Too Many Cooks

October 15, 2015

Kelly Madigan is a cookbook ghostwriter who has just been offered a dream job: writing the cookbook of American movie star Natasha Spencer. The only catch? She'll have to move from Michigan to London, which means leaving behind her bland boyfriend, her best friend, and her widower father. Newly single, Kelly sets out to be impressed by superdiva Natasha, only to be blown away by her dishy husband, Hugh, a high-powered member of the British government. Life as a transplant in London proves to be almost as difficult as working for a demanding and fickle celebrity. As Kelly creates and re-creates recipes in mouthwatering detail, it gets pretty hot in the kitchen, especially when Hugh reveals that his marriage is a sham. Choices have consequences. And Kelly upends both her love life and her professional life. VERDICT Bate's third food-centric novel (after A Second Bite at the Apple and The Girls' Guide To Love and Supper Clubs) comes complete with a collection of coordinating recipes. With a resolution that is satisfying but not quite happy ever after, the novel is a perfect choice for foodie fans of women's fiction.--Anika Fajardo, St. Paul, MN

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2015
Bate, the author of A Second Bite at the Apple (2014), once again combines the evocative power of food and recipes with the story of a young woman facing major change. When Kelly discovers a letter from her recently deceased mother urging her to be more adventurous, she decides to move to London to ghostwrite a cookbook for a famous American actress, even though the endeavor ends her relationship with her dependable-but-boring, long-term boyfriend. Natasha Spencer turns out to be a volatile boss who expects Kelly to pull recipes out of thin air and orders her employees around like servants. Things get even more complicated when Kelly falls for Natasha's kind and intelligent husband, Hugh, a British politician. It's not until everything falls apart spectacularly that Kelly discovers her true path. Bate writes with gentle humor and poignancy about moving on after loss and heartbreak.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)