Blog Tour: Review & Excerpt of The Gathering Table by Kathryn Springer

Author: Kathryn Springer

Publisher: Love Inspired

Publication Date: September 28, 2021

Winsome Lake, Wisconsin, is postcard-pretty, but for chef Jessica Keaton it’s also a last resort. Fired from her dream job, Jess is starting over as a live-in cook and housekeeper. When she arrives, she finds her new employer is in rehab after having a stroke, and Jess expects she’ll be all alone in Elaine Haviland’s quaint house. A chef with no one to cook for.
But instead, she encounters a constant stream of colorful visitors who draw her back into the world. As Jess contends with local teenagers, a group of scrappy women and a charming football coach, Elaine faces some battles of her own that extend past her physical challenges. For both of them, all the ingredients for a fulfilling life are within reach, if they’re willing to take a leap. And maybe Jess will start to see that it’s not just what’s on the table that matters—it’s the people gathered round it.
A must-read novel from Love Inspired: Stories to Uplift and Inspire.
 

Purchase Links

Love Inspired | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My thoughts:

I can honestly say that The Gathering Table will be making my top 10 of 2021.  This has to be one of the sweetest feel good books I have read this year.  I  loved it from start to finish and read it in one sitting.  The characters were wonderful and just made me smile.   I loved how Jess was embraced by the Scrappy Ladies.  They were really fun and added a lightness to the story.  We are also treated to two very sweet romances.  One of my favorite parts of the book was the food.  Jess is a chef and is constantly making what would probably be very delicious food in real life.  I'll admit to snacking while reading.  It was making me hungry.

I highly recommend this one.  If you are looking for an uplifting, feel good story, then pick this one up.  Just be prepared to be really hungry after reading it.  

Enjoy this sneak peek:

It was tiny. Lilliputian. The butcher-block island smaller than the cutting board she’d used in Gwyneth’s kitchen. The walls were the color of lemon meringue, the cabinets white with ceramic knobs and light blue trim.
And the stove…
Jess steeled herself and looked at the burners.
Electric.
Of course it was.
Jess’s cell phone began to vibrate inside her purse and she sifted through the contents to find it.
She’d ignored an incoming call from an unknown number on the drive to Winsome Lake, assuming it was a scammer hoping to siphon her credit card information. But based on the new information she’d just been given, Jess took a risk and answered it this time.
“Hello.” She flavored the greeting with just the right amount of “don’t mess with me” spice. The same tone she used when she was buying fresh whitefish from the Corbin brothers.
“Is this Jessie Keaton?”
“Jessica,” Jess corrected automatically.
“My name is Vanessa Richards and I’m a social worker at Sunrise Rehabilitation Center. I’m calling on behalf of Elaine Haviland…she said you planned to arrive sometime today.”
Jess’s fingers tightened around the phone. “I’m already here.”
“Wonderful. This latest setback hasn’t been easy on Elaine, but she’ll be relieved I was able to get in touch with you.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Richards.” Jess used the laminate—laminate—counter as a brace. “I don’t know anything about a setback. Or a…a stroke. All I know is that Elaine Havi­land offered me a job, this is the start date I was given and no one is here.”
In spite of Jess’s best efforts, the last word frayed a little at the edges.
“Well, I think we should take a few steps back, then.”
Jess had no idea what the social worker looked like, but she’d chosen the right profession. Every word the woman spoke exuded warmth and comfort. The vocal equivalent of chocolate lava cake.
 

About Kathryn Springer

Kathryn Springer grew up in a small town where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child, she spent hours sitting at her mother’s typewriter, plunking out stories, and credits her parents for instilling in her a love of reading – which turned into a desire to tell stories of her own.
Kathryn has written over thirty books and lives and writes on a lake in northern Wisconsin. She enjoys long walks in the woods and the change of seasons (although sometimes she wishes the “change” between winter and spring didn’t last quite so long!) When Kathryn isn’t at the computer, she’s spending time with family and friends, paging through cooking magazines or sitting in the sun. A really, really good day includes all three!

Connect with Kathryn
Website | Facebook | Instagram

Tour stops:
Monday, September 20th: @everlasting.charm - review
Monday, September 20th: @olivias.bookish.world - review
Tuesday, September 21st: Books, Cooks, Looks - excerpt
Tuesday, September 21st: @literannie - review
Wednesday, September 22nd: @jenniaahava - review
Wednesday, September 22nd: A Baker's Perspective - review
Thursday, September 23rd: @cozy.coffee.reads - review
Thursday, September 23rd: @readitandquip - review
Friday, September 24th: The Bookish Dilettante - excerpt
Friday, September 24th: @nurse_bookie - review
Friday, September 24th: @stumblingintobooks - review
Saturday, September 25th: Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama - excerpt
Saturday, September 25th: Christian Chick's Thoughts and @cctblog - review
Sunday, September 26th: @bookscoffeephotography - review
Sunday, September 26th: @vivibookshelf - review
Monday, September 27th: Living My Best Book Life - excerpt @livingmybestbooklife - review
Monday, September 27th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy - review and excerpt
Monday, September 27th: From the TBR Pile - review and excerpt
Tuesday, September 28th: Books and Benches - excerpt
Tuesday, September 28th: Susan Loves Books - review and excerpt
Wednesday, September 29th: @travelerswife4life - review
Wednesday, September 29th: @webreakforbooks - review
Wednesday, September 29th: What is That Book About - excerpt
Thursday, September 30th: @plains_reading - review
Thursday, September 30th: @what.ems.reading - review
Thursday, September 30th: @books_faith_love - review
Friday, October 1st: What is That Book About - review
Friday, October 1st: Well Read Traveler and @wellreadtraveler - review and excerpt
Friday, October 1st: @kristens.reading.nook - review
Friday, October 8th: The Bookish Dilettante - review