Review: The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee

Title: The Glass Kitchen
Author: Linda Francis Lee
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publish Date: June 17, 2014
Source: I received a copy from the PR; however, this did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a fiction fan.
• You like stories about sisters.
• You like magical realism.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Portia Cuthcart never intended to leave Texas. Her dream was to run the Glass Kitchen restaurant her grandmother built decades ago. But after a string of betrayals and the loss of her legacy, Portia is determined to start a new life with her sisters in Manhattan... and never cook again.

But when she moves into a dilapidated brownstone on the Upper West Side, she meets twelve-year-old Ariel and her widowed father Gabriel, a man with his hands full trying to raise two daughters on his own. Soon, a promise made to her sisters forces Portia back into a world of magical food and swirling emotions, where she must confront everything she has been running from. What seems so simple on the surface is anything but when long-held secrets are revealed, rivalries exposed, and the promise of new love stirs to life like chocolate mixing with cream."

My Two Cents:

In "The Glass Kitchen," Portia went to New York City to escape. She needs a new start after her super messy divorce. She plans to live a quiet, anonymous life in the big city with her sisters. Armed with a few worldly goods and a family cookbook that may have magical powers, Portia goes to establish a new life. Things don't always go the way we expect and Portia finds out that very quickly. This is a story of sisterly relationships, love, and believing in magic! I really enjoyed this adorable story!

Although this is a story about sisters, the book mostly follows Portia, who has the magical power of being able to cook the food that provides comfort in a special way for each individual person. Portia falls for Gabriel, a guy who is still mending a broken heart after losing his wife. He also happens to live in the same brownstone as Portia and her sisters. I really liked the story between them. Portia knows what he needs but she can't bring herself to make it.

The characters in this book were really great. The other character that I totally fell for was Gabriel's younger daughter, Ariel. At twelve years old, she is totally precocious. She was with her mother when she died and still hasn't recovered. She is feeling sort of ignored by her dad and her sister, which pushes her to uncover some difficult family secrets. I thought that the author did a really good job of making all of the characters seem really realistic.

And of course, I absolutely loved the magical realism aspect of the book. I also really liked the foodie aspect of the book as well. The book even included recipes for the recipes that become important throughout Portia's story.

This was a great story!