Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

From the author that wrote The Friday Night Knitting Club comes Comfort Food.  I think I should preface and say that anything with 3.5 and up stars is worth a read.  Don't let my review deter you. (More on this below).

So the preface: Augusta "Gus" Simpson is a successful cook with a history of successful cooking shows on a national cooking channel.  Just before she turns 50, the network decides it wants to boost ratings by pairing her up with a beautiful, young (will do whatever she has to do to get ahead) Brazilian.  Gus, feeling a bit competitive, decides that she will do what she has to do to keep her status and show in the limelight.  With all that going on, Gus is also dealing with her two daughters and what she believes to be their "lacking" lives.  She's also trying to re-start her love life (she's been a widow for about 15 years). All in all the circumstances Gus is dealing with could prove to be a possible rejuvenation of her career or its downfall.

So like I said, don't let the lack of stars to deter you from reading...I liked the book...it was enjoyable and an easy, breezy read.  I just get irritated sometimes about characters (like Gus) who get too wrapped up in the ridiculous.  Like her interference with her daughters...it's ridiculous and a bit unrealistic. And that doesn't mean Gus wasn't a likable character...she was but I felt like some of the events in the book were added unnecessarily...maybe to make it longer?  I don't know...still a good "summer" read.

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

OK well, I just finished Knit Two, the sequel to The Friday Night Knitting Club. This one follows the group (same from the first book) 5-years after the tragedy that left them all reeling at the end of the first (I won't mention what that tragedy is for those who would like to read it - it's awesome, by the way). 18-year old Dakota is at NYU, trying to figure out how to live her own life rather than the life her still-grieving father James is trying to stamp out for her. Catherine, is still making "man mistakes" and then running from them. Darwin and her husband are pregnant with twins; KC, the newly licenced lawyer is over-worked, stressed out and taking up smoking; Peri is trying to figure out how to honor Georgia but make her own place in the Walker and Daughter knitting store that she now co-owns; and Anita and Marty are trying to solve a mystery before making their commitment (at nearly 80-years old) legal. Oh, and Lucie is trying to be a successful, single, professional woman while juggling a potentially ADHD 5-year old daughter who only listens to bribes. Eventually, Lucie's job takes her to Italy for a summer long assignment and through circumstances, many of the "club members" follow. Of course everyone in the club (even those left behind in NYC) experiences a summer of mental and emotional growth with a "feel-good" ending. One open for a third installment, by the way.

I really liked this book. The beginning was a bit slow because it was a lot of catch-up over the 5 years that had passed but the characters were still all the same with their individual quirks. I hope that Kate Jacobs continues where she left off (#3?)...it would be a shame to miss an opportunity to write a "sure thing" when you have such interesting and lovely characters right there in front of you. Read it but make sure you start with #1!!!

The Friday Night Knitting Cluby by Kate Jacobs

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. It's about a single mother (Georgia) who owns a knitting store in Manhattan. She is raising her pre-teen daughter (Dakota) by herself while trying to maintain some semblance of life. She's sort of been forced -by her customers - into little relationships through of her store. Georgia is somewhat of a reluctant friend to others because of her mistrust of people and so when the "unthinkable" happens, she comes to see that these little relationships that she's built are actually friendships.

I'm about 100 pages in and it's really good. The book reminds me of Maeve Binchy in the way she moves from character to character, weaving lives together. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Update:  Terrific!!!!  Read it!  A must!!!