3.55 out of 4 stars.

Bon appetit!

If you love cooking and/or food then this is the book for you.

Lars and Cynthia Thorvold give birth to a daughter named Eva. Lars is a chef and Cynthia is a sommelier so one would be right to assume that Eva would turn out to be quite the food and beverage expert herself. All seems like the perfect appetizers to a wonderful main course (see what I did there?).

Unfortunately, before Eva even turns one year young, Cynthia decides she is not the mothering type. She packs up her things and moves out of Minnesota with the hopes of making it big in California. She writes a letter to Lars and promises she will never come back. Poor Lars is left to care for Eva by himself.

Each chapter introduces a different character and a different dish. Eva remains a constant fixture and inspiration throughout each one. An added bonus is that there are real recipes to write down and keep after the novel is complete.

I absolutely loved Lars (Eva’s father) and wish he was able to pop up in more chapters. I could have used more of him and less of Braque (Eva’s cousin) but overall the characters were all funny, relatable, and a delight to get to know.

I was trying to think of a book to compare to this one to help make more of a recommendation or comparisons but this novel is truly one of a kind.

I have not made many trips to the midwest and I could tell there are even MORE funny jokes than I was picking up on because I am not familiar with the culture. For all of you that live there – hope you caught these!