Lizzy & Jane

January 15, 2015

Title: Lizzy & Jane
Author: Katherine Reay
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pages: 339
ISBN: 978-1-4016-8973-5
Publication Date: October 28th, 2014

Synopsis:
Sometimes the courage to face your greatest fears comes only when you've run out of ways to escape.

At the end of a long night, Elizabeth leans against the industrial oven and takes in her kingdom. Once vibrant and flawless, evenings in the kitchen now feel chaotic and exhausting. She's lost her culinary magic, and business is slowing down.
When worried investors enlist the talents of a tech-savvy celebrity chef to salvage the restaurant, Elizabeth feels the ground shift beneath her feet. Not only has she lost her touch; she's losing her dream.

And her means of escape.

When her mother died, Elizabeth fled home and the overwhelming sense of pain and loss. But fifteen years later, with no other escapes available, she now returns. Brimming with desperation and dread, Elizabeth finds herself in the unlikeliest of places, by her sister’s side in Seattle as Jane undergoes chemotherapy.

As her new life takes the form of care, cookery, and classic literature, Elizabeth is forced to re-imagine her future and reevaluate her past. But can a New York City chef with a painful history settle down with the family she once abandoned . . . and make peace with the sister who once abandoned her?
Review:
Even if Dear Mr. Knightley hadn't solidified her place on my favorite's shelf, Katherine Reay's latest easily would have put her there in a heartbeat. Lizzy and Jane, is as real and as emotionally gripping as her debut, if not more...and that is saying something.

That is something I appreciate about these books. They are real. You can find such a connecting factor in them and the story makes apart of it. You are no where on the sidelines in any of this. You feel the heart tugs and the anger about to boil over, and also the hope. There is so much depth...I could keep gushing really.

Lizzy & Jane are nothing like their namesakes, they have a rough and hardly existing sisterly relationship. The only thing keeping them connected is their dad and Jane's cancer. They are snide and snippy to each other, but their thoughts, at least from Lizzy's perceptive, still care and it shows in how she cooks. When Lizzy is off, so is her food, when is feeling great, her food her superb!

And, goodness! How there is food in this book. So much food. I generally don't snack when I read (fear of getting the pages dirty), I snacked during this one. There were so many delicious ideas! And I have to say, I have already borrowed a couple of the cooking tips I read about and it works! One word, cinnamon.

Lizzy and Jane are both so complex. We only really see Jane in one setting in this book. However, we see Lizzy in many places. New York, to Seattle, the hospital, then amongst so many different people. In all of this, you begin to see that she is a little lost and looking. I loved that about this book. As you dive further in, you are able to pick up more about these characters and watch to see how they change and grow and find what they are looking for.

I loved this book. There is so much to it. I don't want to go into a lot of detail, because this is one you need to savor for yourself.

Too Read!
5 out of 5

2 comments

  1. Kate, Thanks for such a lovely review. I'm so delighted you enjoyed the sisters -- I sometimes wondered if only I would. And the food! I will definitely need to incorporate more in a future novel. Delicious research!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katherine, The sisters were fantastic! And yes! The food in story was great. Goodness, it made my mouth water.

    ReplyDelete

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