Title: A Girl’s Guide to Love and Supper Clubs 
Author: Dana Bate
Publisher: Hyperion, 2013
I won this book months ago from out friends at Crowded Earth Kitchen. Initially, I was thrilled (Yay! Free book!) I happily opened the package when it arrived and set the 394 bound pages proudly on my bookshelf. And there it sat. And sat. And sat some more. I range from a foodie on a bad day to a cookbook obsessed food blog addict on a good day so there isn’t a reason in the world why I shouldn’t be diving into a work of foodie fiction. Why wasn’t I jumping at the chance to devour this book, signed with a personal note to me? from Dana Bate? Well, I have this distaste for “chick-lit”. Take a good look at the cover of A Girl’s Guide to Love and Supper Clubs. Go ahead, drink it all in: a frosted cupcake with a heart shaped cookie on top, the swirly writing of the title, the pink. Romantic Comedies have a place I am sure, though not many find themselves nestled in my bookcase. This book was simply not my style and I had plenty of other books on my list.
Fast forward to last month, when Crowded Earth Kitchen announced the release of a new book by author Carly Ellen Kramer, How To Bake A Chocolate Soufflé. I was pleased to see CEK publish a novel, and naturally I spewed my excitement all over the internet. Then I remembered, I had won a book from Crowded Earth Kitchen several months ago and never read it. Huh. Better get that done before I add another book from Crowded Earth to the pile. So, I dusted it off and dove it. And that is how I came to read, Girl’s Guide.
The verdict? Well, now I know where the saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover” came from. I was on page 7 when I got hooked,
I grab for my wineglass and take a long sip and then, against my better judgment I add “But who knows. Maybe I’ll do something wild someday like start my own catering company.
Sandy blanches. An obvious disappointment.
“Catering?” Martin chuckles, swirling his wine glass by its base. “Surely you can aim a little higher than that.”
“What?!” I exclaimed aloud to my tea mug. Do people really think that way? Cooking for yourself and the people you love is simply the most important thing you do everyday. Food is a source of nutrition, of warmth, of love. It is the human races’ lifeblood. Way to squash a gal’s dream, Sandy and Martin.
I made my way through about half of the book that evening, sipping tea and chortling all the while. That night, my subconscious latched onto the amusing cast of characters and ran with it. I dreamt about Girl’s Guide. If that isn’t an indication of a work of fiction worth a read, I don’t know what is. Overall, Girl’s Guide is a fabulously funny look into what many twenty something young women struggle with – stumbling through the beginnings of a career, finding independence, and struggling with relationship possibilities. The main character, Hannah’s sass, her hilarious mishaps (who hasn’t said something inappropriate at the top of their lungs just as the music stops?), and her passion for food appealed to me on a personal level. I recommend A Girl’s Guide to Love and Supper Clubs to all of my foodie friends and romantic comedy readers aged fourteen and up.
Dana Bate has wet my appetite for foodie fiction. Next week on CrossCountryReading, How To Bake A Chocolate Soufflé by Carly Ellen Kramer.
Posted By: Janine Reads
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