Cooking traditions in Kentucky are still largely oral, being passed down from generation to generation. As a native Kentuckian, I frequently refer to this book when comparing my family's recipes to those that Ross has contributed. Ross provides many recipes for the same dishes throughout the book. Each recipe is cited from which Kentucky cookbook she found it in, or from her own family's recipes. I frequently turn to this book when I don't have a recipe in my family repertoire. Kentucky Keepsakes is essential for any Southern cookery bookshelf and had better be on the shelf of anyone hailing from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The story was fairly sound, but the character development was really lacking. Garder created a nice, little backstory for Tom Zarek, but the story contributed little to Adama's and Tigh's characters. Good bedtime reading, full of fluff. Garder also need to learn how to write in the past tense without using the word "had".