BOOK REVIEW: First Course by Jenn Bouchard

When tragedy strikes, family relationships are tested in this sweet, cozy story about second chances and new opportunities.

I will admit that I seriously, 100% thought that this was going to be a foodie book about finding one’s self and getting a second chance at life in the culinary world. Wrong! Like, really wrong!!  Don’t get me wrong! There is some amazing food and drink that our beloved main character, Janie, dishes out, but it is not about the life of a culinary genius opening her own Michelin-Star restaurant or café.

Janie is a young journalist working for a Chicago magazine and secretly dating her editor boss, until the parent company shuts the magazine down one day. Sending boyfriend to California on a one-way ticket and Janie back home to Maine when she learns that her parents have just tragically died in a private plane crash and her older sister's husband is having an affair. Talk about a crappy day. Now, everyone is on a mission to grieve, heal, fix marriages, find love and discover what that next chapter of life holds.

I love small town settings, and Maine was the perfect setting for these sisters to re-evaluate their lives. Janie was a great main character, I enjoyed her development and felt bad that I personally feel she wasn’t able to grieve with her parents death because her sister, Alyssa, was completely self-absorbed. Janie had to do everything, including caring for her nieces. Janie was giving and selfless and Alyssa was completely selfish. Granted, Alyssa’s husband is a complete cheating, a-hole. They are all developed very independently of each other, but have direct influence.

Through it all, Janie encountered new people that helped her work out what she was going to do in this next chapter of her life, which is what the book is all about. When that next chapter comes and you turn the page, what are the possibilities, what do you really want to do in life. I love how all the tragedy and the domino effect of multiple events led the sisters to rejuvenate their relationship, and explore all those possibilities that they never saw before. 

Bouchard did a great job of pulling back the layers of family and showing what’s important. As a story that focuses around family relationships, I felt that there was excellent pacing and enough supplementary storylines that kept everything moving swiftly. It is almost expected that you have the childhood ex-boyfriend, the new love interest, and of course the resurfacing of the recent boss ex-boyfriend all play a role in how Janie decides to move forward. Each presents a possibility. 

I thought the new romance with Rocky was sweet, and he was able to present the possibilities that lead the sisters to discover their ultimate purpose. Granted, if I was involved, my decision on a cheating husband may be a little different! With Janie’s love interest, it wasn’t slow burn, but it also wasn’t lust at first sight. There was a simplicity about everything that just made it such an easy read but there was also a warmth to the story and Janie’s development relationship; how the elements were all put together gave it the cozy read, even though there was this horrible tragedy.

Food is on clear display throughout some of the most critical scenes and moments of the story. The idea that food plays a pivotal role in families and relationships is highlighted through Janie’s love for cooking, and her desire to cook for those she loves from meatball subs to homemade biscuits. It was almost as if you could smell the aroma seeping off the pages. 

Where does this land on my bookshelf?

Even though Alyssa drove me crazy, and I wish there was just a little more on the grieving and healing, I think I could be convinced to place this on my top shelf. There was just something about the structure and pacing that created a cozy, warm impression that just sucked me in and made me invest in the characters. I wanted them to find their direction and to figure out how to move forward, so being able to watch them struggle to get there is what this type of book is all about. It was a great summer read and I highly encourage you to put it on your TBR or to just get it and throw it in that bag when you head to the beach.

** Jenn will be our special guest on the Speaking LITerally podcast July 2023 episode! **

Don’t forget to check out my other fun sites!

Website for book lovers: www.azdesertbookworm.com It has links to my podcast Speaking LITerally, book reviews, breaking literary news, games, links to small businesses and more! I update it at least once a week! I also have a lot of content on my Instagram! Check it out - @azdesert_bookworm

Speaking LITerally podcast! Our monthly misadventures into all things literary. Separated the Atlantic, Liz and I come together in our love of reading!!! Find us wherever you listen to your other favorite podcasts! Click here to find us on iHeartRadio!

If you are really bored, you can read about some of my personal adventures in life raising two teenagers, commentating on professional wrestling shows and loving a husband who is fighting Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and all the lesson I learn along the way. Educate This.