Sometimes, I just need a feel good book that reminds me of the priorities in life and the bonds of family. The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman is one of those books. Since I love to cook, an added bonus is the fact that it is also a foodie book centered around a recipe box passed down from generation to generation. There are hints of seriousness, but the heart of the book is a feel good story perfect for a summer beach read. 

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/08/the-recipe-box.html 

Reviewed for NetGalley.

A beautiful story for foodies, romance lovers, and just those who need to reconnect with a book about family... these are the books I long for when I need something that has more substance and more story. I enjoyed the depth of the characters, the story revolving around food and the differences between small town and larger city life. Such a stunning book!!

I very much enjoyed reading "The Recipe Box," Thanks, Netgalley!
This was my first book by viola Shipman, but I don't think it will be my last!

This was another sweet read by Shipman. I love the idea of connecting to the old recipes found in the old recipe box. Sam's growth is evident throughout.

This is one of my favorite authors and they have yet to let me down. I like that recipes are included in the book and they seem to be approachable for someone of my cooking skill. The writing is well done and while the plot can seem a bit cliche it doesn't come off as such. A really enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next one eagerly.

Back in March of 2016, I read and reviewed a great book called The Charm Bracelet by an author named Viola Shipman.  I had never heard of Viola Shipman before seeing The Charm Bracelet, but I was later surprised to learn that Viola Shipman was a pen name for Wade Rouse, who is a popular, award-winning memoirist.   Mr. Rouse uses his grandmother's name as a tribute to her.

Next, in July of 2017, I had the opportunity to read and review another great Viola Shipman book, The Hope Chest, and it was another fantastic read!  Then there's today's book, The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman.  The book was available through my association with NetGalley, so I couldn't pass it up!

We follow Samantha ("Sam") Mullins as she leaves her loving Michigan home and goes to New York to attend culinary school. Sam always wanted to be a premier banking chef in New York City. She lands a premium job opportunity, but after an unsettling episode at work, Sam suddenly quits the job and heads for home.  Her family doesn't understand why she has returned, but they are thrilled she is home.  

A unique thing about The Recipe Box is that each chapter is based on a recipe and it contains the directions for how to make the actual recipe. The well-loved recipes are created by Sam throughout the novel and the history of her family helps her to decide her future path. I really felt that this was an interesting concept for the novel.

After all the disappointment and struggles life has been throwing at her, Sam soon realizes how important the women in her family are, and how recipes and their love of food bonds them all.

The characters are great, the story is sweet, and it's a very warm, down to earth story from the heart. This book has all the great elements we desire in a good women's fiction book. It's a quick read, satisfying and wholesome reading. Topics such as family relationships and a woman finding herself are always great reads but add lots of food and you've hit a home run!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for my review.  I would like to thank St Martin's Press for allowing me the opportunity to participate, read and review this book. My views are my own and are in no way influenced by anyone else!

This a heartfelt, sweet story about family and the ties that bind us, featuring recipes that sound scrumptious.  The storyline was a bit too predictable for me, and the way the story is told with jumps back and forth in time made it somewhat difficult to get into, but it was a charming story overall.  Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy.  This is my honest opinion.

Sam fled her small town to live and thrive in the big city of New York.  But she isn't exactly thriving.  She's working for a jerk, but he's a jerk who has the power to fire her, and he does.

Sam slinks home with her tail between her legs to celebrate the family orchard's anniversary.  As she begins working and baking with her mother and grandmother, she finds her spirits lifting.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around why Sam would have ever felt the need to flee this perfect family in this perfect town. The best part of the book was the recipes - I want to try them all!

Current Goodreads Rating 3.9

Book of full of charm that drives home the point that family and professional ambition don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

The Recipe Box is definitely a story for foodies. With a selection of recipes handed down through Sam's family, Viola Shipman gives readers a reason to appreciate family and tradition. The recipes featured in this novel tell the history of the strong women in Sam Mullin's family in an effort to open her eyes to the sacrifices of the ones before her.

I love any story that seeks to show the strength of family bonds, or the struggle younger generations face when it comes to keeping with family tradition or breaking away to follow their own dreams. However, I just couldn't connect with this story. I didn't feel like the stories behind the recipes really bridged the gap between the choice Sam needed to make between going back to the city to be a chef or staying with her family on the orchard. She's so young and could have easily done both. Why did it have to be one or the other and be the only option? She felt trapped by her family's expectation, but didn't she just trap herself by having to have it one way or the other?

The Recipe Box wasn't the story I expected when I picked it up to read, but I appreciate the thought behind it. I'm just not sold on the execution.
*ARC provided in consideration for review*

I found this to be a wonderful story of family and also of finding one’s self. Samantha Mullins is a sous chef in New York and the person she works for is a jerk to put it nicely. After making one of her own recipes for his show he throws away her creations, yelling and screaming at her. She quits but not before getting in a few jabs of her own, and top it off the producer and others who tried her creation loved her food. Now back home in Michigan on the family’s farm she must somehow tell her family, mainly mom and grandmother that she lost her job and that she feels like she has been nothing than a failure. The story is told through the recipes in the box that she and each women were given when they turned thirteen. You are taken back in some chapters to a time when it was the depression, or the war and how the women of this family found ways to raise up and continue to build the farm, but also their own lives. Every chapter is unique and different, and when a boy from the beginning of the story comes from New Jersey to vacation in Michigan. This is scaring her what is happening to her life and what is she to do? You get to meet her mother, father and grandmother. You also see her change with the ladies who have been working and baking at their farm for decades and how she changes when talking to them. There is really nothing more than I can say without you reading this book yourself. That is what you need to do. A wonderful story with great characters and it has made me now want to go hunt for my grandmothers’ recipes that I have out in my garage and take care of them better.

Love, love, loved this book! Every family has recipes they have passed down from generation to generation and this book makes you think about the love and family you keep close to your heart! A bonus is having recipes to try at the end of every chapter!

This is a most wonderful book about finding oneself and how family can help you do it.
Sam Nelson has baking in her DNA, but she doesn’t want to stay at her Michigan family’s farm and business. She attends school in New York and eventually gets what should be a dream job, but turns out to be a nightmare.
She returns home where she is soon baking again with her mother and grandmother. Through their stories, Sam begins to realize that maybe you can go home again.
I found myself tearing up a couple of times. This could make a great Hallmark movie.

Sam (Samanatha) has had it with Chef Dimples; he uses her talents and doesn’t acknowledge her contributions.  She quits in a grand fashion and goes home to her family’s apple orchard in Michigan. She always had wanted to get away and now she is back.  The recipes illustrate the growth of Sam and the other women in her family.  A charming gentle read. .

This novel has lots of feels and sweet stuff.  You'll definitely be itching to bake something reading this story and will also be hungry for the warmth of family or friends that support you unconditionally.

Sam essentially goes home to her family's orchard because she can't see what her next step in New York should be.  She's a trained pastry chef but has been working for a TV "personality" rather than someone who can recognise her talents.  She's lost and unsure of herself.  She returns to the family for a visit at the family's urging but she has no intention of staying.  The warmth and love that enfolds her though seems to be too strong to resist, and why is she resisting anyway?

The novel covers multiple generations of strong and driven women and at the heart this book is about women and their strength within families.  You can truly feel the warm and encompassing hug the words generate and I enjoyed this read!


Thank you to Thomas Dunne Books for our review copy.  All opinions are our own.

The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman is set in Bayview Points, Michigan.  Samantha "Sam" Nelson is working at Dimples Bakery in New York when her boss, Chef Dimples goes too far and she quits.  She has had enough of his attitude and taking credit for her work.  Sam grew up in Bayview Points on her families' orchard, Mullins Pie Pantry and U-Pick.  The orchard is having its hundredth birthday this summer and her grandmother, Willo is turning seventy-five.  There will be a big party in honor of the two events.  Sam heads home for the summer and works in the pie pantry alongside her mother, Deana and grandmother.  When Sam was thirteen, she was given a handcrafted recipe box that matches grandmother's and her mother's.  Inside are the family recipes that have been passed down from mother to daughter.  While working alongside them and using the family recipes, she learns about their past, her family history, how the orchard came to be and her love for baking.  She also learns that the right man that will complement her has been there all along if she just opens her heart.  Join Sam on a journey through the past that will help her have a bright, happy future.

The Recipe Box is a charming novel.  I thought it was well-written and had a steady pace.  Ms. Shipman has a conversational writing style that has an ease to it (makes for an easy to read story that is engaging).  The author provided beautiful descriptions of the area, the orchard, the people and the baked goods (recipes included).  I loved the characters in the story with Willo being my favorite.  I appreciated the strong, intelligent female characters.  There are great interactions between the women.  Life lessons are included in The Recipe Box which include know yourself and be true to yourself.  It is important to live a life without regrets.  The Recipe Box is a feel-good novel.  There is a predictable element, but it did not hinder my enjoyment.  I like a book that gives me a good, heartwarming feeling inside and leaves me with a smile on my face when I am done reading it.  I look forward to this author's next book.

This book was such a lovely surprise. I really enjoyed the story-line and I cannot wait to test out some of the recipes that were included in the book. A lot of them sound too good to pass up. 

Sam is struggling with finding her place in life. She loved where she was raised, but can't help but feel that she is bigger than that life. Wanting to make her own mark on the world she embarks on her own adventure away from home, leaving behind the ones she loves the most. 

When an unexpected decision is made, Same returns home. Not ready to relay the news to her family she muddles through the days, slowly remembering why she loves this place she calls home so much. Those emerging feelings confuse her even more, making the upcoming decisions her hardest yet. 

Through family drama and life decisions, Sam navigates this story with determination. Knowing that everything she has worked for will reveal itself in due time.

I really, really loved this story. It's such a satisfying and wholesome read - has all of the elements I desire in good women's fiction. Family relationships, a woman finding herself and lots of food. Themes of family tradition, strong women were prevalent and I just felt like I'd eaten a bowl of warm rice pudding after I read this story.

So emotional, so heartwarming but with humor and a tone that was light enough to keep the story moving. This is one of my favorite books of 2018.

Recipe lovers you're going to enjoy this one as each chapter starts off with a recipe and they sound absolutely delicious. Sam grew up in northern Michigan and her families orchard is all she knows. Looking to broaden her horizons while she adds a little excitement to her life she strikes out and lands a job as a chef in NYC. It's her dream job but when her boss turns out to not be who they portray themself as being she feels like a failure as she returns back home to the orchard. Surrounded by family, mother, grandmother I really enjoyed reading interactions between all these strong women. 
Pub Date 20 Mar 2018 
I received a complimentary copy from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley .. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.  I'm sorry to be a little late posting a review.  I enjoyed following the history of this family and how their orchard not only survived but thrived through the years and generations.  Sam is struggling to make her own way through life or return to the family and the orchard.  The story line is predictable but enjoyable nonetheless.  The collection of recipes is definitely a plus!