The main character, Eleanor is trying to decide whether she is ready to have a child with her husband Pete or not. Eleanor (Ellie) is a married 30 something who works at a 'foodie' magazine selling advertising space; her husband is keen to start a family but Ellie is having doubts about whether she wants a child. The story follows her inner struggle with the idea of motherhood.
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Many of Ellie's friends have children and she can see how it has changed their lives, and is not sure if she wants to make the same sacrifices. Her husband Pete is perfect in pretty much every way, and Ellie does not feel able to talk to him about the doubts she is having.
Ellie joins a cookery class as a favour to her single friend in order to check out a handsome man, and ends up making friends with the man in question (Joe) and another female student. Meanwhile Pete is dropping hints about having children, especially when his younger brother announces that his girlfriend is pregnant, Ellie is feeling pressured from her mother as well; her brother already has twin children.
Ellie starts writing a blog to ask the advice of mothers out there and although the answers don't appear to be very helpful she seems to gain comfort in the idea that others are going through the same thing. Meanwhile she comes under pressure at work as the magazine is in trouble and her advertising revenue needs to increase to get it out of danger.
Various coincidences and a pregnancy scare involve Ellie and Joe being signed up for a cookery program, a reality type show, which Ellie somehow doesn't get round to telling Pete about as Christmas comes around, Ellie's brother announces his wife is expecting another baby and the pressure on Ellie from all sides grows. Then Pete sees a trailer on the television for the cookery show which makes Ellie and Joe out to be a couple, and understandably he is very hurt and angry, and leaves her.
Ellie desperately tries to find him, and eventually tracks him down to her brothers house in France, but he does not want to speak to her. Ellie eventually writes to him, telling him to read her blog to help him understand her thinking, and asking him to meet her at the railway station on Valentine's Day....
Pete does turn up at the railway station, and Ellie presents her plans to him - they begin trying for a baby in a years time to allow her to get used to the idea. Pete agrees, forgives her and all ends well.
Throughout he book Ellie is baking various cakes and puddings that seem to reflect her state of mind, including a disastrous wedding cake for Petes brother and sister in law.
Best part of story, including ending:
I liked the honesty of Ellie's struggle it is rare to hear about women struggling with the idea of having children
Best scene in story:
I enjoyed the scene with Hannah (the cookery class friend) coming to dinner with her partner, who turned out to be female, a fact which Ellie had no ides of (her name is Laurie); it was a fun and lighthearted look at making assumptions
Opinion about the main character:
I didn't understand why Ellie didn't talk to Pete; they have been together for many years, but it seemed like a new relationship where she was afraid to let him know what she was really thinking
