As captivating as the title is, the story of The All You Can Dream Buffet does not disappoint. Granted, I have read several books where four girl friends get together and rehash their lives. Almost every author from Danielle Steel to Debbie Macomber has written something of the sort. The four ladies here are friends too, albeit of a different kind.
Lavender Honey Farms is situated in the north west Pacific region in Oregon. It has flourishing fields of lavender, lovingly tended by its mistress Lavender. Anyone named Lavender or Lilac would seem mesmerizing to me, and will certainly invoke the heady perfume of the flower or the soothing tones of the color. Lady Lavender has led a wild life as an airline stewardess in the glorious Pan Am type days, and then put her roots down on the farm after retirement. Single and childless, her greatest concern is choosing an heir who will care as much for the land as she does.
Ginny is a Kansas woman who has never been outside her small one horse town. But she has attained fame and fortune as a food blogger. She bakes scrumptious cakes, photographs them and writes about them everyday. She has a huge fan following across the country, but sadly, is not accepted by her own family. All she gets from her jaded husband, old fashioned mother and jealous friends is derision. So she takes the plunge and buys an Airstream trailer, and decides to step out of Kansas, very much against the wishes of her disapproving family.
Val used to be a big wine blogger and ballet queen but is grieving for her husband and daughters. She is also trying to fend with her teenage daughter and is on the road in her trailer, trying to go to California.
Ruby has been blessed with a second life. Terminally ill as a child, she has been shunned by her mother and is shackled by her over protective father. She has just escaped a bad relationship and is carrying a child. Ruby is a trained chef and a vegan.
Ruby, Val, Ginny and Lavender are the Foodie Four and have seen each other through many rainy days. They decide to meet for Lavender’s birthday at her farm. This is a sly move by Lavender to zero in on a suitable person to run her farm. But everyone is game.
Ginny goes through a lot of challenges on the road, but is happy to leave Kansas. She is never going back again.Kansas lovers and lovers of the American plains may not agree with some of Ginny’s views. I don’t see what is wrong with vast corn fields and flat land for as far as the eye can see.
The ladies meet and unknowingly reveal different facets of their personalities. Will Lavender find any of them suitable?
The All You Can Dream Buffet is heaven for food lovers. There is talk of fine rustic food and also lots of recipes in the book. There are some elements that the book could have done without, in my opinion. Readers of this blog will probably understand what I mean after they read the book.
I loved the characters and the story, and most of the items on this buffet. And like any buffet, found some things not to my liking. The All You Can Dream Buffet offers something for most readers and is an easy, entertaining read. Definitely worth your time and money!
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