Together At The Table


Together at the Table: A Novel of Lost Love and Second Helpings is the third and final book in the Two Blue Doors trilogy by Hillary Manton Lodge. I feel like I've been waiting forever for this book! I read the first two books (A Table By The Window and Table For Two) as soon as they came out and was immediately captivated by Juliette and the entire D'Alisa family. I loved the rich quality of all of these novels: each chapter starts with an amazing quote about food, and there are great recipes for the foods featured in the story sprinkled throughout the entire book. The cover of Together at the Table, like the other books in this series, has an absolutely beautiful, captivating cover as well. Together at the Table brings us (sadly) to the conclusion of the D'Alisa family saga. The back cover reads:

"Three months ago, Juliette D’Alisa’s world changed.

In a bittersweet series of events, her mother’s health took a turn for the worse. Juliette and her brother opened their restaurant together to rave reviews, but her romance with Memphis immunologist Neil McLaren ended in anger and tears.

As autumn sweeps into the Pacific Northwest, Juliette feels that she’s finally on the cusp of equilibrium. The restaurant continues to thrive, and her family is closer than ever. She and sous-chef Adrien are seeing each other, both in and out of the kitchen. Just when she thinks her world might stop spinning, a trip to the waterfront lands a familiar face into her path.

Rather than dwell on her personal life, Juliette throws herself into work and research. After reading her grandmother’s letters from war-torn Paris, she still wants to know the full story – and she’ll travel across countries and oceans to find it.

But even Juliette can’t outrun the man who stole her heart. As she finally uncovers the truth about her family history, what will it mean for her own chances at lasting love?"

I was so distraught at the end of both books one and two because they both ended on total cliffhangers, and the next books weren't due out for 1+ years! However, the wait was definitely worth it as the final book really wraps everything up in a satisfying way. This book picks up three months after book two left off (I love that this series is continuous and doesn't skip a bunch of time between books; I don't like series that have years and years go by in the character's worlds between books). Here, we finally find out which man Juliette picks, what her grandmother's big secret is, and how the restaurant is doing. Sadly, we also learn that Juliette's mom did pass away soon after book two ended. Together At The Table sucked me in from the first page. Even though it had been so long since I read books one and two, I had no trouble slipping right back into Juliette's life. It was refreshing and like coming back to an old friend. I finished the book in just a day because I was so anxious to find out what was going to happen. I highly, highly recommend Together at the Table and the entire Two Blue Doors series. They're a foodie's delight to read. Definitely don't skip books one and two, though, you need all of the backstory to fully enjoy the books.

I received a copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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