[Book Review] The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden & Chicago French Press Lemon Brûlée Coffee

Title: The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie
Series: Standalone
Author: Rachel Linden
Publication date: August 2nd 2022
Page Count: 352 pages
Age Rating: Adult (mentions of parental death, illness)
How I got my hot little hands on it: Received a review copy
Publisher’s page: The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie

An uplifting novel about a heartbroken young pie maker who is granted a magical second chance to live the life she didn’t choose. . . . from the bestselling author of The Enlightenment of Bees.

Lolly Blanchard’s life only seems to give her lemons. Ten years ago, after her mother’s tragic death, she broke up with her first love and abandoned her dream of opening a restaurant in order to keep her family’s struggling Seattle diner afloat and care for her younger sister and grieving father. Now, a decade later, she dutifully whips up the diner’s famous lemon meringue pies each morning while still pining for all she’s lost.  
 
As Lolly’s thirty-third birthday approaches, her quirky great-aunt gives her a mysterious gift—three lemon drops, each of which allows her to live a single day in a life that might have been hers. What if her mom hadn’t passed away? What if she had opened her own restaurant in England? What if she hadn’t broken up with the only man she’s ever loved? Surprising and empowering, each experience helps Lolly let go of her regrets and realize the key to transforming her life lies not in redoing her past but in having the courage to embrace her present.

My Review

Sugary and tart, sweet and sour, and leaving a lingering taste, The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie lives up to its name as it uses magical realism in the form of little drops of lemon candy that allow 32 yr old piemaker Lolly a bittersweet chance to see what might have been.

Plotwise, there really aren’t any surprises, the plot follows pretty closely the outline set up in the description. What I wasn’t expecting was the emotional toll this book would have on me. Following along in Lolly’s emotional journey, I found myself questioning my own pathways, my own decisions, and my own future.

Lolly is approaching her 33rd birthday when her sister digs up an old journal of hers from middle school with a list of her life goals: live in another country, own her own restaurant somewhere amazing, fall in love, and help her family be happy together forever. Suddenly she’s hit with the realization she hasn’t achieved any of her dreams and likely never will, stuck in place by a promise made to her dying mother to keep the family restaurant running and her family together. This is what she’s dedicated her life to and this is what she’s given up her own dreams for.

Seeing how depressed Lolly is thinking about her past and how hopeless she feels about her future in the days leading up to her birthday, her great-aunt gives her a truly amazing gift – lemon drop candies that will allow her to walk the paths not taken. What if instead of staying to take over the restaurant when her mother died, she had moved away and opened her own restaurant? What if instead of giving up the man she loved to focus on her fractured family and the family restaurant, she had married him? What if her mother had never died in the first place?

As each day lived in an alternate life seemed to teach a bittersweet lesson and didn’t hold the answers for “following her bliss”, I began to feel a little hopeless myself alongside Lolly. What was the point of making different decisions if none of them really brought her happiness? And then when she finally got to see her mother again and was given the advice not to cling so tightly to things that are already broken, wow did I get upset on Lolly’s behalf (since it was the promises she made Lolly give her on her death bed that caused her to give up her dreams in the first place!).

I’ve seen a lot of reviews saying they couldn’t connect with Lolly, but I had the opposite problem – I identified too much. Honestly, I almost didn’t finish the book because of how upset I was getting, but I’m glad I stuck it out. Rest assured there IS a happy ending, even though it starts to feel impossible for a minute. The ending of the book actually ended up being rather cute and allowed me to think differently about searching for my own bliss in the future.

I absolutely recommend this book. The plot may seem a little kitschy, but the story is deeper than expected. Starting off sour and ending sweet, The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, both for the protagonist and the reader, but the happy ending feels earned and satisfying, and totally worth it.

Lovers of lemon-flavored things will adore Chicago French Press Lemon Brûlée Coffee, a lovely medium roast small batch coffee with just the perfect amount of citrusy lemon flavor courtesy of an in-house lemon crème syrup used for flavoring.