Customer Reviews

The Lost Recipe for Happiness

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I've been a fan of Barbara Samuel since reading my first Ruth Wind authored Silhouette Special Edition. I followed her into her historicals, then stayed with her as she moved into big women's fiction. For me to want to put my life on hold and read an author's work, she has to own her voice, to be a confident master of her prose, and Barbara does it every time. She is a brilliant storyteller, one who wields the tools of a wordsmith with such skill that getting lost for hours in her world is pure pleasure.

Her latest book, THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS written as Barbara O'Neal (Bantam Discovery, trade $13, mmpb $6.99, 464 pages, December 30) continues her exploration of troubled, damaged women who find their place in life, make peace with their past, and allow themselves the love of a good man. Elena Alvarez is hired as executive chef to take over a failing Aspen restaurant owned by restauranteur and movie mogul Julian Liswood. Julian also owned the Vancouver restaurant from which she was fired as sous chef the very day he asked her to resurrect what becomes The Orange Bear. Elena has her work cut out for her, dealing with a kitchen staff of illegal immigrants, a previous executive chef whom she dubs Rasputin, the pressure of being a female chef running her own kitchen (and with a boss to whom she is attracted), and working on her feet for long grueling hours with her physical body betraying her.

As a teenager, Elena was the sole survivor of a horrible car accident that killed two siblings, a cousin, and her boyfriend. Her sister, Isobel, and Edwin, whom she was to marry, still appear to her all these years later, as Elena's survivor's guilt keeps her rooted to her past -- and unable to put down roots in any of the cities where she's worked. Aspen is different, however. Whether it's being in charge of her own kitchen and bringing her New Mexican culture, customs, and cuisine with her, or whether it's the comfort of including old friends in the venture while growing close to new ones, Elena finds herself shedding the old skin of the life she's lived and trying the fit of this new one -- one in which Julian Liswood and his daughter Portia play a huge part.

Barbara O'Neal tells the story of Elena Alvarez's spiritual and emotional recovery with unmistakable authenticity. The colorful details of the Colorado and New Mexico Southwest flavor the book as fully as the recipes she's included, and the food is as much a character as is Elena's dog Alvin - and anyone who regularly reads Barbara's blog knows of her enjoyment of cooking, her passion for her heritage, and her love for her animals. I found myself hungry for tamales and churros and pork pie, and dying to try the pomegranate baklava. (I did try Juan's Carne En Su Jugo, and loved it!) My only quibble with the book was never feeling as if I knew Elena's old friend Patrick (who has a substantial role) as fully as I knew her new friends Juan and Ivan and Julian and Portia, or even as fully as her long dead sister Isobel. But that doesn't keep me from recommending this book highly. It's big and lusty and delicious, and well worth taking a day away from real life to spend in the world Barbara has created.

Barbara O'Neal offers a scrumptious feast in The Lost Recipe for Happiness, a Bantam Discovery book. If you like food and love - and who doesn't? - there's plenty to savor in this story of Elena Alvarez, a chef who must free herself from the ghosts of her past in order to secure her future.

Life got an early start in teaching Elena that nothing lasts forever. Abandoned by her single mom, she found a new home and new loves, only to have tragedy rip her away from them. When movie producer Julian Liswood offers her a second chance - at love and at carving her own name in culinary fame - Elena searches for signs and the strength to believe in a forever kind of love.

The Lost Recipe for Happiness offers terrific insights into the demanding world beyond the dining room's swinging doors as Elena and her staff of delightfully wounded souls create the Orange Bear, Aspen's newest world-class restaurant. This is a man's world, one that seriously challenges even the hardiest individual. Elena, who fights daily battles against the ravages of a tragic car accident, relies on sheer strength of will as she pits herself against the daunting physical demands of her new job as executive chef. But will her strength of will be her undoing? Will it prevent her from embracing true love when it's finally her turn at the table?

The Lost Recipe for Happiness tells a great story in a wonderfully engaging manner. Those with a passion for food will drool over the sumptuous descriptions and mouth-watering recipes (I've tried a few and they are fab.) A delightful supporting cast, including a gorgeous bear of a dog and a guileless teenager who reminds Elena of possibilities, add to the ambiance. With a story of love and redemption that brings the reader to tears and warms the heart, Barbara O'Neal has gently folded all the right ingredients together to make The Lost Recipe for Happiness a must-have for every bookshelf.

Easy to read book with great recipes included between some chapters. Easy to get lost in the book and feel like you are in the kitchen of the restaurant enjoying the smells of the food.

In this food lovers' novel, Elena Alvarez is an accomplished Santa Fe-trained chef with Mexican roots and a Southwestern flair to her elegant food. When she is offered the opportunity to become the executive chef at a new restaurant in Aspen, Colorado, owned by a Hollywood director who dabbles in the restaurant business, Elena jumps at the opportunity. But the process of opening the restaurant and developing the menu turns out to be more challenging than Elena expected. She must deal with Ivan, the surly former executive chef who has been demoted to her sous chef and who, despite his culinary brilliance, is battling alcohol and personal demons. She also must deal with her intense attraction to Julian Liswood, her boss and, as a Hollywood hottie, someone Elena believes to be totally out of her league (as well as a father to a 14-year old troubled teen). In addition, Elena has physical and emotional scars from a catastrophic car accident from her childhood and both pose obstacles to her ability to realize her dream of running her own successful kitchen.

This is the first book I've read by Barbara O'Neal and I was surprised by how much depth and complexity there was to both the plot and characters. I adore books about food, cooking, chefs and the like so the book was a natural draw for me but I was expecting it to be more light-hearted and so its deeper, more complex approach was a welcome surprise. The characters, particularly Elena and Ivan, are deeply scarred but strong and passionate and determined. The book is filled with funny and insightful glimpses into professional kitchens and cooking in a way that is inspiring, rather than intimidating. The dishes created and remembered in Elena's kitchen were so vividly described I could almost taste them. Overall, a very impressive and enjoyable read.

I loved this book on so many levels. O'Neal is the master of foreshadowing. So many things happen and you're like, "Ohhhh, that makes total sense!" There are so many facets to this story. The character development is so good that I found myself really getting into the relationships, judging the decisions of the characters. I would definitely pick up a sequel.

One note though: This book has some kind of explicit sex scenes. The author has some kind of weird obsession with breasts. She describes Elena's breasts a lot, kind of out of nowhere. And the description of Julian's "member"? Really? Are we in the seventh grade? We can talk about breasts but we can't talk about penises?

I seriously just came off of a 3 day stint of ignoring my husband and 3 children while reading this book. I became so attached to the characters that I simply could not put this book down. I had to keep on reading. I love to cook, so there was a natural draw there, on its own. But I came to relate to Elena in so many ways and kept hoping for her to come to terms with the ghosts she was dealing with. This is a great, easy read. It would be perfect for a long plane ride. A chance to escape for a couple of days. I plan to look up more titles by this author. Enjoy!

Barbara O'Neal is an incredible author. I have not yet finished the book, but as a writer myself (no, not published, but I understand the beauty of manipulating language), I appreciate the imagination this woman uses to describe the characters and the story. My own imagination is completely lit up as I read this. The similes and metaphors she uses can at times be a tiny bit confusing, but as the characters begin to show themselves, the story just becomes this beautifully woven story. I am so impressed.

It seemed like a good idea, but wasn't. I only finished the book because I live overseas and have a shortage of English language books available, so pushed on despite my total annoyance. Of course any review is subjective, but here's what drove me up the wall:

- Every character seemed like a cliche, yet was amazingly underdeveloped and unrealistic.

- No relationship seemed believable, even between Elena and Portia.

- Spanish words with no translation = no likey. I hate when authors do this; it always feels so elitist.

- The main character's 'past' really wasn't anything shocking and this was actually stated in the book many times, even by the main character...so why is it blown up to be a big deal? disconnect.

- The raunchy scenes were indeed that. Aside from being totally unnecessary, they were totally disjoint from the rest of the book's style. Another reviewer said it was like they were Post-It-noted into the manuscript and I totally agree. If they were omitted you wouldn't miss a thing.

- The whole time I was reading it I felt like it was trying too hard to be the a copy/version of "Like Water for Chocolate" (which is light years better!) This was due to the Mexican theme, the recipes in the book, the ghosts, etc. It made the whole book feel very unoriginal. This is what bugged me the most.

What a waste. I'm so annoyed I brought this back from the US. I won't even pass this on to other expats. It was that bad. Hello recycling bin.

I am not into romance but this one is good... If you want an easy read and good cooking recipes by all means go for it!

Wow, this book was warm and interesting and fantastic! I really enjoyed it! Great looking recipes as a bonus! Highly recommended!