What a surprising treasure this book is!!! It looks like an innocent cover but it is truly one of the best books that I have read in a long time! I love it! The character development is wonderful and I especially like Shellye and Howard. I wasn't sure what was going on with the main character's husband, Albert, but eventually figured it out.
This book revolves around Velma and her diner and her home and small town. I love that it has recipes after most chapters. When the plot gets really intense, you don't even notice that there wasn't a recipe after some chapters. Excellent writing. I thought I had figured out what was going on with Shellye and it did have a tragic climax. I highly recommend this book ( )

Pleasantly surprised by this novel. I saw it recommended on a list of book club ideas and ordered it with no other knowledge of the book. It's a Christian novel, without being too sappy about it. Loved the characters. I got sucked right in to life in this small town. Things got dramatic after a lot of slow-living, which came as a surprise. Recommended for lovers of uplifting books - especially if you like them a bit more real life, and less sappy. ( )

A beautiful book in style and imagery, with recipes for those of you into cooking (not me). I loved the portraits of the town residents and the twists of plot. Way above the average Christian fiction. ( )

The titular Velma is a good woman steadfast in her Christian faith, who finds herself both humbled and blessed by her neighbors. A Christian novel, there are themes of charity and forgiveness throughout. Velma befriends a troubled teen who find herself taken advantage by the men in her life. She takes in an ill cousin. She grudgingly extends charity to a rude poor man, but learns a valuable lesson from it. She sees her neighbors and church through hard times and hypocritical times, a remains a steady moral influence throughout. The title refers to her main joy and talent in life: cooking for her friends and neighbors in her struggling diner.

This is an uplifting novel that even those without strong faith can feel good about. Velma is not a goody two-shoes, but has a secret of her own that she initially keeps from the readers, a secret that makes her only more a sympathetic character. She is simply a person trying to do right by herself and others in this world, an admirable quality no matter which direction your spiritual tenencies bend. ( )

This is a small town family story (with excellent recipes!) ( )