Hilary and Ben opened The Restaurant @ The Mill together as business partners and distant friends. As time passed, their relationship deepened. Their restaurant developed a set of regular patrons whose lives and relationships also are chronicled. And in the background is Sarah, the original hostess of the Mill who has never quite left.

The Restaurant @ The Mill is a series of chapters chronicling the lives of Hilary and Ben, the owners, and their customers and friends, Charlotte and Nick, Grace and Lawrence, Isobel and David, Sadie and Sam, Thomas, and the aforementioned Sarah. Each chapter is written from the point of view of one of the characters with the chapter title giving a hint of the topic and direction of the chapter. The fascination of the novel lies within the growth of the characters as we watch Ben's personality develop, as we follow the relationship of Charlotte and Nick, and learn the fate of Sadie and Sam, as well as the others. This is a well-written novel with a fascinating premise. I think any reader will enjoy Isobel's burgeoning career as an author, and as a food blogger and fantasy restauranteur, I loved the restaurant setting. This was the first of Ms. Halton's novels for me, but I will be looking for them from now on.



Definitely a 5 star novel.



*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising*