REVIEW
I had not read Hannah’s Christmas book (due to a huge reading pile at the time) but saw many endearing comments about it. I thought I would try book one of her new series and I am glad I did as I quite enjoyed Escape to the Country Kitchen. Surprisingly it covers a lot of emotional territory. You might think by the cover it contains light chic lit material but you will be fooled as this story is much deeper than it hints at initially. In fact, it contains many facets of psychological challenges—particularly in the area of mental abuse-victim scenarios. It even touches on drug addiction.
Escape to the Country Kitchen centres on Juliet, a successful cartoonist, who has battled a poor self-image due to her mother’s severe comments and treatment of her work. Her mother, who considered herself a ‘serious’ artist, passed away a year ago but the damage of her words continues to haunt Juliet who has also been victim of an arrogant and manipulative ex-boyfriend. Thankfully her sisters, aunt and father have been very supportive of her talent and their encouragement proves valuable in the face of what is to come. We don’t learn yet why her mother was such a hard critic but regardless, this novel shows clearly the repercussions of such negative parent-child behaviour and how it can also set one up for further poor relationships.
Juliet has been living in London but is called home on a family emergency meeting set up by her father. He has news to share that will be disappointing to his daughters and other household members. It appears there are financial issues, many of which were caused by his late wife/the girls’ mother. When she was ill, she sought costly treatment and went on shopping sprees—all in dealing with her health issues. Although we can have sympathy for her in wanting to live and find an answer to her terminal condition, we don’t get the feeling she was a very nice person—especially where her daughter Juliet is concerned. Though we read the other daughters got along with their mother, leading us to wonder if it was a personality thing or because they were traditional artists like her?
While Juliet is home, she meets famous French chef Leo who was hired by her aunt and father to start a cooking school. He has fled a relationship scandal in France and appreciates his new start and teaching position. But Juliet does not hit it off with him initially. She is not used to his French ways and so her immediate response is a negative one. Is she seeing him through a damaged lens caused by her own past relationship experiences? In time, she will discover he is nothing like her narcissistic ex and will learn to appreciate his kindness and loving heart.
I must add that this artist family loves animals and when Leo discovers an orphan pup, they all band together for support in caring for this little one. It is a lovely gesture and creates an extra warmth in the story and in the characters’ lives.
I found this to be an interesting read and appreciated the psychological traumas. And the imperfect characters in need of new starts and personal growth. In many ways they are all dealing with relationship issues and some with self-esteem problems. Juliet particularly suffers from alcohol dependence (to make her feel better and to gain acceptance) and I was glad to see her pass through this phase when real love enters her life. We are introduced briefly to the father’s new girlfriend (an artist from his distant past) and a few alarm bells go off for Juliet when she thinks this woman may be questioning her talent, like her mother did. Will this woman reappear in future books and what will she be like?
I am glad I read Escape to the Country Kitchen and look forward to reading more books on the Carlisle family and where their lives may be heading. French food, healing love, fresh starts, huggable animals and a grand old manor make this a pleasing and intriguing read! 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for a review copy.
