Review: A Table for Two

A Table for Two by Sheryl Lister
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

Breathe, girl. I am not going to fall for this man. 

Six years ago after having her heart broken by her over critical boyfriend, Serenity moved to the town of Firefly Lake in California. A nurse who wanted to escape the fast pace of the ER, Serenity now works in an office. She also hosts the semimonthly Serenity's Supper Club, where she and her four friends, Andrea, Dana, Natasha, and Terri get together over drinks and the chef quality food Serenity cooks up. When Serenity's friend and neighbor Andrea gets a promotion and has to move, her brother from Atlanta decides to stay at her place to help watch over their nana. Gabriel only plans on staying a few months, he wants to convince his grandmother to move to Atlanta, but when he meets Serenity, he's gaining a new outlook on life. 

He'd never missed a woman---never missed kissing a woman---before, but he had with her. 

A Table for Two was a very low angst foodie lovers dream story that had Serenity learning to trust again and Gabriel figuring out what he truly wanted out of life. Serenity's baggage from her last relationship had her extra sensitive to a few comments Gabriel made at first, which had them starting off on a slightly growly foot. For the most part, Gabriel took her attitude in stride and as they were put together more, neighbors, small-town run-ins, and supper club dinners, the not trusting intentions eased and attraction tension replaced it. Gabriel was a workaholic, who had some pain still popping up from his parents fatal car accident eight years ago. He owned a tech company with some friends and was a software engineer who had his friends demanding he learn to balance his work and play schedule better. Serenity learning to trust Gabriel's true intentions and Gabriel learning that he maybe didn't need the big city life was the low angst keeping these two apart. 

Gabriel was falling fast, and he had no idea what to do about it. 

Serenity and Gabriel's relationship had a nice steady pace to it, by 15% any misunderstanding to Gabriel's first remarks has been cleared up, 30% they've kissed, 40% they start to date, and at 60% they're in the open door bedroom. Their relationship was the steady ride through a story supported by love of food, friendships, and family relationships. Gabriel and his nana have great scenes together, I would have liked even more of them together, and it was obviously loving how he came to realize how he couldn't uproot her from her life in Firefly Lake. One of the big highlights of the story was the friendships. Serenity with her supper club friends had great talks and Gabriel with his friends that he owned the software business with, had great supportive relationships. These interactions and scenes rounded out Serenity and Gabriel's characters and filled out the story and world the author had created. It added color to the picture and leaves the reader with matchmaking ideas for some in the friendship group. 

She'd been falling for him since the first kiss, and she was in danger of losing the one thing she'd vowed never to give away again---her heart. 

Serenity came with the cooking skills but Gabriel was no slacker. He took Serenity on a wine tour, brought her to a concert, mowed her grass, and showed off his own cooking. Gabriel was the whole package with the romancing and supporting, giving Serenity what she needed when it was needed; a sexy competence hero. The last ten percent felt rushed with a proposal that felt kind of quick and didn't quite stick the emotional landing for me. I did think the last half started to lose some of its steam but I lean more on the side of drama angst and this was definitely very low level, so my drifting disinterest was tied to that aspect. This was an amiable story that showcased friendships, love of food, and a romance that just need to trust and realize the important things in life.

View all my reviews