(31)Under the Table by Stephanie Evanovich

Sunday, April 21, 2019



Zoey Sullivan has left her husband and her marriage behind in Ohio and moved to New York City for a chance at clearing her head and figuring out what she wants out of life.  Trading in her husband for her sister presents its own set of challenges.   She lives for the New York City nightlife and seems to have a much more relaxed approach to life than Zoey.  While Ruth is partying it up,  Zoey is chasing her dreams as a personal chef.  One night she gets a gig working for a young, millionaire, Tristan Malloy. His kitchen, his entire apartment, is the stuff that dreams are made of and Zoey feels at home in his kitchen.   Tristan really hit it off with Zoey and has enlisted her help in getting him to come out of his shell.   She gives him the kind of makeover found in movies.   The more they spend time together, the more Zoey starts to realize what she has been missing in her marriage.  Love, friendship, respect, and passion.  But she doesn't know how to tell Tristan that her feeling has changed.  Things become even more complicated when her ex-husband shows up to take her back to Ohio.   Will Zoey go with Derek or will she follow her heart?

I have always enjoyed Stephanie Evanovich's novels, but I really struggled with this one.   I was enjoying Zoey up to the point where she walked back into the apartment to return the key. That whole scene felt trite. And it disappointed me. I didn't really care for Zoey's sister, Ruth.  Their relationship felt unbalanced like Zoey was always the "good girl" and Ruth was the "bad girl" and not in a balanced way.  I wasn't even sure that they liked each other.   Even though Zoey gave Tristan the makeover, they both went through a transformation as the book progressed.  It just took Zoey longer to figure out that she was changing.    The book moves pretty quickly and I grew to like Zoey again after that horrible scene in Tristan's apartment.   That is until her estranged husband paid a visit to New York City.  That Zoey I did not like very much, either.   There was some redemption - eventually, but it was almost too late.

Bottom Line - Under the Table had it's ups and downs as far as character development and plot. However,  I stuck with the book because I felt that Zoey deserved that chance and I am glad that I did.   I was glad to see Zoey come full circle and get the ending she deserved.

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