Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal – Audio

ARC from PRH Audio for an honest review

Book Blurb:

Mariel Prager needs a break. Her husband Ned is having an identity crisis, her spunky, beloved restaurant is bleeding money by the day, and her mother Florence is stubbornly refusing to leave the church where she’s been holed up for more than a week. The Lakeside Supper Club has been in her family for decades, and while Mariel’s grandmother embraced the business, seeing it as a saving grace, Florence never took to it. When Mariel inherited the restaurant, skipping Florence, it created a rift between mother and daughter that never quite healed. Ned is also an heir—to a chain of home-style diners—and while he doesn’t have a head for business, he knows his family’s chain could provide a better future than his wife’s fading restaurant. In the aftermath of a devastating tragedy, Ned and Mariel lose almost everything they hold dear, and the hard-won victories of each family hang in the balance. With their dreams dashed, can one fractured family find a way to rebuild despite their losses, and will the Lakeside Supper Club be their salvation?

My Review: 3 stars

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Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal was a great take on the life in Minnesota and the interworking of not just one family business, but two. The descriptions of the winters in Minnesota were beautifully portrayed.

As in Stradal’s previous two novels, food is an ever-present minor character that is threaded through the novel. From making your own alcohol to creating a sumptuous relish plate, food was a player in the book.

This was a multi-generational story that featured two families, both owning restaurants. That theme worked for me; however, I had a hard time with many of the characters, namely Florence. Could this be because I listened to the cadence and snark that came from the audio narrator? Perhaps, but I’m not sure.

I also found the format with so much time jumping hard to grasp at times. Again, it’s likely that if I’d read the book, it would’ve been clearer in regard to recognizing the time period.

Many reviewers plauded this book so I’m obviously in the minority.