Magical Musings

Every once in a while, I find a book I want to tell everyone to read. The Lost Recipe for Happiness, about food, love and healing, is one of those books.

Elena Alvarez is damaged, body and heart and soul, from an accident when she was a teenager. The only survivor, she’s now a chef. On the same day her ex-boyfriend fires her, she’s hired to start up a new restaurant for Julian Wiswood, a successful Hollywood director with a troubled teenage daughter and an interest in creating fine restaurants. He’s soon interested in Elena, too.

As Elena builds the restaurant and creates lucious menus, she builds relationships with her quirky staff who have their own wounds. Her loyal bear of a dog helps her gain the trust of Julian’s daughter. Her dog is the one constant in Elena’s life besides the ghosts from her past, the sister and lover who didn’t survive the accident, who are often with her. And more and more, so is Julian, even as her body worsens.

Barbara O’Neal, aka Barbara Samuel and Ruth Wind, wrote a book I wanted to savour, to linger on the luciousness of her sentences, as delicious as the recipes in her book. It’s clear she knows the restaurant business. Her details are fascinating. You can read the first chapter here.

I got this book from an inter-library loan and I’ve since bought it. In addition to telling my friends about this book, I asked the purchasing librarian at my library to buy it. This book is a recipe for happy readers.