The Second Worst Restaurant in France Book Review

I saw this on the new release section at the library so I put it on reserve.  I wasn't sure if it was part of a series but I figured that I would enjoy checking it out.  This was an interesting and amusing story that turned out to be a series.  The Second-Worst Restaurant in France: A Paul Stuart Novel (2) (Paul Stuart Series) by Alexander McCall Smith was the second book in the series after the Italian Bulldozer.

In this delightful sequel to the best-selling comedic novel My Italian Bulldozer, Paul Stuart's travels take him to a French village, where the local restaurant's haute cuisine leaves a lot to be desired.  Renowned Scottish cookbook writer Paul Stuart is hard at work on his new book, The Philosophy of Food, but complicated domestic circumstances, and two clingy cats, are making that difficult.

So when Paul's eccentric cousin Chloe suggests that he join her at the house she's rented in the French countryside, he jumps at the chance. The two quickly befriend the locals, including their twin-sister landladies, who also own the infamous local restaurant known to be the second-worst eatery in all of France. During their stay, the restaurant's sole waitress gives birth mid-dinner service and the maître d' storms off after fighting with the head chef. Paul is soon drafted to improve the gastronomy of the village, while Chloe, ever on the hunt for her next romance, busies herself with distracting the handsome but incompetent chef. Could he be husband number six?

With all this local drama to deal with, Paul finds it next to impossible to focus on his writing, and that's before he learns that Chloe's past is far more complicated than he'd ever imagined. Paul will have to call upon al his experience—with food and with people—to bring order back to the village. And he may just learn something about family—and about himself—along the way.

 This amusing story was another travel book where Paul moves to a small French village with his cousin Chloe.  Chloe is an interesting character and she is getting Paul into the local culture and neighborhood.  Paul has come to avoid his ex-girlfriend and try to get his next book written before his deadline.  Chloe and Paul are really enjoying the small country town and Paul walks to the local bakery to get croissants in the morning so that they get to eat the treat warm for breakfast.  The landladies recommend the local restaurant but then quickly turn around and tell them that it is not really good.  Paul and Chloe go and the menu is super limited, the service is horrible and the food ends up making Paul sick.  It is a horrible place but they get in the middle of it to try to help turn the restaurant around.  As it happens in all the books, there are a few unexpected twists that I wasn't expecting but worth reading to find out what happens.  I hope that you check out this fun series and you laugh a little at the funny situations in the Second Worst Restaurant in France.