From the TBR Pile: Blog Tour: The Restaurant Critic’s Wife by Elizabeth LaBan

Author:Elizabeth LaBan
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Date of publication: January 2016

What could be better than being married to a restaurant critic? All those amazing meals at the best restaurants…pure nirvana, right? Well, Lila Soto, the heroine of Elizabeth LaBan’s charming new novel, The Restaurant Critic’s Wife, might tell you otherwise. Sure the food is heavenly, but the downsides are considerable—especially being married to a man who is obsessed with his job and paranoid to the point of absurdity about being “outed” from his anonymity. Add to the scenario the fact that Lila has given up her own career to follow her husband’s job to a new, unfamiliar city, and that she is now a fulltime stay-at-home mom—a gig she never aspired to, despite loving her kids—and you begin to see why Lila is doubting every life decision she’s ever made.

The Restaurant Critic's Wife involves Lila, a former career woman turned mother and house wife. She is the wife of Sam, food critic for the city newspaper. After their recent move to Philadelphia, she finds that her new life isn't all it is cracked up to be. I ended up with mixed feelings about this story. In the end, I liked it but didn't love it as much as I wanted to.

What I did like about the book was the only part in which I could relate and empathize with Lila. Her struggles at juggling a toddler and a newborn rang very true and humorous. I've so been there and done that and found myself laughing. I think many moms will relate to the trials of out of the house trips and the perceived judgement from "perfect" moms.

While I could relate on the mom aspect, I had a hard time liking Lila and Sam. Sam's antics and attempts at anonymity were a bit over the top and it seemed to draw more attention to himself. I also guess I didn't understand the need for it, especially since it seemed most people knew who is was already. Lila came across as whiny to me. Her pining for her single child-free life got a bit tiring after a while. The lack of communication between the couple drove me crazy.

Would I recommend it? Sure, it's a fairly quick read. But, I will warn you with all of the food mentions, you might want to eat first.

About Elizabeth LaBan

Elizabeth LaBan lives in Philadelphia with her restaurant critic husband and two children. She is also the author of The Tragedy Paper, which has been translated into eleven languages, and The Grandparents Handbook, which has been translated into seven languages.

Connect with Elizabeth

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Elizabeth LaBan’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, January 4th: A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall

Tuesday, January 5th: Why Girls are Weird

Wednesday, January 6th: All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Thursday, January 7th: Bibliotica

Monday, January 11th: Kahakai Kitchen

Tuesday, January 12th: Chick Lit Central – author guest post

Wednesday, January 13th: Thoughts on This ‘n That