Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I will review both aspects of the book. The authors do a good job about disclosing up front that this is both a love story and a cookbook. First, the cookbook. Most of the recipes are very expensive to make. You must search out or order expensive flours. And I don't know what to do about Xanthan gum. The author has now stated that she herself felt sickly for a very long time after eating recipes with xanthan gum in them. I have a delicate stomach and have felt a bit ill after eating some of her recipes. I have no idea if it's because of my health problems or the xanthan gum that I purchased TO MAKE THE RECIPES IN THIS BOOK. Now I'm too scared to even try another recipe. I've felt great after eating some of them and kind of sick after some of them. I don't know whether it's just me or the recipes. Please take note that most of the recipes are extremely high in calories and I get sick if I eat high caloric food too. Do be forewarned that often an ingredient is left out, or you aren't told exactly when to add it, and you're often forced to guess how long to cook something. In other words, the directions are not precise. They are filled with instructions such as "boil until done." "Roll out pastry till it feels like sand." Huh? Now onto the love story. You can't say you weren't warned upfront, and kudos to the Aherns for that. It is a love story. But it isn't just a love story. It's a story of the most perfect love ever. It sometimes reads like a teenager's diary. A cucumber joke in the grocery store? Perfectly okay to act silly, but does this belong in a professional's cookbook? (haters gon hate; someone will respond that I don't have a sense of humor and I'll argue that I do, but I don't think some of the "jokes" in this book are funny. That's my opinion. Everybody has one. It may be just your cuppa tea.) It's all a little too gushy for my tastes, no pun intended. DO NOT buy this book if you are lonely or in an unhappy personal relationship unless you are able to read about The Greatest Love Story Of All Time and not feel bad about your life. I've also observed that truly happy people rarely brag incessantly about their perfect happiness. A little sour with the sweet would have gone a long way to alleviate the discomfort I felt. Sometimes I felt almost voyeuristic, and sometimes I felt sick. "We giggled and kissed while the crack addicts watched us." O-kay.......I feel bad when I see crack addicts...