pretty good overall. this story follows a family, specifically 3 daughter who are trying to live their mom's legacy.

It took me a few chapters for me to really get invested into the story mostly because the characters weren't all that flushed out to me.

I had high hopes for this novel. I love a good family drama, especially when there are strong female characters. However, this unfortunately did not live up to my expectations.

Firstly, starting from the first chapter, I did not jive with the prose. It just didn’t hold my attention. I also didn’t like how much of a focus physical descriptors like height were, in that first chapter. I think there are much more interesting things to focus on rather than how tall a character is. Unfortunately, these characters just weren’t that interestingly to me. They weren’t very likeable. All characters don’t have to be “relatable” and “likable” but that was especially true in this book and I just wasn’t interested.

I don’t want to go much further because of spoilers but I did skim through a lot of this story.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I'm not too sure what to say about the book. The description says it's fast paced, but I felt like it was the opposite. I feel like the story had potential, but something was just missing for me...not sure what though.

I didn’t expect to like this one, it was a slow starter but persevere- it’s worth it. The dynamic between a very strong matriarch and three sisters- a female version of Succession.
I didn’t so much like the main characters initially but grew to appreciate their flaws. Interesting read.

I’m giving this book a rounded up 3 stars, as it would really be a 2.5 in my opinion. It’s a bit hard to describe why, as I enjoyed the writing and the King Lear adaptation, which made “unlikable” characters interesting in my opinion. However, I feel as though the story never really took off with the potential that it had. I feel like the last 20% of the book should have really be elongated to 50%, and the first 80% could have been more interesting if condensed a bit. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc!

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had everything that I was looking for and enjoyed from the genre. It had the characters that I was expecting and glad they worked in this story. It had a realistic concept and thought it was a great overall story being told. Liza Palmer has a great writing style and can’t wait for more from her.

This was Succession but in the restaurant industry. The characters were well written and I related to the sister dynamic. Its slower paced and a different genre than my norm, however I still found myself immersed in the story and the family dynamic. I enjoyed diving into each sisters story showing the interesting BUT very different lives people from the same family live.

DNF. I just couldn't get into this one. With such a slow opening and characters I desperately did not feel any connection too, I had no desire to keep turning the pages after I got through the first chapter. I think it's been over-hyped.

Succession meets The Bear in this restaurant-centered family drama. The relationships between a mother and her three daughters are complicated enough, but add in a family business, a lot of ego, and an impending article about the matriarch’s legacy. This was a great family drama, and extremely relatable for anyone with a complicated relationship with a mother or sister.

As the eldest daughter of three, I really identified with the relationship dynamics that drove this novel. That sisterly bond and shared familial experiences results in nobody knowing or being able to exploit your weaknesses so well, but also nobody else being able to provide the understanding and comfort we so desire, particularly when raised by a narcissistic parent.

The book is peppered with biting wit, a pleasingly paced plot and a realistic ending, with the author having resisted the temptation to tie everything up with a nice little bow.

This is a fantastic read that provides a glimpse into the life of an icon, and the trauma that results for those surrounding a revolutionary trailblazer.

I really enjoyed this novel. The food writing was strong, and not over the top. I felt the characters were well developed. Their motivations (aside from the mother) were clearly demonstrated with their actions. The book held a lot of family drama but was a light read. I enjoyed seeing the characters grow to become better sisters. At times there was good humor in the book.

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for letting me read an arc of this book for an honest review.

Overall I liked this book, it was just very slow paced for the amount of drama in the story. It was filled with a lot of family drama and issues. The mom is a total asshole to her 3 daughters. She's a famous culinary genius that always needs to be the center of attention and can't stand anyone who gets in her way or outshines her. She belittles her daughters so much and doesn't want them to succeed because then that means that they're better than her and people will forget her. Her youngest daughter, in her thirties, is the head chef at her restaurant. Mom ends up firing her in front of friends and family on a New Year's eve Party because she made a pork chop instead of her famous pork belly. The whole book is centered around that night and everything that went wrong. The three daughters learn how to stand up to their mother and how to be themselves instead of the women their mom wants them to be. I enjoyed how everything played out, but it took me forever to read because I just coulnd't get into it completely. It dragged for me, otherwise it would have gotten a higher review.

Unfortunately this was a dnf for me. I just was not able to get into this book and ultimately decided that this was one I could not push myself to continue with. I liked the concept of the book a lot, however I found that I was just not that interested in what was going on.

Family Reservations is the story of the Winter family. Marin is the mother and head of the restaurant dynasty she has created. Sloane, Jules and Athena are her grown daughters. Sloane is the manager of the restaurant. Jules is in charge of publicity. Athena is the chef. At the annual New Year’s Eve party, Athena dares to serve pork chops rather than the pork loin her mother expects. Even though (or perhaps because) everyone loved the pork chops, Marin publicly shames and fires Athena from the family business. The family dynamics go downhill from there. Although the sisters are all adults, they are afraid of their mother and act like children. They lie and scheme against their mother and against each other. I would have reservations too if I were a part of this family.

I absolutely loved this! My favorite book of the year so far and my only 5 star. I cannot wait to read more from this author. It is a novel about healthy boundaries and family loyalties and moving on after a cataclysmic event that shakes one's world and points life in a different trajectory. It is a novel of sisters and mothers and friendships and healthy marriages and unhelathy lifestyles. `I found so much hard truth in it that even rang true for my own life.

My only criticism is the cover. I almost didn't request it because of the cover. It screams "light women's book club fiction" when the truth of what lies in its pages is far from light. I am concerned that the right audience for this novel will pass it by because of the cover, and those who will pick it up will be disappointed because it isn't what they expect. Illustrated covers always scream "light and fluffy" to me and I rarely pick them up myself. The synopsis is what drew me in and made me take a chance.

I cannot wait to read more from this author and publisher in the future.

Three adult sisters work in their famous chef mother's restaurant empire. One is a talented head chef and the other two are on the business side. With their egomaniacal mother aging, two of the sisters plan to boot her from the business as she fires the chef in a dramatic and public way. Will the restaurant empire survive, and will the sisters find a way to separate business and family?

If you like messy family businesses, this is for you. Think of this as Succession crossed with Paula Dean. I had just read and loved Marrying the Ketchups, and this is a more dramatic book with meaner and more calculating characters. It was a little on the slower paced side, but I loved to hate them and rooted for Athena and for Maren (the mother) to get her due. The writing is really sharp, and I would definitely read more of this (new only to me) author.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

A story about sisters and their toxic relationships between each other and their mother, this was very relatable. I enjoyed the pacing of the story and seeing the characters develop (or not) and how their relationships changed.

FAMILY RESERVATIONS is perfect for Top Chef and Apples Never Fall fans.
As a former Dietitian who worked in food service, I can personally attest to many chefs being consistent and committed a-holes, but I've never witnessed a chef's family dynasty as in this novel.
This drama is worth reading for the slow-burn plot rather than the characters, because they are basically unlikable, except for talented black sheeps Athena and Rafael.
I just read that this novel will be made into a television series and I can't wait to see which actresses play larger-than-life matriarch Maren Winter and her youngest daughter Athena. Their head- butting will be entertaining to watch onscreen. Winter is coming!

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

Family Reservations by LIza Palmer caught my interest from the beginning and was a great read. The story centers on three sisters and their mother who is a legendary chef and businesswoman albeit not a legendary mother. Each daughter has her scars and her journey but I was especially drawn to Athena's storyline. I finished this book in one day at the beach and think that many other readers will enjoy this family drama.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of Family Reservations in exchange for an honest opinion. Family Reservations is available now.