October 2014
4★

Tear-jerker. Nice read even if it was a little too wordy at times. I thought the romantic premise was predictable. But this delved into more than that. There was a lot of family issues here. And as this was based in Texas, there was also a town social drama, with the Wake family in the center.

The main character being a "Last Meal Chef" at a Death Row prison was interesting. And a little emotional at the end too.
I liked both the sisters, Queen Elizabeth (Queenie for short) and Merry Carol Wake. I felt bad for just the names they were given. Also, they had to deal with their mother's consequences (which was pretty bad). Queenie felt like she was always "haunted" by her past and her mother's, even when she was in an entirely different country. The book is told through Queenie's point-of-view, and I did connect with her the most.

The "wrong side of the tracks" romance was predictable, but nice. I really liked Everett Coburn and Reed Blanchard (the two heroes to the sisters). It was a little bit of a tear-jerker moment when the sisters discussed about not feeling like they deserved to be happy, because the town and their mom's past always stopped that.

I did like Palmer's writing and might try one more of her books.