I’ve had this author on my radar for a while but never got the chance to read her books yet, and then the opportunity to review this audiobook presented itself.

The main character, Shireen, is seventeen, and depressed at the beginning of the summer: she just broke up with her girlfriend and her bff is visiting family in Bangladesh. Things start looking up when she’s selected to take part in the first-ever Junior Irish Baking Show. Until she finds out her ex is one of the other candidates.

I liked Shireen a lot even though she’s not always likable. But honestly, who is? She’s a teenager and she makes mistakes. She’s young enough to learn from them and I enjoyed reading about her character growth. The author tackles fatphobia, mental health, and racism, at the same time as Shireen tries to get over her ex and decide whether she wants to start something with another girl on the program. My favourite thing though was the way the author writes about Shireen’s family being originally from Bangladesh – her parents moved to Dublin – and how important her culture, especially the culinary aspect, is to Shireen.

The narrator has a nice voice but the pace is strange sometimes and the characters aren’t always distinct from one another. Shireen’s voice works well, however, and I also like Niamh’s, which has a scratchy quality that I felt fit her well.

Being me, I was obviously hungry for half the book. I mean, with so much talk of baking, it was bound to happen. This book though also gave me food for thought.

Listen to The Dos and Donuts of Love:

Libro.fm

amazon

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