“I have to say that I loved being transported to that bistro. The description of the food with all those details was so delightful!”
First things first
I found this book via Twitter under the hashtag foodie. That’s right, I wasn’t looking for books, but food. I saw the book cover, clicked the link, read the synopsis and bought it. The entire process took less than 2 minutes. Fastest purchase I have ever made! I love this kind of unexpected turn of events.
Synopsis
Carol Gabriel hates Christmas. Not just a little bit, but quite a damn lot.
She can’t even stand having a boyfriend over the Christmas period and habitually dumps them just before the season begins.
Even the restaurant she co-owns, a French bistro called Carol’s, doesn’t do a Christmas menu and doesn’t do Christmas decorations, either.
In short, there is no Christmas at Carol’s.
But then she gets some bad news. The bistro is failing. There’s too much local competition, they don’t have enough customers and there’s a risk that the business may need to be sold.
As it’s early December, her mother and some of her colleagues suggest that she may like to reconsider her attitude to Christmas. Maybe cook up a Christmas menu for once. Maybe even risk putting up some decorations and a few sprigs of mistletoe.
But it’s an uphill struggle. There’s a reason that Carol doesn’t like Christmas and it’s one that she keeps to herself.
Eventually, she reluctantly agrees to give it a go, for the sake of the restaurant, her glamorous, eccentric partner Roksana and all its much-loved employees.
But the minutes are ticking by. Has she left it too late? Can she catch up and compete with her competitors?
Will there be Christmas at Carol’s?
Personal opinion
This was such an enjoyable reading! I felt like I was in a café, having a conversation with a close, and very sarcastic (we all have one) friend, who is telling me what’s been going on with her life since last time we spoke. I loved it.
Carol tells in good pace, all she went through on Christmas season with her French bistro-style restaurant, located in London.
I have to say that I loved being transported to that bistro. The description of the food with all those details was so delightful! I felt like I was also involved in the process of creating a menu and I could imagine what it tasted like, based on all the ingredients mentioned.
I also loved the passion she has for her work and for the lovely business she and Roksana created. Her staff is also amazing, they are such a wonderful group of co-workers and friends. If that’s not team-work, I don’t know what is.
I even found myself listening to the playlist of the bistro via YouTube, which was awesome!!!
You will love her friend and partner Roksana, I love her personality and all the “anecdotes” from her Polish family, I laughed out loud so much with her!
It’s a story about finally putting to rest a bad experience and move on, enjoying once again what you used to love.
I’m glad I found this book, my first Christmas reading of the season!
If you have another Holiday reading you’d like to recommend, let me know!
Xoxo,
MJ
*Illustrations by Nicola Yeager
Other book reviews:
The White Masai by Corinne Hofmann
The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo
Mi terapia es escribir. Me desahogo escribiendo sobre la vida, mis aficiones, aprendizajes, bienestar, historias, libros y recetas. También me hace feliz conectarme contigo.