TLC Book Tours Book Review: The Restaurant Critic's Wife

Author: Elizabeth La Bar
Title: The Restaurant Critic's Wife
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publish Date: Jan 5, 2016
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours

Book Blurb: Lila Soto has a master’s degree that’s gathering dust, a work-obsessed husband, two kids, and lots of questions about how exactly she ended up here.

In their new city of Philadelphia, Lila’s husband, Sam, takes his job as a restaurant critic a little too seriously. To protect his professional credibility, he’s determined to remain anonymous. Soon his preoccupation with anonymity takes over their lives as he tries to limit the family’s contact with anyone who might have ties to the foodie world. Meanwhile, Lila craves adult conversation and some relief from the constraints of her homemaker role. With her patience wearing thin, she begins to question everything: her decision to get pregnant again, her break from her career, her marriage—even if leaving her ex-boyfriend was the right thing to do. As Sam becomes more and more fixated on keeping his identity secret, Lila begins to wonder if her own identity has completely disappeared—and what it will take to get it back.

Review:  Four words: I loved this book. I read a book about a restaurant critic awhile ago and I loved it. I love foodie books. This one was fabulous.

Lila is a character that you love and feel sorry for. Throughout most of the book I wanted to reach out and give her a hug and then slap her husband upside the head. I was really waiting for her to leave Sam. I think if he were my husband, no amount of love would make me stay with him with some of the stuff he expected of her.

I found Sam's character to be quite controlling. His obsession with anonymity was very extreme and maybe just a touch psycho since he went so far as to try to dictate Lila's friendships and her work life. That is the one part of the story that didn't sit well with me, because if Lila was really such a career oriented woman that the story makes her out to be that there is no way she would put up with the rules he was handing down.

I mean this guy didn't want her to have friends because they might be in the restaurant business.

That is just not right that he dictated her friendships and whether or not she could go back to work. Living with Sam would make any woman go berserk.

I read this book in about a day. I wanted to know what would happen next, and I have to admit the scenes at the restaurants were always hilarious, especially with some of the disguises that Sam came up with. The rock star one was really insane. Oh and Sam, having a review dinner the night before his wife was going to have a C-section was so not cool, but then again he took a detour when they were bringing the new baby home at a sandwich shop.

If you are looking for a quick, fun read, this should be your next book.

Rating: 5 flowers