Review: When In Doubt, Add Butter

When In Doubt, Add Butter by Beth Harbison

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 338
Published: July 17, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Fiction, Chick Lit

My Rating: 4.5/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

As far as Gemma is concerned, her days of dating are over. In fact, it's her job to cater other peoples' dates, and that's just fine by her. At thirty-seven, she has her own business, working as a private chef, and her life feels full and secure. She's got six steady clients that keep her hands full.

There's Lex, the fussy but fabulous department store owner who loves Oysters Rockefeller and 1950s comfort food; Willa, who needs to lose weight under doctor's orders but still believes butter makes everything better; a colorful family who may or may not be part of the Russian mob; an überwealthy Georgetown family; the picture-perfect Van Houghtens, whose matriarch is "allergic to everything"; and finally, a man she calls "Mr. Tuesday," whom she has never met but who she is strangely drawn to.

For Gemma, cooking is predictable. Recipes are certain. Use good ingredients, follow the directions, and you are assured success. Life, on the other hand, is full of variables. So when Gemma's takes an unexpected turn on a road she always thought was straight and narrow, she must face her past and move on in ways she never would have imagined. Because sometimes in life, all you need is a little hope, a lot of courage, and - oh yes - butter.

Review:

**NOTE: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.  However, no compensations were made and this review reflects my honest thoughts and feelings.**

Love love LOVE!  Besides the fact that the cover of When In Doubt has cupcakes on it; the title being delicious; and it being writen by one of my favourite chick lit authors, this book hit every possible note and made it to the top of my 2012 chick lit list.

Gemma is a wonderful character with such an interesting job that I couldn't help wishing that I had gone to culinary school... or could do more than burn water in the kitchen.  Her humour mixed with her charm made her extremely relateable to the readers.  I loved the way she interacted with each of her clients and, even more, loved the back stories that she told about each of them.  As for the other characters in the book, each of them has a place in my heart now... "Mr. Tuesday" is a swoony dream and Marie, a real housewife in the making... awesome!  Totally appealed to my to my reality TV addiction.

While I did find the story a little predictible and had the ending figured out long before it happened, it didn't matter one bit.  In fact, it made the book even more of a must-read because I just had to know if my predictions were correct. 

Overall, another hit for Beth Harbison fans... if you have read and enjoyed her books in the past, you will ADORE When In Doubt, Add Butter!