After being gone for two years, Olivia returns to
Montana. But she’s not alone. She brings with her two girls that she is
hoping to adopt. The girls had been living
with their grandmother, a neighbor of Olivia’s, while their drug addicted
parents were serving time in jail. Olivia
had become close to them, so it only made sense that when their grandmother
passed that she took them in. However,
their mother is due to be released from jail soon and she plans on reclaiming
the children she feels rightfully belongs with her.
While home, Olivia finds an old cookbook in the attic. Being a chef, she’s intrigued. But more than that, she’s surprised when it
causes her grandmother, a person who has kept her past hidden from the family,
starts opening up about life-long secrets.
It doesn’t take long to put some of the puzzle pieces together. After all, we know that her grandmother is
Jewish and from Germany. But it isn’t necessarily
just about the secrets. It’s the
strength that the family has to keep moving forward despite the obstacles in
their way.
Throughout the book, I found myself laughing and crying. But an aspect that I really enjoyed was all
of the baking. There didn’t have to be a
reason to bake, it was more of an excuse to get together and have what they
called Martindale cake therapy.
No Place I’d Rather Be was a deliciously written book with an
eccentric group of characters. And one I
would recommend to all.
Purchase the book at:
About the
author:
Cathy Lamb was born in Newport Beach, California. As a child,
she mastered the art of skateboarding, catching butterflies in bottles, and
riding her bike with no hands. When she was 10, her parents moved her, two
sisters, a brother, and two poorly behaved dogs to Oregon before she could
fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a surfer bum.
She then embarked on her notable
academic career where she earned good grades now and then, spent a great deal
of time daydreaming, ran wild with a number of friends, and landed on the
newspaper staff in high school. When she saw her byline above an article about
people making out in the hallways of the high school, she knew she had found
her true calling.
Cathy suffers from, “I Would
Rather Play Than Work Disease” which prevents her from getting much work done
unless she has a threatening deadline. She likes to hang with family and
friends, walk, eat chocolate, camp, travel, and is slightly obsessive about the
types of books she reads. She also likes to be left alone a lot so she can hear
all the odd characters in her head talk to each other and then transfer that
oddness to paper. The characters usually don’t start to talk until 10:00 at
night, however, so she is often up ‘til 2:00 in the morning with them. That is
her excuse for being cranky.
She adores her children and husband, except when he refuses to take his dirty shoes off and walks on the carpet. She will ski because her children insist, but she secretly doesn’t like it at all. Too cold and she falls all the time.
She adores her children and husband, except when he refuses to take his dirty shoes off and walks on the carpet. She will ski because her children insist, but she secretly doesn’t like it at all. Too cold and she falls all the time.
Connect with the author at:
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