The All You Can Dream Buffet: A Novel
Kindle
$13.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
—
Paperback
$17.00
Audible Logo Your audiobook is waiting!
Enjoy a free trial on us
$0.00
  • Click above for unlimited listening to select audiobooks, Audible Originals, and podcasts.
  • One credit a month to pick any title from our entire premium selection — yours to keep (you'll use your first credit now).
  • You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
  • $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel online anytime.
Learn more about membership
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
List Price: $25.00
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible’s Conditions Of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice.
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

The All You Can Dream Buffet: A Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Barbara O'Neal (Author), Joyce Bean (Narrator), Brilliance Audio (Publisher)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,154 ratings
See all formats and editions

Barbara O’Neal’s novel of food, friendship, and the freedom to grow your dreams brings together four very different women longing to savor the true taste of happiness. Popular blogger and foodie queen Lavender Wills reigns over Lavender Honey Farms, a serene slice of organic heaven nestled in Oregon wine country. Lavender is determined to keep her legacy from falling into the profit-driven hands of uncaring relatives, and she wants an heir to sustain her life’s work after she’s gone. So she invites her three closest online friends - fellow food bloggers, women of varied ages and backgrounds - out to her farm. She hopes to choose one of them to inherit it - but who? There’s Ginny, the freckle-faced Kansas cake baker whose online writing is about to lead her out of a broken marriage and into a world of sensual delights. And Ruby, young, pregnant, devoted to the organic movement, who’s looking for roots - and the perfect recipe to heal a shattered heart. Finally, Val, smart and sophisticated, a wine enthusiast who needs a fresh start for her teenage daughter after tragedy has rocked their lives. Coming together will change the Foodie Four in ways they could never have imagined, uniting them in love and a common purpose. As they realize that life doesn’t always offer a perfect recipe for happiness, they also discover that the moments worth savoring are flavored with some tears, a few surprises, and generous helpings of joy.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    10 hours and 53 minutes
  2. Author
    Barbara O'Neal
  3. Narrator
    Joyce Bean
  4. Audible release date
    March 4, 2014
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Brilliance Audio
  7. ASIN
    B00I9HFIAS
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
Next page

Read & Listen

Switch between reading the Kindle book & listening to the Audible audiobook with Whispersync for Voice.
Get the Audible audiobook for the reduced price of $6.59 after you buy the Kindle book.

Product details

Listening Length 10 hours and 53 minutes
Author Barbara O'Neal
Narrator Joyce Bean
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date March 04, 2014
Publisher Brilliance Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B00I9HFIAS
Best Sellers Rank #193,099 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#3,569 in Family Life Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#6,599 in Women's Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#12,779 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
2,154 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

T. C. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great read with characters one can find to relate to.
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
I love Barbara O’Neal’s books for the depth of character she brings to each person in her stories, their relationships, the complexity of their lives, how much richness and detail of each character’s life. I definitely related with Ginny and her struggle to be the wife she was “supposed to be”, realizing that her own life was being sucked out of her. I was there once, afraid of so many things, and I finally woke up and found my strength to get out of a bad marriage, to find myself again, and be a better mother to my children. What a more fulfilling and richer life I found, not without its challenges, but worth every moment!
Helpful
 Report
Dianne
4.0 out of 5 stars The Formula Works...
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2014
Verified Purchase
Sometimes you just want to read a "nice" book, enter the realm of the unlikely, and meet some charming people. If that's your goal, this one's for you. The title was a little off-putting because the story has more substance than it implies, but it is formulaic. Four women of different backgrounds, different ages, come together to celebrate Lavender's 85th birthday. They know each other because each is a food blogger. Each character is experiencing a crisis of some kind, and their time together helps to solve the dilemmas they face. The characters, Lavender, Ginny, Ruby, and Valerie, are all well-drawn, and they feel like friends by the end of the book. All is not froth, especially Ginny's trip across country pulling a travel trailer; before this trip she has never been out of Kansas and barely off the farm. I felt some white knuckles of my own as she drove through torrential rain, detoured around a forest fire, and was confronted by some unsavory people. The local is near Portland, Oregon in the wine and lavender country; I could smell the fields of lavender! The ending may be just too perfect, but in this imperfect world, all you can do is dream.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Michelle Burke
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully written and wonderfully moving novel
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
Sometimes books find you at just the right time. This is definitely the case with this book. Coming off of a time in my life where I felt mildly famous because of my blog. And now trying to figure out what I want to do now that I don't do that anymore. This book spoke to me on many levels.
It had a very accurate depiction if what it is like to be a blogger. To be famous on one side of your life, and completely ordinary on the other. The odd duality you feel when your real life and your internet life intersect. How you can forge wonderful and fulfilling relationships with people you nay never really met.
I adored each character in this book. They all were so real. 'Ve read a lot of "chick lit" and the characters all start to run into each other. They fall into these cliched stereo types of the modern woman. This book did a great job of creating believable and likable , wonderfully varied women. With real jobs a body types.
Reading it made me want to buy an airstream trailer, raise chickens, visit a lavender farm... Experience any if the things in the book. It even made be believe I might be able to go vegan. The recipes Ruby posts are so yummy sounding.
It was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a comforting feel good story.
11 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Diana Wilder
5.0 out of 5 stars A Buffet Composed of Journeys, Arrivals, Healing...and good food.
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
I have encountered the author in her writings for various blogs, and saw a 'blurb' for The all You Can Dream Buffet. It sounded interesting, complex, colorful and, based on my read of the author herself, thoughtful. I bought a copy.

The characters are all food bloggers. One, a vegan, is recovering from a sudden, senseless rejection by the man who made her pregnant. Another, tied to a life as a cake baker for a small town supermarket, has found that her cake blog, illustrated by her own photographs, has brought her friends and a taste of freedom. Another woman and her daughter are recovering from a tragedy (and it is a mark of O'Neal's skill that none of these characters' backgrounds are delivered in an info-dump). And the catalyst for this story, Lavender Wills, is a woman with a kaleidoscope of a background who now runs a lavender farm, among other things and, with her life coming to a close, is seeking a successor.

This is a story of journeys, of healing, a story that investigates the problem of pain and deals gently with broken lives and hearts. Romance is there, smiles, and some scowls. This story has some magical touches, characters that seem to spark the imagination. And a number of them who seem very familiar.

I enjoyed this book. Now I have to decide which of Ms. O'Neal's I will read next.
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Nancy L. Otto
5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Story That Kept My Interest on Every Page
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2015
Verified Purchase
Lavender is a spunky octogenarian who owns an organic farm. She also is part of a bloggers who call themselves “The Foodie Four”. These four women are the main characters in this hard-to-put-down book.

Lavender invites the other three bloggers to her farm to celebrate her birthday. Ginny, Ruby and Val are introduced as they prepare for the trip in their individual Airstream trailers. Blog posts are part of the story and make me feel like I was the fifth “foodie” of the group. The first half of the book is centered on The Foodies getting to Lavender’s farm. The second half is all about how they interact. I savored every word of this book!

I read for an hour in the morning before starting the day and was transported to Lavender’s farm every time.

Ginny had been a shy grocery store cake decorator before her first blog post. Now she has ventured from home and family, on her own for the first time. She is experiencing life like never before.

Ruby is young, single, vegan and pregnant. She is trying to get over the pain of an ended romance.

Val was once a well-known ballerina and is traveling with her teenage daughter. They are still in pain from a terrible family tragedy several years earlier.

There are aspects of all of the women that I could relate to, making every chapter more interesting. They all grow and learn from each other. The last chapters were very satisfying, leading me to believe that life will continue to be interesting and fulfilling.

There are a few supporting characters who add the right touch of seasoning to this tale – one that I highly recommend!
11 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Georgina Bruchet
5.0 out of 5 stars Charming
Reviewed in Canada on January 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
Charming book with life lessons that are subtle and well stated.
Report
lovetoread
5.0 out of 5 stars very enjoyable!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 23, 2014
Verified Purchase
Barbara o Neal has a fresh, compelling writing style that drew me in immediately. I wanted to know what happened to the four women, all with their own reasons for wanting to start afresh - some of them, completely unaware of it. Her descriptions of the Lavender farm are delicious - probably a little on the romantic side, but lovely to read nonetheless. I loved the recipes the women shared along the way and reading about the warmth of the friendships that sustain them.
I'd never read anything by this author before, but I'll certainly be trying her other books.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, Insightful....
Reviewed in Canada on February 27, 2020
Verified Purchase
Like all Barbara O'Neal books, the storyline and characters are weaved together
to make an enchanting, yet soulful search of self. Very healing!
Report
J Pelletier
5.0 out of 5 stars A great investment
Reviewed in Canada on December 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
A wonderful read. Truly inspirational story line with believable cast of characters. Never doubt Barbara O'Neal author extraordinaire. Bravo once again,
Report