Do hearts broken long ago forever leave a tangible trace?A Vegas cocktail waitress. An Indian herbalist. A British chemistry professor. An Italian-American widow. Four unique women with one thing in common: each is haunted by a tragedy from her past.Cynthia, Rohini, Jane, and Angela meet on a food blogging site and bond over recipes. On impulse, they decide to open The Secret Spice, an elegant … Spice, an elegant café on the magnificent ocean liner, the RMS Queen Mary, currently a floating hotel in Long Beach, California. Rich in history and tales of supernatural occurrences, the ship hides her own dark secrets.
The women are surrounded by ghosts long before they step aboard, but once they do, nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people they meet, not their brooding chef’s mystic recipes, and not the Queen Mary herself. Yet the spirits they encounter help them discover that there’s always a chance to live, as long as one is alive.
Nominated for the prestigious Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, Cooking for Ghosts is an unforgettable tale of love, redemption, and divine female power.
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Wow!! This book has so much to offer the reader!! Secrets, Ghosts, a Haunted Ship, Tragedies, Second Chances, Delicious Recipes, Four Strong and Spicy Women, and so much more!!
I love books with strong female lead characters, and this book has four sassy, bold, driven, and passionate women. I really liked the main characters, Cynthia, Rohini, Jane, and Angela, as they were realistic, genuine, and likeable. I really liked that they met on a food blogging website and took a huge leap of faith to open the Secret Spice Café aboard the RMS Queen Mary. I love that they each brought something unique to the story. All four women had real problems, flaws, baggage, and drama. Plus, they were all being haunted by a tragedy from their past. The Queen Mary was their second chance, their fresh start, but it seems the Queen has other plans for them.
I enjoyed the story line and felt engaged in the story structure and plot points. The writing was steady and easily flowed. The POVs effortlessly switch back and forth without hesitation.
I loved the setting!! The RMS Queen Mary sounded so beautiful and mystical!! I had never heard of her before, but now I am quite intrigued and want to go check her out!! The fact that is was a luxurious ocean liner then converted into a warship during WWII then back to a cruise ship again. But then eventually sold and permanently docked in the 1960s in Long Beach as a floating hotel and museum – wow!! It all sounds so fascinating!! I definitely learned quite a bit during this story as the author provided such engaging historical facts!!
I really liked the cooking angle of this book as I am a total foodie so I really enjoyed reading the recipes. Especially the additional recipe cards that were included in the paperback copy of my book. I am excited to try Shrimp Rohini, Salsa di Pomodoro, and more specifically the featured dessert lol – the Secret Spice Café Raspberry Chocolate Tart.
I loved the amount of historical content and attention to detail featured throughout this book. It is clear the author did a thorough and extensive amount of research while constructing this book. That plus her own unique advantage of spending time at the Queen Mary created reliable and credible details throughout the story line.
I really enjoyed and appreciated the author’s depth of research that was thoroughly highlighted in this book. I liked that she kept the material educational, but not overwhelming as it was easily to grasp and follow.
I really enjoyed the section at the end of the book titled, “Author’s Notes.” I liked being able to connect with the author and understand the meaning behind some of the passages. Also, it was great getting additional background information on the book.
There are some predictable scenes. However, there are still a few very unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming!
This book is Book One in The Secret Spice Café Book Series. This book can absolutely be read as a standalone. Currently there are already three books published in this book series and are available for sale at any major book retailer. I really enjoyed book one and can’t wait to check out the other books in this book series!!
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it! I think all magical realism readers and woman’s paranormal fiction and mystery fans will like this book too – and this book series! So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!
**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**
What a uniquely fun book! It had me opening my eyes wide; “What just happened with those pots and pans?” The touches of humor, romance, mystery and the paranormal occurrences while setting the scene aboard the RMS Queen Mary was so enlightening. I have to add, my appetite for mouth-watering desserts may have gone to flank speed because the images in my mind went overboard.
I have always thought of a second career just as the four women in this book. The women come from different backgrounds; each having a dreadful past that continues to haunt them. They combine their talents to open “The Secret Spice Café” aboard RMS Queen Mary. The women not only hold secrets but the ship may hold some of its own.
“Cooking For Ghosts” is the first book I have read by author, Patricia V. Davis. This is book one of her series, “The Secret Spice Café.” I look forward to continuing reading this series. Patricia is a gifted storyteller, her descriptions made the book come alive. (in more ways than you think). Also, the research is commendable. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a story with a touch of paranormal but with a mystery that will keep you guessing.
~This book was given to me through a giveaway in exchange for a fair and honest review.~
Cooking for Ghosts starts off the fascinating The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy by Patricia V Davis. What a fun and entertaining story. I loved the combination of various genres. There is history, mystery, suspense, and ghosts. I was intrigued with it all the way through. So happy I had the opportunity to read it.
I give Cooking for Ghosts four and a half stars. I can not wait to read the other two books from The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy in the near future.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
This was a very interesting book. I really enjoyed how all the women worked together and fought together like real friends. Cynthia, Rohini, Angela, and Jane complemented each other. As the story moved along, I loved how their histories came to light, how the ghosts played into all of their lives, and how things were resolved. I had tears, smiles, groans, sighs, and moments of “oh no”. I look forward to reading more in this series. Ann Marie Gideon did a wonderful job in telling this tale, and she was able to bring the emotions off the page. The accents were well done as well as inflections to keep the characters separate. Thank you Patricia Davis for a great story and thank you Ann Marie Gideon for great narration.
I received a copy of this story through Goddess Fish Promotions, and this is my unsolicited review.
Cooking for Ghosts by Patricia V. Davis is one of my favorite books . . . absolutely riveting. I love the characters, love the plot. Love all of it. It’s a Calgon-take-me-away type of book. I was fascinated with the story, I care about these characters, and of course the setting is fabulous. I could not put this book down. I didn’t want to break the reverie of these lives and this story. So glad I read Cooking for Ghosts. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Spells & Oregano.
If you love food and a book full of mysterious happenings, then Cooking for Ghosts, by Patricia V. Davis, should definitely be on your TBR list. Set on the docked Queen Mary, notorious for its history of supernatural happenings, Cooking for Ghosts is filled with friendship, conflicts, secrets, old flames, new loves, and yes, ghosts. Davis’ deftly drawn characters are instantly likeable—even when they are behaving badly—and the plot twists that are based on meticulous research make the book a page-turner. The first in The Secret Spice trilogy, Cooking for Ghosts is a marvelous read.
Wow! A first by me by this author won’t be my last! Truly everything I love in a book! Romance, love and a tragic twist! Four women begin a journey together after buying a restaurant aboard the Queen Mary. While they begin the process of opening their restaurant they find they are not alone! Oh this book had me hooked and I read it in a sitting ! I couldn’t put it down! I’m so in love with this author and her amazing writing I need more!! Fantastic characters and delicious storyline will leave you hungry for more!
A book about the b ones between women. Takes place in the floating hotel The Queen Mary with vivid details and exquisite descriptions of that famous shi p.
Four women meet through blogging regarding food and recipes. Together they open a cafe onboard the ship. Each woman is haunted, but not necessarily by the ghosts one might imagine. A wonderful story of loss, love, and redemption! Great characters, powerful message about the strength of women. Must Read!!
A wonderful mix of tragedy,the paranormal, and love. This story had me from the first page. The secrets that four women have hidden deep, soon comes to surface thanks to the Queen Mary. A well written book with historical facts thrown in, you will not want to stop reading until the conclusion. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!
I was warned that the Secret Spice Café series by Patricia V. Davis would be addicting, and I gladly plunged in. Cooking for Ghosts walks between the present and the past on the Queen Mary, which is now permanently moored in Long Beach, California and serves as a tourist attraction with a hotel and restaurants. Davis uses the ship and one of its restaurants as the back drop for four very different women who come together to open a restaurant, each coming for her own reasons. Their lives and issues that follow them play out with visitors from the past, ghosts, who help them resolve their individual problems. Weaving four characters’ plots is no easy feat, but one might think so the way Davis does it seamlessly. However, to my mind there are five…as the Queen Mary takes on a life of her own. I truly loved this book can’t wait to read the next two. I also want to visit this ship! I soak in the pictures the author shares on Facebook so I am ready for the next read! Yes, a must read.
4.25 stars
“Cooking for Ghosts” by Patricia V. Davis is the first book in the ‘Secret Spice Café’ series, and features a quartet of women who have parlayed an Internet friendship into a business venture on the famed Queen Mary steamship. The women have gathered to make their dreams a reality, but between their secrets and the secrets the popular attraction holds, the new restaurant may never launch.
This mystery story blends fascinating historical facts with challenging contemporary and cultural details in an intriguing story. Multiple points of view shift back and forth, so one has to pay attention to whose perception is being used, but once I got used to that, I enjoyed the way the story unfolded. The combination of multiculturalism and tidbits from the past mixed with the mysticism that personifies “Mary” herself, plus the various spirits who have their own significant contributions makes this a compelling story that grabs one’s attention and heightens curiosity for how various conundrums are going to be solved.
I’m a pretty squeamish person and not fond of horror or ghost stories, but I definitely enjoyed this story and I am curious about the other books in the series. I think that what fascinated me the most was the way past tragedies were touched upon using vivid descriptions that brought them to life while present-day challenges were made relevant, even to one who doesn’t understand how a different culture could be so misogynistic. There are multiple threads to follow, and lovely romances, plus the enigmatic ship herself as an active character, and I enjoyed the lighter moments that leavened some of the drama (fencing against attacking cookware!). Those with triggers should be warned that there are some heartwrenching scenarios touched upon that involve violence against women, but they are sensitively portrayed.
I also feel that a great facet of this book is the way women in all of stages of life are portrayed, including the obstacles that have to be overcome, the difficulties of being a single mother, the hassles of co-owning a business with three other opinionated women, and the euphoria and heartache of being a small-business owner. That the setting is a beloved local landmark is a wonderful bonus, and almost makes me want to book a room there…one of these days!
A copy of this title was provided for review