Billie Breslin drops out of school and moves across the country to New York City to find her way in the world of culinary journalism. She manages to snag a great position at Delicious! an iconic foodie magazine housed in a Federalist mansion mere months before it is cancelled by the corporate owners. She is kept on as the sole employee to fulfill the Delicious! Guarantee -- the magazine will refund money spent on ingredients for any recipes that don’t work out quite right. While exploring the mansion and its library she comes upon a secret room and cryptic card catalog. Following clues she uncovers the letters of Lulu, aged 12, to the legendary James Beard, a correspondence initially started in the quest for tips to make good tasting meals during the rationing of World War II and later developing into a friendship. Throw in family drama, artisanal cheeses and hole in the wall restaurants and you have the recipe for a fun read.
Do not read this book if you are hungry. You will end up at a market spending your paycheck on interesting cheeses. I just talked about this book with my book discussion group and we all had one complaint -- everything fits together too neatly, too conveniently, wrapped with a big white bow. You see the resolution to subplots a mile away and know as soon as he walks onto the page who Billie’s love interest will be in a few chapters. That said, if you go into this one knowing it’s a romance, following the rules of a romance novel, you’ll find a lot to like here. I’ve been reading some dark and serious books and this one was a nice yummy fluffy confection that hit the spot.
