THE SECOND COURSE is not just a book for foodies. It is the
tender story of four friendships between Billy, Lucy, Lotta,
and
Sarah. In THE SECOND COURSE, we explore their
conflicts, dreams, secrets, and loyalties.
Billy (Wilhelmina) Sitwell is going broke. It is too
expensive for her to continue to live in the Big Apple. Her
landlord is going to raise her rent again and the royalties
on her vintage cocktail book are drying up. Her culinary
career is on the wane and she is bored by the restaurants in
the city. Food became her everything when her mother
committed suicide when she was six years old. She lived in
the mid-west until her father died, and then headed to
Manhattan to follow her culinary dream. Her relationship
with Brett is going no where, even though he is eager for
one, Billy continues to keep a distance between them but
enjoys their sexual encounters. When she meets Chef Ethan at
the lavish wedding of her friend Lotta and
Omari, she is so impressed with his food that she goes
uninvited into his kitchen. He is tall, dark, handsome, and
young. When she introduces herself, he invites her to HUMA,
his restaurant in Kingston, in the
idyllic Hudson Valley. With Ethan, his team, and her
friends, her dreams Slowly and surely become a reality.
The lovely descriptions of the River House, Billy's
Kingston rental is instantly warm and welcoming. When
disaster strikes with the suicide of Lucy's husband, Titus,
all the friends reunite there to grieve with Lucy. While
cooking simply and with love, Billy realizes this is how she
cooks best, and what makes her the happiest. She writes
a long, lovely letter to Brett, explaining her feelings for
him and they reunite.
Kelly Killoren weaves a delightful web as we explore the
trading of her Big City life for the peaceful farm-to-table
atmosphere. I enjoyed the foraging for mushrooms with
Ethan and his pasta with chanterelles is pure delight! I
especially enjoyed the memory palates and can envision my
own recollections of special food and places.
From the luscious cover to the sweet ending, THE SECOND
COURSE is a book that you will find hard to put down. You
will come to know and love the colorful characters and
delight in the ending. A lovely read. Have a snack and a
tissue close!
Set between the hip and idyllic farm-to-table foodie
communities of the Hudson Valley, and the hotspots of
Brooklyn, the Hamptons, and Manhattan, The Second Course
follows four old friends struggling to find their
footing in a rapidly changing world.
Food has always been Billy’s language and her currency, but
she isn’t hungry anymore—and it’s terrifying her. That is,
until she attends a wedding and meets chef Ethan—an
enigmatic powerhouse half her age. Billy is sure her life
will never be the same, and she's right: she soon finds
herself moving upstate to restart her culinary career with
Ethan as her business partner—trading New York nightlife for
hikes and foraging in the peaceful Hudson Valley.
Back in the city, her three best friends, Lucy, Sarah, and
Lotta each harbor secrets that threaten to tear their lives
apart. Tensions are rising between the four women, and it
will take one tragedy—and more than a few glasses of
wine—for them to remember why they became friends in the
first place.
With the electrifying culinary prose of Stephanie Danler’s
Sweetbitter and the heart of Elisabeth Egan’s A
Window Opens, The Second Course is both a treat
for the senses and an honest exploration of the shared
conflicts, deep love and loyalty that bind a group of
girlfriends together.
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