The Guestbook could reset your mood

There is a perfect time to read this book:  whenever you need to.  I’d just finished reading a novel about North Korea where everyone was starving and lying and many were being tortured. It was a man’s story.  This book is at the other end of the spectrum.  There may be a danger of weight gain from reading about so much great food, but otherwise The Guestbook is a delicious vicarious vacation.  The setting, a Bed and Breakfast on an island in Puget Sound is delightful.  The cast of characters (primarily female) work together to resolve the heroine’s broken heart and spirit as in most romance novels.  There is an amazing focus on cooking and enjoying food—with real recipes at the end of the story.  In short, it provides a good story with interesting characters in a beautiful setting.  It is an enjoyable read, the kind of book you savor.

That said, I had a few problems.  There is a bit too much California bashing—even though that is a common hobby in the northwest—it was overdone. The main character eats heartily but never exercises and yet remains thin. Crape Myrtles don’t grow in western Washington and if some micro climate and green house allowed it to happen they could never bloom on July Fourth.  There might be a displaced southerner or two who’d say ‘Come on in’, but a northwest native would simply say, ‘Come in’ or ‘Please come in’—yet every character was constantly imploring ‘Come on in.’  The main character’s father never materializes despite tantalizing hints he will. The hero has super-hero patience and even for a romance novel, he seemed too good to be true.  Still, if you are in the mood for it, you’ll love The Guestbook.