This was a perfectly pleasant story about a man and a woman and their correspondence about life and food and how it gives both of them the strength to make the changes they need to make in their lives I saw a lot of comparisons to The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society, but there was nowhere near that same depth It was cute but forgettable Recommended for people who like books with pretty covers.

mrs margot 3,4 I enjoyed reading this, I felt a great empathy for Eve, she s a lot like me character, lives in anxiety, love to cook and read, I think it describes me perfectly.I don t think it s a book very pretentious, it is a simple, very real history, problems and common stories in many families The typical conflict of a mother who always had a distance with her daughter and did not relate to the same and that when she decides to get married, the mother begins a reflection on these issues An [...]

Light, quick read that made me want to cook until I remembered I don t like to cook.

British Eve Petworth writes a fan letter to Jackson Cooper, a popular American detective fiction author In this part epistolary novel they find a shared love of gourmet cooking Jack and Eve both are also facing midlife challenges As the novel progresses and they get to know each other, their letters get personal.Jack is dealing with writer s block, his second divorce, and meeting women There are many humorous moments in Jack s life especially when he plans elaborate dinners, but his new vegetar [...]

This was a gracefully written thoroughly enjoyable book Eve is a comfortably well off but lonely and isolated Englishwomen, one day she picks a book up at random in a charity store and enjoys it so much she writes to the author Jack is the author, an American whose most recent wife just left him Superficially successful, he is to a large extent aimless and when he writes back to Eve a rather charming correspondence commencesWhile we follow Jack and Eve s stories separately the unifying dialogue [...]

I received a copy of this book for free through First Reads.How do you take a simple, ordinary, every day storyline and turn it into something spectacular Ask Deborah McKinlay She knows That Part Was True is an amazing journey of normal , told in such a real way that you can t help but feel every ounce of emotion The happiness, the sadness it s all there.I wasn t sure I was going to enjoy this book 10 pages in, and my thoughts were At least it s easy to read the writing is superbly fluid and com [...]

When Eve Petworth writes a fan letter to an Jackson Cooper about a scene in one of his books, it begins a back and forth correspondence between them Their letters mainly focus on food and cooking but gradually personal bits start to be included and they share the things going on in their lives with each other Plans to meet in person keep being offered but they never work out Right up to the last page, it s unclear whether these two will ever meet, even as they become and important to each othe [...]

Light and fun and life affirming This novel shows that middle aged people can reinvent themselves.

A gorgeous little novel that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy It s a sweet exploration of love and identity disclosure I work for the publisher had early access to this title

Letters, food and England 3 of my favorite elements of a good story.

This is one of those books where what as much understanding comes from the unsaid parts as the bits the reader is privy to.Eve Petworth, a wealthy privileged middle aged English woman writes a letter to American author, Jackson Cooper, after reading one of his novels They have a meeting of minds over food in their short missives across the Atlantic Both have reached a stage in their lives where they realise things have to change but neither seem to be able to work out what they need to do to ach [...]

Ora c est um livro em que a capa nada remete para o conte do Olhando para a mesma fica se com a sensa o que vamos ler um romance hist rico Foi a ideia que tive quando vi o livro pela primeira vez E foi a leitura da sinopse que me fez querer l lo o romance contempor neo, que se l extremamente bem, bastante espirituoso, como eu tanto gosto e que, de uma forma divertida, aborda temas como a amizade dist ncia e algo bastante em desuso, que a troca de correspond ncia por carta Acaba por ser uma obra [...]

A lovely book that was just so well written The kind of prose that just flows, and you do not know why, but it s quite lovely.It s the story of Eve who has always stayed in the background Shy, bullied by her own mother, and with a rocky relationship with her daughter Izzy whom I first liked at the end When it all came together, forgiveness and understanding.And it s the story of Jack, a writer struggling to write, who loves food, and who goes from woman to woman.Last it is the story of how these [...]

simpaticno

I picked up this book off the Barnes and Noble Bargain Books table recently wanting a quick, light read at the holidays That was pretty much what I got The characters were a bit annoying at times, but overall, I liked their development and how their stories came together.

A delightful delicacy of a read Yes, perhaps a chick read in that it may appeal to female audiences, but not necessarily, and it certainly is not a flimsy or lightweight one The thematic messages are compelling and universal It is not a coming of age novel in the traditional sense, but it definitely is so to middle age Therefore, I think the audience who will appreciate this lovely,lyrical prose will be readers aged over 30 The themes of friendship, love and loss, regrets, and emotional intelli [...]

Eve e Jack n o se conhecem, vivendo mesmo em continentes diferentes, ela dom stica e ele um escritor Eve ap s a morte da m e, n o consegue definir um rumo para a sua vida habituada a que a m o sempre a criticasse e por isso foi se anulando como pessoa A filha Izzy prestes a casar se revela se uma jovem quase parecida com a av , mas a chegada do pai Simon e dos meios irm os f la perceber, que existe fam lia para al m da av.Jack encontra se sem inspira o, depois de rela es falhadas, encontra em Ev [...]

A lovely little book An American writer and an Englishwoman correspond about food and their lives Sections alternate between the correspondence, his life, and her life The writing was often beautiful and the story felt true and real to me throughout It made me think about how many other hidden gems there are out there.

I received an advance copy of this novel at BEA It features an image of the Eiffel Tower on the cover with tulips in the foreground, so I thought it would make a good choice for reading on vacation or during a lazy summer day I was also drawn to the back cover description, which involves a growing friendship between a bestselling American author, Jackson Cooper, and an Englishwoman, Eve Petworth.The story begins when Eve writes Jackson a fan letter and he replies They discover they share a love [...]

This is the first book I ve read by Deborah McKinlay and it was AMAZING It was like a present beautiful writing and engaging characters all wrapped up with a perfect ending in just over 200 pages This novel is about the power of words how we use them to tell a story, to heal ourselves and those around us, even to help us find love When 46 year old British Eve Petworth sends a fan letter to Jackson Cooper, a slightly older successful American author, an unlikely friendship develops that changes b [...]

I found McKinlay s writing so delicious I had to say some of the lines out loud just to savor them on my tongue Sheila Eve Petworth finds her 40 s to be a bit of a rocky road Living in London on her own after a divorce, and struggling as her own adult daughter is about to be married and leaning a little too hard on Eve, Eve takes solace in books written by a popular American Novelist, Jackson Cooper When Eve writes to Cooper informing him of her appreciation of his books and comparing one of his [...]

I m a sucker for a great cover Unfortunately, not all great covers open to great reads I know that, but stillI almost missed this little gem because of that ho hum, no color cover It looked all hearts and flowers, sugary romance, and, though I enjoy a good romance with complications and complex relationships, sugar sweet is not my style What a delightful surprise awaited me.This is a lively read, short, but it packs a lot of plot into very few pages There is the famous guy novel writer on the Am [...]

The best part for me of That part was true was that it is a fast and easy read The significance of the title was totally lost on me I checked during my reading but did not discover what part was true, and what part wasn t.The characters, well off and gentle Eve, and self centred and handsome Jack Cooper, meet over their correspondence Do people really spend the cost of a postcard or letter to write one sentence, which is what happened at times At other times, there was disclosure, which frankly [...]

It s not often that I have an afternoon to pass with just a book But yesterday, a sweltering 104 degree day, proved me wrong All I could do was drink ice water and readWhat a delight to meander through this novel An unpredictable, but simple plot, with well rounded characters and great movement and pacing through the story I love good food, and real, handwritten letters, so this story personally appealed to me, and I especially appreciated the character building that seemed all together human an [...]

British reader Eve Petworth writes a letter to American author Jackson Cooper and thus begins the relationship Both have reached a stage in their lives where they must change but are not quite sure how to go down their paths A lovely communication friendship develops through a beautiful correspondence between the two.Eve must learn how to manage her relationship with her A type personality daughter and manage her memoirs of her deceased mother Jackson is at a milestone in his life and must figur [...]

I had read this book before and enjoyed it This reading was to see if it held up over time I had the bliss of this book being the third work of contemporary fiction IN A ROW that I read re read and adored.No salacious action Believable characters with aspects I could identify with, who grew through the timelines in the book No, there isn t much action It s about self discovery with an unexpected, albeit trusted, friend.Add in a love for food and marrow deep appreciation for what good food and re [...]

That Part Was True, a tale of two one per cent ers who become pen pals and live ever after.This was a cute story, and started out like cotton candy light, fluffy, sweet, but not very nourishing Things got deeper towards the end, when Eve started dealing with her anxiety and smoothing out her relationship with her daughter, and Jack started dealing with his midlife crisis.The ending was a pleasant surprise, and not an altogether bad one.One issue I had, though It s hard to connect with 2 characte [...]

I liked the feel of this book the relaxed lifestyle pacing and descriptions of food Also, the writing was pleasant and mostly felt realistic and true However, I didn t really care about the characters or story I didn t dislike them, but also didn t like them Overall, the book left me feeling flat, though near the end I did feel it started to develop some emotion and connection The marketing compares it to the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society, which may be unfair to this book as it is a [...]

As mother of the bride, Eve s life is full of stress and anxiety She suffers panic attacks during normal everyday life so now every thing is in a panic She writes a letter to a well known author going through some problems of his own Their correspondence helps them both cope with their life They write about cooking and life A nice story , well written by an author I want to read again.

Eve writes to author American Jack Cooper from her lonely house in England, beginning a relationship over correspondence letters, not email Eves daughter is getting married, forcing her to face the truth about their relationship Jack is discovering why after 2 failed marriages, he is still alone Others said this book was predictable, but I think it was a charming little gem.