The Glass Kitchen

The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Portia Cuthcart was only seven years old when she got the knowing. Thoughts and scents of food would come to her, like magic, filling her with the urge to cook or bake like crazy. Living with her two sisters and Gram, Portia grew up learning the mechanics in her grandmother's cafe, The Glass Kitchen. But Portia also learned that her food could help heal, begin, or even end a journey. It was a single meal of cherry tomatoes stuffed with chile, cheese and bacon, pulled pork, endive slaw, and potato pancakes the foretold her Gram's death. And with that Portia promised herself she wouldn't cook again. Years later, after a nasty divorce and living in New York City, Portia again prepares to cook once again and bring back The Glass Kitchen to keep herself sane and financially afloat.

Such a great book about family, magic, interesting characters, and food - great summer read!

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The Way Home

The Way Home by Katherine Spencer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Katherine Spencer's Angel Island series are gentle reads - and companions to her Cape Light series. In this book Claire North, the inn's cook and Liza's right hand woman, takes a more prominent role. Jamie Carter, twenty and out of work, veers back into her life and Claire remembers the once little boy she almost adopted many years ago. Can Claire help Jamie set upon the right path or will Jamie once again stray and return to his old life back in Boston? At the same time Avery Bishop is excited about opening her new cafe, The Peregrine, on the busier side of the island. Avery finds out that her only competition is the Lazy Tuna, a happening, crazy burger joint that the island's visitors flock to in droves. How can her culinary expertise and fancy dishes compare to fish and chips?

A relaxing, inspirational read...and as Reverend Ben says, “…when people are trying to change their lives for the better, the road to becoming whole isn’t always a straight one. People tend to fall off the path now and then, or take wrong turns. Especially if they’ve been damaged, they can’t always make all the right choices.”

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