Deep Dish

Isabel Keating gives her all--and more--to liven up this second-rate Southern novel by a usually first-rate writer. Curiously, it is with the two main characters--competing Atlanta TV chefs Gina Foxton and Tate Moody--that she is least successful. The dialogue and rapport between the rivals, who later become lovers, sounds flat as the proverbial pancake, and they never really connect. But the production's biggest problem is the story's predictable plot--Andrews telegraphs all the moves far in advance. Nonetheless, Keating is hilarious and endearing in her portrayals of the supporting cast of Southern characters--from crackling old ladies to good old boys and mumbling country bumpkins. M.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

December 3, 2007
Andrews (Savannah Breeze
; Hissy Fit
) delivers a trademark romance set in her native Deep South. Gina Foxton is a 30-year-old chef with a health-conscious approach to classic Southern fare whose public access cooking show gets canceled when the show's big sponsor pulls out after finding the show's producer (and Gina's boyfriend) in bed with his wife. So news that the Cooking Channel is looking to add a new show is a welcome development. The producers are also interested in another local cooking show called Vittles
, hosted by “Kill It and Grill It” Tate Moody. The competition between Gina and Tate ramps up when the network decides to turn their competition into a reality show. The close quarters and competition create the right atmosphere for the two chefs to fall in love, though things never get too racy. Andrews takes a long time to get the romance off the ground, but when it starts moving, it moves fast. Andrews's readership will eat this one up.

Starred review from February 1, 2008
Atlanta TV cooking star Gina Foxton notices budgetary cuts around the meager set of her local PBS show in the form of substituted ingredients, but the final straw is the replacement of mackerel for salmon in her fish dish. Worse, the budget cuts are caused by her boyfriend's affair with the wife of the sponsor, who withdraws from the show. Things look brighter when Gina gets considered for a spot on the national cooking channel. Unfortunately, Tate "Kill It and Grill It" Moody, the popular star of the cooking show "Vittles", is also in the running. Humor abounds as the two rivals lock horns in their quest for the brass ring. Colorful secondary characters add to the hilarity. Readers with a taste for delectable culinary romances like Millie Criswell's "The Trouble with Mary", Susan Mallery's "Delicious", and Deirdre Martin's "Just a Taste" will enjoy Andrews's ("Hissy Fit") latest big helping of fun. For popular fiction collections of all sizes. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 11/15/07.]Shelley Mosley, Glendale Community Coll. Lib. Media Ctr., AZ

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