Lizzy & Jane by Katherine Reay

★★★★★
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Sometimes the courage to face your greatest fears comes only when you've run out of ways to escape.

At the end of a long night, Elizabeth leans against the industrial oven and takes in her kingdom. Once vibrant and flawless, evenings in the kitchen now feel chaotic and exhausting. She's lost her culinary magic, and business is slowing down.

When worried investors enlist the talents of a tech-savvy celebrity chef to salvage the restaurant, Elizabeth feels the ground shift beneath her feet. Not only has she lost her touch; she's losing her dream.

And her means of escape.

When her mother died, Elizabeth fled home and the overwhelming sense of pain and loss. But fifteen years later, with no other escapes available, she now returns. Brimming with desperation and dread, Elizabeth finds herself in the unlikeliest of places, by her sister’s side in Seattle as Jane undergoes chemotherapy.

As her new life takes the form of care, cookery, and classic literature, Elizabeth is forced to reimagine her future and reevaluate her past. But can a New York City chef with a painful history settle down with the family she once abandoned…and make peace with the sister who once abandoned her?

After reading Dear Mr. Knightley last year, I had high hopes for Katherine Reay’s next novel, Lizzy & Jane - and I’m very pleased to say that it both met and exceeded all my expectations. It is a beautifully human story of two sisters (not surprisingly named Lizzy and Jane), their neglected relationship and the guilt of the past. And with the addition of plenty of clever, well-placed literary references and deliciously mouth-watering food references, Reay’s novel is a delightful, emotional read that fans of contemporary fiction are sure to enjoy. I recommend it.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley, I received a copy of Lizzy & Jane and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.