Alli the Book Giraffe

Hello readers! Today’s post is an exhilarating Top Ten Tuesday. This fantastic meme has been circulating for a long time, providing me with an abundance of topics to select from. However, I opted for this particular topic because I love foodie books, and I can’t help but seize any opportunity to indulge in discussions about them! I implore you to comment down below your favorite foodie book, it doesn’t matter what genre.

Technically, the prompt was to show 10 books with covers that make you hungry. However, I extended it to books with foodie aspects. Most of these do have food on the cover, but not all. One of these is even a DNF, which I will explain when we get there.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish in 2010 and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week, you pick your top 10 of the topic provided.

With the Fire on High follows a teen om who wants to be a chef. She is struggling with finishing high school, taking care of her toddler, and battling her ex.

Aspiring to become a chef, she has also been presented with the chance to embark on a culinary trip to Spain. The aspect I admire about this book is its portrayal of mothers as individuals with aspirations. Society often holds the expectation that mothers should solely focus on their role as caregivers, neglecting their personal ambitions. However, having a child does not mean that one’s own dreams and aspirations must come to a halt.

The Dos and Donuts of Love follows Shireen, who is still upset about her recent breakup with her ex-girlfriend, Chris, when she gets some exciting news. She has been chosen to be on a new baking competition show. This is a dream come true for Shireen because if she wins, she will get money and help bring attention to her parents’ donut shop, You Drive Me Glazy. However, things get complicated when Shireen finds out that Chris is also a contestant on the show. On top of that, Shireen has become good friends with another contestant named Niamh, who she starts to have a crush on. Shireen has to deal with these challenges and possible sabotage if she wants to win.

Shireen, oh boy, what a character to keep up with! She had her moments of being a tad self-absorbed, but hey, she eventually saw the light. I also enjoy a good love triangle now and again. And can we talk about the culinary legends we encountered in this book? It had a Gordon Ramsey character and a female version of Paul Hollywood in one show. This gem of a book is an absolute treat for every baking show enthusiast out there.

Where to Buy: Amazon

This isn’t the first book in the Seaside Cafe series, but it had the cover I thought looked the tastiest. I was out here searching for a great foodie cozy mystery when I found this one and it was so good. I had enjoyed some before, but not like this.

It’s follows Everly, who goes back to her hometown after a breakup and opens up a seaside sweet tea shop. The business eventually transforms into a full-blown bakery! And, of course, she also solves murders on the side.

The Seaside Cafe Mystery series had some awesome characters and character dynamics. It had these cool aunts, amazing neighbors, and a hint of romance sprinkled in there as well.

This is also not the first book in the series, but macaroons look so tasty! I haven’t actually had a macaroon before.

This one follows a woman who opens a bakery on a boardwalk after a big break up and losing her job. I did enjoy this series, a lot. However, the characters weren’t as fleshed out. There was this mystery about the MCs dad that really wasn’t fleshed out. Also, the love triangle was unnecessary. That is coming from a love triangle enthusiast. However, I did enjoy the food aspects and the mystery itself. The best cozies have animal companions and this one is no different.

Measuring Up is a middle grade graphic novel following a 12-year-old girl named Cici. She wants to in this cooking competition so her grandma back in Taiwan can come visit for the grandma’s 70th birthday.

This is such a cute story and such a lighthearted take on an immigrant family! I love seeing the competition and her challenging the families expectations of her. Too often are kids given full-grown adult sized expectations.

Heartless was such a good story, but it’s also my DNF of this list. This was a DNF unlike any other. I really enjoyed this story so much. All the baking was divine.

The MC, Catherine, possesses a profound fondness for the art of baking and is promised to be married to King of Hearts. Nevertheless, she harbors no desire to unite with him. I thought Jest would’ve been better companion, despite his lower standing on the social hierarchy.

As this is a retelling of the backstory of Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, I knew what was going to happen by the end and I couldn’t take it. I had to DNF before this book devastated me. I don’t usually shy away from an unhappy ending, but I didn’t want to see these characters done so dirty.

This one follows Jasmine. Her parents own this donut shop that isn’t financially doing well. She moves back home after being at college with no other jobs in her path. Then, she reunites with Alex and romance ensues. The only problem is, both sets of their parents do not want them to be together under any circumstance.

The Donut Trap was enjoyable, but it left me wanting more. It felt like reading a book in the middle of a series, where interesting topics were mentioned but not explored in depth. I particularly liked Jasmine and the other characters, but I desired more development and a stronger plot.

I gotta say, this book may not fall into the category of your typical foodie read, but hey, it counts in my book! It’s the third book in the Wayward Children series. The characters venture into a sugary wonderland where even the people are made of sugar! Can you imagine that? It’s like stepping into a candy-coated dream!

This one is seriously my fave in the whole series. I mean, I just can’t get enough of how nonsensical this world is! If I had the chance, I would totally ditch this reality and move there. I would love to be one of the bakers. A baker in that world is literally a God to them because they can’t exist without one.

Battle Royal follows Sylvie who is taking part in a baking competition to make a wedding cake for a royal family member. The problem is, her rival and love interest is Dominic, the judge of a previous competition she did that sent her home.

I just know Parker had Paul Hollywood in mind when created Dominic, but a little bit more mean. I loved the banter between the MC and the love interest. I think a good enemies, or rivals in this case, to lovers is not complete without a plethora of insults.

How many of you have seen this movie? The book is only Julie’s side of the story and they did it a service in the movie by adding Julia Child’s story as well.

I’ve never considered making my way through an entire cook book, but it does seem fun to do it and blog about it. It is true that she could’ve been doing it for the sake of making money off Julia Child’s name, but I don’t think that matters. She put in all that money and work and it seemed to pay off in the end. Cooking and baking is not easy, especially when you are doing very difficult recipes in a cook book.

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