Recipe for a Perfect Wife

Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book caught me totally off guard - all I knew about it was that it was a dual narrative about two women living in the same house in different decades connected by an old cookbook. As someone setting up our new house and feeling more domestic than usual, the idea was appealing. As it turns out, this book is dark and the characters highly dysfunctional. The title, while totally intriguing, is more apt to be something along the lines of "recipe for an unhappy marriage." So I can't say it's uplifting or a fun, quirky romance, but I was hooked all the way through....and maybe, just maybe, I was wishing to be eating the things being cooked in the book. For others, this might be more of a two or three star read because if looked at more critically, the gender portrayal is pretty one sided. I was too caught up in the plot to think too critically as I read....

This is not a good choice for people who carry their book feelings (if that's a thing) into real life. Mistrust and frustration with a spouse or partner are never good.

Happy reading and delicious eating....and hopefully happier living with your sweetheart--