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Trouble's on the Menu: A Tippy Canoe Romp-- With Recipes [Paperback] Caleb Warnock and Betsy Schow
After her estranged husband's unexpected death, Hallie goes to Barefoot, Montana, to wrap up his estate. Her arrival begins awkwardly as she nearly runs over the town gossip during a snowstorm. Fortunately, the single, attractive town mayor is willing to
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 10, 2013
4 STARS
Trouble's On the Menu: A Tippy Canoe Romp-With Recipes by Caleb Warnock and Betsy Schow
I did not know what to expect of this novel by reading just the blurb. It was filled with humor ,art, food and a mystery.
It was also filled with big time governor against small town mayor. I laughed a lot. It is also a clean read with lots of recipes in the back. Warning this book makes you hungry.
It starts off with Hallie coming into Barefoot, Montana in a snow storm and hits a women driving a scooter. Andrea the owner of the weekly newspaper. Hallie just wanted to come to town do her business and get back to California. Hallie is a artist. She is in town to settle her late husband estate. He left her everything even though they have been separated for eight years.
Hallie is hungry but before she can get served her food she is kicked out of the restaurant because of the accident. The next day
she finds out that she is the landlord of three different businesses that her late husband was paid in hay and ice cream shakes.
It will not be easy to sell the businesses and she does not want to stay away from her art studio.
Marc Greathouse is the mayor. He is a widower with no children. He was laid off work when the mine closed down. His family has a christmas tree farm that unless he raises 35,000 will be auctioned off for unpaid taxes. Marc makes some bad decisions that he regrets. Then he finds out the Governor is coming town to announce he is closing their school and busing their kids to a hour away to different school district. Their town is going to fight it. Starting with the Mayor slugging the Governor and being arrested by his own father.
I was totally entertained by reading Trouble's on the Menu. I hope they have another Tippy Canoe adventure. The characters are different. They have their own personality. I like Hallie. Also like how the town helps take care of its own. Hallie makes some good friends and gets involved with the towns problems.
I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley.
publication: April 9th 2013 by Sweetwater Books Cedar Fort Publishing 240 pages ISBN: 1462110932
Description below taken off of Netgalley.com
After her estranged husband’s unexpected death, Hallie goes to Barefoot, Montana, to wrap up his estate. Her arrival begins awkwardly as she nearly runs over the town gossip during a snowstorm. Fortunately, the single, attractive town mayor is willing to lend her a hand to get her affairs in order. But when his life starts to spiral out of control, Hallie must decide whether he’s worth sticking around for.
Trouble's On the Menu: A Tippy Canoe Romp-With Recipes by Caleb Warnock and Betsy Schow
I did not know what to expect of this novel by reading just the blurb. It was filled with humor ,art, food and a mystery.
It was also filled with big time governor against small town mayor. I laughed a lot. It is also a clean read with lots of recipes in the back. Warning this book makes you hungry.
It starts off with Hallie coming into Barefoot, Montana in a snow storm and hits a women driving a scooter. Andrea the owner of the weekly newspaper. Hallie just wanted to come to town do her business and get back to California. Hallie is a artist. She is in town to settle her late husband estate. He left her everything even though they have been separated for eight years.
Hallie is hungry but before she can get served her food she is kicked out of the restaurant because of the accident. The next day
she finds out that she is the landlord of three different businesses that her late husband was paid in hay and ice cream shakes.
It will not be easy to sell the businesses and she does not want to stay away from her art studio.
Marc Greathouse is the mayor. He is a widower with no children. He was laid off work when the mine closed down. His family has a christmas tree farm that unless he raises 35,000 will be auctioned off for unpaid taxes. Marc makes some bad decisions that he regrets. Then he finds out the Governor is coming town to announce he is closing their school and busing their kids to a hour away to different school district. Their town is going to fight it. Starting with the Mayor slugging the Governor and being arrested by his own father.
I was totally entertained by reading Trouble's on the Menu. I hope they have another Tippy Canoe adventure. The characters are different. They have their own personality. I like Hallie. Also like how the town helps take care of its own. Hallie makes some good friends and gets involved with the towns problems.
I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley.
publication: April 9th 2013 by Sweetwater Books Cedar Fort Publishing 240 pages ISBN: 1462110932
Description below taken off of Netgalley.com
After her estranged husband’s unexpected death, Hallie goes to Barefoot, Montana, to wrap up his estate. Her arrival begins awkwardly as she nearly runs over the town gossip during a snowstorm. Fortunately, the single, attractive town mayor is willing to lend her a hand to get her affairs in order. But when his life starts to spiral out of control, Hallie must decide whether he’s worth sticking around for.
May 14, 2013
It's not fair for me to evaluate this book. I'm mentioned in the forward as an inspiration, along with my former city editors, Cathy Allred and Barbara Christiansen. And I know the author quite well. And he named one character after me, even spelling his name the same as mine. I can't see myself much in the character, but I think I can see myself the way the author sees me -- sort of.
That said, "Trouble's on the Menu" is a fun light read. Caleb has taken all kinds of events from the communities he and I know well in Utah County and transformed them into Tippy Canoe, Mont., the setting for the book.
I found myself laughing often when I recognized people he had used as a basis for characters in the book. That added to the fun of the book.
It's short and fun. Thanks, Caleb.
That said, "Trouble's on the Menu" is a fun light read. Caleb has taken all kinds of events from the communities he and I know well in Utah County and transformed them into Tippy Canoe, Mont., the setting for the book.
I found myself laughing often when I recognized people he had used as a basis for characters in the book. That added to the fun of the book.
It's short and fun. Thanks, Caleb.
February 20, 2022
The description of the book sounded like my usual read, but I actually set it aside after starting it. When I came back to it to give it another try, I saw it more as a Hallmark Christmas movie. It’s written a bit better than the average well-loved movies, and the actors were much more believable in my head than on screen. I was able to enjoy it as the sweet story that it is in that light. I would give it 3.5 stars if halves were an option.
March 13, 2018
3.5 star rating. This was a fun quirky story.
August 21, 2013
Hallie Stone's estranged husband has died and he never updated his will, so everything he owned is now hers. Hallie must travel to the small town of Tippy Canoe, Montana to take care of his store, home and who knows what else. Hallie is an artist from Malibu, completely unaccustomed to driving in the snow, and as she makes her way to her hotel in the blizzard she knows that she's hit something, but hopefully not someone. Unfortunately, she's run over a woman riding a scooter. And that's just the start of her crazy journey to take care of her husband's estate and find out more about herself. Hallie soon realizes that life in a small Montana town can be just a bit silly. Things like autistic twins living in her basement, and renters paying with hay or milkshakes seem to just come with the territory. All Hallie wants to do is wrap up her business and get back to her art in Malibu, but things are never that easy. Hallie stumbles upon a mystery in Tippy Canoe and also upon the very good looking single mayor. Will Hallie be able to solve the mystery before it's too late?
This book was so funny! I loved the hilarious town full of hilarious people and situations. I loved Hallie, trying to make sense of all the insanity around her. I almost felt as though I was in this silly town myself as I was reading. I loved that there are a bunch of recipes included in the end of the book. You need to read this fun and quirky book!
This book was so funny! I loved the hilarious town full of hilarious people and situations. I loved Hallie, trying to make sense of all the insanity around her. I almost felt as though I was in this silly town myself as I was reading. I loved that there are a bunch of recipes included in the end of the book. You need to read this fun and quirky book!
August 11, 2016
I usually don't go for cozy mysteries, but I thought I'd try this one out. I wasn't too disappointed. It was a sweet, innocent, small-town mystery where everything works out in the end. Nothing like real life, but that's why we read these types of books, isn't it?
I was pleased with the lack of swearing and sex. There was a nice little side love story - more of a flirtation of a love story - that only enhanced the book. The main focus was on small-town life/gossip and saving the family farm. Honesty is touted highly in here, which is pleasantly different from most books out there.
There were some inconsistencies that bugged me though. Such as The Bad Guy not knowing who the Dean twins were, even though the whole town looked after them - "sort of a town project." The Bad Guy had been part of the town since forever - how could he not know them?
And unfortunately, the recipes at the back did not excite me.
All told, a solid three stars. A light diversion.
Thank you NetGalley and Sweetwater Books/Cedar Fort Inc. for allowing me to read and review this book.
April 25, 2013
Full Review at
Bebe’s Rating: ♥♥� � I took a catnap between chapters
Trouble’s on the Menu is a cute, short read about a city girl in a small country town. As for the story, it was just so-so for me. I just had a hard time getting into it, mainly because I wasn’t sure if I really liked Hallie’s character all that much. She seperated with the town’s hero of a man and I just kept thinking it was because of her that they were getting divorced. I also felt for the length of the novel, the romance department moved kind of slow. Maybe it’s my fault for thinking it was a romance when it’s more of a mystery. Either way, it’s a cute read if you are looking for something for your vacation by the pool!
Bebe’s Rating: ♥♥� � I took a catnap between chapters
Trouble’s on the Menu is a cute, short read about a city girl in a small country town. As for the story, it was just so-so for me. I just had a hard time getting into it, mainly because I wasn’t sure if I really liked Hallie’s character all that much. She seperated with the town’s hero of a man and I just kept thinking it was because of her that they were getting divorced. I also felt for the length of the novel, the romance department moved kind of slow. Maybe it’s my fault for thinking it was a romance when it’s more of a mystery. Either way, it’s a cute read if you are looking for something for your vacation by the pool!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2013
This book is SO CUTE
and SO FUN
and SO GOOD!
Lots of suspense, good mystery, great humor, and romantic sprinklings.
Fun story set in the very small town of Tippy Canoe where the neighbors know everyone and know everything about everyone.
A Christmas tree farm in jeopardy.
A school trying to stay open in the struggling economy.
A California girl come to settle the estate of her late husband who she has been estranged from for a very long time.
A mayor trying to keep his town and his family farm from ruin.
Townspeople who in the event of a town crisis come together to make this the best Christmas yet and look forward to wonderful friendships being formed.
Wonderful recipes are given including my favorite...Hot Snow-Chocolate :)
and SO FUN
and SO GOOD!
Lots of suspense, good mystery, great humor, and romantic sprinklings.
Fun story set in the very small town of Tippy Canoe where the neighbors know everyone and know everything about everyone.
A Christmas tree farm in jeopardy.
A school trying to stay open in the struggling economy.
A California girl come to settle the estate of her late husband who she has been estranged from for a very long time.
A mayor trying to keep his town and his family farm from ruin.
Townspeople who in the event of a town crisis come together to make this the best Christmas yet and look forward to wonderful friendships being formed.
Wonderful recipes are given including my favorite...Hot Snow-Chocolate :)
March 19, 2013
I found myself having trouble getting into the book. The story line just didn't do it for me. Big city girl finds herself in a quiet small country town. Her estranged husband has died and left her to sort out his estate. Too many different story lines going on, questions left unanswered. Not the book for me. But to some it may be the perfect book. I would let you decide.
August 10, 2013
This was a fun read with quirky characters. The recipes were really almost an after thought and not really needed. This comes from an avid reader of cookbooks and culinary mysteries. The only complaint was there were a lot of characters to keep track of, so it felt like an introduction to a town, more than a story. I look forward to another in the series.
March 4, 2014
I had to up my rating from a 4 to a 5 because I just ended up loving these characters and the entire Tippy Canoe world. The start of the book was a little slow, but give it a few chapters. The romance worked, the town became more endearing and the "funness" never stopped. A great, light afternoon read!
April 24, 2013
Fun Read.
May 6, 2013
So funny. Loved it.
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