I received a free copy for my honest review. Any book links are affiliate links.
About the Book:
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (October 27, 2015)
food whore (n.): a person who will do anything for food
Fresh out of college, Tia Monroe has every intention of taking the New York City restaurant scene by storm. But after a coveted internship goes up in smoke, Tia’s suddenly just another food lover in the big city.
Everything changes when Michael Saltz, a legendary New York Times restaurant critic, lets Tia in on a career-ending secret: he’s lost his sense of taste. Now he wants Tia to serve as his palate, ghostwriting his reviews. In return he promises her lavish meals, a boundless supply of designer clothing, and the opportunity of a lifetime. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Tia agrees.
Within weeks, Tia’s world transforms into one of glamour and luxury: four-star dinners, sexy celebrity chefs, and an unlimited expense account at Bergdorf Goodman. Tia loves every minute of it . . . until she sees her words in print and Michael Saltz taking all the credit. As the veneer of extravagance wears thin and her secret identity begins to crumble, Tia is faced with what it means to truly succeed. In a city where “making it” is the ultimate goal, she will have to decide: how far is she willing to go for the life she craves?
About the Author:
Jessica Tom is a writer and food blogger living in Brooklyn. She has worked on initiatives with restaurants, hospitality startups, food trucks, and citywide culinary programs. She graduated from Yale University with a concentration in fiction writing and wrote the restaurant review for theYale Daily News Magazine. Food Whore is her first novel.
Find out more about Jessica at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter. See what she’s pinning on Pinterest, and follow her photos on Instagram.
My Opinion:
This book appealed to me because of my love of cooking and baking. I also love to eat out but just don’t do it as much as I used to when the hubby and I were both working and we had much more money for such things. I do enjoy reading about food almost as much as I enjoy eating it. In this novel Tia Munroe is pursuing her dream internship in grad school with a cookbook author she reveres. She hopes to plead her case at “meet and greet” where she will gift her famous cookies but things don’t go as she plans. She ends up missing her idol but does run into the famous restaurant critic for the New York Times. That meeting will end up altering her life in ways she can’t begin to imagine.
She thinks Michael Saltz, the critic wants to help her with his offers of free clothing, dinners out and “training.” What she fails to recognize is what she will be giving up to take his offer. She can’t see beyond his offer to help her get to her idol, Helen Lansky. In this Tia is blingingly naive. She and her boyfriend come to New York to pursue post graduate education but in such separate disciplines you wonder how they ever came together. As Tia undertakes her secret life with Michael Saltz it put a strain on all of her relationships and really keeps her from forming any new friendships.
I did enjoy this book but I do have to note that it does take a bit of a suspension of reality to fully embrace. If you just chuck any semblance of real life and go with the flow, you’ll enjoy it too. I’m not a real city girl either but I find it hard to believe that this story could take place on many levels – but that is why we read FICTION. To be entertained. And I was.
Rating:
4
