Book Review: When in Doubt, Add Butter

By Cindy Roesel

This review comes with a warning. If you’re going to read Beth Harbison’s new novel, WHEN IN DOUBT, ADD BUTTER, beware of the cupcakes on the cover! Maybe it’s just me, but the delicious treats had me in the car, driving to the Fresh Market, buying cupcakes and eating ALL of them while reading her book. Okay, we’re all girls and yes I was PMSing! Still...

You’re going to love, love, LOVE "When In Doubt, Add Butter," just like we’ve all enjoyed Beth’s other best-selling books - "Always Something There To Remind Me;" "Thin, Rich, Pretty;" "Hope In A Jar;" "Secrets of a Shoe Addict" and "Shoe Addicts Anonymous," which is currently being made into a film starring Halle Berry.

In WHEN IN DOUBT, ADD BUTTER, we meet 30-something Gemma Craig. She’s a private chef who spends her entire life taking care of other people by cooking for them. She gets to know her clients intimately well, some almost too well. Her life is broken down to a constant parade of the people she cooks for Monday through Friday nights and at the country club on weekends. We have Angela Van Houghten terrorizing her family with made-up allergies; Angela's hubby who is frisky for the cook; Mr. Tuesday with his cheeky notes; Lex, the fancy department store head; the Power hungry DC Wife and her ladies who lunch; and the Russian psychic family.

"I put a big slab of butter into the pan. The Oleskies didn’t give one tiny damn about health, which made them refreshing to cook for, and my motto was pretty much, 'when in doubt, add butter.'"

Gemma’s a happily single, strong, independent woman living a pretty much career driven existence. She’s happy to remain in the kitchen, but when her carefully planned routine is interrupted by an intimate encounter and a life changing revelation, she’s forced to reevaluate her love life, as well as an event from the past.

What I liked best about WHEN IN DOUBT, ADD BUTTER is that the characters were really well developed. Beth Harbison has an amazing talent for fleshing out characters so they almost walk off the page. I feel like I made friends with a bunch of peeps while reading the novel. I’m kind of sad that it ended. Maybe there will be a sequel. I hope so.

WHEN IN DOUBT, ADD BUTTER will be published on July 17th. You can pre-order it on Amazon.