Book Review: Comfort Food

Author: Kate Jacobs
Title: Comfort Food
Publisher: Putnam
Publish Date: March 8, 2008
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb:
Shortly before turning 50, TV cooking show personality Augusta "Gus" Simpson discovers that the network wants to boost her ratings by teaming her with a beautiful, young new co-host. But Gus isn't going without a fight-whether it's off-set with her two demanding daughters, on-camera with the ambitious new diva herself, or after-hours with Oliver, the new culinary producer who's raising Gus's temperature beyond the comfort zone. Now, in pursuit of higher ratings and culinary delights, Gus might be able to rejuvenate more than just her career.

Review: If you are a foodie or a food network junkie this is a book for you. I don't know how I missed this book when it came out in 2008.

This book was really fun. I tried to figure how what Food Network personality  Gus most resembled to me. She's an approaching 50 widow with two grown daughters that aren't doing well being in their mom's shadow.

Sabrina is a serial fiancee while Aimee just sort of hides herself away. The cast of characters grows and each one seems quirkier than the next. Hannah, is Gus' neighbor and bff, who is an exiled tennis player hiding from a scandal in her past. Then there's Oliver. He's on board as a sous chef in Gus' new show. He used to work on Wall Street, but food is his passion ...well until he meets Gus. Then there's Carmen. She's a former Miss Spain who also has a love for food and a desire for her own restaurant and show.

Carmen is a love to hate her character. I picture her like Sophia Vergara's Gloria from Modern Family. She's very ambitious and very sexual. She's like a mean girl, but not really. Sometimes you want to smack her, because she uses her looks to advance her career, but other times you actually like her, like when she was kind to Hannah.

There are a lot of interesting antics here because everyone working on Eat Drink and Be seem to be at odds with one another.

This was an enjoyable read, but one that needed a little more oomph to make it great. The book mostly focused on Gus, but the other characters were begging to get more attention. I would have loved to get a little deeper into Carmen's life or either of Gus's daughters. The secondary characters were very one dimensional.

Then there was Oliver. He should have been a lot more developed and the relationship between him and Gus definitely needed more pages then it got, considering the fact that it played a huge part in the way the story wraps up.

This isn't a great story, but it is fun for anyone that is a foodie.

Rating: 4 flowers

TLC Book Tours ARC Review: The Lost Art Of Mixing

Author: Erica Bauermeister
Title: The Lost Art Of Mixing
Publisher: Putnam
Publish Date: Jan 24, 2013
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours & the publisher

Book Blurb:Lillian and her restaurant have a way of drawing people together. There’s Al, the accountant who finds meaning in numbers and ritual; Chloe, a budding chef who hasn’t learned to trust after heartbreak; Finnegan, quiet and steady as a tree, who can disappear into the background despite his massive height; Louise, Al’s wife, whose anger simmers just below the boiling point; and Isabelle, whose memories are slowly slipping from her grasp. And there’s Lillian herself, whose life has taken a turn she didn’t expect. . . . Their lives collide and mix with those around them, sometimes joining in effortless connections, at other times sifting together and separating again, creating a family that is chosen, not given. A beautifully imagined novel about the ties that bind—and links that break—The Lost Art of Mixing is a captivating meditation on the power of love, food, and companionship.

Review: There are some books that you rush through even though you love them and then there some books that you meander through slowly, savoring each word. This is one of the books that you savor.

At first I thought the book was slow, but I came to realize soon that I was wrong.

It felt slow because you were really getting to know all the characters whose lives are connected in this story, and there's quite a cast of characters here; Louise, Al, Lillian, Tom, Chloe, Finnegan and Isabelle. Those are just the characters you really feel attached to.

You also get to know Isabelle's family, Anna, Rory  and Lucy and her grandson Rory.

You have varying feelings about each of them.

Isabelle inspires love. She's the elderly lady with Alzheimer's whose condition is slowly deteriorate. Chloe lives with her.

Anna, is Isabelle's daughter she is just horrible. She's a doctor who really can't be bother to care for her mother, she just seems like she wants to put her away somewhere and forget about her. The other characters  do more of the "caring" when it comes to Isabelle. They also do more of the loving.

What I truly loved was how visual the book was, from the way food is described either with Chloe or Lillian cooking or Lillian buying it at the market. Sometimes the descriptions were so vivid you could almost smell the dishes that they were creating.

Another vivid part of the book is Isabelle's celebration. It is so easy to see everyone hoisting her in her chair and carrying her through the streets to bring her closer to God.

This is a wonderful leisurely read.

Rating: 5 flowers