Fun summer read.
@MAC, there are some fun recipes at the end of this one. Your book club would love it! :) ( )

FUN FUN fun fun FuN....That's what kind of book this is. Not mind-bending, not deep thinking or full of hidden meaning, simply an easy to read take me away Calgon kinda read.
King is a really good writer, it's obvious in that you grow to know the main characters, the writing itself is smooth, it flows quickly and this book - tho a wee bit unrealistic- does a heart good.

After reading this first Mia King book I just had to finish the series and hope she brings out another. This book leaves a life of a woman who is a chef in shambles at the beginning. To get away from it all she finds herself going into a small town in a broken down cabin that she fixes up and at the only local restaraunt and befriends the owner and starts to whip up recipes for the customers which brings in more financial stablility and help to her new found friend. As she is trying to get herself put back together, she runs into a man with whom she ends up dating not knowing that he comes from a very rich family. Read this one twice and probably again in the future. There are recipes in the back of the book that are just delectable. ( )

Good Things
By
Mia King

I have been totally immersed in a book world of Angels and Vampires and Immortals and Werewolves. And…when I wasn’t reading tons of YA Fantasy I was reading lots of women’s fiction that contained tons of family dysfunction and lots of sadness. I really love both of these genres…they are intense and relaxing and enjoyable to me.

However…just a few days ago I became aware of a delightful author named Mia King. I read one of her books…Good Things…and totally loved it. It is refreshing and fun and includes recipes!!! And it was just a romp to read. It takes place in Seattle and the main character is Deirdre who just happens to be the host of a local television show that airs daily and is about all of the great things that most women love…decorating, baking, cooking, floral crafts, fashion, style and lots more. Deirdre is happy in this role…and loves her life…she buys Manolo Blahniks on Ebay…and considers spending $300 on them a bargain. She spends nearly every cent she makes without thinking about her future. She shares an apartment with her gay best friend and is happy…very very happy and secure and content. She doesn’t even miss not having a love interest in her life because she is so happy with her gay best friend…they cook and clean and literally do everything together. Life is so good for Deirdre.

And of course you know that this is going to end…swiftly, messily and sadly for Deirdre.
She ends up alone, jobless and homeless faster than you can whip up a batch of homemade scones.

Enter a chance encounter with a stranger…Kevin…who of course is handsome, wealthy and a bit mysterious. He comes to Deirdre’s rescue by offering her his vacation home in a town about four hours from Seattle called Jacob’s Point.

Jacob’s Point has its own cast of quirky characters…a delightful diner named The Wishbone…a mysterious lake…and the chance for Deirdre to discover who she really is and come to terms with her life.

Simply put but the book is so much fun to read…I literally could not put it down and read it in a day. The food and the people of Jacob’s Point and Kevin’s family and Deirdre’s baking were all quite enjoyable. Of course, Deirdre and Kevin’s relationship has a steamy side but that only added to the charm of this book.

I loved it and look forward to reading more from Mia King. ( )

Television personality Deidre McIntosh has made her living hosting a Seattle-based program called “Live Simple,” a “Martha Stewart”-like guide for the modern woman. At forty, Deidre hasn’t paid much attention to her single status — busy, as she’s been, with her beloved TV show. She shares a great apartment with William, her longtime best friend, and luxuriates in their dinner parties and magazine-perfect existence.

But then William meets Alain, falls in love — and tells Deidre he’s moving out. And just as the hammer drops at home, a rival television station picks up a pilot from Marla Banks, a socialite who aims to run Deidre’s “Live Simple” into the ground — then does, through a series of caustic ad campaigns and eye-grabbing programming. Unemployed, alone and without direction, Deidre takes a step back from the chaos that’s become her life — and then meets Kevin, a local businessman who offers to let her stay at his second home in the mountains of Jacob’s Point, Washington.

Deidre barely hesitates before taking Kevin up on his offer, tempting though a life lived on William’s couch may have been. It’s in a small cabin in Jacob’s Point — and at Lake Wish — that Deidre begins to really think about “simple living” . . . and living in general. And with a little help from the locals, some good baking and new surroundings, things just might begin to change.

Mia King’s Good Things was a charming, fun story for anyone who has had to pack up their belongings and form a new life. The book hinged on the beauty of the locale, in my opinion, and Jacob’s Point didn’t disappoint. With its small-town charm and colorful characters, Deidre’s temporary home was abuzz with life — and just what she needed. After making a friend in Lindsey, owner of The Wishbone, Deidre begins to bake for the local restaurant and enjoy the success of watching people actually enjoy the amazing goods she’s prepared. You know, outside of a studio set.

What I loved about the story was the laser-sharp focus on Deidre’s career, which wasn’t a peripheral plot to the supposed “real” story in many women’s fiction novels: the romance. While I enjoyed the love story but could, of course, spot it a mile away, the story of Deidre and her new love interest wasn’t the novel’s sole focus. With a sister in television, I found all the “behind the scenes” glimpses of life on set to be fascinating — and I was glad King gave us a good look into that world.

While the story was predictable and the ending a little trite, I definitely don’t regret spending hours with King’s characters — and getting caught up in a good transformation story. Deidre felt like a friend who needed help coming up with some fresh ideas, and I loved watching her change and grow. Fans of women’s fiction will find Good Things to be an enjoyable, if not memorable, ride. ( )