Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Hillary Manton Lodge

Dear Readers,

I have not had a series of books make me as hungry as the Two Blue Doors series by Hillary Manton Lodge since the Potluck Club.  The recipes and the descriptions of the food are wonderful, but because it is also set around a wonderful family dynamics makes it all the more enjoyable.

Together+at+the+Table%3A+A+Novel+of+Lost+Love+and+Second+HelpingsThe third book, Together at the Table, finally arrived on the shelves a few weeks ago.  I just waited for the perfect time to read it, even though that was hard to do, and this past weekend was it.  I spent most of the time while reading dreaming of wonderful pastries, pastas and desserts.  Hillary makes  me want to become a chef and learn how to make all those wonderful dishes.  I will admit that I have and still use recipes from the first two books and there are a couple in this one that I am going to give a try.

If you have not read the first two books you may want to skip down a couple of paragraphs as there might be a couple of spoilers.

Book #3 picks up a few short weeks after book #2, Reservations for Two, leaves off.  There is much that happens between Juliette and Neil.  They have broken up and Juliette is now dating someone else.  But unexpectedly Juliette runs into Neil at the park and it sets off a chain of events that no one really saw coming.  Well almost no one. ;-)

While Juliette is trying to decide on her love life, she is still doing research on her missing family members.  The letters have not lead to many leads, but when Caterina hits on an idea, suddenly the ball is rolling again and maybe they will find all the answers to the questions of what happened to Alice and where she disappeared to.

I have really enjoyed this gentle story.  It had a bit of history to it, it had loads of good food (not that I got any;-) and a sweet love story.  As we walked along Juliette as she grows up, we also learn a bit about ourselves and some of the things that makes us tick.

The three book series, #1 is Table by the Window, is a wonderful read.  Now that they all have been published you won't have to wait for the next one like did.  (Lucky you)  But make sure you go and enjoy them all.  And maybe even try a new dish or two.

Happy Reading,

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