RITA Award winner!“A terrific read from a talented author. Made me hungry more than once. I can’t wait to read what comes next.”—Francine Rivers, New York Times bestselling author of The MasterpieceDenver chef Rachel Bishop has accomplished everything she’s dreamed and some things she never dared hope, like winning a James Beard Award and heading up her own fine-dining restaurant. But when a … own fine-dining restaurant. But when a targeted smear campaign causes her to be pushed out of the business by her partners, she vows to do whatever it takes to get her life back . . . even if that means joining forces with the man who inadvertently set the disaster in motion.
Essayist Alex Kanin never imagined his pointed editorial would go viral. Ironically, his attempt to highlight the pitfalls of online criticism has the opposite effect: it revives his own flagging career by destroying that of a perfect stranger. Plagued by guilt-fueled writer’s block, Alex vows to do whatever he can to repair the damage. He just doesn’t expect his interest in the beautiful chef to turn personal.
Alex agrees to help rebuild Rachel’s tarnished image by offering his connections and his home to host an exclusive pop-up dinner party targeted to Denver’s most influential citizens: the Saturday Night Supper Club. As they work together to make the project a success, Rachel begins to realize Alex is not the unfeeling opportunist she once thought he was, and that perhaps there’s life—and love—outside the pressure-cooker of her chosen career. But can she give up her lifelong goals without losing her identity as well?
more
Nice mixing of food and romance
Loved the characters and how the relationships developed. Fun to read.
I liked the balance of true to life difficulties and the inspirational ways the characters overcome them. The romance was fun, too.
Very sweet romantic story. Just wish there had been an epilogue. I loved the characters and the way they interacted. I didn’t want the story to end.
Couldn’t put it down – a great vacation book…not heavy, but well written and enjoyable.
I really liked the book overall–no sex, violence, or crude language. Just a feel good book about a fabulous chef and a writer. A writer who ruined the chef’s career and instead of passing it off as “her” fault, accepted the blame for what he wrote and worked to redeem her at whatever cost. I liked the characters–they were real and showed their strengths and weaknesses.
fun read
Interesting and reflective of how the restaurant industry works. Very readable. Attractive main characters as well as other characters (friends). A nice read.
It was informative. It gave me an inside look of a life of a chef and the food industry. Realistic and interesting.
I am a huge fan of cooking shows. I love watching all the wonderful dishes that are made and wish I was sampling them. The funny thing is I am a horrible cook, but I have a husband that is an amazing expert in the kitchen. When I started reading this book, I immediately felt connected to Rachel. She is a very talented chef and very focused on her career. The dishes described in the book came to life as I could visualize tasting them. I love how Rachel never gave up on her dream. The author gives readers a glimpse into her past that was very eye opening. It made me understand Rachel better and helped me understand her desire to see her dream come true. She first has to believe in herself and the story really does a great job of exploring that. I wanted to see her succeed when she gets knocked down by her partners in a restaurant endeavor. Its funny how people will believe things written in a paper without getting all the facts straight. Good thing Rachel is feisty as she fights to overcome unsavory comments made in an article.
Alex was probably my favorite character. He is a writer and has had a hard time getting a break. Maybe he had something to do with Rachel’s demise from her job, but he humbled himself to try to fix his mistake. I loved his faith and willingness to go the extra mile to help Rachel. At their fist supper club, I wanted to be a guest . The menu was scrumptious and everything seemed to go smoothly. As the relationship starts to develop obstacles find their way into their hearts. I loved how Rachel was very vulnerable at times and had trouble with trust. It made her very east to relate to. Alex has some issues of his own which causes friction between them. The story flows beautifully and I enjoyed learning about Alex’s heritage. They are two very different people yet both striving for success. This is one book you don’t want to miss. I loved when the author added this in the story, “Whatever decision you make, be sure you’re doing it because it’s what God would have you do, not simply because it’s most comfortable.” Sometimes it is hard to get out of our comfort zone. We feel good where we are and sometimes find ourselves unhappy and stuck. Thank you for writing such a wonderful book that touched me emotionally and spiritually.
“If God had wanted you to be anything other than who and what you are, He would have made you that way.”
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
The Saturday Night Supper Club was my first book by Carla Laureano. I don’t know how she wasn’t on my radar before, but she’s definitely staying there now! I was first hooked by the premise of the book because I love romances that revolve around food, and this one didn’t disappoint!
This book has so many things that I love! Set in Denver, the city has just the right progressive vibe for this series. There’s the combination of an author and a chef, both careers requiring creativity but in very different ways. The food in the story is also very eloquently and deliciously described. (I love scallops, so the cover art alone makes me hungry!) All of these aspects combine to make a fresh Christian romance for our day. In addition, I love how Carla addresses the pros and cons of social media in Rachel’s and Alex’s lives. I feel like this is something that is extremely relevant to society right now, and this book is great food for thought! (Yes, a really bad pun, I know!)
***I won a copy of this book and was under no obligation to review. All opinions are my own.
I won this book from Crazy 4 Fiction. I was not required to give a favorable review. This is a wonderful story about you can achieve any goals you want with determination and belief. Each character had things in their past have made them the people they are. Rachel moved to Denver to work as a Chef and finally opened her own restaurant with 2 investors but because of one critics review about women in the kitchen as a chef it kicked off a different article by a wonderful columnist Alex. But reporter chopped up some answer and made her look bad which lost her the job. And now Alex is making it up to her. But with ideas from her friends Melody & Ana she decided to a small group dinner to get ideas for investors. But what comes from it is a help to Alex’s sister Dina, a possible business idea for Rachel. Can’t wait for book 2 in the series
The Saturday Night Supper Club
Rachel is a gorgeous chef with a closed-off, perfectionistic heart that’s been mishandled. She loses her restaurant/job thanks to a handsome, chiseled abs, mussed hair, writer named Alex. It’s an unintended consequence of an article he wrote that goes viral, but he’s the kind of guy that’s bent on fixing the whole world, so he just has to make everything right for her.
Even though she could just start over with a food truck, that lacks the intimate vibe she wants for her perfect, locally sourced, farm-to-table, modern Continental cuisine. Her biggest issues are that she has her head in the sand where handling social media and picking out her own clothes are concerned, so she can’t possibly get her life back on track without this good-looking, sexy, perfect man’s help. Luckily, she has two immensely talented gal pals who are willing to drop everything at a moment’s notice to dress her in the perfect, sexiest outfit while he fixes her life for her. (Yes, I know I’m repeating myself, but you’ll be reminded a few more times how perfect and sexy these two main characters are as you read this book).
Amid the numerous perfect, sexy costume changes that are described in Pinterest-worthy detail, there’s also food. Have your napkin ready because the “modern Continental with a farm-to-table ethic” menus that are timed to the nth degree and perfectly prepared (even during a power outage) might make you drool.
“Trust me on this one.”
Which brings me to a word to the wise. In my life’s experience, the more someone tells you that you can trust him, the more likely it is that he is not really trustworthy. Telling you once, ok. But after that, he’d better show you, not tell you.
And that’s brings me to the main issue I had with this book. The author was repeatedly telling me so many superficial details about Rachel and Alex, their gorgeous sexy perfect physical features, their talented friends and brilliant family (his, mostly), locally sourced cuisine, sleek clothing, and so on in the first two-thirds of the book (which was beginning to make my eyes roll)—that the last one-third of the book (which has a good message) read like standard Hallmark movie fare. I kept hoping for a visit from the Health Department inspector to liven the story up a bit.
Disclosure: I won a paperback copy of this book in an online giveaway, either from Facebook or a blog. A review was not required. For the purpose of this review, I listened to a purchased digital audio copy while making notes in a purchased Kindle copy.
I’ve been a fan of Carla Laureano’s novels since 5 Days in Skye. The beginning of a new series doesn’t disappoint. —Lisa Carter, author of Stranded for the Holidays
I’m a committed, will-read-any-book-she-writes Carla Laureano fan. She’s never disappointed me. Laureano’s novels are so well-researched and written, I’m convinced she’s had multiple careers as a photographer, a hospitality consultant, a chef … The Saturday Night Supper Club is yet another novel filled with well-defined characters and setting and yes, a great plot!
I enjoyed this Supper Club romance. I received this for free and I voluntarily chose to review it. I’ve given it a 4.7* rating, This was a clean, foodie type of romance. The heroine in this is in the top of her field in this back and forth romance. The hardest thing is to trust in this Supper Club idea with each other. And the hero is a fixer. A bit of action in this also. Lots to keep your attention and I found it hard to put down.
I like this little series. The characters are very engaging, the conflicts are not over-engineered or brainless. It’s a clean romance with some good chemistry between the main characters.