This is a compelling book. I loved the three characters. They were so relatable. This is a heart warming book with strong characters and great storylines.

I loved this book! This story gathered me in from the beginning. Maggie is the protege of a chef at a three star Michelin restaurant. When he dies unexpectedly she thinks she will take over running the restaurant. She is allowed to do that – but only until she can be replaced with a culinary school classmate who plans on overhauling everything she loves.

Nayomi is a young Sri Lankan immigrant widow who needs a second job to support her family. She never thought that she would be anything but a wife and mother. Moving out of that sphere is scary and exciting for her. Being asked her opinions and having her recipes valued in a fancy restaurant kitchen is amazing.

Emily is the deceased chef’s estranged daughter and Maggie’s former best friend. She is self-destructing. She lashes out at Maggie through her high profile column even though she knows that Maggie doesn’t really deserve it.

This book is about the relationships of women. It is also about making food that showcases your love and creativity. It is about living your life in a way that brings out the best in you.

The descriptions of the food are lush and inviting. I enjoyed watching the relationship between Maggie and Nayomi grow. There are romantic relationships in the book but I wasn’t particularly a fan of them. I especially thought that Maggie’s romantic story arc was unnecessary and a bit cringeworthy. I don’t enjoy reading about relationships based on the “I hate him so much and he’s a horrible person but he’s so sexy” dynamic.

Other than that quibble, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for a glance at life around a high end restaurant.

Laura Carter is the international bestselling author of the Vengeful Love series. Her books are available in English and Italian. Laura writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction from her country home in Jersey (UKCI), where she lives with her husband and (gorgeous) dog. She loves all things romance, including paper hearts, flowers, chocolates and champagne (not necessarily in that order). If she isn’t writing or hanging around on social media, you can probably find her watching a romcom with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s.

Learn more about Laura and her books here: www.lauracarterauthor.com.

Connect with Laura through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/lauracartera…), Twitter (@LCarterAuthor) and Instagram (@lauracarterauthor).
Learn more about Laura and her books here: www.lauracarterauthor.com.

An enjoyable read! Fun characters, and I loved the restaurant setting. The book wasn't super memorable, but a great relaxing weekend read for sure!

I enjoyed this lighthearted and funny book! It was an interesting read and quite heartfelt! This would be a great beach read!

An enjoyable book, that allowed you to escape with a story that flowed easily and kept you captivated from start to finish.

A really great story, charming, atmospheric, great characters. Filled me with warmth and spirit. Well written and flowed nicely, was romantic and funny, charming and full of fun. A great read, i really enjoyed it.

It is based around three female characters who all work in kitchens or the food industry and each chapter is told from a different characters point of view and there struggles etc in working in high pressure jobs. It is such a wonderful book and the characters all feel so real with real struggles. The characters are skillfully drawn and remain quite memorable long after finishing.

I thought long and hard about my review for this book because there were some elements that I really enjoyed, but others that felt rather pedestrian.

Focusing on three women in the catering industry, the characters are all very contrasting. Maggie: sous chef at a high-end, classic French restaurant, she strives to keep Jean-Sébastien’s reputation, modelling her cooking on what she believes is his true legacy. On the other hand, there is Emily, Jean-Sébastien’s daughter and food critic for the New York Times. Fallen out with her family, it is clear that jealousy drives much of Emily’s behaviour as she feels ousted by the favouritism she sees shown towards Maggie, like she is an adopted daughter. Contrastingly, Nayomi (loving the unusual spelling here) is financially struggling as a single mum to two boys. She is forced to take on a second job in order to keep afloat and this is how she crosses paths with Maggie, being the new pot washer at the restaurant.

The story follows these three women and how their lives alter. I liked the contrast established between them but felt the narrative did not do them enough justice. For instance, Emily’s behaviour irritated me because she is portrayed as so selfish and arrogant yet, it is clear she is grieving for the loss of her father. I would have liked to have seen a more mature, perhaps vulnerable side to her character, instead of the toughened exterior she presents to most. Also, she shows she is able to cook like her father and I think the writer could have added this more intricately into the story.

The other two women are quite predictable in their behaviours and it was rather evident how their lives would change. When ideas start float about travelling and discovering new flavours, I started to get really inspired by the story – and this is where I think the attention should have been driven (or a sequel in the making!). I wanted to watch the women explore beyond New York, beyond the kitchen, and experience things beyond a rather mundane lifestyle that I have seen in so many books before. Disappointed that this was merely wrapped up in a brief Epilogue, I was hoping that Carter would follow up with a novel about the women’s adventures as they study, train and explore outside of the New York kitchen. I think this was a missed opportunity.

As such, I felt like the story was rather safe and predictable. It is evident that behaviours will change and I appreciated seeing Emily grow more mature and aware of others around her. Yet, I did find it a bit too convenient and something that isn’t too dissimilar to other books of this genre. The flavours of the story were akin to Maggie’s cooking: safe, obvious and predictable.

In conclusion, whilst I enjoyed the kitchen setting, I wanted there to be more from such contrasting characters. Instead, I felt like I was sampling a rather bland dinner rather than exploring new flavours.

With thanks to Canelo and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful book - my first from Laura Carter and I'm hoping there are many more to come. (Laura if you are reading this I would absolutely love to see a sequel - maybe focusing on the journey of one particular character who is on their own journey - it feels like still has a story of her own to be explored - deliberately trying to be a bit vague here and not give spoilers).

Maggie, Emily and Nayomi are all strong and likeable characters.

Told from the varying view points of the three very different women, we learn about each of their different backgrounds, watch them find common ground and see them develop strong friendships as they support and encourage each other throughout their individual journeys.

Maggie is a career-focused chef who has colleagues rather than friends these days. Food critic Emily used to be her best friend a food critic who used to be her best friend but somewhere along the line became her nemesis instead. Nayomi is a young widow of an arranged marriage from a completely different cultural background. All three, however, are united in their love of good food and all three have something missing in their lives even if they're not quite sure yet what it is.

With an equally likeable supporting cast of characters, and maybe a couple who are deliberately unlikeable, you really can't go wrong with this book.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Am I glad I read it - absolutely, I loved it
Was it a waste of my time - not at all
Would I sit down and read it all over again - it would be my absolute pleasure to do so.
Would I read more by this author based on this book - yes, I will definitely be looking into more books by Laura Carter.

I read the blur and thought 'This is my kind of book' as I love food, love cooking and love reading anything (fiction and no-fiction) that revolves around food!

Three women, a chef, a critic and a single mother looking for work! And they all bring something interesting and unique to this story. Bring them all together and friendships are made, passion abounds and of course food that makes your mouth water.

It had everything you need in a good book and more. A wonderful story, great characters and well written.

I found this an interesting story. Maggie is a chef at the highly acclaimed restaurant Jean- Sebastien’s in New York City. Jean- Sebastien has been Maggie’s friend and mentor as well as being the father of her closest friend, Emily, a restaurant critic. Nayomi is a single mother and a porter at Jean - Sebastien’s. She is barely making ends meet. When Jean -Sebastien unexpectedly dies, all their lives are drastically affected, and past problems begin again. This novel is quite engaging and keeps the reader interested. It is good to read about women in important and emerging roles. Thanks to Canelo publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

I must admit to having the utmost admiration for anyone working in a kitchen with split shifts for starters, together with unexpected menus changes, varying tempers and unbearable heat. I have never worked in a kitchen myself, so I don’t know how true the depictions we see on TV actually are, but a I know for sure that I would not react well to being constantly berated and shouted at! This is no doubt why I had immediate empathy for the characters in the book. I was also attracted to it, because I seem to spend a lot of time in the kitchen - at my choice! Finally, I loved the idea of the author taking inspiration from people around her, whilst they are totally oblivious to her intentions!

I felt sad for Maggie - that she was benefitting from the untimely demise of her boss and friend. She was bound to be hurting, not helped by the attitude of Emily, her late boss’s Daughter, or the arrival at her first service in temporary charge, of her nemesis, Ethan James, who seemed to be universally renowned as a bit of a dick basically! One definitely got the impression of vulture surveying their prey. A circling group of vultures is called a kettle, which seemed somewhat appropriate for a kitchen, although not half as appropriate as the name for a group of vultures feeding on the ground - a wake of vultures. Need I say more!

Nayomi was a great character and I truly respected the way that she had Maggie’s back from the very beginning, no doubt at least partly due to the way that Maggie was immediately kind and empathetic towards her at interview, unlike her boss Alexander, who had been seriously dismissive. I was humbled by the joy that Nayomi and her family got from the leftovers that she brought home form the restaurant, that would otherwise have been thrown away and I enjoyed the descriptions of the food and its unique smells; it made my mouth water! All the staff at the restaurant seemed pretty special people, but Charles the Sommelier stood out with his grandfatherly attitude.

I did question Emily’s professionalism with her damning review of Maggie’s work; it seemed distinctly personal.

I loved everything about this story. It was light, fun and full of good feelings. I so needed that during this time. The women were all easy to like and I wanted happy endings for all of them. Can’t wait to read more from Laura carter.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

I loved that the writer presents us with not one, not two, but three strong and individual main characters who we are able to follow and develop an understanding of throughout the story. The careful structure and organisation really helped with this as their stories slowly but surely fused together.

The fact that it is set within the bustling and pressurised atmosphere of New York restauranteering adds to the sometimes heightened atmosphere of the story itself and also provides an escapist and sensory experience for readers like me, for which this sort of setting is worlds away from my normal life.

I loved seeing how these women were able to hold their own and forge their path in a male-dominated environment of the restaurant industry.

This has been a dramatic and heart-warming story about the power and challenges of adult friendships. I would definitely like to read more by this author in the future.

This is the first book I have read by this author (even though so has many others!) And I love discovering new authors , this is definitely one I'm going to be looking out more for!

In this book we meet Maggie who is in the running to be Head chef of Michelin star restaurant in Manhatten, she is so passionate about taking that next step up , there is two things standing in her way... her rival Ethan and food critic Emily. We also meet the lovely Nayomi who is someone that I think a lot of people will have things in common with , she is a single mum of 2boys in need of a job... who manages to get a job at the restaurant!

What entails is a story of adventure , motherly love and a brilliant blossoming friendship! The book certainly keeps you hooked on it, I was drawn in by the fact it was in a kitchen as I love my food! The characters that feature in this book all have something to like about them and little aspects that you can identify with. It was really hard to put down this book. I loved it

4.5 Stars

Sarah Morgan fans are going to lap up Laura Carter’s The Kitchen, a warm-hearted story of friendship, food and romance.

There is nothing chef Maggie wants more than to become the next head chef at Michelin-starred Manhattan restaurant, Jean-Sébastien’s. Maggie has put the work in, paid her dues and made sacrifice after sacrifice in order to reach the very top of her profession and she will not let anyone get between her and the job which she has set her heart on – even if it means going head to head with her fiercest competitor, arrogant chef Ethan. Will Maggie’s dreams fail to come to fruition? Is she destined for disappointment? Or could fate have a couple of surprises up its sleeves?

Food critic Emily has made and broken many a chef’s career. Exacting, demanding and difficult to please, Emily does not suffer fools gladly and if a chef does not measure up to her sky-high standards, then they can kiss goodbye any hope they might have of ever coming anywhere close to a restaurant kitchen. When she hears that Jean-Sébastien has an interim chef, she decides to pay the eatery a visit – even if the day she chooses to dine there happens to be the worst day imaginable.

Single mum Nayomi is looking for a job and as luck would have it, a position as a kitchen porter has become available at Jean -Sébastien’s. This is the perfect job for Nayomi and with a regular wage coming in, she soon begins to feel happy and fulfilled. However, Nayomi cannot help but worry about interim chef Maggie and when she hears that food critic Emily is in the building, she realises that she might just have the perfect recipe that will enable the struggling chef to shine.

Three different women from different walks of life come together and realise that they have got far more in common than they initially thought…

The literary equivalent of a sumptuous meal at a highly-rated restaurant, Laura Carter’s The Kitchen is a deliciously readable charmer readers are going to love. Witty, heartfelt and believable, The Kitchen is a brilliantly addictive tale sprinkled with mouth-watering descriptions of food that will have readers salivating, touching romance that tugs at the heartstrings and scintillating emotional drama that make this book simply irresistible.

Hard to put down, uplifting and highly satisfying, Laura Carter’s The Kitchen deserves plenty of gold stars.

Cover: I like the broken plate concept—three pieces, three women—and I’m hesitant about the color palette. The blue of the background seems a tad too pale, at least on my Kindle.

Life is made of hard facts, and the inability to cook is one of mine. I can open jars and peel carrots like a pro, but anything more complicated gives me a migraine. Reading about other people cooking, however, brings me incommensurable joy: I mean, recipes and dishes I have no idea what they look like? Bring ‘em.

All this to say, I jumped at the chance to read The Kitchen when it first popped into my inbox. 300 pages later, I’m as satisfied as a food critic after a top-notch meal.

Emily, one of the three MCs, is a food critic too. Her life is in shambles, and she has more than one bone to pick with Maggie, the sous chef at Jean-Sébastien’s. In the middle, sort of, stands Nayomi, a single mother who’s just taken up the position of kitchen porter. These three women hold up the plot of The Kitchen and do so remarkably.

First of all, they’re well-shaped and believable characters. Carter does a marvelous job here, handling them in an expert way—I recognized the subtle nudges, the showing-and-not-telling parts that are meant to display personality traits and character growth. It’s notable in Emily’s chapters, the less agreeable of the trio.

The multiple POVs choice pays off, even more so because it’s third limited and doesn’t feature secondary characters. Those are present to enrich the plot, adding layers and making it complex, but they’re not given a chapter; they stay in the background even when they have an exuberant temper – Ethan, I’m looking at you.

I was afraid the romance part would distract from the main story, but Carter knows her craft: the romance is kept as a subplot, and that’s another green tick for The Kitchen. Well done.

Style-wise, the book flows without a hitch, thanks to Carter’s writing skills – I need to compliment her on the pacing because it’s impeccable. A precise editing completes the story, turning it into a little masterpiece.

5 stars.

This was such a delight of a book. I lave any books based around food and kitchens. This did not disappoint in anyway. It is based around three female characters who all work in kitchens or the food industry and each chapter is told from a different characters point of view and there struggles etc in working in high pressure jobs. It is such a wonderful book and the characters all feel so real with real struggles. Highly recommend.

The Kitchen is a delectable as the food served within it and I lapped up every tasty crumb with glee.
The story follows three women struggling to overcome a variety of issues. Maggie is a woman working in a male dominated profession and under immense pressure to prove herself as the late Jean-Sebastien’s successor as head chef. She’s determined and talented but is up against a strong candidate and has the additional barrier of a visiting food critic being her ex best friend who has a grudge. Emily is a food critic and the estranged daughter of Jean-Sebastien with a grudge against Maggie for holding a special place in her father’s heart. Nayomi is a widow struggling to make ends meet and provide for her children but may just hold the key to Maggie’s success.
As their paths and relationships become entwined, The Kitchen is a homage to the power and strength of women. Not always perfect, sometimes vengeful but always determined. Despite their imperfections and questionable choices all three women were really likeable and relatable. Who doesn’t have times when they behave in undesirable ways?
The food sounded amazing, and my mouth was watering as I read. Lots if books talk about desserts but I rarely read ones that give me the whole dining experience.
A heart-warming story of three women and their fight to overcome obstacles in their way with a little help from friends is a brilliant read and I cannot wait to read more by Laura Carter.

The kitchen by Laura Carter

I adored this book, I thought it was going to be standard ‘chick lit’ but it was so good and more than chick lit.

This is the intertwining story of three ladies, Emily, Maggie and Nayomi.

Maggie works at Jean Sebastian’s, a Michelin starred restaurant when the head chef dies, Jean Sebastian himself was Maggie’s mentor and a father figure to her and who is going to become head chef in her beloved restaurant.

Emily is a restaurant critic for The New York Times, when she received a phone call to say her estranged father has suddenly passed away - Jean Sebastian, Emily is an angry young woman and blames her ex friend Maggie for the estrangement from her father and this anger is spilling over all areas of her life.

Nayomi is a widowed young mother from Sri Lanka who is struggling with raising her sons with little support and needs to raise more money to live and she applies for a job as a pot washer in Jean Sebastian’s after the man himself dies and the restaurant is in flux as the owner has decided to get a new head chef: Ethan James, a Heston Blumenthal type chef who went to cooking school with Maggie and has become her nemesis.

Nayomi has a love of her birth countries cooking and her kind nature attracts a friendship with Maggie and a budding romance with one of the chefs in the restaurant.

I really liked Maggie, she is not confident in her cooking and in herself really, at the start of the book she has no friends but her cat and the death of Jean Sebastian just knocks Maggie and she and everyone else in her life- The returns of Emily and Ethan James and a fledgling friendship with Nayomi leave Maggie questioning everything in her life for the better.

Some of the things that happen in the novel are predictable but you are so invested in the lives of these women and I did not care.. I wanted Maggie, Nayomi and even Emily to have there happy ever after and the novel ended really satisfactory with them all happy in there lives.

I loved this book and I will re-read it again when I want a little comfort…


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