Sweets & Treats

Book 2 in the Paws & Pastries Series

By: Barbara Hinske

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Clara’s decision to open her patisserie in Pinewood has her happily burning the candle at both ends to make her dream a reality. And an unlikely collaboration is healing for both parties.

With Noelle at her side, she and her canine companion are settling into a new home and forming friendships. There’s even romance in the air.

Back in Glenn Hills, however, her husband is stirring up trouble and doing everything he can to derail their divorce. Eager to move forward with her life—both professional and personal—as a single woman, Clara is at her wit’s end. Sometimes, however, fate steps in to lend a helping hand.

Follow along as Clara forges her path in the warm community of Pinewood.

Interview with the Author

Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?
A: I'm an attorney and have done a lot of technical writing, but knew I wanted to write novels. I thought I'd find time when I retired. Fate stepped in, as it often does, and put me on this path sooner. I broke my neck in an auto accident and suffered from double vision for months. I couldn't read or watch TV, so I conceived the plot for my Rosemont series.

Q: Why did you decide to write a series?
A: I prefer television series to movies. The longer format of television allows for deeper character development. The same holds true for series fiction. I like to fall in love with a character or hate a character (but root for them to change their ways). I feel like Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi from Alexander McCall Smith's Ladies' Detective Agency series are old friends. I wanted to recreate that sort of connection in the Rosemont series.

Q: What other authors do you read or admire?
A: I'm a fan of women's fiction, women's sagas, romantic suspense, domestic suspense, crime fiction, and romance. I love Rosamunde Pilcher's later trilogy -The Shell Seekers, Coming Home, and September. Jan Karon's Mitford series creates an enchanting world, as does Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove. My Rosemont series is set in the current day, but I've tried to capture a feeling of camaraderie and connection (among the good guys) that takes us back to a slightly simpler time and place.

Q: What are your favorite books?
A: In addition to the works I've already mentioned, I adored A Man Called One, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and A Long Way from Chicago.

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your author life?
A: My dad--without question. He told me or read me a bedtime story every night of my childhood, often adding his own twists and turns to the plots or dialogue. He had an incredible, gentle sense of humor. He also wrote novels--who-done-its--when he retired.

Q: What are the high points of your author journey?
A: There are 3 things I hold very dear: 1) hearing from readers--especially newly blind adults--that my Guiding Emilyseries has given then hope and provided comfort, 2) having my novella The Christmas Club made into a Hallmark Channel movie of the same name (2019), and 3) seeing my name on the USA Today Bestseller List.

Q: What of your own interests have you written about in the Rosemont series?
A: I love my home and all things related to homemaking: cooking, gardening, decorating, and entertaining. I love
celebrating all of the seasons and I change my decor for Easter, 4th of July, fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring.

Virtual voice, no thanks

The story is cute and light. I did not like the use of the virtual voice. Think the voice should have been female and not male as the main character is female. The inflection is off making a lot of the reading sound unnatural and words were not pronounced properly. At times it wasn’t clear that a different person was speaking, until you realized what they were saying. As a speech pathologist this bothered me and took away from the overall experience.

The whisper since narration definitely doesn’t match the book!

The whisper since narration doesn’t match the book - it would be read by a woman

Interesting story

The story kept me listening even though the virtual voice mispronouncing Patisserie over & over again was almost unbearable. I listen to audio books a lot & can take the virtual voice only so much & intersperse books with real voices. I usually check the voice before committing.Fortunately this was a free listen. Would have been better to read the book.