Books and Jams Readalong discussion

Woohoo! You made it!

How do you feel now that you're done?
How did you like the ending? Did you feel satisfied or wanting more?
If you could change one thing about this book what would it be?
Did you cook any of the recipes or make note of any?
What will your rating be?

Yes, I made it but sorry to say I didn't like it. Because of the title I thought it was going to be more of a cozy read. First of all, I really hated all the foul language used. It was over the top in my book. Second, I thought it was more about wine tasting then food. Third, I did not like the disrespect some of the teens showed their parents. One mom thought it was all right for her son, Sam, to deal marijuana just because he had a 3.4 GPA. The same mother and son get pulled over by a police officer and she puts the son's little pipe, his weed and his pot brownie in her purse. The author never tells us what happened after that. The next thing we know the mother is working for Eva Thorvald.
Sorry, Krista, this was just not for me. But I have high hopes for The Giver of Stars.

The book wasn't my favorite either. I agree about the language being too much for me. I also had a problem with Pat and how she let her son participate in illegal activities right under her nose. What kind of person is he going to grow up to be? Strangely, I was left wanting more. I wanted to know how things played out for the characters not just snippets that show how they ended up at the end of the story. I don't think I will be looking for anymore of this author's work.

I have this book 3 /5. The language didn’t bother me so much - not that I loved it - but, as I stated in a previous post, the characters were just superficially touched on. I liked Eva and I liked how Pat Prager was there at the end with her bars, but I didn’t really feel like I cared what happened with anyone.
I’ve heard of his other book, the Lager Queen something, and thought it sounded good. But after reading this, I think I’ll pass unless I hear rave reviews from someone whose opinions are similar to mine.

I rated this three stars, I'd like to give it 2.75. It was OK. The line where Pat Prager says her ingredients were local because she bought them at the store down the road made me LOL, otherwise I was lost with this book from about the halfway point forwards... wait who is this person again? What time in Eva's life is it now?

I think, the different chapters were supposed to be the literary equivalent to the courses of a meal all coming together to make one dinner? Is that too way out there? I was an English major once, we used to discuss those sorts of things...for fun.

I made note of the peanut butter bar recipe, and wondered why they were on the menu in the final chapters but Cindy never mentioned eating one.

Oh well, not the best story ever but it's crossed off the giant towering tbr pile.

I rated this book three stars. It was just okay for me. I don't know what I was expecting from this but whatever it was, this didn't exceed my expectations. I really didn't like how this ended. The recipes sounded good, I might try them sometime

I think, overall, I would give this book a 3. While I enjoyed some of the perspectives, others were just meh. There were too many characters and story lines for me to keep up with.

I rather enjoyed this book. It’s like a collection of short stories with Eva & food as their common thread. And I liked that some of those characters’ stories are wrapped up with Eva at the Dinner.
I will try the French onion soup and most definitely the peanut butter bars. I rated it a 3 ½ star read.

I plan to try the peanut butter bars too! I had a hard time getting into it, but enjoyed this book pretty well by the end. My favorite characters were Lars, Pat, and Braque. Rated 3/5.

Update: I made the bars, using Sunbutter due to family allergies. They were a big hit! They have to stay refrigerated.

Elsa wrote: "Update: I made the bars, using Sunbutter due to family allergies. They were a big hit! They have to stay refrigerated."

I love that you made them! Thanks for the update.

I know this is late but the book was from the library and someone put a hold on it before I finished and although I started it with you all in July I just got the book back to finish in October. I gave it a three star and I plan on trying two of the recipes but haven't yet.