Reviews for The glass kitchen
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Broke, divorced and disheartened, Portia Cuthcart leaves Texas for Manhattan, determined to sort out her life and finally embrace her magical way with food.Portia has inherited a magical gift from a long line of Texas women who offered advice and, inexplicably, the perfect healing dish, but a tragic event caused her to turn her back on this "knowing" and live a normal life. Years later, betrayed by her Texas politician husband, she flees to New York City, where her two sisters live and where she owns the garden apartment in a brownstone. Her sisters have sold their portions of the house to Gabriel Kane, a renowned financier who expects her to sign over her share as well but is stymied when she moves in instead. When Kane's younger daughter, Ariel, stumbles into a fabulous meal Portia makes for her sisters, she convinces her father to offer her a job as their cook. At first resistant, Portia accepts when she realizes her ex-husband is reneging on her divorce settlement, then sets about trying to open a cafe styled after The Glass Kitchen, a restaurant her family owned for generations in Texas. But as her sisters' lives unravel, and she becomes more entwined in the Kanes' well-being, Portia realizes how little she knows about the gift and how unprepared she is to handle the grief and confusion of the family upstairs. Lee takes a new magical direction after the success of Emily and Einstein (2011) and brings a light yet emotional touch as she combines food fiction with magical realism in a satisfying effort only slightly marred by Portia's continually fluctuating feelings about her gift. However, Kane's tight-lipped Yankee demeanor paired with Portia's conflicted feelings make for powerfuland sexyconflict, and Ariel's attempts to fix her fractured family are affecting and pave the way for true connection with their magical neighbor.Sweet and intense, with delightful magical accents, a delectable romanceand yummy recipes. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Portia Cuthcart wakes up in her Manhattan apartment with the taste of chocolate cake in her mouth. Recognizing the strange gift that comes in the form of compulsions to bake, mix, boil, or cook any given thing at any given time, she heads to the store to pick up the ingredients. After years of ignoring her cooking talents in favor of being the perfect politician's wife, Portia is excited and a little scared to know that her gift has come back. With the support of her two older sisters and a terrifyingly handsome investor, Portia begins to make her dream of opening a restaurant in New York City a very real possibility. With shades of The Tempest, Chocolat, and Stepmom, The Glass Kitchen is a story of redemption, rediscovery, and renewal through the marriage of love and food. Lee includes several recipes in this fun addition for book clubs and culinarily minded readers. A tantalizing mix of romance, wit, and family secrets, it will leave fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Erin McGraw, and Sophie Kinsella hungry for more.--Turza, Stephanie Copyright 2010 Booklist
