Gather Together by Catherine Fowler Sample is a beautiful approach to gathering meaningfully. Part devotional and part cookbook, this book is an invitation to slow down and meaningfully approach this part of life with reverence. Written from a Catholic perspective, I still enjoyed this book as a Protestant. I think people of all ages would enjoy this book. It is a delight. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This cookbook is amazing!

I have not had a chance to make all the recipes, but the ones I have made are yummy and amazing. I love the moments of inspiration, the moments of reflection and little tidbits of conversational material scattered throughout the book.

Definitely a cookbook I'll be gifting for homecomings and house warmings.

First of all, let me be clear that "Gather Together" is a book about community and faith from a Catholic perspective. As a Protestant, I still enjoyed the book. I found the quotes to still be inspiring. But this may not be the book for you if you are not looking for religious truth.

This book is perfect if you want to have more purpose in your get togethers. There are twelve chapters in the book. Each chapter includes a themed devotional, and the words of encouragement are followed by recipes that fit a theme as well. The goal is to have company over once a month for a gathering along the theme. The menus are seasonal in nature.

I enjoyed the author's writing style. Overall I felt that her devotions were easy to read. I liked how the recipes were planned with the chapter theme in mind. Because of the monthly set-up, I do think that readers could be inspired to entertain more.

If you are wanting to try the recipes, I think the paperback might be the way to go. In my opinion. Flipping back and forth in a kindle is challenging to use recipes. Yet I am not convinced that a devotional paperback will work well in a kitchen - I do not think it will withstand wear.. The illustrations, while lovely, are not what I want in a cookbook. I want pictures of prepared food. A few of the instructions were very detailed which is helpful. But because there was not necessarily one recipe per page or even on a two page spread, trying to create the recipes is a bit more challenging. These are the factors that resulted in me giving this book a four star rating.

I have only tried one recipe so far: the flourless chocolate cake. My daughter helped me to make it. The directions were straight forward and easy to follow. I liked the fact that the dessert could be gluten free, but a new container of cocoa should probably be used if that is the case. My husband, daughter and I really liked the cake. For my three sons, it was a bit on the rich side. Because it is more decadent, the cake could be served in smaller pieces. This could definitely become a go-to cake for me.

From every chapter, this is the recipe that intrigued me the most. I may update this review later if I do try more of the recipes. Again I did like the one recipe that I tried.
Cannoli Bites
Short Ribs in Tomato Sauce with pappardelle Pasta
Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Sriracha Crema
Hot Cross Buns
Scones with Blackberry Butter
Nutella Banana Bread
Charcuterie and Cheese Board (specific instructions on how select items)
Honey-Curried Chicken
Butternut Squash Soup (and the Maple Vinaigrette)
Arugula Cranberry Orange Salad
Three Pizza Styles (for a cookie exchange)
Now I am definitely hungry - how about you?

Thanks to Ave Maria Press and NetGalley for letting me read this book. All opinions are my own.

This book was a wonderful blend of faith, recipes and advise. I really enjoyed it. And the recipes were delicious!

“Gather Together” by Catherine Fowler Sample is the perfect mix of devotions, prayers, personal stories, and recipes revolving around the blessing of fellowship. The book of 12 chapters each have topics related to different life seasons the author experienced that we all can relate to. The stories are entertaining. The recipes are mouthwatering and easy to follow. (I cannot wait to try the Gingersnaps, I’ve never made them from scratch.) The prayers are beautifully written, and the prompts for conversation are personally eye opening.
As our world currently tries to handle not being able to gather normally, this book is bittersweet, but also gives us hope and ideas of spending time with others yet again.
#netgalley
#gathertogether

It's a nice book but there's no photos of the recipes. There are some veggies drawings but all in black and white. I like the prayer and the prompts of conversation before the recipes. I found the recipes a bit long and some of the recipes "how to" takes up two pages. I like the structure of the book with a starter, a main dish, sides and then
a dessert recipe. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Love the blend of faith and food. Beautifully written with lots of recipes, hosting and entertaining ideas makes this the only book you really need to be the hostess with the mostess!

This was a great idea for a book and I loved the little suggestions for conversation starters but I wish that it was laid out a bit more interesting with more pictures of the dishes included with the recipes.