Cooking With Love

Finding Love the Harvey Girl Way Book 1

By: Cynthia Hickey

Narrated by: Meghan Kelly

Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Tabitha McClelland knows accepting a job as a Harvey House waitress can be risky. Traveling alone to the rough-and-tumble West just isn't done by young ladies of good breeding. But far more dangerous is her powerful attraction to Adam Foster. Family means everything to the widowed chef, but the self-sufficient Tabitha cherishes her freedom above all else.

Adam is captivated by the fiercely independent Tabitha. Fraternizing with the female employees is strictly forbidden, but the Harvey Girl awakens feelings too compelling to ignore. Can Adam convince Tabby to share his dream of a future in California - together?

©2015 Cynthia Hickey (P)2015 Cynthia Hickey

Delightful story!

I enjoyed this story that takes place out West. Since I enjoy historical romances, it was fun to hear about the Harvey Girls and what they did for the restaurant business.

Overall good, but the reader was not enjoyable

I enjoyed the story overall. However, this book would have been a lot more enjoyable with a better reader. The reader kept mispronouncing ‘pastor’ so that it sounded like ‘pasture.’ I would have given this book a higher rating if the performance was better.

Western waitress Christian romance

A vigorously Christian story of a Harvey waitress struggling with balancing her desires to work, be independent and her increasing love for the restaurant chef.

Beautiful Story.

What did you love best about Cooking With Love?

I loved the historical parts of this book. It tells of all the mores of the times and how difficult the standards were to a Harvey girl,.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tabitha was my favorite character because it tells of her inner fight of with herself over her model of what she thought her life was going to be.

What does Meghan Kelly bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Megan Kelly brings Tabby to life. She brings all the characters to life, but her portrayal of Tabby is great/

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was moved at the ending. I cried happy tears. Nice ending.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge in exchange for an unbiased review.

Entertaining and Fun

Where does Cooking With Love rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really liked this book and would rank it about 6 out of 10 of all of the books I've listened to.

Would you recommend Cooking With Love to your friends? Why or why not?

I would definitely recommend this book to my friends because it is quite delightful and full of interesting scenerios.

Have you listened to any of Meghan Kelly’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I have listened to Meghan Kelly before and this one if one of her best performances ever.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't have any extreme reactions but I did thoroughly enjoy it from beginning to end.

Any additional comments?

I loved thinking about how women "back in the day" had to deal with so many obstacles and yet they seem to always come through with flying colors.

Loved this Harvey Girl romance

I am so thankful to read a excellent clean and wholesome romance. Audible was superb and the story was over the top. If you enjoy clean historical romances this writer is terrific. All the stars there are I give this book.

Narration Matters

Cynthia Hickey is one of the most improved writers I have ever read. This 1915 book is not one of her best. So if you find the plot too simple try one of her latest books.

A Harvey Girl falls for the cook and she spends chapter after chapter saying she can’t trust men and wants a career. I enjoyed the historical details of the Harvey House & women entering the work force. Tabitha and Adam are well developed characters but the book might be better than the audio.

The narrator has a way of ending a sentence or saying things that drove me crazy. I kept reading but it was only to get my house work done. I listen when I clean.

A Cute Romance

Any additional comments?

Cooking With Love is an adorable historical romance! I learned a lot about Harvey Girls. I had never heard of Harvey Girls before. It was an eye opener about that time period and what it was like to be a "working girl." I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

The narrator did a good job with the story. There were times when I couldn't tell between the narration and one of the character's voices, though. Sometimes the voices were similar. Other than that, she did a great job.

Good story

Harvey House waitress, a good story of being one. She is on her own and needs to work. Meeting the chef may change her life as well as working in a Harvey House. Delightful, and good narration, Given audio for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

The Story Was Really Slow But Saved By Narration

This story takes place along the route to California back in the 1800s, I would guess. Tabitha is a young woman, single and trying to earn a living on her way to California. She has found her niche in waitressing for the version of the 1980/90's Howard Johnson's.

Adam Foster is a cook at these establishments. He is widowed and not looking for anything but to survive and support his family.

There are very strict rules against fraternization between employees. It seems that everyone is keeping an eye out so as to tattle on anyone making "inappropriate" comments and or behavior.

Midway through the story, Adam gets the message that his mother is quite ill. He rushes back to be with her. It is during the separation that Tabitha and Adam really understand that they are lonely without one another.

I appreciate the authors work and her Christian theme throughout. The story seemed to be very slow. With 30 minutes left I was still waiting for the story to pick up.

However, Meghan Kelly is amazing, as usual. She kept me engaged and listening lots longer than I would have, had I been reading it on my own or the story being performed by another narrator.

I don't really know how to rate this one other than on performance which I easily give a solid 5 stars. The story line was good but it just took so long to get anywhere that I found myself floundering and losing interest.

There is nothing to note regarding warnings for any potential listeners.

This could easily be rated PG, if not milder, because it was a nice, sweet, innocent Christian story.

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my review. I will give the author another chance in the future and hope for a more direct and intriguing plot. Meghan Kelly, the narrator, has my attention on just about anything she chooses to perform.


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