Customer Reviews

The Love Goddess' Cooking School

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Melissa Senate's latest is a delightful story of a brokenhearted young woman's longing to find her place in the world. Though Holly Maquire has suffered several crushing losses, she's determined to change her life. Believing she can learn the secrets of her grandmother's recipes and therefore preserve her legacy of magical Italian cooking, Holly sets off on a new venture that she's ill prepared to handle. But with dogged determination and a few new friends, Holly grows and learns and ultimately surprises herself.

Sprinkled with a bit of old-world superstition, The Love Goddess' Cooking School is a charming novel that explores the mess we all can create in our lives and in our kitchens.

A word of caution for those picking up Melissa Senate's new novel, THE LOVE GODDESS' COOKING SCHOOL: don't read on an empty stomach. I've issued this caution before, I know, but trust me this one time, friends. Since beginning this warm and engaging novel, I've been dreaming of tiramisu, spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, lasagna and ricotta cheese. As someone who feels she must have been Italian in another life (pasta, I love pasta!), the odd stains scarring the pages of my copy may or may not be drool. The prose was just . . . scrumptious. And Senate describes Holly's creations so well, you'll want to throw this one down and make dinner every time you finish a chapter.

What I love about this work, Senate's latest in a long line of great books, is her ability to create likable, friendly and interesting characters who captivate you right from the start. Like the men entranced by the exotic, lovely Camilla Constantina, an Italian immigrant who arrived in America with her young husband and was widowed in the U.S., I was immediately drawn into Holly's world and felt like I was reading the story of a dear friend. Have I read the running-away-to-find-yourself plots before? Yes, of course. But in Senate's hands, a familiar story takes on new nuances.

Holly is a bumbling, uncomfortable woman when first we meet her -- aching from loss and grief, both in the form of her relationship with John and her grandmother's unexpected passing; lost as to what to do with her life. Having spent most of her adult years following men from city to city, she has no career or aspirations. She has no calling. And Camilla, when she was living, could tell her little about her future . . . aside from the premonition about sa cordula. She needs guidance. And through her grandmother's magical recipes, she finds solace and direction.

I've read and loved many of Melissa Senate's novels, including THE SOLOMON SISTERS WISE UP, and this was a departure from her usual fare. Still about women, love and family, yes, but there were no sisters here to speak of -- and sisters appear often in Senate's works! I'm happy to report this is my favorite Senate read of all, and a book I'll still be thinking about in the months to come. Holly is an inspiration.

Now, where's that tiramisu?

I've been reading so much YA lately (which I love) that I've forgotten how much I love a really good chick-lit book. Thanks to Melissa Senate for reminding me.

The basic plot was the same as in most chick-lit books. Girl gets heartbroken but gets over the guy, grows stronger, and finds a new love. But I loved the characters in this one. Especially Liam and Mia.

Liam seems like such a great guy. He's a great dad (which is so hot), is a gentleman, and romantic! It doesn't seem like there are guys like that out there any more. And Mia was such a fun twelve year old. Sometimes tweens can seem annoying but Mia seemed more mature for her age. A great kid!

And I loved all the cooking in the book. I am not a good cook. But I wish I was! I liked the recipes at the end and I copied one down that didn't seem to hard so I could attempt to cook it later. I look forward to seeing what Melissa Senate writes next!

I love reading books about cooking and relationships. But first they must be accurate. Not perfect, but please do some research. I am amazed and some of the books I read and the info is just plain wrong. Gnocchi is not stuffed, Osco Buco takes an hour and 1/2 to bake or longer and ravioli dose not jump out of a pot of boiling water, it is too heavy. All of these were info in the book that did not match reality.
Also if you are in love with a man and want to marry him, then it falls apart, it seems to me it would take more than 6 weeks to fall for another guy. This made the character, who I wanted to like, seem shallow. Also parts of the story seem to be thrown in as after thoughts. I know I am being hard on the author, but I spent too much on this book for it to be so non-involved.
This could have been a really good book with a great story, only it turned out be be a so-so book for a quick read and a quick forget.

This was an incredibly heart warming read about coming home and finding one's place in the world. Our heroine, Holly, is a confused 30-something at the start of this book. But in taking over her grandmother's Italian pasta shop and famed cooking class, she learns things about herself and how to be comfortable in her own skin. It's a great lesson for anyone to learn and Melissa Senate brilliantly mingles life lessons with romance, gossip and discussions of delectable cuisine.

My one complaint about this book is that Ms. Senate didn't include MORE of the famous recipes of Holly's grandmother at the conclusion of the novel. She listed a few, but I was hungry (pun intended) for more!

I love Melissa Senate books- to the point that the kids always give me her latest as a Christmas gift. This year, they didn't, so I picked it up for myself. For once, I wish I'd waited for it to hit the library. Much of the book seems to tell us how we are supposed to feel while reading it- there are big chunks with no dialogue to move it along, and few of the characters seemed fully developed. Also, did anyone notice how many characters in this book are only children- female only children at that? It just struck me as bizarre, especially since it was essentially undeveloped by the author as a theme, so I'm assuming it was unintentional (Holly, Luciana, Evie, Mia, Cass, Juliet, Amanda, Lizzie).

I gave it three stars because I loved the premise and the descriptions of the luscious Italian food, and also because I tend to grade my favorite authors a little harder! From another author for whom I have lower expectations, I might have given this four stars. However, for Ms. Senate, I think this is her weakest book in recent memory.

So many books that are filled with multiple women bonding over some hobby are cliched, predictable and shallow. This one isn't. It is, quite simply, delightful. I love Holly. (She has such a great name!) When she takes her broken heart back to Maine, her grandmother welcomes her home. Just as she is becoming comfortable, her grandmother passes away and she's left to find herself on her own. Armed with her grandmother's recipe book, kitchen and diaries, Holly leaps headlong into a new life.

Camilla's essential ingredients were wishes and memories and it's when Holly begins choosing which wishes and memories to add to her recipes, that she discovers what she wants out of life.

The narration evokes familiarity. I think most people have memories which involve food and the preparation of food. So much of Holly's story takes place in the kitchen: her grandmother's kitchen and then hers. My family isn't Italian (we're Scotch/English), but we love cooking and I have many fond memories of cooking with my mother and grandmother. Most of the significant discussions of my youth happened in the kitchen while my mom and I were cooking.

There is one unnecessary instance of the F word, and some pre-marital sex, but without all the details, thank goodness!

With quirky characters and a charming heroine, this is a delicious story of friendship, love and discovery.

I'm a sucker for quality women's fiction and food-focused stories. This was satisfying on both accounts. Loved the characters (people it is enjoyable to root for), loved the grandmother-granddaughter connection, loved the slight hint of mysticism.

Even though the plot of the book was pretty predictable, I liked how the author went about the story, which involved the main character taking over her grandmother's cooking school. I enjoy cooking, so the reviews stating it was about that attracted me. Alot of references to food and cooking, so if you aren't into that, you might not like the book. It did get a little slow in the middle, but still held my attention pretty well. The reason I didn't give it 5 stars was as stated--the plot was predictable--girl gets heart broken, starts over in a new place, finds new love. It's a nice escape when you want some light reading.

I always have a hard time reading romances because they tend to be plot driven instead of character driven. This is not one of those occasions. The Love Goddess' Cooking School is a wonderful, romantic Food-Lit and I can't wait to share it. I think Melissa Senate's writing is much like Sarah Addison Allen without the magical realism... and I love Sarah Addison Allen.

Melissa Senate has created characters that are incredibly easy to identify with - flawed but redeemable. It's been a long time since I read a novel where I felt connected with almost every character. Ms. Senate does an incredible job of making them empathetic. I loved them all. From Liam, the single dad trying to keep his daughter's world from crumbling without her mother, to the recently divorced Simon who is finding his way as a 'weekend dad', to Mia who is trying so hard to figure out where she fits, to Tamara the frustrated serial dater, and Juliet the heartbroken -whose story definitely struck a chord. It's Holly, however with whom I identify the most. Holly can't seem to find a place for herself, falls for the wrong guys, and sometimes sets too much stock in fate and destiny. I love her determination and her desire to see things through. I love that she chose to continue her Nonna's legacy, even though it meant facing her fears and striking out on her own.

As I mentioned, this book is not plot driven, but the unfolding of the character's lives pulls the reader through it at a wonderful pace so that I wasn't racing to see what was going to happen next, but enjoying what was happening now. Did I know where the book was headed? Yes. But it was one of those rare times when I wasn't in a hurry to get there. I was just enjoying the world of Blue Crab Island and it's inhabitants.

The only thing that seemed a tad out of place were the recipes at the end of the book. Not that they weren't related to the story, they were certainly recipes for the meals made at the cooking school. Perhaps it was because the story was so fabulous, but, in the end, the recipes seemed a little superfluous. I can see not wanting to break the continuity of the story by placing them at the ends of chapters, but I think to be included, they needed to be incorporated into the book somehow because it came off feeling like an afterthought. Though not a bad afterthought and that is only my opinion...

I've used the word loved a lot in this post but that's because I thought this book was marvelous - I'm actually running out of synonyms for excellent. This review has been difficult to write because I don't want to gush about it, I'd rather just curl up inside it. It's the perfect balance of love, friendship, and of course, good food.

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