The Restaurant Critic's Wife

By: Elizabeth LaBan

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

People magazine included The Restaurant Critic's Wife on their Great New Fiction list and hailed it as "thoroughly entertaining."

Lila Soto has a master's degree that's gathering dust, a work-obsessed husband, two kids, and lots of questions about how exactly she ended up here.

In their new city of Philadelphia, Lila's husband, Sam, takes his job as a restaurant critic a little too seriously. To protect his professional credibility, he's determined to remain anonymous. Soon his preoccupation with anonymity takes over their lives as he tries to limit the family's contact with anyone who might have ties to the foodie world. Meanwhile, Lila craves adult conversation and some relief from the constraints of her homemaker role. With her patience wearing thin, she begins to question everything: her decision to get pregnant again, her break from her career, her marriage - even if leaving her ex-boyfriend was the right thing to do. As Sam becomes more and more fixated on keeping his identity secret, Lila begins to wonder if her own identity has completely disappeared - and what it will take to get it back.

©2016 Elizabeth LaBan (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Unlikeable characteds

I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a husband as much as I dislike Sam. No one ever discusses how controlling and mentally abusive he is. I can’t stand him or the way his wife is such a pushover.

I loved this book!

This was my first Elizabeth Laban book. since this one I've listened to all her over ones! it was beautifully written, I loved the characters and narrator. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a light read who loved food narratives. Made my mouth water!

Ladedadeda

I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did. I would have left Sam many moons before this story was told. The reader was good and after a few duds I’d listened to before, she brought some life to this book I was happy to see end. I kept waiting for something to happen but it never did.

I liked it.

A good listen. I liked the plot and narration. It held my attention. I f I were reading instead of listening I'd have had a hard time putting the book down.

Great Book

This was a great book. I really enjoyed listening to this. The story line flowed smoothly and really held my interest. i evem learned a thimg or two about what goes into being a food critic. interesting.I look forward to reading more from this author


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So-so book

I generally liked this book, but I felt like the main character/the wife was still stuck.
I don't think I could be in a marriage like that, but that was her husbands dream and that's what she went a long with.
This book is defiantly going to have me thinking for a couple days.

Good Read

I took my time getting into this story. The author has great insight into real life situations and the main character matures beautifully.

not bad

The story was engaging- but I could never be married to her husband. good narrative.

Annoying loud child!

This was a very good book about a husband that is a control freak. I would buy a regular book to read though due to the loud annoying voice of the child. I stopped listening several times thinking I couldn't take hearing her any longer. I finally made it to the end. It was agonizing.

My Thoughts on The Restaurant Critic's Wife

4.5 of 5 stars

This was one of those books that drew me in with how real it was. Real life problems, worries and frustrations. Lila was so relatable for me as a mom of two who often has her own struggles with wondering if I'm doing the right thing as a parent. I could understand the moments of feeling like you just aren't communicating well with your spouse no matter how much you love them. And I felt like I really connected with that desire to find the right balance to satisfy everyone involved. I don't often read books where the couple is established and dealing with the day to day of married life, but this book makes me want to read more of them.

As I read and listened I thought thought the narrator was amazing. I loved the emotions and variations in her voice when she was doing the different characters and conveying what they were feeling.

I definitely plan to check out more from this author and narrator.