Friday, October 30, 2020

The Cookbook Club

 

⭐⭐1/2

General Fiction, Women's Fiction
384 pages
Published on October 20, 2020 by William Morrow

MUST LOVE BUTTER: The Cookbook Club is now open to members. Foodies come join us! No diets! No skipping dessert!

Margo Everson sees the call out for the cookbook club and knows she’s found her people. Recently dumped by her self-absorbed husband, who frankly isn’t much of a loss, she has little to show for her marriage but his ‘parting gift’—a dilapidated old farm house—and a collection of well-loved cookbooks

Aja Alexander just hopes her new-found friends won’t notice that that every time she looks at food, she gets queasy. It’s hard hiding a pregnancy, especially one she can’t bring herself to share with her wealthy boyfriend and his snooty mother. 

Trista Walker left the cutthroat world of the law behind and decided her fate was to open a restaurant…not the most secure choice ever. But there she could she indulge her passion for creating delectable meals and make money at the same time.

The women bond immediately, but it’s not all popovers with melted brie and blackberry jam.  Margo’s farm house is about to fall down around her ears; Trista’s restaurant needs a makeover and rat-removal fast; and as for Aja, just how long can you hide a baby bump anyway?

In this delightful novel, these women form bonds that go beyond a love grilled garlic and soy sauce shrimp. Because what is more important in life than friendship…and food?

My Thoughts:
I've made it a point to be 100% honest in my reviews. This was a good-ish book, but it could have been great, and that's disappointing. I feel a little cheated. With 4 different characters' perspectives (Margo, Max, Trista, Aja) you never get to fully "bond" with any of them. There were quite a few plot points that were never explained (so frustrating!!) and there was a whole lot of telling instead of showing. I wonder if it went through extensive re-editing. There were contradictions, like information about Margo’s husband's job, and I’m wondering if story gaps were parts that needed to be re-written. The women formed a cookbook club but we only got to see them at the book club once or twice. After a bit it took a complete backseat to the story and we only got to see the notes about the food from each meeting. I expected the book (based on how the story was flowing) to be a lot longer so the epilogue took me by complete surprise. 

A big thank you to #BethHarbison, #NetGalley and #WilliamMorrow for providing a free Advance Reader Copy. This is my honest opinion.

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