Review by Booklist Review
After Lisette escapes her life of comfortable but constraining luxury during the Siege of Paris in 1870, she doesn't realize that her decision will resonate through generations. All she wants is to follow her heart and stand up for working people, using the skills she secretly learned in the kitchen to keep her neighbors alive. Decades later, her great-granddaughter Micheline has lost her parents in WWII and is desperately trying to hold what's left of her family together. Perhaps the family bistro, along with a notebook of Lisette's recipes, could provide the stability she seeks. Both of Runyan's (The School for German Brides, 2022) protagonists are determined and resourceful, more willing to give generously of themselves than to rely on care in return. The small but supportive groups that surround each of them reinforce the importance of community, whether the world around them is crumbling or struggling to rebuild. Readers who enjoyed The Kitchen Front (2021), by Jennifer Ryan, or The Last Garden in England (2021), by Julia Kelly, will savor both time lines in this moving story.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
