It's a delicious romp through foodie culture, and a triumphant coming-of-age story that had me so emotional oh my God it's embarrassing 🤦🏻‍♀️😆😅
How to describe it best? The experience of reading it was like slipping on sunglasses, turning the music up to max and driving off at 120 miles per hour.
Where I was expecting something sweet and breezy, I got so much more. This book isn't a snack, it's a whole-ass meal. I got life, handed to me on a plate - a whole microcosm in just 310 pages: hurting, laughing, swearing, smiling, crying, in-your-face and vibrantly alive.
One of the things that caught my attention and piqued my interest while reading this was the structure of the book. The MC is a brilliant young chef named Eva Thorvald, but only one chapter is from her POV. The others are from the POVs of people whom she interacted with and influenced in some way. Each (long) chapter bears the name of a food that influenced her somehow: Venison, Sweet Pepper Jelly, etc. , and the novel satisfyingly culminates in an opulent feast featuring every single one of the special ingredients.
I loved this book so much! It was so wildly immersive and original, too, I've never read a book I can quite compare it too. I flew through it in two days, that was the grip it had on me. It's one of those books I'll be recommending it to anyone who asks!