Tag Archives: magical realism

Review: A Taste of Sage

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A Taste of Sage
by Yaffa S Santos
4 stars

I am a sucker for magical realism…and for books about cooking, so this was perfect for me!  Lumi is a chef who loves to cook the Dominican style food that she grew up with.  She can also read people’s emotions when she eats their cooking.  When her own restaurant goes under, she gets a job as a sous chef in a stuffy traditional French restaurant.  (Of course the head chef is a dreamy redhead, even if he comes off as a jerk)  Lumi and Head Chef Julien butt heads immediately and Lumi vows to never eat anything he cooks.  But this is a romance, so I’m pretty sure you can see where the story is heading.

I admit that I am not familiar with Dominican food specifically, but all of the food described in the book sounds fantastic!  And I always love books that come with recipes in them!  Especially ones that include instructions like ‘Best served without bad juju.’  At one point in the book she adds apples to a traditional ratatouille recipe, which sounded intriguing.  Later there is a recipe for an all apple ratatouille that I am definitely going to have to try.

 

Read alikes:

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

 

Review: Sourdough

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Sourdough
by Robin Sloan
4 stars

I enjoyed Robin Sloan’s quirky book Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, so I was eager to read his latest novel.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the same wonderful quirkiness in Sourdough.

Lois Clary, a workaholic living in San Francisco, finds a menu on her doorstep one day offering spicy sandwich, spicy soup, or a combo of both.  Having survived primarily on a food substitute, Lois decides to give this new place a try.  She falls in love.  The food and the bread are healing to her, and the highlight of her day.  When the owners of the restaurant have to move away, they give her a gift – some of their sourdough starter.

Lois, who has never baked in her life, decides to learn and finds herself quickly pulled into a culinary world.  With her background in computer technology, Lois decides to try combining her knowledge of robotics with her new passion which leads to some interesting outcomes.  This is a fun, fast read that will have you craving sourdough.

Read-alikes

Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

The View from Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman

Review: The Sugar Queen

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The Sugar Queen
by Sarah Addison Allen
5 stars

The Sugar Queen is a great standalone book from Sarah Addison Allen. Her mix of a little magic and unexpected “things” is so fun to read. Her characters in this book are likable and you really want them to find their happiness. Josey is a repressed young woman who finds comfort in sweets (who hasn’t done that!), but finds her way to independence with the help of a most unusual guest who takes up residence in her closet. I am not normally a fantasy fan, but this authors use of the unexplained and fantastical is mild and believable!

I really enjoyed her characters and was invested in their lives. She develops their relationships and finds a way for you to empathize with all of them in some way (with the exclusion of “the hot guy”!).  She catches your interest immediately and doesn’t let go until the end.

Read-alikes

The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews

Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson

The Wedding Bees by Sarah-Kate Lynch