Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe

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Linda K
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Joined: 23 Nov 2015, 18:55
Currently Reading: The Winemaker Detective
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Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe

Post by Linda K »

The newest book by author Hannah Tunnicliffe is going to tug at your heartstrings and your stomach – quite literally. Part novel, part cookbook, this is a good example of how a book can crossover into several genres. I’ve been noticing this trend for a season or two now. I like the result. Why can’t an author spin their tale and weave in some good recipes at the same time to pepper the plot? Done right, this sort of storytelling is engaging, unexpected and charming. It is not quite near enough to be a “cook book” — yet it definitely is a cook’s book — one that will stir your heartstrings, ignite your imagination and have you in the kitchen for tea and Banana Bread (Recipe p. 194).

Season of Salt & Honey is the journey of Francesca (Frankie) Caputo through life, love and loss. After the death of her fiancé, Frankie needs time and space to work through feelings – both hidden in the farthest reaches of her mind and the ones on the surface bubbling over in every breath she makes. She takes refuge in her finance’s timeworn forest cabin in the soothing Washington forest to sort herself out. Her path to recovery is filled with quirky neighbors, comfort food, and a painful self-awareness that is going to take twists and turns you won’t see coming. Kleenex is recommended.

Season of Salt & Honey is an easy read. It is also one of those stories that stays on your mind a while after you finish reading it. I experienced a strange duel sense of melancholy and joyfulness at the same time after finishing this book. The author gives us a glimpse of what personal salvation looks like, but she does not finish the story line. I wonder if this is a two-parter? I, for one, would welcome that.

Caution: Before reading this book, identify a local Italian deli to run to. You’ll need to pick up a few items for your kitchen pantry as you will definitely crave warm, soothing Italian comfort food and an espresso or two as you read through the book. Peruse the recipes before you read the book. Your time away from the book, can be well spent in the kitchen. Or, if you have a book club, assign each member a recipe and share as you discuss. There are also discussion questions and an author interview in the back to guide your book club time.

This book was reviewed by both myself and Adrianne Morrison. Sometimes I enjoy the give and take of friends reviewing books from different perspectives. The review above was a summary of our two interpretations. I took the hard cover version, Adrianne took the kindle format. Both were easy to work through, meaning not all cookbooks translate into a good read on Kindle, but this one was fine. We both felt that the book should have had photos of the recipes. We also thought it would make a good gift or book club selection. 4/5 stars.
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