This is a charming romantic comedy in the vein of Bridget Jones Diary or Asking For Trouble, two of my all-time favourite chick-lits.
The book is written in the first person from the perspective of Ashley, an aspiring TV presenter with a fatal flaw of terminal clumsiness. The story hinges on her complete inability to cook, but her determination to get a job as a TV chef anyway is endearing, and her willingness to work her butt off to get what she wants is admirable.
Without giving away too much, I really liked the fact that Ashley got a satisfying ending and a job that she was actually qualified for. I was rooting for her the whole way through.
The main issue that I have with the book is that Ashley's love interest, Giacomo, a gorgeous Italian chef and restauranteur, doesn't make an appearance in the story AT ALL until over 120 pages into the book.
I was starting to wonder if it was actually a romance at all, by that stage. The first 40% of the book is basically one huge setup, and though I'd got to thoroughly like Ashley and was invested in her story, I do think it was very late for the love interest to make his entrance.
Personally, I'd have started the story with Ashley making a major stuff up at the cooking class in front of Giacomo and had her standing there thinking "How the hell did I get here?" before telling some of the backstory via flashbacks and reveals as the relationship progresses along with Ashley's cooking skills.
As another reviewer said, this would make a great, hilarious romantic comedy. But there's no way that you'd wait until nearly halfway through the movie to give us a first sight of the heart-throb who'd play Giacomo. He'd be right there in the opening scene, laughing along with us as poor Ashley made a fool of herself. I'd love to see it.
I honestly think this is the first romance I've ever read where the love interest came into the story so late. In conclusion, I can only say that I really enjoyed the read but that the pacing felt a bit off. I'd definitely read more books by this author, though.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book for review through ReadingAlley.