Comments (42)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 42 items
Jan 22, 2022leeleenola rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
I'm mad at myself for finishing this book. It goes no where and the characters only become more unlikeable. While the author put a lot of work into developing lovely paragraphs that explained food and wine in the MOST pretension way…
Aug 26, 2021susanlynneh47 rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I read this book through to the end but was left wondering why I had. The character development wasn't really there and the action was repetitious. Yes, this book gives a view into what goes on behind the scenes in high-end New York…
Jul 20, 2021ownedbydoxies rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I got caught up in this one at the beginning, but about half-way through, when nothing much seemed to change and characters remained unappealing in many ways, I finally decided reading the book was demeaning. To me! I don't need that in my…
Jul 06, 2021IndyPL_LindsayH rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
A peek behind the scenes of a high class Manhattan restaurant. While this book is fiction, it definitely reads like reality. Although, I`m hoping it is not that excessive. It is filled with late nights, drugs, and alcohol. The main…
Jun 20, 2020Indoorcamping rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
The writing is really good but OMG NO! This is the third novel in a row written by young, super-talented women and by far the worst. It could be me, though. When you read non-fiction for a few decades and decide, hey why not? Fiction is a…
Mar 07, 2020maipenrai rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
I wanted to like this book, but I never bonded with the protagonist nor anyone else in the novel. If you don't care what happens to anyone in a story, you should probably give up. I stuck with the book to the bitter end, foolish optimist…
Jan 28, 2020kmcdouall rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Learning the ropes working in a high-pressure fine dining establishment, Danler invites us to look at the mechanics of relationships, egos, rivalries, and dysfunctional subcultures in the food service industry. Riding the crest of the…
Dec 09, 2019AndreaG_KCMO rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I picked up this book after searching for a City of Girls read-alike; halfway through, I still couldn't commit and moved on to another book before returning to this one. Simone and Jake's characterization bothered me most; they struck…
Jul 14, 2019EljayJohnson rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Oh, where to begin? First, an admission: for about the 1st third of the book, I was suckered in. Danler has some gifts with language and I liked the breaks from the narrative for the 2nd person passages and the stream of consciousness-type…
Feb 11, 2019kmobuckeye rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A good story. I love that no one in here is perfect and it shows the true dirty new york underbelly.
Jan 04, 2019daysleeper236 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This novel is easy to hate, with its pretentious, poetic writing style and unlikable characters. That said, the second half is better than the first and by the end I couldn't put it down.
Nov 28, 2018
Agree with previous reviewer r/t who gets published, praised. Decided not to bother r/t reviews here - time is more valuable than that. Thanks for letting me know!
Oct 07, 2018agoldsby rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
The best way to sum up this book is mediocrity at its best. I'm convinced in America certain people are praised and deemed successful even when their work is boring and predictable. In this case, you'll even get a tv show out of it! Do not…
Jul 12, 2018ArapahoeTiegan rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I started out really liking this book. The premise of a 22-year-old moving to New York and getting a job in a high-end restaurant was pretty intriguing. It started out pretty good, but just went downhill from there. Overall, I found myself…
Jun 28, 2018bktm2586 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I'm surprised so many other readers were disappointed. It is important, however, to know what you're getting into. This is basically a coming-of-age memoir. Yes, it's officially fiction, but if you Google this book or the author at all,…
Jun 13, 2018sooperhockeygirl88 rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
How this got made into a TV series is beyond me. The "story" got no where. The main character Tess is simply a waitress who just moved to New York looking to start a new life. We don't know her past and we never will in the book. We just…
May 08, 2018KathyO59 rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
One of the worst books I've ever read! I graduated from cooking school & worked in restaurants so to me the plot is totally unreasonable. No one with no experience is going to get a FOH or BOH job without experience, especially in a 3 -…
Mar 20, 2018smpowe5 rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
One of the first books I have checked out that I didn't feel the need to finish. I read about half of it and it seemed to be going nowhere with no real storyline. Characters didn't catch my interest and just reminded me why I didn't enjoy…
Oct 11, 2017Kcota22 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was wary at first, considering I am not one particularly interested in food literature or New York living; however, after reading a few chapters and getting into the style of writing, I was pleasantly…
Oct 02, 2017KatTheGreat rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I never made it passed page 130. It's not that this a badly written book - the author is competent and somewhat talented ... but there was no plot, just vague storyline. The book would be better sold as 'scenes from a restaurant', rather…
jen480480
Jul 19, 2017jen480480 rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
I had high hopes for this book, especially considering all of the hype, but I couldn't get past the first few chapters. The writing was spastic at best, the author did a poor job of introducing the characters and giving me a reason to feel…
MichelleM_3
May 10, 2017MichelleM_3 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I really like the book. I like the author's writing. What I enjoyed the most about the book was the author's ability to transport the reader into Tess's world which is the restaurant. You kind of get sucked in the way she does. It all…
Mar 20, 2017PinesandPrejudice rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
This was one the worst books I have ever read. I finished hoping the main character would change, learn something, redeem herself -- but alas, she remained stupid, ignorant and annoying the entire time. The characters were pretentious,…
athompson10
Mar 02, 2017athompson10 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Every time I eat at Union Square Cafe, I'll remember this book.
Feb 22, 2017michelleritchie rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book. I read it on vacation and had it done in 3 days. Some people describe her writing as lacking character development but I thought it was more about leaving details unsaid. You don't even learn her name for a few…