My first introduction to magical realism that I can remember was being forced to read Ian McEwan's A Child in Time in school and it put me off the whole genre for a long time because I cannot stand his writing. Turn to my mid twenties and I'm now finally coming back around to the idea and I'm starting to read more and more books in the genre?
Carrie Hope Fletcher always has the most creative book ideas, and this didn't disappoint. All That She Can See is about a woman named Cherry who sinks into despair after she loses her dad. She starts to bake as a coping mechanism as she eases out of a bout of depression and realises that she can add a little something extra into her baking.
You see, Cherry can see things other people can't. She sees all the negative emotions we have attached to our bodies like little gremlins. She starts to tweak her recipes, adding in lavender for someone with insomnia and realises that she can treat people and make them happier. Then Chase turns up and he's different: he threatens to ruin everything she's built up around her, and makes her realise she's not the only one with a gift for seeing something a little different.
This was magical realism done well. As I said, the author's storylines are like nothing I've ever read before every time and I really love how much they tap into her imagination. I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought it would - I expected it to be quite a cutesy girl-meets-boy predictable book (which I do love), but there was a whole other level of danger almost to a thriller level that took the book up a notch.
I gave this four stars and would recommend it for fans of Jenny Colgan and Karen Swan's books.
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