Take one aspiring cook, one judge, and a spoonful of romance...When Zoe Harper wins a coveted place in a televised cookery competition she's thrilled. It's a chance to cook her way to fame and fortune and the little delicatessen she's set her heart on. The first task has hardly begun when she finds herself with rather too much on her plate. Not only has she got to contend with the fiercely competitive and downright devious Cher, but she's fast developing an inconvenient crush on one of the judges - the truly delicious Gideon Irving.
All too soon there's more than canapés, cupcakes and cordon bleu at stake. Will Zoe win the competition or is Gideon one temptation too far? And is Zoe really prepared to risk it all for love?
©2012 Katie Fforde (P)2012 Isis Publishing Ltd, published in the UK by Random House Audiobooks
"Wonderful"
Voice of reader and story itself.
Zoe
Made the characters come to life.
No, just thoroughly enjoyed it.
I love Katie Fforde and this is my favourite book by her to date.
"Well crafted story"
The story's strength is dialogue and ridiculous, funny situations, not clever plot and suspense. The characters are human, well distinguishable and believable. They are not mean, saints in disguise or boring gray non-entities.
The story is "compact" in that it doesn't have complicated side plots and doesn't verbosely narrate scenes to the bitter boring end ... but sometimes it is a bit too compact and sketchy .. as though the author felt she had more to say, but the need for minimalism tied her tongue.
As in a Jane Austin romances you will know early on who the lucky couple is. Not a problem since "Getting There" is what it's about.
The reader is no Kate Reading, but she works for the story and didn't distract me anymore after a short while.