Reservations for Two

I've always had a dream of one day having my own restaurant, but one would have to love cooking, and be really good at it, I would imagine. Unfortunately I love to cook, but not so much that I could hope to base a restaurant on that idea. More of a cook when I need to be.

In Reservations for Two from author Hillary Manton Lodge, we get to experience that fun and not so fun side of life, while Juliette D'Alisa is attempting to open her own restaurant in Portland, Oregon. All this way trying to juggle a long distance relationship with Neil McLaren, who lives in Tennessee. After a trip to Italy for her grandfather's birthday, she and Neil are willing to do whatever it takes to try and make it work, and for now neither of them are willing to make the concession to move so for now, they will attempt to fly out whenever they can, and call and text as often as they are able.

While trying to balance her restaurant and her love life, her mother is dealing with cancer as well as a packet of letters from her grandmother she has brought home that were hidden in a window seat in Italy that might unlock some of the family's long hidden secrets. She hopes something in those letters written during WWII might shed some light on some of the questions she has not only about her family but provides some much needed advice she can apply to virtually every situation she finds herself in.

I received Reservations for Two by Hillary Manton Lodge compliments of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for my honest review and did not receive any monetary compensation outside a free copy of this book for a favorable review. The opinions contained here are strictly my own. This is the second novel in the Two Blue Doors series, and having not read the first novel, I found myself at a bit of a disadvantage trying to begin this one. It was hard to understand the relationship that Neil and Juliette had prior to this novel and it opens with them apparently trying to give it a go after breaking up online. What I loved were the recipes that are sprinkled throughout the book that I can't wait to try, and hope I can find some of the ingredients that are listed in my neck of the wood. Overall, I would rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars and might have rated it a bit higher if I had read the previous one before this one. Discussion guide questions are included which would make for a great book club selection topped off with some of the recipes in this one.

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Reservations for Two by Hillary Manton Lodge

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