This story would best be enjoyed by someone who loves cooking and family drama. Maybe just one is all it takes but it would be hard to get through if either topic wasn’t your cup of tea. Maren Winter is a celebrated restauranteur who has won loads of awards over the past few decades, mostly for being the first woman to achieve a particular something. She has three daughters who all work for her – Sloane, Jules, and Athena. Athena is the celebrated head chef at her largest restaurant. After reading the entire story, I still couldn’t tell you exactly what Sloan and Jules do except in the vaguest of terms - management and publicity, respectively. They have always been subservient to their mother until she finally goes too far at a New Year’s Eve gathering. Now they might finally step out of Maren’s shadow if they can survive being related to each other.

You may start to feel sorry for the way they’re treated by their mother, but at this point, they are grown women who continually fall into the same patterns. They could stand up to her but not one of them ever does. The entire story is “I’m finally going to stand up for myself. No wait, no I’m not. Still too scared.” And the worst part is that they betray each other easily, just like they feel their mother betrays them. They are all just weak, pathetic women rather than the bold, empowering women they should be. Being renowned in your field doesn’t mean you should be a power-hungry monster, yet it’s like none of them can handle success in a healthy way. They either crave control or are terrified of it. And so much of the story is their inner monologues, hating the way they choose to act but continuing to act that way the entire time. It’s exhausting. Unfortunately, the book just wasn’t for me.