Quick Review: Lizzy & Jane by Katherine Reay

Title: Lizzy and Jane 
Author: Katherine Reay
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Christian
Published: October 28, 2014
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Rating: ♨♨♨♨♨ ( 5 of 5 cups)


Review:
Lizzy and Jane was a perfect melding of those often read and beloved literature with the sustaining comfort of food and the inevitable ups and downs of life. Ms. Reay has crafted a tale so engaging and captivating from its main protagonist to the secondary characters that make it whole and the truly unique approach of melding food and taste in literature. Lizzy as a character was both fascinating and frustrating, totally human while her sister Jane, is well the same. You continuously cheer for them and you hope for that happily ever after not so much for the romance aspect (although thats a given ) but more for them as sisters. Its an inspirational story but its not preaching in its approach. The incorporation of literary works and how it influences your choices in life especially in food was so unique and inspiring you suddenly want to start cooking a bit of Austen or Hemingway as well. Truly a wonderful read.

Synopsis:
Lizzy and Jane never saw eye to eye. But when illness brings them together, they discover they may be more like Austen’s famous sisters after all.

Lizzy was only a teenager when her mother died of cancer. Shortly after, Lizzy fled from her home, her family, and her cherished nickname. After working tirelessly to hone her gift of creating magic in the kitchen, Elizabeth has climbed the culinary ladder to become the head chef of her own New York restaurant, Feast. But as her magic begins to elude her, Paul, Feast’s financial backer, brings in someone to share her responsibilities and her kitchen. So Elizabeth flees again.

In a desperate attempt to reconnect with her gift, Elizabeth returns home. But her plans are derailed when she learns that her estranged sister, Jane, is battling cancer. Elizabeth surprises everyone—including herself—when she decides to stay in Seattle and work to prepare healthy, sustaining meals for Jane as she undergoes chemotherapy. She also meets Nick and his winsome son, Matt, who, like Elizabeth, are trying to heal from the wounds of the past.

As she tends to Jane's needs, Elizabeth's powers begin to return to her, along with the family she left behind so long ago. Then Paul tries to entice her back to New York, and she is faced with a hard decision: stay and become Lizzy to her sister’s Jane, or return to New York and the life she worked so hard to create?