Love Among the Recipes introduces us to Genna, a cookbook author who's come to Paris, France to work on her next book, all while going through a complicated separation from her husband. It's as much a trip to indulge in her work as it is a chance to put some space between the complicated family relationships at home. She settles into her time at France, working on her combination cookbook/travel book and building up a wonderful group of friends for herself along the way. Her life gets more complicated as love comes into the mix and her family starts encroaching on her time in Paris.

I loved reading about Genna and her love of cooking, especially after visiting Paris for a couple days last year for the first time. I loved how she was writing a travel book combined with a cookbook and paired different locations in the city with delicious sounding recipes. I generally liked Genna as a character, and I especially appreciated that our protagonist was a middle-aged woman, but I did find her a little indecisive at times when I was reading, especially when it came to the men in her life. One of my biggest issues was the many times that the author hinted at why Genna had a fractured relationship with her husband when it felt like it didn't have to be treated like a mystery for much of the book.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Probably not the usual kind of book I’d read - I was drawn by the description of recipes and Paris. It is easy to read and good for escapism

The story is delightful. It's about a woman in her 50s, Genna, who is now feeling independent and ready for a new life - separated from her husband, Drew, from Vancouver, BC. She questions her motives as her life with Drew was comfortable and perhaps he deserved a second chance. There was also the grown children that wanted their mom back. Yet, she decided to follow her heart with a long desired dream of living in Paris for a few months while writing her sixth cookbook. This book of recipes would be different - with a mix of noted sites in Paris along with the most wonderful French dishes.

The book has the mix of mouth watering food, wonderful visits to museums and gardens, and of course - romance with attractive men. Each chapter starts with a different flavor of macarons such as one "filled with spicy mango jam and fizzled with bitter chocolate. At the end, the author says: "Are you feeling hungry" which of course is yes. For those that are cooks, she offers a link to the recipes. She also provides the reader with a list of many of the famous places in Paris.

It seriously makes the reader want to travel to Paris. However: Parlez-vous français? I skipped over some of the French words used mostly in the first part. Any struggling middle aged woman probably wants to believe that there's another life for her. Is it realistic? Maybe.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGallery for allowing me to read this copy.

This book made me want to eat everything in sight. Do not recommend if you’re on a diet! This book is an escape that I needed during this quarantine

I very much enjoyed this book - perhaps because I am also a middle-aged woman who loves to cook and travel as well! I have also been through a divorce and understand some of Genna's thought processes. So much gray area in situations like this. I did find the kids a little annoying and rather judgy at first but warmed up to them by the end. I like that Genna doesn't just jump into depending on another man even though they did tend to want to come to her rescue. All in all I found this to be a fun, mouth-watering book that only took me two days to read. I also enjoyed Paris as the setting for this book.

As a lady of a certain age with a love of cooking and Paris, I was immediately drawn to this book and it did not disappoint. From the minute I met the main character, genna, I liked her no nonsense approach to life. Her trip to Paris had been a decision based on events life had thrown at her and as the saying goes, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade and that's certainly what genna does.
Her adventures in Paris revolving round food and the people it leads her to is a well written, easy read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
#loveamongtherecipes
#netgalley

Do lust and excitement end after we say the marriage vows or simply our understanding of the topics changes? Should we give up all our personal dreams and desires as we become parents? Do we lose ourselves in that struggle to give the best to our loved ones and forget about our needs in the process? Forget who we really are… Maybe other’s approval and verification is more important than our own wishes…

I honestly read a lot, a when I say a lot, I literally mean that. And after hours and hours of indulging myself with romance books, whose heroines are young and gorgeous women, I really believed it will be a nice change to read something different. Something refreshing as a book about a middle-aged woman trying to overcome hardship and re-discover herself. That’s why I chose the story of Genna. Escaping from her shattered life and reality, heart-broken after her husband’s misdeed, we see this middle-aged woman flying to Paris to focus on her passion. Trying to find the perfect recipes for her cookbook, mixing art and food, will she also find the perfect recipe for happiness? Will she find love and acceptance in spite of her family’s disapproval and lack of support? Will this kind-hearted woman give herself a chance of love with someone new or will she forgive her repentant husband?

The author definitely leads us on this grand journey to Paris, the city of light, giving lust descriptions and enough French phrases to make readers feel and visualize each glorious sight, each shop, each step though those cobblestone streets. Definitely, from beginning to end, the spirit and culture of Paris are so perfectly captivated and described. I had a huge desire to pack my suitcase and catch the first plane to Paris.
And the food….oh my God.., I could almost feel the delicious aromas and flavors of every dish Genna created. The whole book is centered on these mouthwatering delicacies, perfectly described as to make readers crave each dish.

As much as I was invested in the flawless descriptions and details of Paris and the tasty dishes, I simply couldn’t say the same about the plot and the characters. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t connect to Genna. I couldn’t feel what she was feeling, couldn’t understand her story as was intended to be. I could understand the author’s intentions behind Genna’s indecisiveness when it came to the men to some extent. It is not easy to turn a new page after years of being stuck in the same things. And I also liked the fact that she was not perfect, but quite oblivious with endearing clumsiness. She’s also kind-hearted and full of love, especially towards her grown-up children. But her story somehow felt awkward, not really natural and clichéd in many parts. The other characters added greatly to the whole, but at moments seemed too one-dimensional and simply annoying, especially Becky.

I also would have loved a faster pace as the book went too slow in some parts, and generally lasted longer than necessary. On the other hand, the epilogue was a great way to wrap up the whole story.

Overall, this cute story that cannot be simply labeled as a romance, but contains many other elements, combines food and art into one great trip to Paris and in the life of our heroine Genna. If you choose to read it, please do not do it on empty stomach, or at least make sure you have got a nice French restaurant nearby.

Tapped out at 20%. Nothing drew me in, I didn’t love the opinions and thoughts of the main character, was bored and skimming from the beginning.

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I was immediately intrigued. I had never read a book that mixed romance with food and travels, so my curiosity and need for a light read made this quite an interesting reading experience.

I definitely spent the entirety of the book with “água na boca”, as we say in portuguese, wanting to taste every bite of what Genna was cooking. That in addition to the descriptions of amazing Parisian sites made me want to go to Paris as soon as I can, even thought we could definitely see that it isn’t as rainbows and unicorns of a city as we might think.

The book follows a Canadian mother of two, Genna, who got out of her flawed marriage and went after her dream of writing a travel guide type of cookbook in Paris, where she would pair a plate with each landmark, giving the reader an explanation of why she chose said plate.

We are introduced to a batch of characters who become a part of Genna’s life in the city of lights, some which spark a bit of romance in the protagonist’s life, some who bring some mystery and worrying to the plot. Overall they were pretty interesting, although I couldn’t fully connect to any of them.

Unfortunately, Love Among the Recipes didn’t blow me away! I was entertained, but didn’t see much of an evolution when it comes to plot – which I usually expect in my books.

Either way, with beautiful places and recipes for day, this is a story of love, life, and everything in between, perfect for fans of adult light romances who are looking for a quick read.

This book follows, Gen, a middle aged cookbook author looking to escape from her cheating husband in Paris. Along the way, she makes a few close friends, and rediscovers romance. Along with mouthwatering descriptions of food and desserts, we are also treated to some of the most famous sites in Paris.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected. I was drawn in by the cover, and the promise of food and desserts, but thrown off when I found out that our main character was 50. Not that this is a problem, but I’m used to reading YA, with characters closer to my own age. I really enjoyed the change though, it was a totally different feel than other things I’ve read.

I loved reading her interactions with her friends and her kids, they were really a highlight of this story. I also enjoyed reading about her journey to self-discovery and seeking her own happiness away from everyone else.

3 stars

How I wish I could fly to Paris after reading this book.

Carol M. Cram's Love Among the Recipes brings the City of Light to life beautifully while telling the story of a woman struggling to find herself following her husband's affair. Having been to Paris before, I found myself transported back to the glorious sights (and tastes) of the city and I am devastated that I will not be able to return there any time soon.

While I absolutely loved the concept for this book, I did found the execution a little wonky at times. The author overly emphasizes that Genna is torn between Paris and her home in Vancouver; she makes the decision to stay about 5 or 6 times in the last 100 pages. I would have rather had the book be about 50-75 pages shorter than to lose my connection to the main character. The pacing was off in parts - it would drag for a while and then every possible conflict would be dumped in.

In the end thought, Paris still won me over. I might even try some of the recipes listed at the end of the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Thank you to net galley for this ARC. I appreciated the chance to read this book in exchange for my This book is a foodie lovers dream, with the delicious descriptions, I felt hungry the entire time for croissants and a had a bit of wanderlust for travel. Living that pandemic life currently, and it made my miss travel to anywhere outside my home. I was rooting for Gemma but wished she explained what her husband did earlier. Just okay for me, but felt satisfied with a happily ever after.

I got this book from Netgalley for an honest review and I am really thankful that they chose me. The very first thing that attracted me was the cover. Call me judgemental, but yes I chose this book because of cover. What can go wrong with a book having food on the cover? Nothing!
The story revolves around a woman Genna who is around fifty and shifted to Paris to finish her sixth cookbook. She is seeing different places in Paris and tying them up with recipes that somehow reminds her of that place. But nobody knows that she actually fled away from her husband due to some terrible thing he did.
She found a new life, a sort of new beginning but she is afraid. Afraid to have a new beginning so late in her life. While reading this book, we met different characters including Marsha, Tessa, Denise, Tyler who somehow get along with Genna. She make friends, she is happy. But sometimes past never remains in the past and so that happens.
The ending was a bit predictable for me and I felt too many incidents were rushed in the end. But other than that I enjoyed reading this book. It was quick, fun and light read. I would recommend it to everyone who just wanna enjoy their time reading and falling in love with Paris and it's food.

Any title with food & Paris are MUST reads for me, so I was really excited to read this title after reading the synopsis and seeing the cover. Overall, the book was a great read for those with a love for anything to do with French food, the desire to move on from something (or someone!) and wants to find themselves as they travel. Beware, it’ll make you want to immediately book a flight for France for ALL the food!

The thing I disliked the most about the book was Genna’s negativity towards her failed relationship, I just felt like it was a bit overdone. While I understand it would be on someone’s mind and can be relatable, I also thought it was done a little too much.

Would definitely still recommend picking up for anyone who loves to read about having hope after a failed romance! 3.5 stars for me!

I found this book really good with all the places in Paris that Genna goes to.

Genna matches up the food with museums and other places in Paris. Genna decided to come to Paris and live for six months so she could write up her latest cook book and places in Paris to go. She has left her husband Drew of 30 years.

It is an interesting concept of this book where Genna finds herself. She makes lots of friends

I would recommend this book.

Overall I think this was a good story. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of Paris and how Genna was inspired for recipes. I really liked the male characters and the roles the played. I felt the story did move a little slower than what I like. Genna's internal struggles while understood just seemed constant. It felt dragged. I think for readers who enjoy mild romance or Eat Pray Love would like this book.

The cover is what first grabbed my attention and I thought the colour palette and illustration was perfect for the plot.

I didn’t feel like I could fully engage with the characters or the plot, which was a shame – think this is because maybe I am not the target demographic as Genna is middle aged, so maybe an author of the same age range as Genna would be able to relate to her character and story a little more. However, it was a cute read and I liked Genna’s exploration and development.

I also loved the fact that this book was centred around food, giving detailed descriptions of the food and Paris. I felt like I was actually there in the shops and eating the food with Genna. I wish I had liked this book more than I had as I was so excited to start it, but I do think it was mostly down to the age demographic more so than the actual story itself. Hopefully another of Carol’s books will be more my typical read than this one.

Thank you to Netgalley, General Fiction and Carol M. Cram for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.

3.5 stars

This felt like an story of a woman rediscovering herself and i was so inboard of it but... when i realized i was more into the food and traveling in this story rather than the journey our main character was going through i knew i wasnt enjoying said journey and that this wasn't the book for me (right now).
I think the current situation the world is right now made me not entirely enjoy this book.
I do feel though that this book has a beautiful endearing story that tells you never is too late to go for the things and changes you want in your life.

Thank you to Netgalley, Carol M. Cram and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn’t really my kind of book unfortunately, I tried to get involved I really did, but I couldn’t relate to the characters or the story , it held little interest for me, there’s nothing wrong with the writing, I just think not my book, length of others have and will enjoy this, just not me.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This was a cute read , I really enjoyed getting to live through Genna as she travels through Paris, now more than ever I need to get there to explore in my own . When my two favorite things , books and food are paired, it bound to be a hit. My mouth was watering for the various dishes in the story, man I wish some recipes was shared .
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There was some moments of frustration , I’m looking at you Drew and Becky 🙄but over all this was a feel good book, and I love how Genna grew into herself throughout the story .