All That She Can See
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: BUY
Source: Sainsburys (Comes with free recipe cards)

Cherry has a hidden talent. She can see things other people can't and she decided a long time ago to use this skill to help others. As far as the rest of the town is concerned she's simply the kind-hearted young woman who runs the local bakery, but in private she uses her gift to add something special to her cakes so that after just one mouthful the townspeople start to feel better about their lives. They don't know why they're drawn to Cherry's bakery - they just know that they're safe there and that's how Cherry likes it. She can help them in secret and no one will ever need to know the truth behind her gift.

And then Chase turns up and threatens to undo all the good Cherry has done. Because it turns out she's not the only one who can see what she sees . .


Since Carrie announced her second novel, I have been so ready for this book. I loved On the Other Side, so I had hyped this book up before I even knew anything about it. Then Carrie uploaded her video about the book and told us it was about a woman that could put good feelings into her baked goods and I was sold.

On publication day, I saw that Sainsburys had limited edition recipe cards included with the book so I toddled off to Sainsburys and picked up the book for...£6.49! The cover was just absolutely stunning and I'm so glad that Carrie has such a unique style for her cover art. You can spot a Carrie novel, a mile off.

I finished the book in a day, I mean, of course I did. I wasn't prepared for how much I would like this book. I always rush books and I really tried to savour every page slowly. I tried, I really did. I just got completely lost in the story and the world that Carrie had created.

The story focuses on Cherry Redgrave; a positive, bubbly girl who always sees the best in people...even though she literally sees the worst. Cherry has an ability. The ability to see what other people's negative emotions are. She calls them "Meddlums". They are essentially monsters, invisible to everyone else but Cherry (or so she thinks) that represent an emotion that other people are feeling.

Cherry has the ability to put good feelings into her baking, so travels the the UK helping out people that need her good feelings the most. This idea completely fascinated me. Not only is it original but an utterly beautiful idea. I've seen Carrie say a few times that she wished she was more like Cherry but Cherry's positive, happy outlook on life, no matter what hand she was dealt with, reminded me of Carrie so much.

Cherry moves onto the next stop of her Flour Power Tour and meets Chase. Chase is one of the most miserable, bitter people Cherry has ever met. She discovers that he is just like her, except he can see all the positive feelings people have, so Cherry just can't understand why he's turned out the way he is. And then we meet the Guild of Feelers and their world as they know it, is turned upside down...

I could honestly have written paragraph after paragraph about Cherry, Chase, Meddlums, the Guild and I feel like I've only just touched the tip of the iceberg. This book gives so much more than I could ever possibly write down.

I personally felt this was leaps and bounds above On the Other Side. I connected with the characters more, invested more into the story and just felt like Carrie felt much more comfortable writing and had really found her niche.

I just can't put into words how much I enjoyed this book and I now wish more than anything, I'd attended the launch in Waterstones Piccadilly. Carrie, you are quite honestly a literary genius...when can we have more Cherry and Chase in our lives?