Tuesday, November 10, 2015

TLC Book Tours Book Review: Food Whore

Food Whore (398x600)About Food Whore


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?

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Review: This book is so different when it comes to the types of stories that I usually read. The food writing is so wonderfully descriptive that you will be hungry most of the time you are reading. There will be a lot of random nibbling being done while you read this book.

I wish I could say that I loved the main character, Tia Monroe, but as the book goes on, I found myself hating her, or at least strongly disliking her. The whole way that she ended up ghostwriting the column didn't make a lot of sense to me. When you read the first chapters you'll understand.

If the person that took away your chance at a great internship offered you another opportunity, why would you even want to speak with them. That's what I had a seriously hard time with. I mean, she ended up with an internship as a coat check instead of with her idol. WTF.

After she started ghostwriting, or ghost eating her life changes dramatically and for me, not for the better. She feels an attraction to a chef that she ends up having to review. The whole time, I wanted to shake her, especially after what she did to her college sweetheart, Elliot.

I could also see how easy it would be to get swept away by promises of fabulous food and fantastic clothes, but at what expense?

Michael Saltz is definitely a jerk of the worst kind, but he isn't the only jerk in this book. There's one more that Tia gets involved with that made me want to slug really hard.

This was a fun book and the descriptions of the food where fantastic. It was possible to visualize some of the dishes, and you definitely wanted to taste them.

I think if I could have liked Tia just a little bit more, this would have been a perfect read, but still it is a great book for people that love foodie fiction!

Rating; 4 flowers


Jessica Tom APAbout Jessica Tom


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 the Yale 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.

1 comments:

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

I'll be sure to keep lots of tasty snacks on hand when I read this book.

Thanks for being a part of the tour!

 
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