Review: A favorite book from a favorite series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 13, 2013
Dev Benthan's Tarnished Souls series is one of my all time favorite series. Loosely based on four of the Jewish holidays, each story builds on the one before. While they can be read as stand-alone novels you get more out of them when read in order.In Bread, Salt, and Wine we meet closeted Chef George, descended from a proud Polish family, who grew up on a farm in Iowa. Throughout the book we get hints about something dark and terrible that happened to George on the farm but it isn't until about three-quarters of the way into the book that the horror is revealed.The other main character is lapsed Jewish playwriter/waiter Kenny. George and Kenny strike up a friendship that leads very quickly into bed. This isn't insta-love. George's nightmarish past keeps him from being able to attach to anyone. Kenny goes along with the plan for a friends with benefits arrangement but eventually that idea meets reality, too.The story moves through several years, with the dates and locations announced at the beginning of the chapters so the change isn't too jarring. When Kenny tells George that he needs more than George is able to give him, George has an emotional breakdown that leads to painful self-discovery. Meantime, Kenny has to decide what to do with his own life. I have to tell you that at this point in the book I had to put it down and cry.The secondary characters are just as wonderful as the MCs and there is a coming out scene that is well worth the angst of the many pages that led up to it.This is the final book of the series and ends the way it should, with a wedding. What happens at weddings? All of the couple's friends and families come together to celebrate the event, right? In this case, all of the MCs from previous books in the series are there and I loved seeing them again so much! Usually when a series ends I wish there were going to be more but in this case the final book is the perfect coda that brings the total piece to a satisfying conclusion. I'm happy that I will be reading other books by Ms Bentham and to tell the truth I will be re-reading this particular series.My 5 sweet pea review appears at mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index.php/?p=12605 on June 14, 2013.