This was highly formula driven. broody Damon Salvatore type wants to get his way with downstairs neighbor. They meet, they avoid, they bang. Again. and so on. she falls in love only to discover his betrayal and then he makes grand sweeping gesture. She forgives him. They live happily ever after. Just not my cuppa. ( )

Fluff. Amusing. ( )

I understand why this book is popular. It is a fun, cute read although full of problems including the characters and storyline. I would have rated it higher but I have a problem with it...

The sex scenes were a little (a lot) much...but that isn't my main problem...

The main problem is when a woman says something makes her uncomfortable during sex, the man doesn't tell her "shhh" a few times and just keeps going. If a woman says stop then you stop and you talk until the woman either says yes or no. You don't just ignore her request and do what you want, even if she ends up liking it. Also, when a woman says she is not going to come with you, you don't get to throw her over your shoulder and carry/force her to go, even if it is to a party. Doesn't matter...you don't forcibly take a woman. If she doesn't want to go then you have to use your words to convince her no matter how big of a jerk she is being. If she doesn't go then you just accept your surprise is ruined. You don't pick her up against her will and make her go. That makes you NOT a gentleman...it also makes you NOT a good person and perhaps someone who is guilty of assault both physical and sexual.

I realize that wasn't the intent of the author or the character but when you stop and think about it, that is what it is and I think it is a terrible message to send women and victims. It hides the use of physical force as "romance" and no woman (or man, or child) should feel like then are forced into something. ( )

For the most part I do love authors like Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman for writing novels that have a magical element included. I re-read "Garden Spells" and "The Red Garden" so many times I probably know most of the words by heart now. "The Glass Kitchen" tries its best to mimic these other novels and almost pulls it off.

One of the main characters in this novel is Portia Cuthcart. Portia, realizes at a young age that she has inherited a gift called the "knowing" that her grandmother had as well. She would wake up or go throughout the day and just know what to cook a person depending on what type of mood they are in at that moment. Sometimes she is even able to tell based on what she thinks and then cooks if someone will be visited soon with a death. Several years later she moves from Texas to New York to be closer to her two sisters and to get back control of her life. Portia then comes to meet several other people, including a girl named Ariel and her family that she becomes increasingly drawn to despite herself.

Ariel is the other main character in this novel. Ariel is still recovering from the loss of her mother. Ariel's father, Gabriel, and sister, Miranda, are constantly at odds with each other. Ariel believes that if she can just find her father a girlfriend that things will get better.

I think that if Linda Francis Lee managed to weave in the magical element very well, but I wish that there had been more explanation of what the "knowing" was and how other members of the family had it as well. That part was pretty much glossed over in the writing.

I also thought it was very cute to break up the parts of the novel by saying "First Course", "Second Course,", etc. with recipes and then having the full recipes at the end of the novel. I tried the chile cheese and bacon stuffed cherry tomato recipe and it was ridiculously good.

With all that said, I still gave this novel three and a half stars. The reason why I gave this novel just three and half stars though is that when the novel shifted from Portia to Ariel I felt as if I reading two novels squashed together into one. Ariel's storyline is important it honestly just didn't fit with what was going on with Portia very well.

Additionally, I wish that Ms. Lee had been in less of a hurry to get to the present day with Portia. The first chapter was just an information dump in my eyes. Portia's character goes through some major life altering events and the reader does not get a chance to absorb them before we run onto the next thing with her living in New York.

Finally, I would say that some of the characters were not drawn very well in this novel. For example, the characters of Olivia and Cordelia (Portia's two sisters) were just flat. Besides describing how the sisters looked different from one another I never felt as if I got to know them very well. I was actually more intrigued with both Cordelia and Olivia and wished that we had been provided more details and glimpses into their lives. I felt like if the entire Ariel storyline had been removed and the novel focused more on Olivia and Cordelia it would have made the novel stronger in my eyes.

I also have to say that I wish that there had been more depth to the character of Gabriel as well. I found him boring and way too high-handed to be believed at times.

Please note that this novel was provided to me free via the Amazon Vine Program for a honest review. It will be released on June 17, 2014. ( )

You know you loved a book when you are so sad that the book ended!
This was a fun, light story of the many facets of love and forgiveness, sprinkled with a little bit of magic. Add in the food and this book had me hooked! I actually miss the characters. A great read for someone who is looking to relax and enjoy a wonderfully sweet story. ( )