NEW RELEASE
Table for Seven - Whitney Gaskell (2013)
Table for Seven follows a group of friends who begin a monthly "dinner club" after they attend a smashing New Year's Eve dinner party thrown by Fran and Will. Each month a different guest hosts and you get to follow their monthly menus and conversations. The dinner guests are all in different places in their lives which keeps the book interesting. There's the ideal couple Fran and Will, who are dealing with their "perfect" marriage turning out to be less than great. Audrey is a young widow who is lonely but scared to re-enter the dating pool. Mark and Jamie are in the throes of dealing with making a blended family work between their two children and Mark's daughter from his first marriage. Leland, a wise 75-year-old widower, imparts great wisdom to the table, while Cooper is a sexy bachelor who is considering settling down for the first time. I think some characters got too much focus, and others weren't nearly as fleshed out. But overall, this was a very interesting read - I found myself laughing, crying, and always hungry! (AV)
Life doesn't always turn out quite how we expect it to in Whitney Gaskell's latest novel Table for Seven. The summary says: "On New Year's Eve, Fran and Will Parrish host a dinner party, serving their friends a gourmet feast. The night is such a success that the group decides to form a monthly dinner party club. But what starts as an excuse to enjoy the company of fellow foodies ends up having lasting repercussions on each member of the Table for Seven Dinner Party Club. Fran and Will face the possibility that their comfortable marriage may not be as infallible as they once thought. Audrey has to figure out how to move on and start a new life after the untimely death of her young husband. Perfectionist Jaime suspects that her husband, Mark, might be having an affair. Coop, a flirtatious bachelor who never commits to a third date, is blindsided when he falls in love for the first time. Leland, a widower, is a wise counselor and firm believer that bacon makes everything taste better. Over the course of a year, against a backdrop of mouthwatering meals, relationships are forged, marriages are tested, and the members of the Table for Seven Dinner Party Club find their lives forever changed." Table for Seven is out in April.