The Memory of Lemon

by Judith M. Fertig

The author of The Cake Therapist returns with another sweet and emotional tale featuring Neely, the baker with a knack for finding exactly the right flavor for any occasion...
 
A crisp tang of citrus that is at once poignant and familiar, sharpening the senses and opening the mind to possibilities once known and long forgotten...
 
Claire “Neely” Davis is no ordinary pastry chef. Her flavor combinations aren’t just a product of a well-honed palate: she can “taste” people’s emotions, sensing the ingredients that will touch her customers’ souls. Her gift has never failed her—until she meets a free-spirited bride-to-be and her overbearing society mother. The two are unable to agree on a single wedding detail, and their bickering leaves Neely’s intuition frustratingly silent—right when she needs it most.
 
Between trying to navigate a divorce, explore a new relationship, and handle the reappearance of her long-absent father, Neely is struggling to make sense of her own conflicting emotions, much less those of her hard-to-please bride. But as she embarks on a flavorful quest to craft the perfect wedding celebration, she’ll uncover a family history that sheds light on both the missing ingredients and her own problems—and illustrates how the sweet and sour in life often combine to make the most delicious memories...

Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Food, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Romance, Adult Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2016

About the author

Judith Fertig is an award-winning novelist and cookbook author. Flavor speaks to her in stories and recipes, whether for baking or barbecue.

She resides in Overland Park, Kansas, which is not quite somewhere-over-the-rainbow, but close.

Reviews

[Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neely is back, and her bakeshop is a pleasant, delicious, heartwarming way to spend an evening of reading.

The smells, the visuals of the baked goods, and the taste of everything Ms. Fertig describes makes your mouth water.

THE MEMORY OF LEMON begins with a difficult bride who can't decide on her wedding cake flavor and venue. Neely just can't "taste" her personality and choose the perfect flavor for the bride. There is something familiar for Neely about the venue the bride chooses, but she can't place it.

THE MEMORY OF LEMON has familiar characters and brings the warmth of the characters back as we share Neely's life as a baker who knows what flavor cake and icing you are, as a woman getting a divorce, as a woman who is in charge of carrying for her grandmother, as a woman whose father wants to reconnect after 20 years, and as a woman who wants to reconnect with her childhood sweetheart.

I enjoyed reconnecting with the characters. The book can be read as a stand alone, though.

THE MEMORY OF LEMON is another sweet read but also a read that has some not-so-sweet aspects for Neely.

ENJOY when you read THE MEMORY OF LEMON.

My not-perfect rating is because the flashbacks were a bit confusing. 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love books with symbolisms but this book had waaaayyyy too many for me. The Memory of Lemon is about a young woman who owns a bakery and can help brides with their wedding cakes by seeing "visions" through tastes. Okay, lemon conjures up memories. That I like. She is going through a divorce from a famous football player who wants to take her bakery. And her estranged dad is a Viet Nam vet who sees visions of dark indigo ink. And she sees visions in her coffee lattes foam every morning trying to turn conjure up meanings in them. There is also a backstory that takes place during the depression era where spicebush (citrus and spice) are woven through the story and a violin passed through the years tingles the arm and fingers to bring out ghostly visions of past members of the family. The problem with the weave? It went back and forth so many times and was so disjointed with so many characters that most of the time I just wanted my own vision to tell me this story would end.

[Arlena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: The Memory of Lemon
Author: Judith Fertig
Publication: Berkley
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:

"The Memory of Lemon" by Judith Fertig

My Thoughts...

I found this read quite a interesting one as the reader finds Claire [Neely] Davis not only have the favor for being a pastry chef but also has plenty on her plate such as: 'a divorce, her father that is suffering from PTSD from the Vietnam War, her grandmother who is suffering from Alzheimer's and then their is a mother/daughter situation over a impending wedding.'

By Claire having the 'special gift' coming from her grandmother and father...the author gives the reader quite a interesting story that will keep your attention. I really enjoyed learning about herbs, lemons, scents, flavors and even especially those wonderful pies.

The characters were all well developed, defined and portrayed giving the readers a good read. I found that as Claire [Neely] goes through some 'long buried secrets about' her past in the end the readers will see how there is a healing process that will come about allowing her to be able to move on with her life and most of all this definitely 'illustrates how the sweet and sour in life often combines to make the most delicious memories.'

[Allyson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is way too much going on in this book. Jumping back centuries to decades to modern times to locations, and back again. I had no idea who these people were half the time, or what their big connection was supposed to be. The author should've kept the storyline in modern day, as that was the strongest part of this book, but even then, the characters were underdeveloped and fell flat. Pass on this one.

[Sissy Lu {Book Savvy Reviews} · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claire "Neely" decided to move back home to start up a bakery after her NFL star husband had been unfaithful multiple times, so they separated and she went on to begin her bakery "Rainbow Cake." Neely's cakery has helped many brides because Neely has an ability to see snippets of her client's life and find the perfect flavor match up. These come to her in visions and helps her to read a person better to pinpoint what would suit them best.

Except she's about to face a mother and daughter duo that will prove quite difficult. Especially when Neely's ability seems to fail her.

Throughout this interesting book, we have many stories that are twined together and it will often slip back to the late 1800s. The interesting concept being that taste/scent can transport a being into a different time, pick up on a memory and experience something is really the main premise of this book. It does just that, with each chapter Fertig does well to pull you into the present as well as the past times, with the scent, taste, food, and experiences. She does well to deliver emotion, too.

The characters are well developed and their stories are not forgotten because everyone's story is important and there is a reason behind them, which is what we learn, too. I was able to connect with all of them, the frustration, the sadness, and heartbreak.

As the story winds on, we do begin to know the depth behind each family from the past to present and during this time Neely experiences some frustrating moments, heartbreaking ones too, but also breaks through. By the end, I had a solid connection to all of the characters as well as the story.

This was really a fantastic, quick read. I devoured it in nearly one night and at times wish I could really devour it because there are some amazing desserts in this book!


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[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the Cake Therapist and was excited to read The Memory of Lemon from Judith Fertig. I loved how Neely's story intertwined from the present to the past and of course reading about all Neely's bakery goodies made my mouth water. Looking forward to reading Ms Fertigs next offering.

Thanks to NetGallery for providing me with a copy of this great book.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read the first book, but it didn't matter (I don't think). it was enjoyable and cute and interesting. A few things were stretches, but I liked it, liked the characters and the magical realism.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Memory of Lemon returns readers to Rainbow Cake, the winsome bakery opened by Claire "Neely" Davis in Millcreek Valley, Ohio. Neely is an exceptional pastry chef; not only because of the results she can produce but also because of her remarkable flavor intuition. It's an ability that allows her to tap into the emotions of her clients, creating confections that are not only tempting and delicious but also personal and memorable. However, Neely may have met her match in Lydia and her mom, Cadence. It seems as though the bride-to-be and her high-society mom are immune to every sweet offering Neely puts forth.

But The Memory of Lemon is more than a story about a cake maker and her clients. It's also about Neely creating her own way forward after leaving her unfaithful husband, Luke. Neely dreams of a successful business, the ability to care for her grandmother, who is residing in a care facility, a new start for new love with an old flame, and the chance to reconnect with the father who left her life when she was a teenager.

I took my time with this book. It's true that I didn't find it to be a spellbinding and compelling can't-put-it-down novel. However, what The Memory of Lemon lacks in a page-gurning sense of reading urgency, it makes up for in a quiet, understated grace. This is a story that doesn't demand to be read so much as it tempts and entices readers with a lingering feeling of curiosity to discover what's after the next turn of the page. What author Judith Fertig does so well is weave together strands of the page with threads of the present to create a stunning view of the future. Her stories feel immersive and intimate; they are expertly created gifts for readers and, as such, are not to be missed.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

i just found out i won this book june 14 2016. thanks goodreads, cant wait for it to arrive!

just arrived and started it today june 22 which was really fast! she is a baker and can 'feel' what is right to make the person but the current bride to be is proving difficult . she figured out a way to make both the bride and her mother happy which wasnt easy.

she got a letter from her estranged dad and she wrote back to him about it

she is getting divorced but had signed a prenup and is afraid she is going to lose her business and is not allowed to date.

her husband finally let her get her divorce and keep the business and house . she got a boyfriend. she made a nice wedding for people that were connected to her family in the past

[Michelegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this book. It was made up of so much I love about reading, I was so totally caught up in Neely's world and could see myself in the places she inhabited. I especially loved the food moments - the smells and tastes that transported Neely and I into another place and time. And I was such a fan of those "gifted" moments.

I will admit to getting a little lost in the moments of the past and how they all connected to Neely but it ended in such a way that there was closure and it all made sense. I definitely recommend this one.

Thanks to First to Read and the Publisher

[Marilyn Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Good good. Good. I don't remember a lot of stuff once I get done but it's good reading while I'm there."

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't fall in love with this book as I did with its predecessor, The Cake Therapist, but I did still really enjoy it. I think, the two things that kept me from adoring this book were that it had been awhile since I read the first one, so I was a little foggy on the relationships/emotions of our characters. Secondly, we still get a lot of really great taste/smell of memory association but the overall book felt more citrus and spice to me. Those were two of our biggest themes at least. The first book showed us more flavor associations and I think that gave it the upper hand between the two.

But still, this book is really good. I had a little trouble connecting the multiple generations from the past tense parts of the story, but the actual past tense chapters I ended up falling in love with. There somewhere in the middle I was less excited to get back to Neely and wanted to continue our flashback- and that's good I think. I was disconnected to the flashbacks at first, so focused on Neely and trying to remember where we stood with everyone since last time; but then the flashbacks wrapped me up like a warm hug, the smell of spice berries (what I'm assuming they smell like) on the tip of my tongue.

It wrapped up nicely. I will say I thought Luke was going to show up one more time unexpectantly after he signed the papers. Only because he 1. said he'd come back and 2. he's just that type of asshole who would ruin my story ten pages from the end. For the record, I'm glad he didn't. I know one things for sure: I really want to bake lemon desserts now. 🍋🍋🍋

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book because I liked the premise of the tasting insights, and the author does do a lovely job with her food descriptions. However, there were lots of reasons this book just didn’t work for me:

SPOILERS BELOW

—The flashbacks were very confusing and I felt like she kept introducing random historical characters 3/4 of the way through the book.
—The ending was so tidy and predictable and basically didn’t even have a conflict preceding it. Neely worked hard, things went well, all was beautiful, the end. No big reveal to link it all together, no mentioning to the bride she’d discovered their families were connected, really the only conflict was her over-anxious brain.
—The main plot we were supposed to care about was the romance between Neely and high school friend Ben, but there was so little character development besides a few cliches Neely randomly thinks about him. We don’t know how or why she came to those thoughts, or really care by that point in the book. Most of their relationship in this book is just thoughts or assumptions by Neely, rather than scenes of interactions.

Basically, I feel like the author had some good “ideas for a book,” but then put them all together and didn’t really flesh it out enough. We basically needed more of everything: more character depth, more connections between the flashbacks, more conflict and plot in general, more satisfying and interesting resolutions.

[Rainy Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book makes me crave a taste of lemon pie and to smell something citrusy and lemony (which I didn't succeed in both). The Memory of Lemon is mainly about Claire "Neely", who had a gift of deciding any person's flavor and story by just being near that person. Her grandmother also had the same gift.

The story started with Neely trying to discover the suitable flavor of a bride, Lydia and her ever disagreeing mother, for her wedding. The story then escalated more until Neely found the connection between Lydia's family and hers through spicebush.

I like this book enough. But there's too much of other characters' back stories as well aside from Neely's. That included stories from characters from a long time ago that even Neely didn't even know who they were. I can say that the characters in this book were as many as the recipes and menus mentioned in it as well. I get confused sometimes before I got back on track. Otherwise, I like this book and all the desserts mentioned in it.

PS: Where did the nickname "Neely" came from Claire?

[Keri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite! I thought for sure it would be cozy for me...had all the right elements. It had history, family struggle, a bit of magic and even different time periods and perspectives. But, it was confusing at times, like thoughts that were not completely put together or developed enough. Characters were brought forward that made you wonder what the connection was and then their story ended without explanation and sometimes without warning. So, I gave it three stars instead of two because I was able to finish it.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a light read - another baking theme - which I seem to like even though baking or cooking are not on my list of favorite things to do.. just kind of had to go along with the characters having the ability to remember or assess a situation based on the flavor they 'tasted' when something happened..
and a little hard to keep the characters straight in the parts of the book where the chapters went back to prior history - something authors seem to use a lot these days... overall a good read

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, easy read about a baker who is working on a challenging wedding while juggling a complicated love life and family issues. I was a bit lost when the timeline jumped around because it was sometimes difficult to remember all the characters and how they were related. It did tie up neatly and ended on a hopeful note.

[Beverly J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh...should've stayed with more of the magical realism and less reality.

[Nicole Sackin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun romantic novel.

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything with a food theme gets my attention: but to keep my attention is not easy, but Fertig is able to capture my focus. I love the descriptions of pastry, wonderful flavors like lavender and lemon. Neely, the main female lead, is able to through flavors taste people's memories and emotions. It is an interesting phenomenon and it is what keeps the story going. Her father's story is also a secondary lead, which culminates in the end, with great reveal. The tastes and flavors carry me through this book; would recommend to all food-lovers!

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book and read the first half of it in a day. I sometimes found the going back and forth to learn about the histories a little confusing. I do like the present day characters and all of the descriptions of the pastries.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book prior to release.

4 Stars

Claire (who goes by Neely) has moved back home and has opened her dream bakery. She is no ordinary baker, her flavor combinations are nothing short of magical and she seems to have the uncanny ability to know exactly what flavor will touch her customer’s souls. She can “taste” the flavor of her customer to know what the right combination is for their baked delight.

Neely has taken on a large high-end wedding short notice and is having nothing but problems. She’s dealing with a free-spirited bride and her very overbearing mother. She can’t get a read on either one of them and is having a terrible time trying to help them choose the perfect wedding cake. To add to this, she’s going through a messy divorce, re-kindling an old romance and her absentee father has started mailing her again after nearly two decades.

The story was well written and her interactions between the bride and her mother and all of the supporting cast was believable and genuine. Neely was a very solid character and you could easily feel a connection to her, as well as the other supporting characters in her life from Ben, her old flame to Maggie, her employee at the bakery. They are, for the most part, well-thought and well put together characters, ones you could see yourself running into if you visited her hometown.

I wasn’t as much of a fan of the back and forth that the story took between Neely and back through her ancestry, showing where her gift of “taste” comes from. For me, it did take away from the story a little too much to be abruptly thrown back in time to a different person and place, seemingly at random and sometimes it didn’t seem to have a real connection with what was going on in Neely’s world.

I also saw a few loose ends that never did get tied off and left me feeling a little unsatisfied. If the author is going to be doing a follow up book to this one, I guess it would make sense. If not, there are a few threads that could be snipped without doing any damage to the story. But I still liked the story and the characters and I am definitely going to pick up other works by Judith Fertig to see if there are more adventures with Neely and her wonderful gift.

[Viviane Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clare “Neely” Davis is back in this second novel (stand-alone) with her delightful gift of sensing flavors of taste that match people’s predominant emotions. They flow freely and easily most of the time but not in this particular story as she attempts to plan a wedding cake for a mother and daughter at loggerheads over the final decision. The mother used to be poor and struggling but married a man with drive who created a business that has made them rich; Mrs. Stidham is determined never to return to that hard, cold place and so her daughter, Lydia’s desire for a Kentucky hillbilly wedding is perceived by the mother as horrific.
Neely knows there’s no happy in-between place here so decides to travel to Kentucky to see what she can sense there that can fill the gap for a wedding to please mother and daughter. The story then begins to flip back and forth between the past and present, albeit with too many confusing characters, as we enter another story that has shaped many lives but also been a source of healing that might just be connected to Neely’s past as well.
Another story develops in a very graceful way that adds mystique and compassion to the story, that of Neely’s father, who had turned to drink and desertion after the Vietnam War and is now facing his own demons through the help of the Veterans Hospital. It’s a potent and poignant tale he gradually reveals through letters to Neely and she in turn must learn to deal with her own memories. Forgiveness isn’t easy but must be attempted by those who mature.
Add another level of conflict with Neely’s problems divorcing her ex-husband who seems to enjoy the hold he has over her due to their pre-nuptial agreement. She could lose everything she has built in her business and so must deal with this annoying reality oh so carefully. At the same time her attraction to another man, Ben, just be put on hold until Neely is fully divorced. The question is whether or not Ben will wait for that finale.
All in all, The Memory of Lemon… is a very nice read. Delightful and definitely recommended!

[SueK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable book, exploring the memories that can be associated with taste and scent, and causing one to wonder if those memories can be handed down in our DNA. The characters in the book were (mostly) likable, and despite touching on some tough subjects, this primarily felt like a light-hearted read.

Neely, the bakery owner, was especially appealing for me - sensitive and generous of spirit. The descriptions of her bakery and her relationship with her employees made the book for me.

Having been married in a bakery myself, I loved the bakery setting, and the wedding planning. The slightly mystical overtones were well done. My rating would have been a full four if I didn't feel the description of the growing relationship with Ben was a little flat.

*Edited to add: After writing my review here, I went to Judith Fertig's blog, and happened to find the post she'd labeled as a sneak peek of The Memory of Lemon. I have to say that her inspiration photos were almost exactly what I envisioned as I read the book, yet I don't remember the book having lengthy, elaborate descriptions of the setting. Well done.

I received a copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to read an ARC of this story from First to Read. I really enjoyed this book and the story. The writing was beautiful. In particular, the descriptions of the smells and tastes were evocative. I would imagine that describing a taste or smell is incredibly difficult, but Ms. Fertig did so with such poetic prose. I felt like I could taste every smell and smell every taste. As beautiful as the writing is, I almost gave up on the book a couple of times. I felt like some of transitions between the flashbacks and the present were a bit clunky. The stories themselves were beautifully written and kept me engaged, but it was how they fit together that felt a bit disjointed. I loved how she was able to tie the stories together ultimately and thought that the ending was very well done. It was just those transitions between the stories that were a bit difficult to follow...particularly in one section where she was discussing about four generations of women in rapid succession. Overall, I would highly recommend the book and tell the reader to have faith that you are in a gifted storyteller's hands. That storyteller will ably lead you to a beautiful ending to the story.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Goodreads and Penguin Random House for the advance reading copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I truly enjoyed this delightful, light read. The descriptions of food were lyrical. The offerings of Neely's (the main character) Rainbow Cake bakery made me want to visit and see the wonderous things the author described so beautifully.

Neely is an engaging and gentle protagonist. As a reader, I knew I would like Neely and wished her the best. Yes, I know she's a fictional character but I enjoy books with likable characters!

The author told a lot of the story with flashbacks/visions of past times. I am not a big fan of this technique but it seemed to work fairly well in this novel. I felt the number of characters introduced through the visions was a bit ambitious.

It is a relaxing, enjoyable read and I was fascinated with some of the background material especially about the spiceberries and scented geraniums and found myself investigating those topics through Google. This was an added and unexpected bonus.

With all the delicious treats described, I had hoped for more than one recipe (and that was written in 1800's style).

I can honestly and enthusiastically recommend this book if you like gentle, romance type stories.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neely is a gifted pastry chef. Not only can she tell which flavors a customer will like but she can tell what they need. She can sense their history – going back generations. I loved that aspect of the novel. It made me think about my ancestors and their life experiences and how everything led to where I am now.

Neely has turmoil in her life. She’s waiting for her soon-to-be ex husband to sign the divorce papers so she can move on with her life (hopefully with a certain man from her past). She also has a challenging wedding customer – bride and her mother. And then she receives a letter from her estranged father. There’s a lot going on in her life.

I liked how Judith Fertig blended everything together to make a lovely story of people finding their way. The theme I appreciated most was that we can find inner strength we didn’t know we possessed to carry us through many situations. Recommended to fans of fiction with a dash of magical realism and pastry. A Readers Guide is included at the end.
*I received a review galley in exchange for my honest review.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Claire "Neely" O'Neil has recently opened up a bakery in her hometown. She has a unique gift of being able to "taste" a flavor and pick the perfect cake for brides-to-be, often seeing a memory from the other person related to the flavor she tastes. However, with her latest bride-to-be, Lydia, Claire doesn't immediately taste a flavor and has to work to discover what this bride-to-be and her mom want. Flashbacks to Claire and Lydia's ancestors are woven throughout the story. There is also a side story about Claire trying to divorce her NFL quarterback husband, Luke, and start dating Ben, her friend since childhood.

I enjoyed this story, especially the parts about Claire's bakery. The food all sounded so delicious! The flashbacks, to me, didn't seem well integrated into the story. Most flashbacks featured a new ancestor each time, so it sometimes took a while to figure out how the flashback related to what we were reading. Overall, though, it was a good book!

[Melissa (Hiatus due to Death in Family) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars Fertig’s follow-up to The Cake Therapist allows readers to experience the process Neely goes through to discover long-buried secrets about her past. Through different scents and flavors, emotions are intertwined with memories as Neely uses them to help herself and others heal and move forward to a brighter future. This is a deeply meaningful story that will allow readers to examine their own lives as well.
As Claire “Neely” Davis prepares for another wedding, she finds that her gift for choosing the perfect flavors seems to be absent with this particular bride. Neely’s own life is in a bit of turmoil: Her divorce is not proceeding smoothly; in fact, Luke is putting up immense obstacles. Neely’s long-estranged father gets in touch, and as the two communicate, memories of the past come to the surface and allow Neely to get a better perspective on the present.
- See more at: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-rev...

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so much more than a baker and her bakery. It is Neely's story of her immediate family and her heritage of wanderers going back to Kentucky and the Irish immigrants. She has a gift passed on from her grandmother and father that she can taste her customers emotions by their favorite flavors and reactions. As she navigates some problems in her own life, (a divorce, a father with PTSD from Vietnam, and a grandmother lost to Alzheimer's) she wants to help a bride and her mother solve their differences over the impending wedding. The characters are well developed and friends you want to meet. The time and effort she puts into her bakery and the weddings she bakes for shows she is a wonderful person who wants to share her gift and makes things right. I did not read the first book, The Cake Therapist, but didn't realize it existed until I read some other reviews. It would be nice to visit Neely and her friends again in another book.