The Middlesteins - Jami Attenberg

'When she was engaged, she could make anything happen. When she was sad, and she had been so much lately, she could do nothing but eat.'

A moving, tender and sad story of a family deeply worried about matriarch Edie who is eating herself to death and won't stop. It is a touching portrayal of the situation, with daughter Robin, son Benny and his wife Rachelle, who are trying to manage their own lives and feel the need to help their mother too, and deal with the fact that their father has left their mother whilst she is in a bad way. As well as the children and daughter in law, we see glimpses of Edie's past, her parents, and there are also chapters following what husband Richard is up to.

It’s a fairly short novel, which I liked in one way, yet as I found myself drawn into the story, I also found myself wondering about getting to know them all a bit more than the extent of the pages would allow. I liked how the author changed viewpoints and played with the narrative, and she also sneaked in some future details which was interesting.

'Food was a wonderful place to hide.'

It's a sad and true fact that many people turn to food as a comfort and an escape, and don't realise how bad the reliance is until the situation has become very bad sometimes.  Jami Attenberg takes this modern day issue and has written a very readable, insightful, honest, at times heartbreaking novel around it, with a formidable woman in Edie, one who is interesting to get to know, and who evidently isn't going to be easy to help.

Thanks to Amazon Vine for the review copy.

Kismetology - Jaimie Admans

‘Mac here knows her stuff when it comes to kismetology.’

This enjoyable contemporary novel deals with matters of the heart in an entertaining and humourous way. Mackenzie Atkinson moved three doors down the road from her mother Eleanor’s house to live with her partner Dan. As she might perhaps have suspected, this has resulted in her mother being a regular visitor to her home, made a problem by the fact that her mother doesn't hesitate to interfere in all aspects of Mackenzie's life, in particular her love life, and often comments, usually unfavourably, about Dan, even if he is in the same room! Mackenzie decides that what would help an awful lot is if her mother were less lonely and had her own romantic interest, and she sets out to help her find a perfect match.

The twist comes in that, rather than send her mother out into the world on blind dates with complete strangers, Mackenzie decides that she will do the advertising and sourcing of potential suitors and that she will even meet any prospective partners before her mother does and vet them first, only lining up dates with her mother if the men are up to scratch. Cue many episodes of Mackenzie meeting often very unsuitable and sometimes downright awful candidates! Finding a balanced, mature gentleman proves much more difficult than first anticipated. The story kept me engaged as I wondered who, if anyone, Mackenzie's mother would like, and whether Mackenzie's own love life would survive the whole experience intact too.

I really enjoyed this romantic, funny novel, and the storytelling and the editing impressed me. Mackenzie has a likeable personality and is an engaging lead character who carries the story throughout. Her reactions to the various different men she meets on the dates are brilliant. As well as trying to help her mother, Mackenzie begins to consider her own situation and wonders if she could improve it, in particular in terms of work but also love. Eleanor is an interesting character, usually accompanied by pampered pooch Baby. Despite the antagonism between mother and daughter at times, it comes across that Mackenzie genuinely cares about her mother and wants to see her happy. The only small thing I would mention is that sometimes the thing that Mackenzie had made her mind up to do was repeated several times in her thoughts; I think this was just to reiterate her determination to do what she had planned, but occasionally I thought the idea had been described and didn't need repeating again, or arguing about with Dan again. 

I thought this was a light, entertaining and funny read and many will sympathise with Mackenzie's situation. I looked forward to reading a bit more every time I picked up my ereader and the story always kept me interested and often made me smile. Jaimie Admans writes really well and with heart about love, relationships and families and has crafted a promising debut novel. Also I think the book cover is really pretty and attractive. 

Thanks very much to the author for kindly sending an ebook copy of this novel for me to read and give an honest review. 

You can find the author on twitter @be_the_spark and visit her website here.

The House of Trembling Leaves - Julian Lees - guest review

For readers not familiar with the Japanese invasion of Malaya during the second world war, or the results of Chairman Mao's teachings on the Chinese living in Malaya during the 1950s, or the Dhali Llama's flight from Tibet when that country was sealed up by the Chinese in the late 1950s; this is a book of fiction which has world events woven in very well indeed. This may be because the author, born in Hong Kong, and now living in Malaysia, has a background able to describe these happenings as part of his own history. And if this sounds heavy going, stay with me. This is a book with a nice flowing style, well rounded major characters, all with a story to tell. And very importantly, it's the story of two strong women friends – one a Chinese Malay, and one a Tibetan, whose lives are intertwined until their early twenties when a series of happenings split them up and both believe they may never see each other again.

Lu See is the Chinese, who with the help of some family money from an Aunt (spoken of, but never seen in the book) runs away to England, where she is sure to get a place at Girton College Cambridge if she studies hard. She takes with her Sum Sum, her servant, although there is no sign of servant and master, they really are close friends. Sum Sum becomes pregnant, and, very near the birth of her child, her friend Lu See becomes widowed, having married her Chinese lover soon after arriving in Cambridge – and it is not long after this when Lu See awakes one day to find that Sum Sum has fled, aiming to get back to her Tibetan homeland.

Some years later, we find that the Japanese are in Malaya, where Lu See is returned with her daughter Mabel, and is cooking for a Japanese officer in what was her own family home and things are not looking good. It's a dreadful time for everyone, but it has to be borne – Lu See is supporting her family on the (very) small pay that the officer doles out, and whilst she cooks him traditional English food like shepherd's pie and bubble and squeak, she and her family must exist on leftovers and rice – because the money doesn't stretch far. Things change at the end of WW2, and Lu See, still desperate to be in touch with her friend Sum Sum, moves her family to Kuala Lumpur and opens a restaurant.

It wouldn't be fair to tell you more of the story because there are lots of things happening and several darker characters which you will need to find for yourselves. But this was an easy book to read, despite it's 400 pages – it took me only a few days, and it's the sort of book where you just keep wanting to read “one more chapter”. Lots of real stuff and some gory details described well amongst the fiction, and the story itself was well worth the read. The publisher is Scottish – Sandstone Press, and has certainly picked a worthwhile book here – with two caveats. One is the mention of teabags in use by a working class landlady in Cambridge in 1936: although they were definitely invented many years before that, they were only starting to become used in Britain in 1950 after a push by Tetleys. The other is the cover.  I cannot see any reason whatsoever for having a naked girl in a field of flowers, or the use of drab colouring. It certainly has nothing at all to do with the story, and I wouldn't give it a second glance on the front table of Waterstones. Pity. 4 out of 5 for me.

Reviewed by Susan Maclean - guest reviewer

Published by Sandstone Press

Thanks very much to Susan for kindly reading and reviewing this novel for The Little Reader Library. Susan blogs at Mac-Adventures (with Books!)

Thanks very much to the publisher for kindly sending a review copy of this novel. 

White Truffles in Winter - N. M. Kelby

The names Escoffier and Ritz will be well known to anyone with an interest in food, as will the legendary restaurants at The Ritz, The Savoy and The Carlton. Less well known perhaps is Escoffier’s history, his marriage to poet Delphine Daffis and his life-long affair with Sarah Bernhardt, his survival of a serious hotel fire and his involvement with the Titanic. Author NM Kelby creates a fascinating story of love and food told, as Escoffier reaches the final weeks of his life, in a combination of flashback and recipes. Escoffier was a complex man: he was imperious, yet kind and philanthropic; he loved food, but ate little; he adored his wife, yet spent most of his life living apart from her, obsessed by both cooking and his actress lover; he was at times extremely wealthy, but died with an empty larder and huge debts.

His contributions to the culinary world include the transformation of the restaurant kitchen by systems that form the basis of those used today. He left a wealth of recipes in books such as Le Guide Culinaire, which represent the best of French Haute Cuisine. Most importantly he raised the status of the lowly cook to that of respected chef.

That alone would make an interesting story. What author NM Kelby has achieved goes beyond the bare facts, just as Escoffier insisted a dish should transcend it ingredients. She creates a narrative that is peopled with fascinating characters and is dense with sensual detail. Scenes from the end of his life are intercut with his recollections of the distant past; as he attempts to finish his memoirs, his housekeeper Sabine attempts to keep the bills paid and the family fed. Meanwhile the dying Delphine yearns for a dish to be named after her, just as Escoffier named dishes in honour of Bernhardt and Nelly Melba, Queen Victoria and Kaiser Wilhelm.

The novel begins with a deliciously affecting seduction scene (so what if it owes a little to Ghost?) and it ends with a single word. Joy. Between the two is a richly imagined creative life. It is a delight to read. 

'White Truffles in Winter' is published by Alma Books

Reviewed by Angi Holden - guest reviewer

Thank you very much indeed to Angi for her lovely review of this novel for The Little Reader Library. Angi is a full-time student, a part-time teacher, a part-time writer, a full-time Mum and an avid reader. If anyone has any advice on how to fit forty-eight hours into a twenty-four hour day, she says that suggestions would be much appreciated!

You can follow the author on twitter @nmkelby and visit her website here.

Thank you very much to the publisher for kindly sending a copy of this novel for review.

The Secret Supper Club - Dana Bate

Ever since Hannah was a child her dream has always been running her own catering company. A dream that she never followed. Suddenly Hannah finds her relationship with Adam has come to an end and moves into a small apartment underneath her landlord. Hannah begins to live her dream when she starts holding dinner parties for strangers in her landlords house and calls it The Secret Supper Club. The only problem is that her landlord is unaware of such parties happening in his house. Hannah soon finds it difficult to hide this secret from her landlord as The Secret Supper Club gains popularity. Is this a recipe for disaster?

I found Hannah a very likeable character and warmed to her straight away. This book is a great light hearted chick lit read and ideal for those dark winter evenings to read with a hot chocolate in front of a fire. 

The style of writing kept me reading and I soon found hours whooshing by after planning to sit down for five mins at a time. A fantastic book, my favourite book this year!

Reviewed by Susan Chapman

Many thanks to Susan for reading this novel and writing a guest review for The Little Reader Library. Susan loves reading and lists novels by Peter James and Dorothy Koomson amongst some of her other favourites that she has read this year. 

'The Secret Supper Club' is published by Canvas

You can follow the author on twitter @danabate and visit her website here

Thank you to the publisher for kindly sending a review copy of this novel. 

Recipe for Love - Sasha Wagstaff

When Lindsay asked me to be a guest reviewer on her blog and offered me a choice of books, this one appealed immediately. Romance, food, mystery, Sorrento and Vegas – sounded perfect. But so often these books disappoint with their poor research, weak writing, namby pamby characters... but not this one! I loved it from the moment I entered the world of food writer Cassia Marini and chef and restauranteur Rocco Disanti, and it was a really nasty shock to the system being deposited back in my Yorkshire home and day-to-day life at the end.

Cassia Marini, daughter of a famous actress who has lost her way, writes for “Scrumptious” magazine and is planning her wedding to nice but boring lawyer Finn.  But when she gets the opportunity to do an up close and personal series on Rocco Disanto, the notoriously difficult restauranteur, with restaurants in Sorrento and London, and another to open in Las Vegas, she leaves her wedding planning to her mother-in-law and heads off to Italy.  She also sees it as an opportunity to research the background of her late father, the food writer Marco Marini. What happens in Italy won’t surprise anyone, but the subsidiary characters and story threads are what gives this story its depth, breadth and interest. Cassia’s mother, Diana, decides to abandon her dissolute lifestyle, dump her toyboys, and return to the stage in a searingly exposed role.  Finn’s mother, Grace, takes full advantage of Cassia’s absence to create the wedding she wants, blissfully ignoring the wishes of the couple. Meanwhile Cassia’s sister Jules has an ill-judged relationship with Finn’s tennis pro brother Dom.

Meanwhile, in Italy, Cassia gets to know Rocco’s family – his widowed grandmother Sofia and heart of the family, and model Aurelia (Rocco’s sister) planning her own wedding in Capri.  Overshadowing it all is a historic curse over the family, and the mystery around an orphaned child rescued from a landslide.  The threads and many characters converge for Aurelia’s wedding, and the ending is as feel-good as it should be, with all the threads beautifully tied together.

The whole book has a wonderful sense of place, and the food descriptions make this book one to avoid if you’re on a diet.  I loved every page – this book is in the best traditions of the likes of Jilly Cooper, but with a fresh modern twist. Pure escapism between two covers, and highly recommended for anyone who enjoys excellent storytelling that engages all the senses.

Reviewed by Anne Williams

Guest reviewer Anne Williams has kindly reviewed this novel for The Little Reader Library - many thanks to Anne for her lovely, enthusiastic review. Anne is an avid reader whose reviews I always enjoy reading and whose opinion I trust when choosing a book, and she is part of the ReadItSwapIt website..

Published by Headline Review

Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this novel to read and review.

You can follow the author on twitter @SashaWagstaff  and visit her website here.