The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux by Samantha Vérant

 
 

Despite the title this is a novel.  Alright, there are some recipes at the end of the book – a handful of cheffy ones.

 

At first I thought I wouldn't like this book – but it dragged me in.  The protagonist is a chef who gets blamed unfairly for the restaurant she works in losing a Michelin star.  Then her French grandmother has a stroke.

 

So the story shifts to France – a chateau in the South West – so the setting is great.  The food sounds great.  And there is a love interest with complications.

 

I even found myself tearing up at some points – that's tears as in crying not ripping up the book!