First, the good:
1) Every recipe has an accompanying photo, beautifully staged and shot by the author herself. Impressive.
2) Notwithstanding the dessert chapter, the recipes are relatively straightforward and well within the grasp of most cooks.
3) The desserts, despite a big jump in complexity from previous chapters, are wonderful; probably the best recipes in the book.
Now for the downside:
1) TOO MUCH BLOG! I know Peltre's blog has a large following; it's how the book came to be. She should have left her blogging about life, vacations, childhood, etc. online. I couldn't care less about the kitchen she cooked in on her 10th anniversary trip or any of the rest of it. For those who want that stuff, hey...she has a blog!!
2) Overly simple space-filling recipes. Do we really need a recipe for yogurt with muesli & fruit? Or for fruit juice with ginger? Or for shredded carrots w/vinaigrette? No. Frankly, it borders on insulting. Did the publisher demand a minimum page count before going to press? Also, save 1 or 2 recipes, the entire breakfast/brunch chapter could have been scrapped. Only so much filler, not unlike the blogging bits, actually.
In conclusion, beautiful to look at, yummy recipes mired in a blog of filler, overly simple fare and way too much life story. A 4-star book that loses one for all the stuff it would have been better off without.