmother's mistakes? Or will she write her own journal of love and loss? Well you must read the book to find out! Each journal entry is an indication, traveling back and forth from that summer in 1942 back to Chelsea's present life, so staying focused while reading this novel is important to not get confused with the timeline. 

Now the food! Throughout the book, Chelsea attempts the recipes her grandmother left behind, recipes from the 40's named after celebrities of the era. Some of these recipes are included in the back of the novel, updated to include modern day ingredients. Baked beans, cheesecake, pot roast and baked encrusted fish to name a few. 

In the photos, you can see the cracker encrusted sole I prepared from the book, but made it a little less caloric by replacing plain crackers with whole wheat and reducing the amount of butter needed. Lovely recipe to play around with, quick and easy recipe that makes a great dinner when paired with a veggie and starch. The beans and cheesecake are also a must try! 

If you're the type who enjoys a story line within a story line, romance, the 1940's, recipes reflecting the past and rooting for your favorite characters throughout a novel, then More than words can say by Robert Barclay is the book for you!

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing for sending me this wonderful book to review, as well as for hosting this giveaway.

Enter to win a free copy of More Than Words Can Say by Robert Barclay! Now you can experience the novel for yourself as well as attempt the family friendly recipes. All you have to do is...

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