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TOO MANY COOKS by Dana Bate

November 14, 2015

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Kelly Madigan is a cookbook ghostwriter; she helps professional chefs turn their recipes into something a home cook could use. She lives with her boyfriend of six years, who is neat, dependable, a cardiologist in training and ultimately boring. Then she loses her mom suddenly, and finds her mother left her a letter with her dying wishes, the ultimate guilt trip.

Her mom tells her that she needs to take risks, leave the Midwest and travel a bit, and not rush into marriage with Dr. Boring. So when Kelly is offered the opportunity to ghostwrite a major Hollywood star’s cookbook, she jumps at the chance, even though it means moving to London for the better part of a year.

Her boyfriend is devastated and furious. He kicks her out and she gets to spend a few weeks with her father before moving to London and perhaps making the biggest mistake of her life.

Natasha Spencer is imperious, demanding and a definite nut case. Her assistant, Poppy, isn’t much better and they combine to make Kelly’s life a living hell. But the money is too good to pass up, even if she doesn’t get paid for months, and the only bright spot is Natasha’s husband, a rising star in Parliament who seems like a genuinely nice guy. They are a power couple to be sure, except that they sleep in separate beds and seem to live separate lives.

This was an interesting look at how a cookbook ghostwriter works, and how all that Hollywood glitz and glamour comes at a price. It reminded me a bit of The Devil Wears Prada (the movie version, not Lauren Weisberger’s awful book) but veers off in the romance department. All in all, I liked it and if you’re a fan of foodie fiction like I am, then this is the book for you.

11/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

TOO MANY COOKS by Dana Bate. Kensington (October 27, 2015). ISBN 978-1617732621. 352p.

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MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE by Taylor Jenkins Reid

November 9, 2015

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I didn’t realize how much I missed reading chick lit until I read this. Now it’s probably called women’s fiction since chick lit appears to have disappeared from book vernacular, but however it is being characterized, it’s a fun read, and an interesting one.

I love those books that ponder the road not taken; one of my favorites is What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarity (2011.) That book looked at woman who forgets the previous ten years of her life. This book looks at the future instead of the past, and it’s just as intriguing.

Hannah Martin is twenty-nine years old and still searching for…something. Her parents and sister moved to London while she was in high school, leaving Hannah to live with her best friend Gabby back in Los Angeles. She graduates from college and starts drifting from city to city, job to job, boyfriend to boyfriend – her last being Michael, a married man with two children, but never forgetting her first love, Ethan. They broke up during college but both still harbor the feeling of unfinished business.

Hannah decides to move home to L.A., and Gabby offers up her guestroom. Gabby is married to Mark, who Hannah likes well enough, and they all get along. Shortly after arriving, they go out to a club where Hannah runs into Ethan. Later that night, Gabby tells her she needs to get home and Hannah needs to decide whether to go home early with Gabby, or hang out with Ethan for a while longer.

The book then moves forward in two storylines; one in which she goes with Gabby, the other with Ethan. Told in alternating chapters, Hannah is living two different lives, a sort of choose-your-own-adventure with amazingly different results.

This was an engrossing story and a real page turner. I was torn between which life I thought she should be living, up until the very last page of the book. Reading this is like going on a roller coaster through Hannah and Gabby’s lives, and these characters were so well developed and likeable that I didn’t want the ride to end.

11/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Washington Square Press (July 7, 2015). ISBN 978-1476776880. 352p.

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THE DRESS SHOP OF DREAMS by Menna van Praag

October 31, 2015

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This is a fabulist, wondrous story about a girl, the guy whose been in love with her for most of their lives, and her grandmother.

Scientist Cora Sparks lost her parents in a house fire when she was a young child. Her grandmother, Etta, raised her, and they are very close. Etta owns a very special dress shop, where the dresses pick the customers, Etta adds a few special stitches and the customers find their lives changed – a bit fantastical yet somehow believable in van Praag’s fine hands.

In the book shop down the street, Walt, the owner, has been in love with Cora since the first time he laid eyes on her when he was just ten years old. Walt has another job besides the bookstore; he reads books aloud on the local radio station each evening, and women are falling in love with him because of his voice. But he has no interest in any of them.

Unbeknownst to Walt, his boss at the radio station is answering all his fan mail, and eventually strikes up a correspondence with Milly, a young widow. Despairing of ever winning Cora’s heart, Walt meets Milly and they form a relationship, but he doesn’t know about “their” letter correspondence.

Meanwhile, Etta is determined to get her granddaughter’s mind out of just her work and to get her to realize that Walt has feelings for her. Etta’s magic starts a lot more than she expected – Cora decides to try and find out how her parents died. The fire was ruled an accident, but Etta tells her she was never convinced of that.

There are several storylines here that flow seamlessly together and make the pages fly by. This truly is one of my favorite reads this year, and were it in my power, I would make everyone who reads this review go read this book! It reminded me a bit of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern but not quite as complicated, or maybe more like The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey – it has that fairytale quality to it.

I loved this magical read, and just might read it again – which is high praise indeed.

10/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE DRESS SHOP OF DREAMS by Menna van Praag. Ballantine Books (December 30, 2014). ISBN 978-0804178983. 336p.

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FALLING INTO BED WITH A DUKE by Lorraine Heath

October 30, 2015

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Hellions of Havisham, Book 1

This is the first book of a new series, and I can’t wait for the rest. This author was new to me, although I have heard of her from patrons who love her books, and now I know why.

Minerva Dodger has been on the marriage market for six seasons but the only men interested in her are after her large dowry. She has been holding out for love, but given that her looks are on the plain side she is giving up.

Determined to have some fun, she finagles entrance to the Nightingale club, where women are masked and ready for sexual liaisons with men who are not. Respect for privacy is the rule, and Minerva finds herself with the very eligible Duke of Ashebury. She wants to lose her virginity, and he is happy to oblige…but things don’t go exactly as planned.

They meet up at a ball, but the Duke doesn’t realize who he is so intrigued with. She knows, but has a hard time believing someone as eligible as the Duke would want anything to do with her.

This was a fun albeit predictable read, although really, pretty much all romances are. And that’s what keeps drawing me back for more. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

10/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

FALLING INTO BED WITH A DUKE by Lorraine Heath. Avon (October 27, 2015). ISBN 978-0062391018. 384p.

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FOOD WHORE by Jessica Tom

October 29, 2015

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A Novel of Dining and Deceit

I do love me some foodie fiction so I was very excited to hear about this debut novel. Jessica Tom is a food blogger from Brooklyn, NY who blogs about dining in New York and also posts her own recipes. I poked around her site and found out the original title was “Bad Taste” which I have to say I much prefer. Food Whore will be a turnoff for some people and I wasn’t particularly enamored of it. But the publisher was, so there you go.

The book centers around Yale graduate Tia Monroe who has been accepted into a graduate food studies program at NYU. She moves to NYC as does her boyfriend, a botanist, who lands the job of his dreams. Tia has applied for an internship with her idol, Helen Lansky (think Ruth Reichl) and brings a gift of cookies for her. She is waylaid by Michael Saltz, the uber powerful NY Times restaurant critic, who tosses the cookies and keeps her from Helen.

Saltz is enamored of her palate and facility with language and offers her a deal she can’t refuse. His palate has gone awry; he has lost all sense of taste. He offers her an unlimited budget and access to a personal shopper at Bergdorfs, lunches and dinners at the best and hottest restaurants in NY in exchange for her writing his reviews (that he revises at will) and she is sucked in. He dangles the internship with Helen as she struggles to resolve the internship she’s been assigned at one of New York’s finest restaurants – in the coat room.

This tangled web eventually closes in on Tia, but not before she ruins several relationships along the way. The publisher is promoting this as “The Devil Wears Prada meets Kitchen Confidential,” which certainly got me to read it, but it is more about the evils of ambition then what really goes on…where? In a restaurant? At the New York Times? At the graduate school of New York University? Really none of those, so that was a bit disappointing. Nonetheless this was a good story, it drew me in even though I really didn’t like any of the characters. I know I was supposed to forgive Tia, even understand why she did what she did, but maybe I’m not the most forgiving person because I couldn’t.

10/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

FOOD WHORE by Jessica Tom. William Morrow Paperbacks (October 27, 2015). ISBN 978-0062387004. 352p.

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I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Lori Wilde

October 26, 2015

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A Twilight, Texas Novel

Now this was a Christmas romance worth celebrating. Wilde makes no bones that this is loosely based on the rom-com movie The Holiday, in which Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet trade homes over the Christmas holiday.

Gabi doesn’t want to be home for the holidays because she’s dropped out of law school. Her parents are two high powered attorneys, and expected her to move right into the family business but after one semester, Gabi realizes she is not cut out for the law. Kate lives in Twilight, Texas, but she wants a break from the over-the-top, Christmas extravaganza year after year. So they agree to exchange homes and lives for a few weeks over the holidays.

Gabi’s never really celebrated Christmas. Her brother died on Christmas eve when she was just six years old, and her parents through themselves into their work to cope. His last gift to her was a snow globe of an old fashioned town square during Christmas, and Twilight feels like she’s walked into her snow globe. When she meets Joe, Kate’s brother, the sparks fly.

Turns out Kate’s home is a yurt, which definitely takes some getting used to. Good thing Joe is around to help out – he lives next door, taking care of his grandfather’s Christmas tree farm while the old man is in rehab. Gabi is thrust into the town’s Christmas festivities, taking Kate’s place on all the committees and volunteer gigs in town. Gabi and Joe keep running into each other, but it takes a while before they admit what everyone else sees – these two are made for each other.

I loved this sentimental, sweet story that had enough distractions to keep things interesting, and enough sex to keep things hot, plus all the Christmas traditions were a terrific added bonus. There are at least half a dozen Twilight, Texas novels, and that should keep me busy for a while.

10/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Lori Wilde. Avon (October 27, 2015). ISBN 978-0062311412. 416p.

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ANYONE BUT YOU by Jennifer Crusie

October 23, 2015

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Jennifer Crusie writes great contemporary romances, and I wish she’d write a new one. This book is from 1996, released as an eBook a few years ago. But it’s a great story and a quick read.

Nina Askew just turned 40. Newly divorced after she realized she hated being married to a high powered lawyer who wanted her to be his socialite. She didn’t hate the guy, just the marriage and is happily working for a small nonfiction press as an editor.

She gets herself a birthday present, the dog she always wanted and her husband wouldn’t let her have, and she decides to teach Fred how to climb out the window and down the fire escape into the fenced in yard to do his business. But he ends up in the 2nd floor apartment below hers, and Alex brings the dog back.

Alex just turned thirty. He’s an emergency room doctor from a family of doctors, all with high paying, high stress specialties, and they think he is hopeless. Alex and Nina form a friendship, watching old movies and playing with Fred. Nina is very drawn to him but is not comfortable with her 40 year old body and can’t imagine that Alex would be interested. Alex is very interested, but afraid of scaring Nina off.

Eventually they get together, with a lot of laughter and some great sex along the way. Terrific characters, lots of laughs, hot sex and a good story line are Crusie’s hallmarks, and this one is no exception. She hasn’t had a new book for a few years, and I miss her.

10/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

ANYONE BUT YOU by Jennifer Crusie. Harlequin HQN (October 15, 2012). ASIN: B0098ISVMY. 288p.

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DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW by Debbie Macomber

October 19, 2015

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A Christmas Novel

I know Macomber is beloved for her sweet stories filled with charming locations, strong friendships and romantic love, and Christmas novels in general are over the top, which I don’t mind, but this book just bordered on the wrong side of silly for me.

Ashley Davidson is a graduate student in California who unexpectedly gets Christmas week off. Determined to go home to Seattle to visit her widowed mother, she is frantic when the airlines tell her they can’t sell her a ticket.

The guy behind her in line is Dash Sutherland, former military, now heading for Seattle for a job interview. He is offered a stand by ticket, but this interview is too important to count on luck.

They both end up at the car rental counter, but there is only one car left in the lot. They end up sharing the car and the ride to Seattle turns into the road trip of a lifetime. Dash and Ashley deal with mistaken identity, puppies dumped by a rest stop, teenage thieves, a motorcycle gang and a crazed FBI agent, yet somehow they find themselves falling in love on the way home. Chaste love, may I add.

Macomber fans will undoubtedly love it but I guess I was looking for a little more substance in my Christmas read. This is an original Hallmark movie, airing on Sunday, 12/13/15 at 9:00 pm.

10/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW by Debbie Macomber. Ballantine Books (October 6, 2015). ISBN 978-0553391695. 256p.

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FAN THE FLAMES by Michele Dunaway

October 17, 2015

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Scarlett Harrison is widowed when her husband, Todd, a member of Seal Team 6, gets killed saving his men. His best friend, Brad Silverman, didn’t re-up with Todd and is feeling survivor’s guilt. To make things worse, Todd left instructions with Brad to take care of his wife. The guilt keeps coming though – Brad has been in love with Scarlett since high school.

Scarlett and her daughter move back to St. Louis when Brad offers her his house rent-free. She needs the help to get back on her feet. Slowly they form a friendship and then much more.

The characters were engaging and the story compelling. This is a contemporary romance/erotica and is a quick read. eBook only.

10/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

FAN THE FLAMES by Michele Dunaway. St. Martin’s Paperbacks (August 18, 2015) ASIN: B00WRESJ6O. Print Length: 180 pages

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AFTER YOU by JoJo Moyes

September 29, 2015

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The sequel to the hugely popular Me Before You

Like millions of other readers, I loved Me Before You, so I was excited to hear there was a sequel. If you want the thirty second review, I liked it but not nearly as much as its predecessor.

The author has asked that reviewers not give away anything in reviewing the second book, so the major plot point is kept secret. I have wrestled with how to do that as I would like to honor that request. So I’m not going to give a synopsis.

Instead I will tell you that the story is about Louise Clark, the protagonist of MBY. This is her story, and the people that are in her life and those that come into her life. It starts out one way, which I thought was going to be a sentimental ripoff, but instead veers in an unexpected direction which I much preferred. Love is the predominating factor, but it is more a story about family than romantic love, but no fear, there is still romance here.

I did enjoy the book; the characters were engaging and I cared about what happened to them. If you like dysfunctional family stories, there is much to like here. If you are looking for a great romance and all that implies, keep looking.

That’s the best I can do under these restraints.

9/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

AFTER YOU by Jojo Moyes. Pamela Dorman Books (September 29, 2015). ISBN 978-0525426592. 368p.

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