Review: Georgia's Kitchen by Jenny Nelson

From the author's website:
Getting burned—in and out of the kitchen—might be the best thing that ever happened to Georgia Gray.

At 33, talented chef Georgia Gray has everything a woman could want—the top job at one of Manhattan’s best restaurants, a posse of smart and savvy gal pals who never let her down, and a platinum-set, cushion-cut diamond engagement ring courtesy of Glenn, the handsome entertainment lawyer who Georgia’s overbearing mother can’t wait for her to marry. The table is set for the ambitious bride-to-be until a scathing restaurant review destroys her reputation. To add salt to her wounds, Glenn suddenly calls off the wedding.

Brokenhearted, Georgia escapes to the Italian countryside, where she sharpens her skills at a trattoria run by a world-class chef who seems to have it all—a devoted lover, a magnificent villa, and most importantly, a kitchen of her own. Georgia quells her longings with Italy’s delectable offerings: fine wine, luscious cheeses, cerulean blue skies, and irresistible Gianni, an expert in the vineyard and the bedroom. So when Gianni tempts Georgia to stay in Italy with an offer no sane top chef could refuse, why can’t she say yes?

An appetite for something more looms large in Georgia’s heart – the desire to run her own restaurant in the city she loves. But having left New York with her career in flames, she’ll need to stir up more than just courage if she’s to realize her dreams and find her way home.

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The author blurb prett much nailed the story, so I'm just going to go straigh into my thoughts:

I enjoyed this book. For as much as I hate to cook, I apparenty like stories about cooks - go figure. It sort of reminded me (very loosely) of the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun...(yes, I know it's a book and no, I never read it *gasp!*)

Georgia is the type of character that starts off thinking she knows what she wants, but what she's got isn't it. Then, she loses her job and her fiance on the same day - and realizes she has a perfect opportunity to start over. Her dream job turns out not to be her dream job, but she makes a conscious decision to learn from it, making new friends and using the lessons she learns in Italy as the foundation to pursue her dream of opening her own restaurant.

I like how she was honest with herself that she wanted to be in a relationship; she missed the sharing and intimacy (and sex) that goes along with all that being a couple entails. For whatever reason, while her girlfriends were sympathetic, I didn't really care for their characters - they felt materialistic and shallow.

I did like the fact that Georgia's business partner was her friend and not a lover. It seems that frequently a female heroine has to rely on the romantic interest in all aspects of her life; that was not the case in Georgia's Kitchen. The way the partnership came around felt full circle to me - a relationship built on respect for each other's talents.

The ending is not what I would call a typical HEA, more like an open-ended HEA if you will. Don't get me wrong, it was good and I as the reader was happy - I'd love to see Georgia again in a small cameo in a future book, you know, just to check in and see how she's doing :)

My rating:


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Come back tomorrow for a guest post by Jenny Nelson and a chance to win a copy of Georgia's Kitchen!



This book was provided to me free of charge by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.