25 Book Reviews

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Is Victoria Sponge JUST a Cake??????? Don't forget to enter the giveaway!!


         "How To Make Victoria Sponge"
                By Margaret Kazmierczak




About the Book:


Victoria Sponge – a well-known cake? Maybe, but also a wife and mother of four children. Disorganized and chaotic, with obligations galore, sweet Victoria clings to God, her best friend who shares His amazing love with her. From tripping over a hoover left in the hallway to discovering her son’s desire to die because he is different, she journeys through her own Lent. Giving up is not an option, but saying ‘yes’ to God each day is. Tragedy and comical events follow Vicki through her week. Does Victoria Sponge rise through all the messiness that life offers or does she sink?


My Thoughts:  I must say that I just wasn't sure what to expect from this book, after reading the title!! As my husband comes from a British background, I knew what Victoria Sponge is! It is a cake! But how can a novel be about a tasty treat?? 

It turns out that Victoria Sponge is NOT a cake. She is a wife and mother, one who encounters all kinds of everyday trials, as does every female in her position. This book can be considered unique in the very different angle in which the story is told. It is a tale of a British family, however as it deals with their daily lives, it also combines a devotional, prayerful activity into the most unusual situations. This novel takes us through the everyday life of a mom in England who has one wanting to laugh and cry alongside with her as she meets the trials of life. Everyone needs a part of her!! Moms, doesn't that sound familiar??  But , as we meet the bumps in the road of her life alongside her, she also reminds us that we have to take time to reflect on our Lord. We need His help to get through.

 This novel was a light read, enjoyable, one that makes you realize that you too must depend on the One above to keep positive.



This book was supplied by the author and CelebrateLit in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Click here to purchase your copy.


About the Author

Margaret Kazmierczak was born in 1958. She grew up in South West England with her three brothers. Margaret played football endlessly with her siblings and eventually won a medal doing what she did best - kicking a ball.

She has had a varied life and married in 1992. She has three children. Storytelling has always been a favourite past time which fortunately her children loved too. 

Margaret finally wrote her first novel, How to Make Victoria Sponge, which was published in September 2014. So instead of kicking a ball, Margaret was kicking words around, passing, dribbling and eventually scoring the winner.

Her blog can be viewed at: http://youaregodsblessing.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Facebook author page at: https://www.facebook.com/writerandblogger/ 



Guest Post from Margaret Kazmierczak

For those that know me cooking is not a talent that I am famous for. I follow the recipes, but for some unknown reason my cakes remain flat, albeit cleverly disguised with chocolate. My friends were, quite understandably, shocked that I appeared to have written a cookery book.
My friends let me introduce the Baker who inspired me to write, ‘How to Make Victoria Sponge’. His name is God the Father. This cook needs all the help she can get.
In 2010 God literally took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to become vulnerable. He took away my health and job. An active middle aged woman reduced to a shell. For two years I struggled to come to terms with my condition. Then one night I prayed and asked what I was supposed to do now? The message was simple, “write a book”. Well I could think up a million and one reasons why not to write a book. I declared them one by one but God the Father was having none of it. He reminded me of WHO was commissioning me.
To say that my reading and writing skills were on a par with my cooking skills was an understatement. So I stopped questioning and listened to His answer. “I shall give you the ingredients and you provide the humour and story outline with your life experiences.” So Victoria Sponge was born. Not a cookery book per se but a recipe for a closer relationship with God the Father through story and petition.
This journey took two years, a long time to wait for a cake to rise! The proof, however, was in the tasting which for some time was bitter due to rejection. Then a sequence of events happened one after the other and ‘How to Make Victoria Sponge’ was cooked, oops, birthed. I have been blown away with the face to face reviews in England of the book. A Methodist minister used it to empower her congregation, to show them how even the simplest things in life can lead to a prayerful response.
Victoria known as Vicki, married to Bob, is a normal woman with four children. The book looks at a week in her life and compares it to Jesus’ Lent week. Many issues are explored through the pages. Vicki Sponge could be you or me and the response to each situation, a solution to your own challenges.
Without the Baker this book would end up like my cakes! The writing of it helped me to begin a new life and I hope it helps you to do so too if you read and journey through its pages.


Blog Stops

September 29: A Reader’s Brain
September 30: The Power of Words (spotlight)
October 2: Bukwurmzzz
October 3: Artistic Nobody
October 4: Quiet Quilter
October 5: Daysong Reflections
October 6: Mary Hake
October 9: Bibliophile Reviews
October 10: Petra’s Hope
October 12: Onceuponatime


To celebrate her tour, Margaret is giving away a themed gift bag containing an apron, whisk, Bible, and a limited 1st edition paperback copy of How to Make Victoria Sponge! Click here to enter:https://promosimple.com/ps/a416

3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much Karla for taking the time to read and review my book. I feel blessed by your comments and hope that my book blessed you too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, I'm stopping over from Celebrate Lit. I've never heard of Victoria Sponge cake until now. This sounds like an interesting book. I'm sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter today at 1:00pm Eastern. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am blessed that you took the time to read and review my book. Thank you. May God bless you and your life.

    ReplyDelete

Another Fantastic Read by One of My Favorite Authors, Vannetta Chapman!

An Amish Proposal for Christmas  By Vannetta Chapman Synopsis: Her deepest Christmas wish will bring more than she imagined…in this novel by...