Love & Saffron

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.Love & Saffron is the story of two women, Imogen and Joan, who begin exchanging letters due to a mutual love for cooking and cuisine. They describe their culinary adventures while detailing updates in their lives, career news and romance, and the friendships they've begun with people they meet on their hunt for new recipes.While I appreciate the concept, and while I do think the visuals in this book are lovely, this was not the book for me.I understand that this book is aiming to capture the inner lives of women in the 60's, however they're just not the type of women that I'm interested in reading about. I feel that this story has been told time and time again, and frankly it was uncomfortable to read. The two main characters are white, (upper) middle class women, and every side character described is a person of color used as a plot device to further the emotional and culinary enlightenment of these women. It may be an odd parallel to make, but the entirety of this book reminds me of the scene in Alice Pung's [b:Lucy and Linh 25695574 Lucy and Linh Alice Pung https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1452362204l/25695574.SY75.jpg 42091357] where Lucy's white classmate's mother insistently invites her to teach her and her friends how to cook Vietnamese food (despite her actually being Chinese), which caused obvious discomfort to Lucy and put her in an awkward position. I can only imagine this is how every side character in Love & Saffron felt.Perhaps I'm biased, but I know what it's like to be treated like a cultural specimen and, even with the best of intentions, it is uncomfortable.To avoid ranting, I'm going to end my review here.I understand that this story has good intentions, and I appreciate the love of cuisine that the characters have, however, this is not something that I would seek out knowing what I know now, nor would I recommend it.

A lovely, poignant epistolary novel. It took a little while to get into for me, but the friendship between the two women who are the center of the story soon hooked me.

Short sweet novel about a long distance friendship between foodies. I listened to it while scrubbing my kitchen and it had me looking forward to cooking.

Two strangers become fast friends in the 1960s through an exchange of letters, as they gradually disclose information about their lives that leaves them vulnerable.

Lots of wonderful recipes, too.

A solid 3 1/2 stars.

This was a beautiful novel in letters. We see the growth of a friendship as well as the growth of the women. All the food discussions were gorgeous and really made me appreciate the foods that we now have available at the grocery store. I really feel like these were two real women and I am glad I got to know them.

Wonderful on audio, a new favorite. This lovely story set in the early 60's centers around food and Seattle (among other things) and I absolutely loved it. I will be buying a physical copy for myself; ten stars.

I loved this book! Another great recommendation from the Modern Mrs Darcy blog I wouldn't have encountered any other way

This is a short, quick and fun read. I love the format for this one as the friendship is established through letters between Joan and Imogen.

I remember sending letters back and forth when I was younger and the thrill I felt at seeing one arrive in my mailbox. The nostalgia is real.

I especially love that through the sharing of food, Imogen's marriage becomes something more than she ever knew or expected it could be. Likewise, Joan has found a love of her own. Le sigh