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Book Review By sandra Calhoune
The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand

When 28 year old Adrienne Dealey arrives on the Island of Nantucket looking for seasonal work she's awestruck by the beauty of the seaside town. Having just been burned by her boyfriend, who stole all her money while she was living in Aspen, Adrienne is looking for a change of pace. When Adrienne asks some of the locals about finding seasonal work in Nantucket they refer her to the most exclusive restaurant in town, The Blue Bistro. Although Adrienne doesn't have any restaurant experience, she heads over to The Blue Bistro where she meets the handsome owner, Thatcher Smith. When Thatcher interviews Adrienne and discovers that she has no experience he tells her that he cannot hire her for his restaurant. As she is leaving the interview Thatcher has a change of heart and decides to take a chance on Adrienne, placing her in a high profile position in the restaurant where he can personally train her.

On opening night for The Blue Bistro Adrienne is dressed to kill in a swanky top and heels. Thatcher takes one look at Adrienne's shoes and tells her they are no good. Thatcher meets with all the staff and tells them how important it is that The Blue Bistro maintains its excellent quality in its last season on Nantucket. Adrienne is a bit overwhelmed by the high intensity of The Blue Bistro and she can't understand why such a popular, thriving restaurant is in its last season. The food is to die for, the locals are killing themselves to get reservations at The Blue Bistro and there is constantly a line outside waiting to get in the door. Further, she keeps hearing talk of the talented chef and co-owner, Fiona "Fee" Kemp, but oddly enough, Fee stays in the kitchen and is fairly reclusive. When Adrienne does stumble into the kitchen during the course of the evening Fee's attitude towards her is hardnosed and a bit abrupt. By the end of the night when Adrienne's feet are killing her, she perfectly understands why Thatcher vetoed her heels. Adrienne vows to wear more sensible shoes to the restaurant and to learn all the different facets of working at The Blue Bistro.

Although working at The Blue Bistro is tireless work, Adrienne is stimulated by the high pressure atmosphere and the level of responsibility that Thatcher has given her. Up to this point in her life Adrienne has always been an underachiever and has moved from place to place always looking for seasonal work. Suddenly, on Nantucket Island, Adrienne is finding that the pace and the lifestyle suits her. Further, her attraction to Thatcher is growing by leaps and bounds. Problem is, he's a bit older and he's her boss. And certain questions keep racing through her mind? Why is Fiona "Fee" so nasty to her? And what kind of hold does she have on Thatcher that keeps him running to her side? Each and every night Fee and Thatcher have dinner by themselves just the two of them. Do they have a romantic past? Were they in love? Are they still? As Adrienne and Thatcher move towards a romantic relationship Adrienne struggles to deal with all these unresolved questions. Although Thatcher is warm and loving he is closelipped about certain aspects of his life, particularly his relationship with Fee.

As the summer nears an end Adrienne must decide if she will stay on the Island and build a future with Thatcher who has won a place in her heart. And as Adrienne learns Fee's devestating secret and the reason the Blue Bistro is closing its doors, she learns a lesson about the infinite possibilities of love.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 2000+ (Present Day)
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance:
Life of a profession:
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 9 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast
Water? Yes
Island? Yes

Writing Style
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only - descript of kissing - actual description of hetero sex
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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