Tessa can't remember the first few years of her life. It is only when she has an upsetting incident as an adult that she really questions her past. Memories start flooding back to her, but no answers come along with them.
She runs back to the town where she was born. She hasn't been there in over 30 years and she can barely remember a moment of her life there. Her dad warns her that it's a bad idea, that it will bring up old demons.

She uses a partial truth, that she is scoping the area out for her tour group. This leads her to a restaurant called 100 Breakfasts. You'll wish you could eat there, so it's very nice of the author to include some recipes :)

Without giving anything away spoilerwise, I will say that there was a period of time in this book that I was disappointed that it was starting to sad and filled with dark secrets. I have a personal bias against sad books, so it's nothing negative about the book itself, but I'll admit that I've come to know this author's writing as happier.
Now, that being said, there was a great twist towards the end of the book. I loved the twist and I loved the way the storyline wrapped up. All in all I enjoyed it, it's not my very favorite book by this author, but I loved how important pets, family and food were to the story. ( )

And....another book club read. :oD I would have never picked this up on my own. My honest opinion of the book: great summer beach read! Truly! It is filled with wonderful characters and just enough intrigue without heavy language or symbolism to enjoy from bath, to beach, to sangrias on the deck. It even has a surprise ending.

I gave it only two stars because I truly cannot deal with any romance. None. Zilch. That is my hang up. I fully admit I have a broken heart that calls for the constant replaying of Adele's 21 album and trying to figure out some peace with which I can live. On that note, I could relate to Tessa. But that is about all I could stomach about her. I was more fascinated by Vita, Annie, Cherry, and the rest of the townspeople.

This book for me was lovely for the simple reason that it took me home. I was born and raised in northeastern New Mexico. I know the areas of Santa Fe, Taos, and Pueblo (Colorado) very well. I loved being back home for awhile. I enjoyed the familiarity with a little bit of the spirits said to be haunting most of the off-beat places of New Mexico. I grew up with the legends of the Llorona. She was everywhere. You could do worse than this book for a little get-away reading. It isn't great literature, but do you always need great literature, or do you sometimes need a little escape with the blessings of spirits? ( )

I was really disapointed with this book. I really wanted to enjoy it, but by the time it wrapped up, I was frustrated beyond belief.

The romance in this was solid but everything else was a big mess with highly improbable coincidences following after other highly improbable coincidences. So many of the plot twists ended up being horrible cop-outs too.

Sigh. I absolutely loved O’Neil’s last book, [b:The Lost Recipe for Happiness|4944721|The Lost Recipe for Happiness|Barbara O'Neal|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344369819s/4944721.jpg|5010439]. I’m really hoping her next one is good.


MASSIVE PLOT SPOILERS:
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At the very beginning of the book, it's clear that the heroine's childhood memories are a little hazy. My first thought was "Dude, what if she was raised by a cult and her dad is not really her dad but a well-intentioned kidnapper?" Why I thought this, I'm still not sure. But guess who was right?!?!

I did not guess that the other woman in the story was her long-lost identical twin sister. But I probably should have.

( )

A nice solid women's fiction novel about untangling the truth of the past, embracing the future, and living in truth. Easy to read and entertaining. ( )

The Secret of Everything is Barbara O’Neal’s second novel. This is the story of thirty-seven year old Tessa Harlow, who leads hiking tours for adventurous vacationers. After a freak injury in a hiking trip marred by tragedy, Tessa is drawn to the New Mexico town of Los Ladrones, once the setting of a childhood trauma that Tessa can only remember in confusing flashes. The story is told in several voices: Tessa, looking for her past; Sam, her ex-hippie, surfer father, running away from that past; Vince Grasso, a widowed search and rescue worker and father of three daughters; Natalie, Vince’s troubled eight-year-old; Vita Solano, the proprietor of the town’s most beloved eatery, 100 Breakfasts Café; and Annie Veracruz, a recent prison parolee and employee at 100 Breakfasts. As Tessa explores the town on the pretext of setting up a hiking and gourmet cooking tour, she visits the Green Gate farm, the latest incarnation of the 70’s commune when she spent her early childhood. A delightful story of family, food and love, this novel has some wonderful characters, evocative descriptions and a plot with a few surprises. Oh, and of course, mouth-watering recipes! I look forward to Barbara O’Neal's next novel. ( )