The Love Goddess’ Cooking School

This book’s premise is quite similar to The School of Essential Ingredients (linked to my review), which distracted me when I first began reading it. In both books, someone who is experiencing a personal crisis moves beyond herself as she becomes involved in the lives of those who are taking her cooking class. However, the two novels are completely different.

Melissa Senate’s The Love Goddess’ Cooking School has more of a chick-lit romance flavor, but the longer length of the novel also allows for the characters to be more fully developed. I appreciated this emphasis, as my feelings towards Holly moved from a mix of disdain and pity to respect and empathy. Those who are in her cooking class are a diverse cast that are all coming to terms (or trying not to) with big changes in their lives: Mia, a 12-year-old girl who is trying to prevent her father from remarrying someone she hates; Simon, a recently separated father of a tween girl; Tamara, who wants to find true love, but is irritated at her family’s meddling in her love life; Juliet, a friend from Holly’s childhood who is sad to the core and grieving an unknown loss.

Holly herself has recently moved back to Stone Crab Island in Maine after her own heartbreak. When her grandmother Camilla dies a couple of weeks into her visit, she leaves her cooking school business to Holly, hoping that it will bring her the happiness she’s been searching for.

The plot seems fairly predictable, and as I said, it reminded me of a book that I read last year, but something about the way the story came together made it a perfect just-right read that surpassed my expectations. I really really enjoyed this book.

Jennifer Donovan enjoys reading, cooking (and of course eating). She blogs at Snapshot about these and other interests.