A Table by the Window

Book description:  "The youngest heir to a French-Italian restaurant dynasty, food writer Juliette D’Alisa has spent her life negotiating her skill with words and her restaurant aspirations. When her brother Nico offers her a chance to open a restaurant together, she feels torn—does she really have what it takes? Should she risk leaving her journalism career?
 
After the death of her grandmother, Juliette discovers an antique photograph of a man who looks strikingly like her brother. As the truth behind the picture reveals romance and dark secrets, Juliette struggles to keep the mystery away from her nosy family until she can uncover the whole story. 
 
Inspired by her grandmother’s evolving story, Juliette resolves to explore the world of online dating. To her surprise, she finds a kindred spirit in Neil McLaren, a handsome immunologist based in Memphis, Tennessee. With a long-distance relationship simmering, Juliette faces life-shifting decisions. How can she possibly choose between a promising culinary life and Neil, a man a world away in more ways than one? And is it possible her Grandmother’s story can help show the way?"

My review:  This is book one in a series by Hillary Manton Lodge, who is a new author for me. Written in first person, Juliette has a way of telling her story that will make you laugh in places and cringe in others.  She never has a dull moment and keeps the reader turning pages in order to find out what will happen to her next.  Some events are a bit unbelievable, but I think that just adds to the story.  The author also includes recipes throughout the book.  Most of them are too involved for the ordinary cook but sound delicious.  As I began to get near the end of the book, I did not see how the author would wrap things up with so few pages left.  As it turns out, she left almost all of the loose ends loose!  Not the way I like to have things end.  There was no closure for any of the important events in the book.  I know the next book will continue the story, but I do not like to be left hanging on everything.  This is the type of book that I would normally wait to read until all of the books in the series have been written.  However, I did not know that the book would end this way.  I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Waterbrook Press in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.