The Next Plate

The Next Plate

Josephine Marchetti was once the most promising chef of her generation - until a single review burned her career to the ground.

Now she's back in her grandmother's Vermont diner, flipping eggs on a 1968 griddle and trying to forget the nine seconds that ended everything. The last thing she needs is a mysterious stranger who shows up at her counter, eats like he's tasting penance, and somehow knows exactly how to fix what's broken in her kitchen... and in her.

Elias Wren has spent a year atoning in silence. He came to Maplewood Hollow to confess. Instead, he stayed - bussing tables, repairing walk-ins, falling for the woman whose life he destroyed with one perfectly written lie.

As the diner fights for survival and old secrets simmer to the surface, Jo and Elias discover that some truths can only be told with a plate in front of you. The review said her food had no joy. The man who wrote it is about to learn that joy was never on the plate.

It was waiting in the next one.

A lyrical, deeply felt novel about redemption, the honesty of food, and the courage required to serve your truth at someone else's table, The Next Plate is perfect for readers of Lessons in Chemistry, The Midnight Library, and anyone who believes a well-made meal can rewrite a life.