In this sumptuous new novel, Barbara OโNeal offers readers a celebration of food, family, and love as a woman searches for the elusive ingredient weโre all hoping to findโฆ.
Itโs the opportunity Elena Alvarez has been waiting forโthe challenge of running her own kitchen in a world-class restaurant. Haunted by an accident of which she was the lone survivor, Elena knows better than anyone how to survive the odds. With her faithful dog, Alvin, and her grandmotherโs recipes, Elena arrives in Colorado to find a restaurant in as desperate need of a fresh start as she isโand a man whose passionate approach to food and life rivals her own. Owner Julian Liswood is a name many people know but a man few do. Heโs come to Aspen with a troubled teenage daughter and a dream of the kind of stability and love only a family can provide. But for Elena, old ghosts donโt die quietly, yet a chance to find happiness at last is worth the risk.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Twenty years ago, Elena Alvarez, the chef heroine of O'Neal's bland kitchen romance, was the sole survivor of a car accident that left her badly scarred and haunted by the sister and boyfriend she lost in the crash. Attempting to escape the specter of the accident and buoyed by her love of cooking, Elena drifted to culinary school in Europe and eventually ends up at an upscale Vancouver restaurant, where her passion and skills capture the attention of celebrity restaurateur Julian Liswood, who hires her as the executive chef of a new restaurant he is opening in Aspen, Colo. Elena relishes the opportunity, even as she recognizes the potential disasters, both romantic and job-related, inherent in the feelings she has for her boss. As the new endeavor finds its footing in Aspen's restaurant scene, she, too, begins to find a home. Unfortunately, O'Neal doesn't bring anything new to an already busy subgenre: the plot is formulaic, the prose is tepid and her main character is too narrowly drawn to have much appeal.
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From Booklist
Elena Alvarez was involved in a horrific car accident as a teenager outside of Santa Fe. The sole survivor, she threw herself into her work and is now a successful chef. She has just been fired from her job when Julian Linswood, horror movie director and restaurant owner, asks her to take over the restaurant he has just bought in Aspen. Bringing everything together for the grand opening is an uphill battle against the deposed chef, who tries to turn the kitchen staff against her, and Elenaโs own growing attraction to Julian, and his attraction to her. The ghosts, both literally and figuratively, of the accident also get in the way. Elena must bury the past and put her ghosts to rest to achieve success, happiness, and peace in the new restaurant and her own life. A predictable story with an easily guessed ending, but foodies will love Elenaโs lavish menu creations and the southwestern-themed recipes scattered throughout the book. --Hilary Hatton