About the book:
Today’s baker faces a great challenge: With little time and a limited repertoire, she often needs to whip up a delicious dessert that’s dressed to impress. Rachel Schifter Thebault, founder and head confectioner of Tribeca Treats in New York City, knows all about making a sweet statement. Combining a confectioner’s expertise with fashion sense, she shares a scrumptious cache of popular dessert recipes that can be accessorized to fit any occasion.

What’s more, transforming a basic dessert into a masterpiece brimming with personality and flair can be easy, quick, and fun. In the same way you’d plan an outfit, Sweet Chic pieces together a Devil’s Food Cake—the little black dress of delights—with such irresistible accessories as Caramel Buttercream (think knee-high boots) for ultimate decadence, turns Vanilla Cookies (the crisp oxford shirt) into Strawberry “Shortcakes” ideal for casual or dressy occasions, and blends brownies (the cashmere sweater of confectionery) with a swirl of mint for a showstopping number.

Gorgeous and appetizing color photos throughout reveal how a change of icing here and a substitute topping there can take a simple dessert from Sunday brunch to a date-night treat. Mix and match more than seventy recipes for cookies, cakes, and confections, including Peanut Butter and Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies, Brownie Sundae Parfait, Mini S’mores Cupcakes, Wasabi-Black Sesame Truffles, and so much more.

Whether you’re a novice baker hoping to master the basics or an experienced one looking to add a little versatility to your existing creations, Sweet Chic is a clever and practical guide for memorable desserts, a one-sweet-fits-all way to make a tantalizing impression.


Fancy desserts are the trend right now and Sweet Chic capitalizes on that trend.  The premise to the book is kind of cute: that just like in fashion, it's easy to accessorize and dress up an otherwise ordinary outfit, or in this case, dessert.

There are quite a few pictures (not a picture for every recipe, which is my big cookbook pet peeve, but this one has a good many), and go-to recipes you can use as the basis for desserts, such as a devil's food cake, a white cake, and a sugar cookie.  Rachel has included lots of tips and ideas for baking, decorating and serving your desserts.

I thought this was a lovely little cookbook.  It would be a great bridal shower gift along with a baking pan and utensils.

Thanks to Ruby at FSB Associate for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Rachel Schifter Thebault here.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 8/11

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
The book has already sold more than 5 million copies, so we didn't want to spoil it! We have only added a few enhancements to this original cookbook in the wildly claimed Fix-It and Forget-It cookbook series:

Brand New: 100 new recipes for slow cookers.
Brand New: "Prep Time," "Cooking Time," and "Ideal Slow-Cooker Size" are included for each recipe.
Brand New: 4 pages of basic and very helpful "Extra Information"

* "Substitute Ingredients for When You're in a Pinch"
* "Equivalent Measurements"
* "Kitchen Tools and Equipment You May Have Overlooked"
* "Assumptions about Ingredients in Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, Revised and Updated"

Brand New: 1 page of "Tips for Using Your Slow Cooker: a Friendly, Year-Round Appliance."
Brand New: Additional tips and tricks for making the most of your slow cooker, spread throughout the book.
Brand New: A second color -- a rich purple -- for recipe titles, contributors' names and addresses, the words "Tip" and "Variation," and the numbered instruction steps.
Brand New: The drawings on the opening pages of chapters and the spot illustrations throughout.
Brand New: 1 page of tip-in color, right inside the front cover.
Brand New: 2 pages of review excerpts to position the original book's success, immediately following the tip-in page of color.

Revised: An improved Index!
Revised: A personal Introduction to the book by author Phyllis Pellman Good.
Revised: Good's personal comments and voice throughout the recipes.

We've learned a lot since the original Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook first quietly appeared. Now you and your customers can benefit with this new edition of the beloved favorite -- Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook REVISED and UPDATED!


Tons of recipes for just about any dish or ingredient you could envision.  With three recipes to a page, this book is packed.  The author also includes tips, equivalent measurements and substitute ingredients. None of these recipes are fancy or gourmet, but all are easy and meals that everyday people would enjoy.  A great book to start with, or just to revitalize your current crock pot recipes.

As is my request of all cookbooks, I would have loved a spiral binding and more photos!  This would be a great gift for a new bride, especially when accompanied by a slow cooker.

Thanks to FSB Associates for the opportunity to review this book.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 6/10

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
The First-Timer's Cookbook is the one cookbook that teaches all the basics. With simple techniques and easy step-by-step instructions for cooking almost anything, now you can learn how to cook, not just what to cook. Easy to follow step-by-step instructions. Lots of descriptive photos. Easy to understand and fun to use.

About the author:
Chef Shawn Bucher holds business degrees and a culinary certificate and has worked in the food service industry for over 12 years. Having been involved in most aspects of the industry “from grocery stores to restaurants, hotels, schools to corporate training and development,” he brings a unique and overall perspective to cooking and the food service industry.
----------------------

When the book says it teaches the basics, it really does.  This is a book that contains no recipes, but photographic step by step instructions for basic kitchen procedures.  From menu planning and table set-up to cooking vegetables and using knives and food safety, this is a great beginner's cookbook.  This would be perfect for a teenager learning to cook or a college student or newlywed who has little culinary experience. 


I'm a fairly experienced cook and I learned a few things as well.  It's a short, easy read.  I wish there had been a Table of Contents or an Index which would be nice if you just wanted to find the section on poultry or slicing a particular vegetable.

Thanks to Cheryl at Media Guests for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Shawn Bucher here.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 4/11

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
An anonymous gift sends a woman on a journey she never could have anticipated.

One afternoon, Julia Evarts and her five-year-old daughter, Gracie, arrive home to find an unexpected gift on the front porch: a homemade loaf of Amish Friendship Bread and a simple note: I hope you enjoy it. Also included are a bag of starter, instructions on how to make the bread herself, and a request to share it with others. Still reeling from a personal tragedy that left her estranged from the sister who was once her best friend, Julia remains at a loss as to how to move on with her life. She’d just as soon toss the anonymous gift, but to make Gracie happy, she agrees to bake the bread.

When Julia meets two newcomers to the small town of Avalon, Illinois, she sparks a connection by offering them her extra bread starter. Widow Madeline Davis is laboring to keep her tea salon afloat while Hannah Wang de Brisay, a famed concert cellist, is at a crossroads, her career and marriage having come to an abrupt end. In the warm kitchen of Madeline’s tea salon, the three women forge a friendship that will change their lives forever.

In no time, everyone in Avalon is baking Amish Friendship Bread. But even as the town unites for a benevolent cause and Julia becomes ever closer to her new friends, she realizes the profound necessity of confronting the painful past she shares with her sister.

About life and loss, friendship and community, food and family, Friendship Bread tells the uplifting story of what endures when even the unthinkable happens.

A charming, heartwarming story.   You will laugh and cry with Julia, Hannah and Madeline as you learn each woman's story, heartbreaks and regrets, and you will cheer as they discover joy and happiness among friends.

A lot of characters are introduced throughout the book and, at first, I was concerned that it would get confusing.  It doesn't.  The main, core characters stay the same throughout the story and the extra people we learn about all come together at the end in a fantastic show of small-town support and friendship. I didn't really like the prickly Edie, but as she is kind of the antagonist, I guess it's to be expected.  She redeems herself which is nice. 

I love Amish Friendship Bread.  I'm not one for passing around starter bags, so I just keep them flattened in my freezer and bake a couple of loaves whenever I feel like it. For some, a bag of Friendship Bread starter is a death knell and only good for a big dose of guilt and pressure.  I personally think it's a delicious treat and it never lasts long at my house.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading a story based around Friendship Bread.  Darien Gee completely captures the essence of community, friendship and good food.  This is a delightful story and one I can easily recommend.

My only complaint is the present tense narrative.  I hate present tense more than I hate first-person, if that's possible!  It's so awkward and I don't understand why writers choose it.  I find myself distracted and annoyed while reading and, for me anyway, it detracts from the story, which is sad because this is a terrific story.

I love the inclusion of Amish Friendship Bread recipes at the end of the book.  It never occurred to me that I could use the batter as a base for other things.  What an awesome idea!  I'm excited to try some of these new recipes.  I think this book would make a lovely gift for a friend and if you gave it with a bag of starter, all the better!

Thanks to Cheryl of Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Darien Gee here.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 2/11

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
After the unexpected death of her parents, painfully shy and sheltered 26-year-old Ginny Selvaggio seeks comfort in cooking from family recipes. But the rich, peppery scent of her Nonna’s soup draws an unexpected visitor into the kitchen: the ghost of Nonna herself, dead for twenty years, who appears with a cryptic warning (“do no let her…”) before vanishing like steam from a cooling dish.

A haunted kitchen isn’t Ginny’s only challenge. Her domineering sister, Amanda, (aka “Demanda”) insists on selling their parents’ house, the only home Ginny has ever known. As she packs up her parents’ belongings, Ginny finds evidence of family secrets she isn’t sure how to unravel. She knows how to turn milk into cheese and cream into butter, but she doesn’t know why her mother hid a letter in the bedroom chimney, or the identity of the woman in her father’s photographs. The more she learns, the more she realizes the keys to these riddles lie with the dead, and there’s only one way to get answers: cook from dead people’s recipes, raise their ghosts, and ask them.

As a young woman with Asperger's, Ginny has always been protected and sheltered by her parents.  After their sudden death, Ginny is suddenly on her own.  Her dominating sister insists on selling their parents house and having Ginny live with her, even though Ginny prefers staying in the home she's always known.  Frustrated with the fact that Amanda won't listen to her, Ginny cooks, finding comfort in the order and ritual of recipes and preparation.  When she prepares her grandmother's soup, her Nonna appears to her and they are able to speak, but her Nonna disappears after giving her a cryptic message. 

As Ginny struggles with expressing her feelings to her sister, she discovers family secrets hidden in her home.  Wishing to find answers to her questions, she continues cooking, finding recipes from her mother and father which enable her to speak with them.  What their answers reveal teach Ginny more about herself than anything else and she learns that "normal" is different for everyone.

Ginny is a fantastic character.  Jael McHenry has completely captured the essence of Asperger's syndrome and the reality that it's a spectrum and it manifests differently in people.  I loved her notion that there is no "normal".  I have a son with Asperger's.  I could see much of him in Ginny.  He has coping mechanisms just like Ginny does.  He has some of the same tendencies as Ginny and many of her thought processes and reactions are what I see in him.

The narrative is lyrical and well written with mouthwatering descriptions of food and cooking. There is mild, non-gratuitous use of the F word.  There are also some great sounding recipes that I can't wait to try. With magical realism elements that evoke Sarah Addison Allen, this is a terrific, engaging story.  It's not a ghost story, but a story about determination, acceptance and family.

Thanks to Lisa at TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Jael McHenry here and here.  You can purchase your own copy here. 

You can see other tour stops and reviews here:

Monday, April 11th:  girlichef
Wednesday, April 13th:  Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Thursday, April 14th:  She is Too Fond of Books
Friday, April 15th:  Book Club Classics!
Monday, April 18th:  The Singleton in the Kitchen
Tuesday, April 19th:  Back to Books
Wednesday, April 20th:  Coffee and a Book Chick
Thursday, April 21st:  Books Like Breathing
Monday, April 25th:  Simply Stacie
Tuesday, April 26th:  Book Reviews by Molly
Wednesday, April 27th:  Kahakai Kitchen
Thursday, April 28th:  2 Kids and Tired
Monday, May 2nd:  The Brain Lair
Tuesday, May 3rd:  Stephanie’s Written Word
Friday, May 6th:  Book Addiction
Monday, May 9th:  Farmgirl Fare
Tuesday, May 10th:  Overstuffed
Wednesday, May 11th:  Books, Movies, and Chinese Food
Friday, May 13th:  The Literate Housewife Review

Read 3/11

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
Modern Miss Marple: A Magnet for Murder?
by Jane Seeley, feature reporter, The Denver Post
Local "celebrity" Sadie Hoffmiller has been involved in a number of unfortunate situations that have taken her to crime scenes from London, England, to Miami, Florida, and even in her own backyard of Garrison, Colorado. But is she truly an unwitting bystander in all these investigations? Or is she something more? Is she, perhaps, even the cause...?

The word is out about Sadie Hoffmiller's amateur detective work, but it's not the kind of publicity Sadie wants. When Jane's article threatens Sadie's reputation in the community, she accepts her first investigation-for-hire and travels to Portland, Oregon - if only to give herself some space from her whispering neighbors. And from Pete, who is sending her mixed signals about their budding relationship.

Sadie hopes the Portland air will clear her head, and she is eager to get to work for May Sanderson, who has suspicions about her father's untimely death.

Putting her detective skills to the test, Sadie delves into a complicated past that includes a business partnership that didn't end well, several unsavory family secrets, and more than a few motives for murder.

Sadie is afraid she might crumble under the pressure, but in a new place with new recipes, she finds herself more determined than ever to uncover the answers buried in scandal, insatiable appetites, and pure and simple greed. 

Sadie Hoffmiller strikes again!  This time, however, she has accepted her first paid investigative assignment.  That she isn't a licensed detective doesn't matter.  Armed with a lock pick set and a fake ID, she heads off to Portland to put some space between herself and her hometown.

In true Sadie fashion, she gets herself in trouble and has many cringe-inducing embarrassing moments.  But, also in true Sadie fashion, as she uncovers motives and clues she also discovers families that need to be reunited.  And, along the way she discovers some terrific new recipes, some of which sound absolutely delicious.

Simply a fun story.  An easy enjoyable read.

Thanks to Tracee at Pump Up Your Book for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Josi Kilpack here.  Check out Lemon Tart, English Trifle, Devil's Food Cake, and Key Lime Pie. You can find other Blackberry Crumble reviews here. You can purchase your own copy of Blackberry Crumble here.

Read 3/11

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
It’s nearly Christmas, and the seven children in Millie’s family can’t wait for Grandma to arrive with her special Christmas apron, newly pressed and filled with generations of holiday memories. According to tradition, each grandchild will carefully write down the gift he or she wants most in the world, and then slip that wish into the apron’s frilled pocket. Then, on Christmas morning, those wished-for gifts will be waiting under the tree — like magic. Little Will wants Lincoln Logs; nine-year-old Grace wants a horse of her very own. Even eleven-year-old Millie, who’s too old to believe in magic, has a precious wish in mind — a pair of silky pink toe shoes.

But one dark evening, Millie overhears a worrisome conversation between her parents: due to wartime shortages, the family can’t afford gifts for all the little ones. She pictures the terrible disappointment on her siblings’ faces: no toys or games or art supplies to open on Christmas morning (and certainly no horse for Grace!) From that point on, she wrestles with a terrible question: Is she willing to sacrifice her own whole-soul wish so that someone else’s can come true? Full of tender emotion and delightful surprise, this story reminds us of the miracles that unfold when we think of others before ourselves.

Millie is an eleven year old girl living during the bleak days of World War II.  Money is scarce, but love abounds.  All Milllie wants for Christmas is ballet pointe shoes.  All her sister wants is a horse.  When her grandmother arrives with her magic apron, Millie wonders if her family's wishes really will come true this year. 

A beautiful story about families.  One that calls to mind The Gift of the Magi.  I wear an apron nearly every day, all day.  I love that they protect my clothes as I work around my home and care for my family. I absolutely love the sentiments expressed in this lovely little story that, "Aprons help us do the most important work there is--family work.  The work that says, 'I love you'."  This speaks to my heart! 

I love these short, pamphlet-sized  Christmas stories.  This is one that is easily read in a sitting.  I think it would make a fantastic gift and if it was accompanied by an apron, an even better one!

I read my own, personal copy, but you can purchase your own here and here.

Read 12/10

* * * * *
5/5 Stars

About the book:
High Crimes at High Tea 
Things to Do in England: Visit Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, and the London Zoo. Take the Jack the Ripper tour. Creepy! Sample authentic English scones and crumpets. Discover a dead body.

What begins as a holiday trip for amateur sleuth and cooking aficionado Sadie Hoffmiller and her daughter, Breanna, turns into a bizarre mystery when they discover a dead body in the sitting room of an English manor. Breanna's boyfriend, Liam, is heir to both the family title and the family estate of Southgate, where everyone seems to have a secret . . . or two. 

When the body in the sitting room disappears, Sadie and Breanna are stranded at the estate until the police can clear them to leave. With their departure delayed, they might as well solve the murder. Armed with a jogging whistle, her personal recipe collection, and an unfailing sense of American justice, Sadie begins her own investigation to find the killer. 

But as Sadie uncovers layer after layer of misdirection, secrets, and outright lies, she wonders if anyone is telling the truth or if the case is really as hopeless as it appears to be. Take a missing family history, toss in a secret romance, mix with a mysterious murder, and this is one vacation Sadie will never forget.

A sequel to Lemon Tart, this is the second in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery series. And, this novel is just as much fun! Sadie Hoffmiller returns and manages to find death and mayhem in upper crust England.

Sadie and her daughter Breanna are off to visit England with Breanna's boyfriend, Liam, who is heir to an English title and a fancy English estate, complete with servants and a dead body in the living room.

The body disappears, the staff have secrets and the British police are inept. In true Hoffmiller fashion, Sadie decides that she is better equipped to find the murderer than any British inspectors. And if she can learn how to make crumpets along the way, so much the better!

Like Lemon Tart, this one is laugh out loud funny in places. Sadie is funny and forthright and determined to find out the truth. Like an English Trifle dessert, she uncovers layer after layer of secrets as she works her way through the manor, the staff, Liam's family history and the kitchen!

A fun, easy read, Josi has also included lots of fun recipes, including some authentic English ones. While I had a hard time following all the details of how titles are passed on, and who was who, it didn't detract from the story at all. Definitely recommended!

Thanks to my local library for a copy I could borrow! You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 12/09

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
A recipe for murder!

* 5 families living on Peregrine Circle
* 1 flowered curtain tieback
* 1 missing child
* 1 body in the field

Mix with a long list of suspects and top with two very different detectives. Increase heat until only the truth remains.

Award-winning author Josi S. Kilpack introduces a new series of culinary "cozies" that is sure to tantalize mystery lovers. In this debut volume, cooking aficionado-turned-amateur detective, Sadie Hoffmiller, tries to solve the murder of Anne Lemmon, her beautiful young neighbor - a single mother who was mysteriously killed while a lemon tart was baking in her oven. At the heart of Sadie's search is Anne's missing two-year-old son, Trevor. Whoever took the child must be the murderer, but Sadie is certain that the police are looking at all the wrong suspects - including her!

Armed with a handful of her very best culinary masterpieces, Sadie is determined to bake her way to proving her innocence, rescuing Trevor, and finding out exactly who had a motive for murder.

A lot of fun. I'm not normally a big fan of mysteries, but I'm a big fan of Josi Kilpack. Lemon Tart is simply a fun book to read.

Sadie Hoffmiller is one of those neighbors you wish you had living next door. A widow whose children are raised, Sadie loves to cook and bake and look out for her neighbors. When Anne Lemmon, a young, single mother moves into the neighborhood, Sadie becomes her friend and mentor. When Anne is tragically murdered while a lemon tart bakes in her oven, Sadie decides to begin her own investigation. Anne's young son is missing and Sadie is convinced that the police detectives aren't able to solve the murder and find Trevor.

Josi has given us a cast of interesting characters and blended the story so well, that I didn't have the actual murderer figured out until the very end. Sadie is delightful and you just want to laugh out loud at her antics and thought processes as she trips up the detectives and forms her own opinions and conclusions.

A simply delightful read. Light, but not fluffy and packed full of delicious recipes that I'm determined to try. I'm excited that this is part of a series. Sadie is someone I want to visit again.

Thanks to my local library for having a copy I could borrow.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 4/09

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
When Sadie Hoffmiller's new friend, Eric Burton, receives word that his missing daughter's body may have been found in Florida, he immediately packs his bags, but Sadie is determined to stay home and prove to everyone that she is not a busybody.

But when she senses Eric is hiding something, Sadie is compelled to take action. Before she knows it, she's in the heart of Miami, trying to piece together a trail littered with broken relationships, mysterious strangers, and forged documents that might just provide Eric the answers he's been desperately searching for - or reveal a truth he may not be ready to face.

Sadie must also face a difficult question: Where is her heart leading her? Onward into Eric's adventurous arms? Or back home to the stable and steady Pete Cunningham? Of only love was as easy as following a recipe.

Once again, Sadie finds herself in the company of some colorful characters and on the hunt for some good old-fashioned Southern cooking. But despite the drama and intrigue, all Sadie really wants is to go home ... as soon as she does just one more thing.

Includes eight new mouthwatering recipes, tested and approved by the official bakers of Sadie's Test Kitchen

As Sadie is finishing up her community service sentence (after her arrest in Devil's Food Cake), her friend Eric rushes to Florida to because of new information regarding his missing daughter.  Sadie soon finds herself involved in another investigation.  As is typically Sadie, she gets into trouble, but also uncovers information the police can never find.  She's also conflicted about her friendship with Eric and her relationship with Pete and she has an obsession with finding a good Key Lime Pie while she's in Florida!

While I have loved all the Sadie Hoffmiller books, this one is probably my least favorite.  Sadie's antics are never quite plausible, but they border the extreme here.  Nevertheless, the story is entertaining and a great diversion.  I love Sadie Hoffmiller.  She's just a kick.  I'd love to have her for a neighbor. I think this is a fabulous series and I'm looking forward to Blackberry Crumble.

Thanks to Tracee at Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Josi Kilpack and download Sadie's recipes here.  You can purchase your own copy here.  You can see other reviews here.

Read 10/10

* * *
3/5 Stars

About the book:
A luminous, tender-hearted debut novel about a young widow, a nine-year-old girl, and a baking contest that will change both their lives.

Rose-Ellen “Zell” Carmichael Roy wears her late husband Nick’s camouflage apron even when she’s not in the kitchen. She can’t remember the last time she wore a bra, and she speaks to her dog in the voice of a pirate. That’s her widow style.

It’s been over a year since Nick died tragically during a post-Katrina relief mission in New Orleans. Long enough, according to the grief pamphlets, to have begun moving on with her life. But Zell is still unable to enter her attic, which is full of Nick memories. She hasn’t even turned on her oven because cooking was Nick’s chore. That is, until she decides to enter celebrity chef Polly Pinch’s first annual Desserts that Warm the Soul baking contest, hoping to win the $20,000 grand prize to donate to Katrina survivors in Nick’s honor.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent apartment of Zell’s two-family house, nine-year-old Ingrid Knox is learning to cope with the loneliness of growing up without a mother. With an imagination as big as her heart, Ingrid treasures her doting father but begins to plot how she will meet her mother, whom she fiercely believes is Polly Pinch.

When an embarrassing baking mishap brings Zell and Ingrid together, they form an unlikely friendship that will alter both of their lives forever. Together, and with the help of a lively and loveable cast of friends and family, they embark on winning the Desserts that Warm the Soul contest – and learn that through the many sorrows and joys of life, with a little bit of flour and a pinch of love, anything is possible.

I loved the cover and it was about cooking.  How could I go wrong?  I couldn't.  Quirky characters and a cooking contest add a bit of lightness to what could be a heavy, depressing topic of grief and recovery.  Instead, it's a sweet story about friendship and recreating a life after a devastating loss.  I liked Zell.  I loved Ingrid.

The story wraps up neatly, but wasn't completely predictable.  It's first person for Zell and present tense for everyone else, which is so awkward.  When I started it, I kept wondering where it was going to do and what the purpose was.  Once I let myself simply enjoy the ride and gave up trying to figure things out, I appreciated the story.

The Katrina tragedy was a terrific backdrop, revealing that service and help are still ongoing and needed in New Orleans.  I think this is a terrific debut novel.  I loved that Alicia Bessette included the contest recipe at the end of the book! 

Thanks to my local library for having a copy I could borrow.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 10/10

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
Camilla's Cucinotta: Italian Cooking Classes
Fresh take-home pastas and sauces daily
Benvenuti (Welcome!)

Holly Maguire's grandmother was the Love Goddess of Blue Crab Island, Maine–a Milanese fortune teller who could predict the right man for you, and whose Italian cooking was rumored to save marriages. Holly has been waiting years for her unlikely fortune: her true love will like sa cordula, an unappetizing old-world delicacy. But Holly can't make a decent marinara sauce, let alone sa cordula. Maybe that's why the man she hopes to marry breaks her heart. So when Holly inherits Camilla's Cucinotta, she's determined to forget about fortunes and love and become an Italian cooking teacher worthy of her grandmother's legacy.

But Holly's four students are seeking much more than how to make Camilla's chicken alla Milanese. Simon, a single father, hopes to cook his way back into his daughter's heart. Juliet, Holly's childhood friend, hides a painful secret. Tamara, a serial dater, can't find the love she longs for. And twelve-year-old Mia thinks learning to cook will stop her dad from marrying his phony lasagna-queen girlfriend.

As the class gathers each week, adding Camilla's essential ingredients of wishes and memories into every pot and pan, unexpected friendships and romances are formed–and tested. Especially when Holly falls hard for Liam . . . and learns a thing or two about finding her own recipe for happiness.  

So many books that are filled with multiple women bonding over some hobby are cliched, predictable and shallow.  This one isn't.  It is, quite simply, delightful.  I love Holly. (She has such a great name!)  When she takes her broken heart back to Maine, her grandmother welcomes her home.  Just as she is becoming comfortable, her grandmother passes away and she's left to find herself on her own.  Armed with her grandmother's recipe book, kitchen and diaries, Holly leaps headlong into a new life.  

Camilla's essential ingredients were wishes and memories and it's when Holly begins choosing which wishes and memories to add to her recipes, that she discovers what she wants out of life.   

The narration evokes familiarity.  I think most people have memories which involve food and the preparation of food. So much of Holly's story takes place in the kitchen: her grandmother's kitchen and then hers.  My family isn't Italian (we're Scotch/English), but we love cooking and I have many fond memories of cooking with my mother and grandmother.  Most of the significant discussions of my youth happened in the kitchen while my mom and I were cooking.    

There is one unnecessary instance of the F word, and some pre-marital sex, but without all the details, thank goodness!    

With quirky characters and a charming heroine, this is a delicious story of friendship, love and discovery.

Thanks to Simon & Shuster for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Melissa Senate here. You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 10/10

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
A story of food and love, injury and healing, Keeping the Feast is the triumphant memoir of one couple's nourishment and restoration in Italy after a period of tragedy, and the extraordinary sustaining powers of food, family, and friendship.

Paula and John met in Italy, fell in love, and four years later, married in Rome. But less than a month after the wedding, tragedy struck. They had transferred from their Italian paradise to Warsaw and while reporting on an uprising in Romania, John was shot and nearly killed by sniper fire. Although he recovered from his physical wounds in less than a year, the process of healing had just begun. Unable to regain his equilibrium, he sank into a deep sadness that reverberated throughout their relationship. It was the abrupt end of what they'd known together, and the beginning of a new phase of life neither had planned for. All of a sudden, Paula was forced to reexamine her marriage, her husband, and herself.

Paula began to reconsider all of her previous assumptions about healing. She discovered that sometimes patience can be a vice, anger a virtue. That sometimes it is vital to make demands of the sick, that they show signs of getting better. And she rediscovered the importance of the most fundamental of human rituals: the daily sharing of food around the family table.

A universal story of hope and healing, Keeping the Feast is an account of one couple's triumph over tragedy and illness, and a celebration of the simple rituals of life, even during the worst life crises. Beautifully written and tremendously moving, Paula's story is a testament to the extraordinary sustaining powers of food and love, and to the stubborn belief that there is always an afterward, there is always hope. 

This is another one of those books where the review doesn't come easily, but the story stays with you. Paula Butterini and John Tagliabue were recently married journalists living abroad when tragedy struck and John was shot in Romania.  Prone to depression in the past, John settled into a deep depression following the shooting.  Keeping the Feast is the story of their experience with getting him healthy again.  Having lived in Rome and having a deep love of Italy, due to the Italian heritage they both shared, Paula and John returned to Rome in an effort to find comfort and healing.

The feast part of this story comes from her focus on cooking. Shopping for the day's food and cooking those meals were the two things that helped keep her grounded as she struggled with the day to day unknowns.

This is very much Paula's story and how she reacted to John's life changing experiences.  I would like to read John's version of their experiences.  And I wished for some recipes, as so many of her meals sounded delicious, but I also understand that not cooking by the book is somewhat liberating and refreshing.

While not a completely happy memoir, I found it well written, enthralling and quite lyrical.  It also ends on a happy, positive note.  Paula certainly has a way with words and descriptions and her story is moving.  It's a terrific account of how depression truly is a sickness; a sickness that affects whole families, even if it is only one person who actually suffers from the illness. That Italy and Paris happen to be the settings is simply a bonus.

Thanks to my local library for having a copy I could borrow.  You can learn more about Paula Butterini here. You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 7/10

* * * *
4/5 Stars

About the book:
It's been years since author Thom Mortenson has been back to Garrison, Colorado. As part of the library fundraising committee, who invited him to speak, Sadie Hoffmiller wants everything to be perfect—right down to the homemade Devil’s Food Cake she made herself. Murder, however, was not on the menu.

When Thom's manager ends up dead on stage, Sadie does what any woman with a history of solving murders does--jumps right in to offer her guidance and expertise. The police, however, are not very appreciative. In fact, they’d rather she just go home. But can Sadie help it if she keeps stumbling over information? Can she help it if the people intricately woven into the deception keep crossing her path? The more she learns, the broader the spectrum becomes and when the police refuse to take her seriously, Sadie has no choice but to sidestep them altogether in the pursuit of justice.

With her son Shawn at her side, her reputation on the line, and a full cast of suspicious characters, Sadie Hoffmiller is once again cooking her way through a case that offers far more questions than answers.

I love Sadie Hoffmiller. She's a kick and she's eccentric. But, she's also loyal. Josi Kilpack has created a charming character who just continues to grow on you as you read each successive story.

Sadie imagines herself an amateur, yet very experienced sleuth and since the police aren't listening to her, she decides to investigate things on her own. What follows is an intricate comedy of errors as Sadie uncovers layer upon layer of deception and secrets. If she's not tracking down potential criminals, she's cooking for them. And in this story, we meet her son Shawn, who's just like his mother at getting into trouble and tracking down criminals. He seems to have inherited her cooking skills too.

The story and Sadie's shenanigans are completely implausible, but hysterically funny. I wish Jane's character was better developed and that she got more of a comeuppance, but I also think that she will make a return appearance at some point.

Baking and cooking are as important to Sadie as breathing. So, just as in the first two novels, Lemon Tart and English Trifle, Josi includes the recipes that are relevant to the story. I can't wait to try several.

A delightful book, and easily recommended. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series, Key Lime Pie.

Thanks to Tracee at Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the opportunity to review this book. You can learn more about Josi Kilpack here. You can find additional tour stops and reviews here. You can purchase your own copy here and here.

Read 2/10

* * * *
4/5 Stars