The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove

Dove Pond Series, Book 3

De: Karen Hawkins

Narrado por: Amanda Ronconi, Jackie Sanders, Kevin R. Free

Three lives converge as a wildly talented baker returns to Dove Pond to face her past in this “enthralling story of losing, loving, and finding your way home again” (Woman’s World).

Ella Dove is an acclaimed baker whose desserts spark vivid, cherished memories in those who taste them. A restless soul, Ella goes wherever the wind takes her—but driven by a haunting dream, she’s coming home to Dove Pond. Years ago, her mentor, Angela Stewart Harrington, falsely accused Ella of stealing her beloved family recipe book, known as the Book of Cakes. Now, Ella believes it’s time for them to reconcile.

Angela has her own share of amends to make. Her daughter Jules has never forgiven her for divorcing her father, and they’ve been estranged ever since. But just as Angela begins to hope that she and Jules might mend their tattered relationship, a miscommunication turns into a lie that could destroy everything.

Meanwhile, Jules’s son Gray is shocked that Ella, his first love and his first heartbreak, has returned to Dove Pond. But even though he knows Ella is a wanderer and will soon leave, he’s unable to stop himself from falling for her once again. Can Gray find a way to convince Ella to give him, and their town, a serious chance? Or is he once again on the road to a broken heart?

With so much at stake, Ella, Angela, and Gray must learn to accept each other—flaws and all—and trust that love can, and will, always find a way. For fans of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen, The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove is a “spellbinding story” (Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author) that will warm your heart and charm your senses.

©2023 Karen Hawkins (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

dove pond is a great place

loved Ella, the doves are a great strong women, that have ro workout their powers.

Awesome!

Another wonderful book by Karen Hawkins! This was solo good! Ella Dove is a famous chef living in Paris, but decides to come back to Dove Pond tree her sisters and try to resolve a misunderstanding with Angela Stewart and her family! Jules is Angela's daughter and does believe that Ella took the Stewart recipe book and broke her son Grayson's heart. Gray loves Ella and wants to try again! Ms. Hawkins knows how to make me laugh and cry! The narrators were very good!

Nice read

Liked it, but doesn’t have the charm of the previous books. Some of that may be due to the narrators. One was whiny, one male was ok as a man but terrible female voices, one nasally. I love listening to audiobooks and the performance can enhance or detract. These did no favors for this book.

love it

I am really enjoying the Dove pond series and can't wait for the 4th book...hopefully there will be a 4th.

Great series

Magic realism is the best 🥰 I like how the characters grow but stay true to themselves.

Fun book

A little romance a little friendship some lies and truths plus some baking and ended with a. It of mystery.

Love the.narrator. She’s in of my favorites

How it wasn’t all perfect and happy. There was realistic family struggles yet had a happy ending.

All of the twists and turns. That makes a book more interesting to me. Couldn’t wait for the outcome.

Love this author

I really love this author and this series. I love how there are different personalities and perspectives even though the book may be mainly about 1 character.

Loved it

I hope Ms Hawkins writes a 4th in the dove series. All her characters are interesting. This is a book I’ll listen to again.

Great Readers, Meh for Romance

While I appreciate what Karen Hawkins was going for with the sister Ella Dove and I enjoyed many aspects of her story I wasn’t a fan of this tale, especially in comparison to the other Dove Pond novels and novellas.

<SPOILER>

Ella has a travel itch, but more than that she’s seen and felt firsthand how much it hurts to loose someone you love. I feel like Hawkins’ insistence of a happily ever after pairing negates that very real trauma. For some people being alone is the right choice, and the way this was written it felt like the ‘magic’ decided Ella’s fate WAY before she was actually ready. That forced growth really rubbed me the wrong way. That being said, I wouldn’t be bothered by it if Hawkins wasn’t an excellent writer.