A Batch Made in Heaven

Wish #9

by Suzanne Nelson

Scrumptious recipes... a family secret... and one smart cookie ready for a challenge!

Mina is excited to start her mentorship at A Batch Made in Heaven, the bakery in her hometown that's famous for their inventive cookies. Mina dreams of becoming a baker herself someday. But there's a problem. Flynn, the (undeniably cute) son of the owner, won't let Mina into the kitchen: the top secret Cookie Vault. If Mina can't bake, then she can't enter the big cookie competition... and if she can't enter, she'll never win the money to help her dad open the restaurant he's always wanted.



What secret is Flynn hiding? And will Mina's entire plan crumble like an overbaked cookie, or can she find a way to help her family and her heart?

Genres: Romance, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Food, Contemporary

272 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2021

About the author

When she was in kindergarten, Suzanne Nelson jotted down in a school keepsake album that she wanted to be a “riter.” Though she clearly had issues with spelling, she persisted, composing cryptic poems about rainbows, fairies, mud, and even "Star Wars" in spiral notebooks all through elementary school. When she was seventeen, she filled four journals with her handwritten first novel, titled “The Dream Keeper.” To escape her chores, she often lied to her parents about what time her shift started at the local fast food joint so that she could spend an extra hour writing in the parking lot in her mom’s faded Buick. Her first published novel was The Sound of Munich, followed by Heart and Salsa, The Ghoul Next Door, Cake Pop Crush, and Dead in the Water. She is a shameless fan of “The Sound of Music,” Hershey’s kisses, Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Austen, and can often be caught daydreaming of romping about gothic castles in lovely Victorian gowns. She was born in New Jersey, grew up in Southern California, attended college in Texas, and spent eight years as a children’s book editor in New York City. She now lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut with her family.

Reviews

[ضحى الحداد · Rating 4 out of 5]

the moment I knew this book existed I knew I had to read it soon .. this series is just too cute to miss, and I'm glad I read this book
The Story is about Mina, she loves to bake so she applies as an apprentice for the baker shop in town, there she meets Flynn, the son of the owner of the baker shop, at first they get off on the wrong foot but soon Mina discovers the truth about the shop .. and that makes her strike a deal with Flynn, help her to get to the baker contest and she will help him with the shop .. between juggling her family life and her friendship Mina will have a lot to learn
the book was extremely light as the rest of the series and barely anything happens but this series makes you crave every dessert in the universe .. and now I'm craving a cookie LOL

[Otilia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucked. Huge disappointment! Beware spoilers******** Parents treat Mina like a servant she wasn’t a nanny, she is a child, key word child! If you are too tired to take care of your own twins and shove them to your child to care for them, you don’t deserve to be a parent. You don’t treat a child as a servant because you were stupid, had sex and oops had twins, that is not your child’s problem that is the adults problem! They kept making it Mina’s problem! WTF!!! Their apology for their behavior I think was unrealistic and completely shallow! Also Mina And Flynn acted like 16 year olds not 12 year olds! What twelve year old is out past 11 pm? Those parents should be in prison! Why didn’t those kids call the cops on their parents! Why didn’t anyone call the cops! Child welfare? Unrealistic characters to the max. The worst part was being cheated out of an ending! I read 272 pages to find out there is no ending! Yeah there is no ending! How can you not say who won the cookie contest???? 272 pages of Mina having that one goal, something for herself winning a cookie contest and nothing. Also the way her mother treated Mina’s feeling toward baking as a joke was cruel, she was a horrible parent and selfish witch! I foolishly kept thinking this will get better, it didn’t! The ending was flat, all this build up for Mina and the door slams in the reader’s face there is no ending!!!!!!!!! You could have at least done a flash forward! Or an epilogue, it didn’t have to be long it could have been two sentences! Oh and Flynn’s dad was a paranoid selfish joke! Who entraps their 12 year old to work from morning to night, there are child labor laws!! No wonder Flynn was drawn to Mina, they both had arse’s as parents! The parents treated their kids like servants and to top it off they didn’t even pay these kids! This was the most disappointing book ever!

[Yapha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute light romance with two middle school baking aficionados. There was a lot going on with Mina in addition to the baking -- having to take care of her new baby twin siblings at home, her parents expecting way too much of her, and her compulsive desire to fix everyone else's problems, whether they want it or not. The ending of the book leaves readers hanging, but it does contain several amazing cookie recipes. For grades 5 & up.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss

[Grace Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fresh baked book is a great way to wind down from a thrilling novel. I loved how it was planned out and thought trough too!

[Melissa Juárez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It struck me how the tension got bigger and bigger for Mina Kapuur, it is visible in the story how she just wants to good things to happen again and old times to be renewed, and it seemed very sad how she was unable to tell her parents or even anyone her feelings in the whole story until the end. I was jumping in excitement in the end as well, how Mina decided to call her new cookie recipie "I Chews You" to resemble her hidden love towards Flynn is very romantic, if you ask me! And how she managed to be friends with Kalli again is just...wow! I really loved how everything developed smoothly and how it all made sense without needing to read it twice! I would definitely want to read more novels like these, in the perspective of a teenage girl's life, or a whole story with much emotion and drama!

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good first 9 chapters, then it went off it's rails
First, spoilers obviously, I get having two babies and another child is stressful, but Mina's parents are treating her like a servant! Pay attention to her more! And the last 5-4 chapters had to be 10 pages per one! Seriously, chapters 12 and 13 were 10 pages long and the last one (chapter 14) was 9 pages! We didn't even find out who won the cookie contest, or anything else about her and her dads restaurant! Suzanne could've written an epilogue or flash forward at least.
Overall, disappointed with the ending of this book, I had high hopes, and they just crumbled down.

[J.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book about two and a half hours ago and finished it. That's how engaging and fun it is! I love the main character's personality and I love her main flaw. Her best friend is such a great character even if she's under appreciated. I love how the reader gets to know Flynn along with Mina.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AMAZING!!
It was a sweet as eating a cookie 😉
I like it and how it showed that if someone is mean on the outside there’s probably a reason for it! And with a little sweetness in life it can make the person better and show their true colors!
Definitely recommend!

[eesha]

i literally own this entire series except the last two that came out recently(ish) and i WILL be reading every single book in this series despite the fact that i’m way above the age range. it’s abt the childhood nostalgia… (also the fact that the mc was indian was SUCHHH a pleasant surprise)

[Ana Cortes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute and enjoyable book, but it’s not my favorite wish novel. Some moments were a bit rushed and I wish Mina had more time to grow as a character. I give it 3.5/5 stars. The cookie recipes were delicious, though! They’ll make you hungry!

[Rmsooon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was enjoyable

[Lia (Taylor's Version)]

ANOTHER ONE YESSSSSSSSSSSSS

[Rasika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't even know a new book came out in the Wish series until recently. When I found out, I was so excited to read it. Love it (Like all of the other books in this series)!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up

This was a cute little read, but not terribly realistic.

[Isla-Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

haha this book is really sweet probably one of my fav suzanne Nelson books with it has a realy sweet relationship and would recommend.

[Monica Hand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book with my 11 year old daughter & it's absolutely perfect for a tween or teen! We are obsessed with baking so the recipes & the passion behind the baking to reach her goal is wonderful.

[Brianna Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much kissing for a 7th and 8th grader lol

[iluminatingstars · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not impressed

[swiftie 💗💗🤭💅 jinu wife!!:) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was 5 stars till the end I don’t like choosing the ending I like when it’s there

[Tenley Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Batch Made In Heaven might be my favorite Wish book I’ve read so far!!❤️

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

this books makes me want a fat crumbl cookie real bad

[Yeva Mishova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book, it was so cute and the recipes were very yummy!

[Annabelle Schmelzle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book! Not the best out of the series I won’t lie but still good and would recommend for a fun light read

[Aliyah Hutchinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book to enjoy for fun!

[aaliya khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

lil weird otherwise okay good book

[Tabby {Genie in a Novel} · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part, this is a cute, quick read that cookie lovers will enjoy, as well as middle grade aged kids. However, I did have some issues with the plot and characters.

Mina is very passionate about baking, which I enjoyed, especially for someone who’s only twelve years old.

I did also feel bad for her in a way because her parents were more concerned about her baby siblings and would get upset if Mina made too much noise. I understand that they were tired because the twins are still under a year, but it was sort of like they forgot about Mina being a kid still. I understood her frustration when it seemed like her parents only saw her as a live-in babysitter, which can be kind of pressuring for a middle-schooler.

I had an issue with how realistic this book actually was. While parents using their pre-adolescent child as a free babysitter was not something unusual, there were other aspects that just had me shaking my head. For one, the romance between Mina and Flynn was something out of their age group. While having a crush, even a strong one, at 12/13 years old, when these two were together they made it seem like they were falling hardcore for each other like adults would. Maybe it’s because I was a normal kid who didn’t think about romance beyond a slight crush at that age, but it just seems unrealistic that they were acting how they were at the end with each other.

What really got to me was the whole “internship” thing. I get letting middle-schoolers help out at businesses to do some low maintenance tasks (even though it violates child labor laws), but to let a twelve year old be in charge of baking cookies (or anything) for a bakery? That’s got to be a lawsuit waiting to happen. While I do believe kids that age can have a passion for baking, and even be more skilled than some adults, I just don’t think having them work in a professional kitchen is realistic, no matter if it’s an internship or as family help. Maybe if Mina and Flynn were 16-17 years old, it would be plausible.

Despite the unrealistic parts of this book, it’s a cute read and good for middle-grade aged kids. I would have enjoyed it more if the characters were of a different age in their work settings. I’ll still give some of the other books by this author a shot.

Rating: 3/5 stars