A Pinch of Nutmeg by Christine Ambrosius

Final Rating: 3.9/5

 A fascinating journey into the 16th century for the culinary curious…

   A Pinch of Nutmeg is a coming of age journey into Europe’s and Eastern 16th-century kitchens with just enough intrigue, court skullduggery and servings of unique history, to keep this reader coming back for more. Told in a distinct fashion that entices with its flavorsome dialogue, colorful assortment of characters and rich descriptions of history; you just may learn something new about the spices, herbs and everyday foodstuffs in your own kitchen pantries. The travels in this book are ones that are sure to delight the culinary curious as we follow a young kitchen boy who dreams of being a master de cuisine. The pages are chocked full of savory and sweet descriptions of period dishes and I will be the first to admit, I had to stop reading once or twice to go and get something to nosh on. Which was perfect because A Pinch of Nutmeg is a paced read and momentary breaks are encouraged to those interested but be sure to come right back because the 16th century topics that are shared in these pages are just fascinating and a few surprising smacks of drama (in and outside kitchens), counterplots and passion are waiting to be enjoyed.

  Overall, I thought A Pinch of Nutmeg was very entertaining. It had the morsels of trivia I crave to find in my fiction and this was a lucky find. The only negatives I can note are the pacing, a few slips with more modern terms and phrases used but perhaps those are things easily explained by a translation error? For me, I found the mysteries and brief darker tones unfortunately underplayed and simply forgotten as the story moved from one place to another. Finally the various romances at times seemed unbelievable and a little silly venturing into a disappointing bodice ripper realm (but again it may just be the translation). Negatives aside, this was a fascinating debut and journey into unfamiliar topics of the 16th century and I look forward to reading more from this author. I would recommend A Pinch of Nutmeg to readers hungry for a coming of age adventure that also has some surprises waiting for the history and culinary minded.

* I would like to thank Amazon Crossing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and enjoy A Pinch of Nutmeg

Release Date: June 23, 2015