Book 2

Reservations for Two

by Hillary Manton Lodge

Published 1 January 2015
A culinary concoction of taking chances and finding love in the most delectable places
 
Food writer-turned-restaurateur Juliette D’Alisa has more than enough on her plate. While her trip to Provence might have unlocked new answers to her grandmother’s past, it’s also provided new complications in the form of Neil McLaren, the man she can’t give up.
 
Juliette and Neil find romance simple as they travel through Provence and Tuscany together, but life back home presents a different set of challenges. Juliette has a restaurant to open, a mother combating serious illness, and a family legacy of secrets to untangle – how does Neil, living so far away in Memphis, fit into to her life?
 
As she confronts an uncertain future, Juliette can’t help but wish that life could be as straightforward as her chocolate chip cookie recipe. Can her French grandmother’s letters from the 1940’s provide wisdom to guide her present? Or will every new insight create a fresh batch of mysteries?

Book 3

In this follow up to A Table By the Window, Juliette D'Alisa continues searching for the full story about her grandmother's past and for her own chance at lasting love.  

Juliette feels on top of the world when her and her brother, Nico's restaurant opens to rave reviews. But that feeling is short-lasted, when in a bittersweet series of events, her mother falls ill and her romance with Memphis immunologist Neil McLaren ubruptly ends in anger and tears.

Three long months later, as autumn sweeps into the Pacific Northwest, Juliette feels that she’s finally on the cusp of equilibrium--the restaurant continues to thrive, and her family is closer than ever. She and sous-chef Adrien are seeing each other, both in and out of the kitchen. Just when she thinks her world might stop spinning, a trip to the waterfront brings a chance encounter with a familiar face from her past.

Rather than dwell on her personal life, Juliette throws herself into work and research. After reading her grandmother’s letters from war-torn Paris, she still wants to know the full story-- and she’ll travel across countries and oceans to find it. But even Juliette can’t outrun the man who stole her heart. As she finally uncovers the truth about her family history, what will it mean for her own search for love?