Cooking Up Love by Cynthia Hickey is a most delightful book. Tabitha McClelland has just taken a job as a Harvey House waitress and to reach the job she has to travel across the country but at least she gets to ride on a train and does not have to endure the trip via stagecoach. At this time in America, well bred young ladies did not work outside the home but Tabitha has no choice for she is on her own and has to support herself. When she reaches Topeka, Kansas, she meets Adam Foster who is the chef at the restaurant where she will do her training. He is a widower and Tabby is drawn to him but family is everything to him and she only wants freedom and to be on her own. Fraternizing between the male and female employees is strictly forbidden by the Harvey House owner but the feelings that Tabby and Adam have for each other are just too strong to ignore. Adam’s dream is to open a restaurant in California with his family and he prays that he can convince Tabby to join him as his wife and to share his dream.

The author did an excellent job with the development of the characters. Everyone of them came alive on the pages of the book and I felt as if I knew each of them personally. Scene descriptions were so realistic that I could feel the sway of the train as I traveled with Tabby to her new job. The author made Tabby’s training so real that I was feeling her pain and all her other emotions that were attached to the training. I especially liked the way that the author kept God’s love and forgiveness prominent in the book as Tabby dealt with her memories and grief and as Adam trusted God for guidance. The author also did a good job of educating me about the Harvey Girls. I had a passing knowledge of them but this book gave me a look into the outs and ins of the job. I had no idea that the training was so intense and that there were so many strict rules and regulations. Not only was this a great romance story but it also presented a bit of American history in a most enjoyable way.

I recommend this book highly to everyone that likes a great Christian historical romance with a happy ending and that also teaches a small history lesson.

Thanks to the author, Cynthia Hickey, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )