Title: Comfort Food
Publisher: Putnam
Publish Date: March 8, 2008
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb:
Shortly before turning 50, TV cooking show personality Augusta "Gus" Simpson discovers that the network wants to boost her ratings by teaming her with a beautiful, young new co-host. But Gus isn't going without a fight-whether it's off-set with her two demanding daughters, on-camera with the ambitious new diva herself, or after-hours with Oliver, the new culinary producer who's raising Gus's temperature beyond the comfort zone. Now, in pursuit of higher ratings and culinary delights, Gus might be able to rejuvenate more than just her career.
This book was really fun. I tried to figure how what Food Network personality Gus most resembled to me. She's an approaching 50 widow with two grown daughters that aren't doing well being in their mom's shadow.
Sabrina is a serial fiancee while Aimee just sort of hides herself away. The cast of characters grows and each one seems quirkier than the next. Hannah, is Gus' neighbor and bff, who is an exiled tennis player hiding from a scandal in her past. Then there's Oliver. He's on board as a sous chef in Gus' new show. He used to work on Wall Street, but food is his passion ...well until he meets Gus. Then there's Carmen. She's a former Miss Spain who also has a love for food and a desire for her own restaurant and show.
Carmen is a love to hate her character. I picture her like Sophia Vergara's Gloria from Modern Family. She's very ambitious and very sexual. She's like a mean girl, but not really. Sometimes you want to smack her, because she uses her looks to advance her career, but other times you actually like her, like when she was kind to Hannah.
There are a lot of interesting antics here because everyone working on Eat Drink and Be seem to be at odds with one another.
This was an enjoyable read, but one that needed a little more oomph to make it great. The book mostly focused on Gus, but the other characters were begging to get more attention. I would have loved to get a little deeper into Carmen's life or either of Gus's daughters. The secondary characters were very one dimensional.
Then there was Oliver. He should have been a lot more developed and the relationship between him and Gus definitely needed more pages then it got, considering the fact that it played a huge part in the way the story wraps up.
This isn't a great story, but it is fun for anyone that is a foodie.
Rating: 4 flowers
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