Reservations for Two - Hillary Manton Lodge

Reservations for Two is the second book in the Two Blue Doors series.  Juliette and Nico continue to work on getting their dream restaurant open; Juliette and Neal continue their long-distance relationship, and Juliette pursues the story of whether her grandfather is someone different than she'd been raised to believe.

When I read Book 1, A Table by the Window, I wrote that I couldn't wait to read book 2, because I "wasn't ready for the story to end."  I also listed Reservations for Two on my list of books I couldn't wait to read in 2015.  I was sad to be less excited while actually reading the book than I was in anticipation of reading it.

I did not realize that this was to be the 2nd book of a trilogy, but when I saw "Look for the Conclusion to the Two Doors Series" in May 2016 at the end of the book, I realized that summed up how I felt about this book.  It has Middle Book Syndrome.  There were elements added to the overall plot to leave the reader wishing for the conclusion in the third book, the characters from the first book were all in place, but...it just kind of sat there.  It's hard to write about the parts of the book that bothered me without spoilers, but I felt like nothing surprising happened.  You could tell from the beginning where the relationships were headed, and it felt like it took too long for them to get there.  Since they were already in place from Book 1, there wasn't a lot of romance or mystery to any of them.  Perhaps if there'd been more details given to the Clementine-Nico relationship that was clearly developing in the background, it would have perked up the romance aspect of the book.

Additionally, in the first book, Juliette seemed so driven to find herself, follow her own dreams, become someone, yet in this book, she just seemed lost again.  At one point, she even admits that she doesn't know what she wants to do when she grows up.  And, instead of trying to figure that out, or find a new dream, she just seems to drift along with what's already happening.  There's not even any exciting cooking in this book!

On the plus side, while it took me awhile to get invested in Juliette's grandmother's letters, by the end, I was as eager to find out what happened to change the history of what actually happened to the history that Juliette had known all her life.

While I didn't love this book as much as I did the first one, I am not ready to give up on this series and the family.  I am eager to see what the conclusion of the letters brings and hopefully, it will provide the answers the family needs.  I hope that Juliette finds her passion again, whether it's with the new restaurant, or something different.  Although, if I have to wait a whole year for the conclusion, I may have to re-read the first two books to stay on top of the details!

I give this book 3 stars; as a stand-alone book, it would probably fall a little lower.  But, as a middle book, it serves its purpose to make me want to read book 3!

You can find Reservations for Two HERE.
You can find Hillary Manton Lodge's website HERE, and her blog seems lovely - I hope to find time to hop through and catch up a bit!
You can also find more about the books and author HERE from the publisher.

I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books program, in exchange for an honest review.

Through the Deep Waters - Kim Vogel Sawyer

Dinah Hubley is the daughter of a prostitute, living in her mother's brothel in Chicago.  When her mother falls ill, and her madam threatens Dinah with eviction for both of them, Dinah agrees to sacrifice her innocence for her mother's security and her own escape.  However, the choice damages Dinah more than she could have foreseen, and as she flees to Kansas to work in a Harvey hotel, she longs to put her past behind her and work her way to a life of respect.  Once in Kansas, she's forced to hide her true self from all of those around her, lest she be fired for an immoral past.  This includes distancing herself from her friendly roommate Ruthie, their coworkers, and the intriguing egg man Amos Ackerman.  Can she continue to keep herself removed from the people in her life who are trying to show her kindness?  If they learn her secrets, will they distance themselves from her?

Oh, how this book made me hurt for Dinah.  Everything she'd worked so hard to avoid while living in the brothel came crashing in on her in one self-sacrificing decision.  It's easy to look at what was coming for her and think that she should have known what she was sacrificing, but the author does such a good job of painting Dinah's innocent nature and remorse, that Dinah becomes the wronged party and you only hope for things to turn out well for her.

I also appreciated the author's handling of Dinah's search for God's love.  She desperately wanted to believe when Ruthie told her that God loved her, but her internal guilt and shame make it hard for her to trust that God cares for her.  Even Ruthie's relationship with Dinah felt realistic - she'd been raised as a pastor's daughter to treat others with kindness and point them to God, but in her own desires she found that jealousy and envy sometimes got in the way of doing the right thing.

There were several side story lines that I wish the author had followed up on with more detail, but it would probably have made for a more scattered feeling story, or else it would have made the book too long to be enjoyable.  Overall, I give this book 4 stars.  It dealt with topics not discussed easily, and it did it well, while keeping the characters well-rounded and honest.  Not everything worked out the way the characters wanted, there were consequences to their actions, yet there was God's grace and love to bring healing.

You can find Through the Deep Waters HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review

A Table by the Window - Hillary Manton Lodge

Juliette D'Alisa comes from a big family with big personalities, and a genetic predisposition for good cooking.  Having decided she didn't like the pressure of cooking in somebody else's kitchen, Juliette has ended up in the food writing business, where she is content, if not happy.  Now, with her beloved Grand-Mere having passed away, and her mother announcing her own shocking news, Juliette and her family are forced to reevaluate their dreams for their lives, and what they want for each other as well as themselves.  Does this include a new career? A new love?  How can Juliette start living life for herself?

This book pulled me in immediately.  So much so that, before I was even 50 pages in, I ordered a copy for a friend, because the book called to me that she would love it.  Cooking, love, an Italian/French/American family - it all sung from the pages and created a family and story that I wanted to immerse myself in and stay for awhile.  Juliette had some hard decisions to make that made her feel very real, but there was enough humor and lightheartedness, especially in her correspondence with her new online friend, that it made for a very enjoyable, rich story.  While books with a cooking theme usually make me wish that I was a better cook, this one made me want to get up and cook the recipes included within its pages.  Most of them are too complicated and gourmet for me to actually prepare, but there were several that I may return to and attempt.  I do wish that there were links for the recipes, though, so that I didn't have to risk getting ingredients on the books' pages!

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and give it 4 stars.  The characters were strong, the writing was good, and I was super excited to see that there's going to be a sequel, because I wasn't ready for the story to end.

You can find A Table by the Window HERE.
You can find the Author's website HERE.
You can read an excerpt HERE.

And just for fun - take this QUIZ to see which character you are from the book! I got Juliette, and I'm totally okay with that.

I received a copy of this book from WaterBrook Press, as part of their Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.