Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. This is my first Shauna Robinson and I really enjoyed it. Her characters came to lie off the page and I was hooked from the beginning. It is a heartwarming story about love and family that will keep you captivated. I would definitely recommend this book!

Yes! Yes! Yes!
I absolutely love this family…kind of reminds me of my own family. The love, the lies, and the drama!

I will always, always pick up a new Shauna title, and I’m never disappointed. I love her gentle outlook on the world and her sharp observations, her funny and heartfelt characters, and how she brings all of this together. I didn’t relate to the main character in this one — she’s trying to reach out to her estranged extended family while I grew up in a loud, overly close one — but that didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the story in the least. There were a few moments that felt a little bit like convenient storytelling shortcuts, but it honestly didn’t bother me. The big finale centers around a Fourth of July BBQ, so I naturally had to take a photo with ours in the background. No Mac and cheese, but my potato salad is decidedly yellow, as required.

I know I usually am all about the super serious or darker books, but this is definitely one of those cute summer reads that I think anybody would enjoy. There’s not much negativity in this book, so if you like to keep things light, this would be the book for you.

The story follows Mae, who has just experienced the loss of her grandmother and is still healing from the loss of her father years before. She feels disconnected from her father’s side of the family and is trying to figure out parts of herself as a mixed-race Black woman. Mae is balancing her work life, her engaged life, and figuring out where she falls into this world. As she plans her wedding, she begins to wonder even more about her family history and wants to feel more connected to her Black father's side, especially after experiencing microaggressions and racial incidents from her mother's side of the family—things she grew up ignoring.

In lieu of her grandmother’s death, she invites herself to the funeral. Everyone knows you don’t just pop up uninvited to a Black person’s funeral or anyone’s funeral for that matter; you’re bound to get attention, especially when you have a family you don’t know about. We follow this journey of uncovering more about her family, discovering the reasons why her father and her mother weren’t so close with her father’s side, and her connection to food. Food is something that not only us, especially people of color, specifically Black people, use to bond, strengthen, and build those connections that have been lost.

Mae agrees to throw a Fourth of July barbecue, getting to know her aunts, uncles, cousins, and even a sister 👀. While this book has its secrets here and there, its greatest strength is in its ability to display connection in a way that feels so authentic and real. As a Black woman reading this, I related so much, especially having a father who grew up in the South and knowing what it’s like to visit family and reconnect or having family that you don’t always keep in the best contact with but hearing stories of your father growing up or family reunions, and that longing and desire to recreate that.

The author does an amazing job emphasizing the power of food and the artistry that it is to be a person who gathers. We see this in her grandmother, Althea, and how she unknowingly passes this gift on to Mae. There was a point in the book where I wondered where it was going next because it seemed like we had come to a resolution very early on and it seemed like the book was just continuing to go on in a very easily solved way. Mae is engaged to a white man and has very unresolved feelings about this. I think while the author does a great job showing the ways in which someone mixed-race can struggle to balance these parts of themselves, I also found it interesting how much Mae doubted Connor.

Even Sierra, who she had only been around for a short period of time, and who had only met Connor once, was ready to reassure her that Connor was all about her. It made it seem like a lot of the things Mae was feeling were in her head, while unfortunately, a lot of her experiences within her own family, especially her mother’s side, were very blatant. Connor is portrayed as a very easy-going, safe character to avoid any prickliness, and other white characters had to have done something murky or racist before.

Initially, it appeared like the non-POC characters had no middle ground. It then dawned on me that the mother was a learning opportunity, even though her commentary felt very minuscule. This played into the lightness of the book. I think I would have been more interested in seeing Connor as a character who could have learned or further opened up discussions about partners in these spaces. We never really see Mae and Connor have a deep discussion about their interracial marriage, especially what that looks like in the future. We always see Connor as a support system, which is amazing, but even he admits that he may be oblivious to these things, and Mae has to be willing to communicate them.

Overall, this book was warm and reminds you of family, gathering, and community. It touches on race and parenthood in a way that doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable. While I think the family secret was hidden well enough, parts of it were kind of obvious, and it was the perfect kind of secret that further cemented the sense of closeness, kinship, and love that is the overall arc of the story.

This book is about belonging and how much we are willing to do to feel like we belong. It emphasizes the importance of having safe and community spaces in which we can be ourselves and be seen and accepted. Many people will relate to Mae’s desire to be seen for herself by both sides of her family, and not only to be seen, but to be accepted and loved. Some might feel that the author could have pushed further with the relationship between Sierra and Mae and the historical aspects of the South regarding race and family. However, this book is meant to be a light summer read with comedic touches that make you think of the next time you get to be around your family, cooking, laughing, and sharing stories.

Don’t be surprised if this book has you asking for grandma’s old recipes, cooking in the kitchen, laughing over old stories, and talking about nosy neighbors.

4 stars for me, but this would easily be a five star summer read for readers who usually dabble in this category. I will be looking for more from this author!

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark & NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

This novel moved me in ways I didn’t expect. The story is more than about family and their traditions. It is also about acceptance and belonging. It used food as a central theme to bring about unity among the family members. Be warned that you’ll be craving for the cheesiest and creamiest mac and cheese ever by the end of the book!😂 Interwoven in the story are topics about having mixed race family, microaggressions and how to address these, especially when confronted with plain ignorance and refusal to acknowledge racism. I liked that I learned a lot as a reader. Truly, educating oneself thru reading is a must!!! If you enjoy these kinds of stories, then this book will be a good read for you!

Oh, my heart is bursting! I fell head over heels for Mae and the Townsends! And Connor! Everyone needs a Connor! He was so incredibly patient and understanding, and you can feel his love for Mae just jump off the page!

Mae Townsend has always yearned for a connection with her father's side of the family. While she grew up in California, her father made a yearly trek to North Carolina for the Townsend family BBQ every 4th of July. Mae was always left behind because her father's family didn't approve of his marriage to her mother. With her own impending marriage to Connor, Mae feels the glaring absence of her father's family. She makes the last-minute decision to "crash" her grandmother's funeral in an effort to find where she belongs.

In The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster, Shauna Robinson skillfully navigates some of the challenges of growing up biracial. I felt Mae's struggle on how to handle microaggresssions. It's hard to know what to say or do when friends or family say things. It's even more difficult to reconcile racist remarks from people you love.

I loved the role food played in the story! All of it took me back to my childhood growing up in NC. With Mae's heartwarming story (and Althea's secret recipe for mac and cheese), Robinson tackles weighty issues while illustrating just how important family can be to our sense of self-worth.

Read this if you like:
•  Family secrets
•  Southern food
•  Book club reads
•  Heartwarming stories

thank you netgalley for this e-arc. i did not realize who the author was when i requested a copy and i wish i took notice. i have not liked any previous books by this author and i think this is the last time i'll try. there was so much detail to keep track of and the book is much too long at almost 350 pages.

A complex, interracial family drama that centres around the wedding of one of the grown children. This was good on audio narrated by Chante McCormick and perfect for fans of authors like Kiley Reid. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was right interesting because it shows how family's single part but they come together eventually.. MAR Townsend. We're getting married Man named connor. She was black and he was Wait. His family was very Conservative, but very nice. But very nice. Her mother was.
White and her father was black. She is raised in California.. It was funny how she always wanted to go back to HO.T o n Because her father always went back there for the July 4th Barbecue. She had a cousin. S e r a. Because came out to california one time to visit , but it was not very good. She sent invitations to her wedding to her family, but they all declined. She liked the cousins of that family and they're all sit together.And she really missed that in her life. When their grandmother died she decided to make a trip there from her home in maryland. She was also planning her wedding and she decided that was it.She was going for it. It was very tense the whole time she was there and then she found out when I'm acquiring and cheese recipe was missing so they decided to keep improving on it. For this barbecue. She was gonna hold just before her wedding.. The history behind why the family kept her away from her cousin. This book was like family law. Family history all mixed into one.. Her cousin was very important to the story. And you'll find out why because she got close to her. And this is how she found out different things. Doubt different things in this family. I like I was moving together and it kept me going About the macaroni and cheese.This was very important to the story. Her cousin had loved this recipe. But she couldn't remember it. How to make it. When the grandmother died, everybody seemed to be going in different directions.But she wanted to hold a family together.And this is why she hold the july fourth barbecue. Great book.

“Family wasn’t always fixable, Mae knew. It could be complicated and messy.”

This was a solid 3.5 for me, rounding up to a 4. This is my second Shauna Robinson. I really enjoy her writing. It is a quick read when I pick it up but if I put it down I can remember what happened.

This book hit some big topics with racism, interracial couples and micro aggressions. Even though the topics were heavier it still felt like a lighter read. It’s a family drama with secrets, lies and a whole lot of love.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC

I really loved this book!

Mae never got a chance to know her father’s side of the family. When his mother dies, Mae shows up the the funeral and then volunteers to plan the Fourth of July BBQ her grandmother always threw. In the course of preparing Mae peels back the layers of family secrets to understand why she missed growing up with them. This is an engaging story is about family and relationships with a well rounded set of characters.

Content warnings include: racism, death of a parent, toxic relationships

This is all about family- and how not telling the truth can fester over the years. Mae's father was estranged from his North Carolina family because she was told because his black relatives didn't approve of his marriage to her white mother. But it was so much more and now, in the run up to her own wedding, she decides to head there for her grandmother's funeral. Why does everyone treat her oddly? Especially her cousin Sierra? Her impulsive decision to stay, to throw a barbecue, to make the Mac and cheese to her grandmother's recipe changes her life. And Sierra's. I liked this for the way Robinson teased out the mystery, for the characters (Mae's fiance Connor is aces), for the atmospherics of feeling outside the circle. My only quibble - we don't get the recipe! Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good, thoughtful, and hopeful read.

Oh man, this book hit me right in the heart. Here are five things I loved about this 5-star read:

1) The characters are all so well-rounded and complex. The way they interacted with each other felt natural and their motivations were all clearly within character. Even the side chapters that got very little page time had complete personalities! I don’t know how Robinson managed that, but I applaud her.

2) There were some stand-out characters I particularly loved, most notably Mae, Sierra, and, of course, Connor (the most cinnamon roll man I’ve ever read about). They felt real to me and will stick with me for a long time.

3) The writing is so personable. I loved Robinson’s story telling ability and voice. I’m looking forward to checking out more from her!

4) This story kept me on my toes. It’s clear from the beginning something big happened, but at no point could I pinpoint exactly where the story was going, which I really appreciated.

5) Somehow this book hit several topics that aligned perfectly with what I want in a book right now. Family dynamics (especially in relation to wedding planning), food writing, found and made family - I could go on but there was literally nothing about this story that I didn’t like. It also felt highly relatable while tackling issues I could never understand. This story is in no way for me, but is conveyed in a way that felt universal and can be understood/appreciated by from the outside.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for this ARC of what will undoubtably be one of my favorite books this year. The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster comes out 7/2!

The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster by Shauna Robinson blends so many topics in this book and does it brilliantly.

Mae is getting married and wants her estranged family at her wedding. She wants to get to know her dad's side of the family better, but it's not as easy as just sending invites for her wedding. In a twist of turns, just two weeks before her wedding, she visits her paternal side of the family, and Mae probably has signed up for more than she can handle.

I loved this story. It's sweet, a little funny, heartwarming, and emotional at the same time. It's about family, race, sisterhood, being comfortable with who you are, and loving your family. Mae is the main character that a reader would want to give a huge hug. The author has done such an amazing job of portraying the microaggressions and their impact on a person. Definitely will be looking out for more books from this author.

Thank you, Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley, for this book.

Mae Townsend is about to be married. She's worrying about her guest list and how her side of the family will be smaller than her fiancees. She has no contact with her Dad's side of the family that lives in North Carolina. Mae finds out her paternal grandmother has passed away. She decides to go to the funeral in North Carolina. She precedes to insert herself into the family and the funeral. Trying to get to know her Dad and his family. The family seems reluctant to get to know Mae and seems to know a secret.

This book was kind of hard to read. I felt Mae tried to hard to insert herself in the family dynamic. I understand she was trying to learn more about her Dad's side of the family. Something I understand very well. I never knew my dad's side of the family until he passed away and I was 30 years old. It's a tough situation.

Overall a good story that took me awhile to read it and want to root for Mae. She's not very good at communicating. I did crave Mac and cheese while reading this book.

I sunk into this novel. From the first page I was fully immersed in Mae’s longing for belonging and trying to find a sense of, and a connection to, herself as she navigated the world of her family.

Dealing with biracial identity, micro-aggressions, family secrets, racism, healing, and family dynamics, this is a novel that will give you all the feels. I rooted for Mae from the start and loved her character arc from beginning to end. Her insecurities, loves, doubts, thoughts, and hopes are relatable and flawed. Mae’s desire to bring together the two sides of her family, one of whom she has never really met, while navigating her own identity shows how much she truly cares, making her even more likeable.

A nuanced and multilayered novel with mouthwatering food that will leave you hungry for more, “The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster” was an absolute delight from start to finish. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advance digital copy of this book. I cannot wait for you all to read this one on release day, July 2, 2024!

Now if you’ll excuse me, this girl who doesn’t eat Mac and Cheese has got a serious craving and is off to find the perfect recipe.

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Despite her wedding date quickly approaching, Mae can't resist the opportunity to show her father's family that she is worth including by tackling the big annual family 4th of July picnic. Long buried secrets and festering resentments start bubbling to the surface while Mae tries to recreate the lost macaroni and cheese recipe from her grandmother. Connor, the groom to be, meanwhile, is the most supportive and understanding and even keeled character I've ever read. I kept waiting for him to get upset, but it never happened! And the ending was a bit too sweet for me. Other than that this was an endearing read about families, lost and found, and the power of connection. I did end the book craving both macaroni and cheese and banana pudding. Sadly, my pasta did not come close to how good the ultimate version in the book sounded!

Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.The Townsend Family Recipe For Disaster by Shauna Robinson, All of Mays life she grew up always being the only black kid at the family get together‘s where she grew up with her mom‘s family in California. Although her dad went back to South Carolina once a year for the Fourth of July barbecue despite Mays begging he never would let her go with him. This is why three weeks before her wedding to her white fiancé and soulmate Connor Rutherford she learns her grandmother passed away and despite not knowing anyone in South Carolina she goes to the funeral anyway. After an awkward start Maye wants to get to know them better and find out why they kept their distance her whole life. So she offers to throw the Fourth of July bash at her grandma Althea‘s house a week before her wedding. The only issue is she also promised to re-create Althea‘s famous macaroni and cheese because everyone loves it and it was the only recipe May and Sierra couldn’t find. In her fantasy the barbecue turned out great she figured out the recipe in the Townsend attend her wedding but will it all go that way and what about all the time she spending away from fiancé Connor and leaving him to deal with all the wedding preparations? If you like funny heartwarming stories about family then you’ll definitely love the story I really really enjoyed it my only issue is and this is just a minor issue is that when Susan asked May “how dark did she get in the sun” maybe I’m ignorant but I don’t see how that is racist and not just Susan being curious about another woman’s skin tone. That is in no way equal or worse to the fact that her relatives kept calling Connor “white boy,” I mean imagine if instead of calling her by her name Connors family just said black girl… That would’ve been a reason to be upset I got everything with her California family but I think if we’re going to stop all racism we should call it out no matter who is saying it. This was still a great book that made me laugh out loud and also gave me some heartwarming moments as I said. I do recommend it as I totally enjoyed it.#SorsaBooksLandmark, #NetGalley, #ShaunaRobinson, #TheTownsendFamilyRecipeForDisaster,

I clearly can't stop loving and relating to Shauna's books. I connected with this one because I have one of those big families that I haven't met all of yet in person, and some of the recipe ingredients in the mac and cheese was relatable. I loved this book because Shauna's main characters always seem to take big risks when they're searching for something they can't yet name, and it always results in a good story.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I previously read a prior book from Shauna Robinson and was impressed enough to try something else from her. The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster was a bit different from that previous book, but I enjoyed the story it delivered all the same. I mostly loved the infusion of Black and southern culture, especially in the food. I don;t even like mac and cheese all that much, but I’m very much down for this family’s mac and cheese recipe.
Mae is a sympathetic protagonist, and I really appreciated following her perspective about her somewhat dysfunctional family. She exists between two sides of her identity, being biracial and desperately wants all her family to get along in spite of past issues between them, some of it related to racism, something which Mae has also experienced. Seeing Mae learn to navigate this and set boundaries was beautiful.
Narratively, this is a bit of a slower book, but there’s a lot of focus on the interpersonal issues along with Mae’s personal growth, which made the reading experience fairly rewarding.
I enjoyed this book overall, and would recommend it to readers interested in a contemporary novel about complex family dynamics in mixed-race families.