The Lost Art of Mixing (A School of Essential Ingredients Novel) Kindle Edition

This story is a follow up book to The School of Essential Ingredients which I very much enjoyed. Unfortunately this book wasn't nearly as interesting. Quite a bit of the story centered on a character named Isabelle. An older lady who is losing her home and mind due to dementia. As an older lady myself, this wasn't the most enjoyable reading. The other characters were also going through some depressing life experiences. I was hoping for a more enjoyable book to lose myself in and this just wasn't it.

I was looking forward to reading this novel because the author is an excellent writer and I LOVED "A School of Essential Ingredients." Again, this novel is no exception when it comes to being well-written. However, I really had a tough time finding a plot in this - it was even difficult to find the thread that held it together, or who the protagonist was. Even after finishing, I have no idea who's story this was. It was like a collection of short character descriptions, with a little glue applied here and there to stick them together, but I have to say I was unfortunately disappointed. I've always been under the impression the Epilogue of a book was to more or less wrap up the character's lives a year later, or something. In this case, the Epilogue wrapped up one of the characters, who interestingly enough, was only one scene in ONE chapter of the entire book. Strange.

I liked it but it wasn’t as good as the first book. I’m glad she expanded the story of the characters she had in the first book but wasn’t as good. Parts were boring and made me drift off but got back on track. Overall I liked it.

I have read several other books by this author and really enjoyed them. I did not feel this book was nearly as good as her previous books. In my opinion sequels often fall short of the original story and The Lost Art of Mixing definitely came in a very distant second to the first book in the series It is not a bad book but not as good as I expected

A polished novel. Thank you.I liked this better as I read.Each character had a story and we saw inside their head and heart. Thorough profiling of different character types. I expected Louise the Grinch to lose her mind but perhaps she gained helpful insight. Louise and Al did not speak the same love language and each projected a false picture of themselves. So sad.Lyrical wording and picturesque phrasing. Mind candy. Thank you.

While this can be read as a stand alone it’s better to read it after School of Essential Ingredients since that’s where the love starts. Each character in this book has their own story and they are all tied together like a bouquet of flowers. Such interesting people each learning lessons about life and sharing their love. It’s a delightful book but not as good as the first.

The author’s rare gift for weaving words together into a comforting coverlet is a blessing to the reader. How she trails the thread of a small incident like the squeal of car brakes into the characters’ lives, intertwining them together, is so pleasurable. The characters are so full of living and sharing, it makes you wish they all lived just down your street.

Loved this storyline - reminded me of the characters as ingredients in a recipe. We are all different going along our merry way and when we mix things happen - sometimes good sometimes not so good. Well written and easy to follow as well as character development. Story moved along as I wanted to follow each character to their ending.

I loved this sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients. It was so good to catch up with what was happening with some of the characters and to meet new characters. I wish I could find the book on celebrating traditions described in the book. It would be an interesting read and fun to try some of the celebrations. I would recommend reading The School of Essential Ingredients first just to know the background of the characters. Erica Bauemeister is a very gifted writer and I plan to look for more books by her.

This is a beautifully written book, a continuation in a way, of The School of Essential Ingredients, though they can be read completely separately. Food and cookery creations are interestingly described, and one can almost taste the meals created. I want to read more from this author.

good condition

Completed my collection! Arrived on time and can't wait to read them all!

I delayed reading the last few chapters as I just wasn't ready to leave 'their' lives. Another triumph for Erica Bauermeister. Thank you for writing this sequel.