J. Ryan Stradal

This book was highly recommended by a friend of mine who is a dedicated bibliophile, and I’m so thankful she encouraged me to read it. I don’t consider myself a foodie, so I was skeptical about how much I would enjoy it. However, food is so dynamic in the story that it’s essentially a character. I adore the stories, each uniquely its own, but all woven together so beautifully, almost in magical realism. It’s so well written and makes me *want* to be a foodie. (I’m not going all in on that, but I have ventured out into experimenting with more spices and seasonings and combinations in my cooking since reading this, so that’s something.)… (mere)

Mariel Prager needs a break. Her husband Ned is having an identity crisis, her spunky, beloved restaurant is bleeding money by the day, and her mother Florence is stubbornly refusing to leave the church where she’s been holed up for more than a week. The Lakeside Supper Club has been in her family for decades, and while Mariel’s grandmother embraced the business, seeing it as a saving grace, Florence never took to it. When Mariel inherited the restaurant, skipping Florence, it created a rift between mother and daughter that never quite healed.

Ned is also an heir—to a chain of home-style diners—and while he doesn't have a head for business, he knows his family's chain could provide a better future than his wife's fading restaurant. In the aftermath of a devastating tragedy, Ned and Mariel lose almost everything they hold dear, and the hard-won victories of each family hang in the balance. With their dreams dashed, can one fractured family find a way to rebuild despite their losses, and will the Lakeside Supper Club be their salvation?

In this colorful, vanishing world of relish trays and brandy Old Fashioneds, J. Ryan Stradal has once again given us a story full of his signature honest, lovable yet fallible Midwestern characters as they grapple with love, loss, and marriage; what we hold onto and what we leave behind; and what our legacy will be when we are gone.… (mere)