A Table by the Window

Juliette's recently deceased grandmother left her the prep table from her kitchen, which held a book of memories for Juliette.  She was the perfect person to hand it down to.  She had spent years working in the bakery with her grandmother and was the keeper of her grandmother's recipes.  On a sleepless night when she is trying to decide if she wants to open a restaurant with her brother, Juliette finds a photo of a young man who looks much like her brother if he had lived in her grandmother's era tucked away safely in a favorite recipe book inside the inherited table.  Who is this man who definitely isn't her grandfather?  As Juliette begins to piece together her grandmother's story, her own chance at romance comes along.  Across the generations, Juliette's grandmother still plays an important role in her own future and decisions.

A Table by the Window  by Hillary Manton Lodge is a wonderful light-hearted story of family ties with a bit of mystery thrown in and is "sprinkled" with delicious looking recipes throughout. However, many of those recipes do contain spices or ingredients not usually found in my kitchen so would require a trip to the grocery.  The book appears to be the first in a series since Juliette's choices are not completely revealed even at the close of the book which ended rather abruptly. I typically prefer to read series after all are released but was unaware this was book 1 when I ordered it.  Any attempt to have a strong Christian message wasn't part of this book.  While the family is completely honest and behave in a manner that is Christ-like, the only mention of anything God that I recall is that they went to church.  I did enjoy the relationships between the siblings, with their bantering, teasing, ups and downs.  They are a family who laughs together and works together.  All that to say, I enjoyed the book a lot but didn't love it. It does make a fun, light read--perhaps at the beach this summer?

I had never read anything by Ms. Lodge but will be looking for others by her, particularly book 2 in this series to see how Juliette turns out.  I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.