When in Doubt, Add Butter
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Shoe Addicts Anonymous and Always Something There to Remind Me comes a delicious new novel about the search for true love and all the ingredients that go into it.
As far as Gemma is concerned, her days of dating are over. In fact, it's her job to cater other peoples' dates, and that's just fine by her. At thirty-seven, she has her own business, working as a private chef, and her life feels full and secure. She's got six steady clients that keep her hands full.
There's Lex, the fussy but fabulous department store owner who loves Oysters Rockefeller and 1950s comfort food; Willa, who needs to lose weight under doctor's orders but still believes butter makes everything better; a colorful family who may or may not be part of the Russian mob; an überwealthy Georgetown family; the picture-perfect Van Houghtens, whose matriarch is "allergic to everything"; and finally, a man she calls "Mr. Tuesday," whom she has never met but who she is strangely drawn to.
For Gemma, cooking is predictable. Recipes are certain. Use good ingredients, follow the directions, and you are assured success. Life, on the other hand, is full of variables. So when Gemma's takes an unexpected turn on a road she always thought was straight and narrow, she must face her past and move on in ways she never would have imagined. Because sometimes in life, all you need is a little hope, a lot of courage, and---oh yes---butter.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Harbison (Shoe Addicts Anonymous) dazzles in her latest, a perfect blend of chick lit and women's fiction that tells the story of private chef Gemma Craig and her bumpy road to happily-ever-after. In her late 30s, Gemma has abandoned the corporate lifestyle to follow her first love: cooking. With five regular clients ranging from a boisterous Russian family to an allergy-prone housewife she's making a go of it. Happily single, Gemma has a red-hot one-night stand with a guy she meets in a bar, and trades flirty notes with "Mr. Tuesday," a high-powered lawyer she cooks for yet has never met. Because of some past trauma, Gemma is determined to keep to her well-defined life plan, but complications that arise from the one-night tumble turn her plans upside down. Forced to deal with the past, Gemma struggles to figure out how it will influence her future with a genuinely surprising twist. Gemma is a sweetly flawed everywoman readers will immediately identify with, and the supporting cast of secondary characters contribute texture and color to this engaging tale. Absolutely first-rate.
Customer Reviews
Add bit of butter
This is a good book but the Shoe Addict series is still her best. The story line was interesting but i think her editor was a bit remiss with the editing responsibilities.
When in Doubt Add Butter
Had I not been reading this for book club I would never have finished it. So predictable that it was boring.
Sure, some of the characters were interesting. I imagine that the author intended to have them over the top. But again not that original.
The subject of the morbidly obese is a topic
I have not seen addressed in a novel. The comparison of a banana with yogurt versus a shrimp salad was a clever point.
I have not met with the book club yet. It will be interesting to see what the group’s comments may be.
Loved it!
Wish it were longer, had me laughing out loud! Now I want to read all her books!