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A review by obsidian_blue
The All You Can Dream Buffet by Barbara O'Neal
3.0
I have previously read Barbara O'Neal's novels and found them to be very uplifting stories with characters I could relate to. However, in her latest, "The All You Can Dream Buffet" I found myself at a loss of what to make of this story. Unlike with her previous novels I found this one downright difficult to finish.
This novels centers around four women. Lavender owns Lavender Honey Farms which is an organic farm located in Oregon. Through her food blog she has became friends with three other bloggers who are planning on visiting Lavender's farm for her 85th birthday celebration. The other three women are Ruby, Ginny, and Valerie. Ruby is dealing with a recent breakup and pregnancy. Ginny is still adjusting to the repercussions of her husband and family finding out that she is a popular food blogger. And Valerie is attempting to move herself and her daughter away from their home to begin a new start.
What I really loved about this novel is that Barbara O'Neal includes the women's food blogs as part of the novel. So in certain instances you can read a blog that Ginny starts with a photo showing one of the cakes she bakes. Or we get to read Ruby's organic recipes.
Other than that though the whole book started and stopped in fits and starts. I think the main issue is that though this is supposed to be a novel about four women the majority deals with Ginny and Ruby. Valerie does not come on to the scene until more than halfway through the novel and I found her story more intriguing and heartbreaking than the other two women. Also there are love interests telegraphed quite early throughout the novel so any suspense to be had with that was pretty much lost.
I think this novel would have worked out better as just a story told from Ginny or even Ruby's point of view so that way the reader did not keep going back and forth with their story-lines.
This novels centers around four women. Lavender owns Lavender Honey Farms which is an organic farm located in Oregon. Through her food blog she has became friends with three other bloggers who are planning on visiting Lavender's farm for her 85th birthday celebration. The other three women are Ruby, Ginny, and Valerie. Ruby is dealing with a recent breakup and pregnancy. Ginny is still adjusting to the repercussions of her husband and family finding out that she is a popular food blogger. And Valerie is attempting to move herself and her daughter away from their home to begin a new start.
What I really loved about this novel is that Barbara O'Neal includes the women's food blogs as part of the novel. So in certain instances you can read a blog that Ginny starts with a photo showing one of the cakes she bakes. Or we get to read Ruby's organic recipes.
Other than that though the whole book started and stopped in fits and starts. I think the main issue is that though this is supposed to be a novel about four women the majority deals with Ginny and Ruby. Valerie does not come on to the scene until more than halfway through the novel and I found her story more intriguing and heartbreaking than the other two women. Also there are love interests telegraphed quite early throughout the novel so any suspense to be had with that was pretty much lost.
I think this novel would have worked out better as just a story told from Ginny or even Ruby's point of view so that way the reader did not keep going back and forth with their story-lines.