I won’t belabor the point, but I’ve gotten behind on some of my book review commitments so I am going to try to remedy that this week and next. (Thank you for the grace, Lisa from TLC.)
I posted a quick “About the Book” post for A Winter Night by Anne Leigh Parrish back in June on the original deadline with the promise that I would return to do a review (with hopefully some food tie-ins). Today’s the day.
What I thought…
I went back and forth on my rating for this book. During the first half of the book, I was totally waffling. Then I became a little more interested. Then I skimmed.
There were parts of the plots (and there’s a few going on) that I thought had promise and might have been developed further. Then again, maybe there was too much going on.
Let’s get to Angie, the main character. She doesn’t know if she loves her job. She doesn’t know if her boyfriend, Matt, is the one. She doesn’t know what to do about her father. My biggest issue with Angie is that she questions everything, even if she’s worthy of love.
I read Parrish’s Maggie’s Ruse earlier and A Winter Night involves the same family, Maggie (of the title) and her twin Marta. I will say I enjoyed this book more.
Just when I thought Angie might be pulling it together and embracing and excepting love, I came up with more questions. Throughout the book she questions if she’s worthy of a boyfriend, then she questions Matt’s sincerity, then there’s some trust issues. At the very end of the book as she expresses her love, she begins to find out a few things about Matt that she should question. But, the end of the book, she dismisses some pretty potentially MAJOR roadblocks and warning signs.
Parrish’s style was a bit odd—very short sentences and sometimes too many details.
I’m rating it three stars. I can’t leave this review without saying that the people in the Dugan family (Maggie, Marta, and Angie) may have some relationship baggage that might have come from their mother and father’s relationship. Just sayin’.
The food:
Again, sometimes there were too many details that didn’t move the plot along and sometimes that involved mentions of food. But, because of the nature of my book reviews, I was glad for that. Here’s what I spotted.
White Wine and Lasagna (See my Giant Tiered Lasagna and Lasagna from Scratch).
Spaghetti and cannelloni
Bacon, chocolate, doughnuts, pastries, ice cream, pancakes, waffles and soda (everything that’s on Angie’s perpetual diet). 
Hamburgers and IPAs
I also remember a grilled cheese sandwich that I think Alma, her mom’s housekeeper, makes for Angie so I’ll link up to my Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwich that I posted for Maggie’s Ruse.
Again, thanks to Lisa for the grace to post my review super late. Obviously, I did not have time to make something book-specific here so I hope you enjoy revisiting some past recipes. Please check out the other reviews of A Winter Night here.
I am also behind on posting a review for The North Face of the Heart by Dolores Redondo. I have to say I am loving that book! Stay tuned!
Lots of mouthwatering treats! I want some roast beef and the burger looks really juicy and yummy.
I kind of felt like I was cheating but it was fun to find all these older recipes and revisit them.
Sounds like a book with a lot of complex characters, and a lot of food, both things I really enjoy! Thanks so much for coming back to this book and sharing your thoughts. I truly appreciate it!
Yes. Maybe too complex (but then without a lot of wrap up)….
The book may not have held your interest or struck your fancy, but you do seem to be on the same wavelength when it comes to food. I loved your pictorial food summary.
Needless to say, I won’t be reading the book!
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I started out with higher hopes…
Yes, a great opportunity to check out some of your older recipes again!!!
Thanks, Liz.
I’m always happy when food discussions slow down the plot of a book! I mean, priorities! 🙂 Doesn’t sound like my kind of book, but the food sounds good!
Yep. I skimmed a bit…..
Doesn’t sound like a book I would be interested in readers due to the plot but the food aspects of the book look very yummy.