Dining with Joy was about cooking show host Joy Ballard who can’t cook. She inherited her show from her father and her executive producer knew about her lack of cooking abilities, as well as a lot of the staff. The producer then sells the show to Allison Wild, who believes she can make Joy an even bigger star. Only problem? She doesn’t know Joy can’t cook. Enter Luke Redmond. Successful chef, owner of a failed Manhattan restaurant. During one failed live cook-off, Luke steps in to help her and saves the day. They begin working together. While Luke is a master at cooking, he is terrible on screen. (Joy is the opposite.) He soon finds out about Joy’s lack of cooking ability and proceeds to help her learn, keeping her secret. But sooner or later, the cat has to come out of the bag, right?
This was a sweet love story, with Christian themes. The main character was strong and someone I could identify with. Joy had a hard time trusting people, especially men. She had a hard time defining her worth, especially as she is a fraud in the foodie world. She doesn’t exactly know what she wants out of life, but wants to make her father proud, since she never seemed to connect with him while he was alive. There was something about Joy I deeply connected with, and was just rooting for her to take a chance on love. And Luke. Oh, Luke is one of the good guys. Another strong character with his own hang-ups, but someone who strives every day to make something more out of his life. I was incredibly sad when I finished this book because these two characters wouldn’t be a part of my life anymore.
This book is centered around Christian themes, such as what God has called you to do. But deep down, it is a love story. It’s one of those sweet love stories that makes you fall back in love with the process of falling in love. Character development is strong, as well as plot. While it wasn’t a book I couldn’t put down, it was one of those that sucked me right back in when I started reading it again. Rachel Hauck is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. A part of me wishes there was a sequel, just so I could get a taste of Joy and Luke again.
Has there ever been a main character that you closely identified with?
i know that sadness very well where you feel you lost a few good friends with the finishing of a book.
i'm all about sweet love stories 🙂 i might add this to my list!
Sounds good!!! Going to add it to my list. I just saw your race schedule and got goosebumps for you about your half!
The series that I just read (the Very Valentine & Brava Valentine) books, well, I hugely identified with the main character. Such great books!
I've definitely had books where I've strongly connected with the character.
Yeah, I'm not the one for cooking shows or books. Rachel Roy is decent but alot of times her food is really bland and I think for most people, they can follow basic cooking directions but it's the seasoning part that they're lost on. So it's interesting to see someone write about a cooking show host that can't cook (something I think most of them can't do anyways), and THEN she falls in love I think makes this story sound really interesting! I love reading too so perhaps I should pick this up.
I liked your review, it sounds really good 🙂 like a good gift book too!
Yeah, I'm not the one for cooking shows or books. Rachel Roy is decent but alot of times her food is really bland and I think for most people, they can follow basic cooking directions but it's the seasoning part that they're lost on. So it's interesting to see someone write about a cooking show host that can't cook (something I think most of them can't do anyways), and THEN she falls in love I think makes this story sound really interesting! I love reading too so perhaps I should pick this up.