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"The Lost Recipe for Happiness"

by: Barbara O'Neal

2008; 464 pages

Rating: 4

Something you may not know about me yet is that I love to cook. I love both cooking and baking (though I try to bake only when I can share it with other people). So, because of my love of all things cooking, and the fact that I live in Colorado, I picked up "The Lost Recipe for Happiness" by Barbara O'Neal.

I'd never heard of it before, but read the back cover and learned that it was about a chef living in Aspen, Colorado. Yay! Two of my favorite things...of course I'm going to read this book. What I didn't notice in all of my excitement is that it said "Bantam Discovery" on the front cover. I know that Bantam publishes mainly romance novels, but I missed this part entirely.

Had I seen that, I don't know that I'd have read "The Lost Recipe for Happiness". I'm very glad that I did - even if it was full of unnecessary sex scenes just for the sake of sex. But, oh well, I guess that must be popular there are always so many romance books out there.

Anyway, the story is about Elena and her struggles to be the best chef she can be (opening a new restaurant as well), all while trying desperately to deal with her past that continues to haunt her.

I really liked the self-discovery of this novel. I liked that all the characters seemed to come away better people in the end - even the ones I thought were a lost cause, and that it chronicled their journey through a common love - food.

If you're not vehemently against sex for the sake of sex, then pick up "The Lost Recipe for Happiness". If you are, still read it, but skip those parts. You'll enjoy it. I hope as much as I did. Wow, it's actually a bit embarrassing to admit that I enjoyed a romance novel.