Here are 20 books that Miss Delectable fans have personally recommended if you like
Miss Delectable.
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As a writer, wife, and mom, I love reading novels and memoirs about women who are navigating parenting, relationships, and careers simultaneously. My favorites are those that make me laugh out loud while presenting a relatable picture of all this juggling act entails. Smart and witty heroines who approach life with a can-do spirit and the ability to laugh at themselves as the world tosses one curveball after another their way capture my heart every time.
It’s hard to match Nora Ephron’s wit and wisdom. In this novel, which mirrors events from the novelist and screenwriter’s real life, cookbook writer Rachel Samstat learns that her husband is cheating on her while she’s pregnant. Even as her life is falling apart, Rachel maintains her sense of humor while dropping the “everything is perfect” routine and speaking her mind.
In this tale of love and loss, Ephron serves up hilarious and heartbreaking moments in equal portions alongside mouthwatering recipes.
If I had to do it over again, I would have made a different kind of pie. The pie I threw at Mark made a terrific mess, but a blueberry pie would have been even better, since it would have permanently ruined his new blazer, the one he bought with Thelma ... I picked up the pie, thanked God for linoleum floor, and threw it' Rachel Samstat is smart, successful, married to a high-flying Washington journalist... and devastated. She has discovered that her husband is having an affair with Thelma Rice, 'a fairly tall person with a neck as long…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
My love for romantic comedies has only recently started to develop, but I have always been passionate about food. For years, I have been combining storytelling and new recipes through my movie cookbook series. As I was developing my book, below, I learned that weaving the food directly into the romance adds a whole new delicious layer to the story. I hope you enjoy devouring the books on this list as much as I have!
What I found really took the cake in this romance was the way Roberts wove in the family catering business. It wasn't just a backdrop; it felt like another character in the story. Being immersed in that world of bustling kitchens and elegant events again reminded me of the stress and fun of working in kitchens to put myself through college and pay for my starving artist life in NYC.
The descriptions of the food were so tantalizing, making my mouth water and really adding to the sensual and intimate feel of Laurel's new love connection. It was like the act of creating and sharing food became this beautiful language between them, sparking conversations and nourishing their feelings in such a lovely way.
I found that the idea of "savoring" wasn't just about the delicious flavors; it perfectly captured the way their love story unfolded, making the whole book such…
New Love takes the cake in the third novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts's Bride Quartet-in a stunning French flap edition
Wedding baker Laurel McBane is surrounded by romance working at Vows wedding planning company with her best friends Parker, Emma, and Mac. But she's too low-key to appreciate all the luxuries that their clients seem to long for. What she does appreciate is a strong, intelligent man, a man just like Parker's older brother Delaney, on whom she's had a mega-crush since childhood.
But some infatuations last longer than others, and Laurel is convinced that…
I love cooking, almost as much as I love eating. One of the great advantages of writing a series where the heroine is a jam maker is that it gives me a chance to experiment with jams, as well as other dishes Roxy shares with her family and friends. I live in a place where fresh fruit comes tumbling onto the market all summer: raspberries, peaches, apricots, blackberries, and cherries. You’re hardly through with one before the next appears on your plate. Making it into jam is fun, but writing about it is even better. And reading about someone else’s food loves is a special kind of pleasure. Bon appétit!
Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman books will make you long for some scrumptious whole-grain bread and a crock of creamery butter.
Not only do you get descriptions of Corinna’s bakery and its products, there are also the delectable meals she prepares for herself and her beloved. And, of course, the mysteries she solves along the way. That’s not to mention Corinna herself, a former lawyer and accountant, now happily baking bread in Melbourne as an unashamedly full-figured woman and resident of a delightfully quirky apartment building.
"Put on the coffee pot, whip up a batch of muffins (yes, two recipes are included), and enjoy this thoroughly original tale. Strongly recommended for fans of offbeat mysteries." ―Library Journal STARRED review
One day, Corinna Chapman, high profile accountant and banker, walked out on the money market and her dismissive and unpleasant husband James, threw aside her briefcase, and doffed her kitten heels forever. Now she is a baker with her own business, Earthly Delights, in Melbourne, Australia, living in an eccentric building on the Roman model called Insula with a lot of similarly eccentric people.
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
Alongside my early career as a children’s writer, I was a consultant to police forces about anti-corruption measures. It gave me a great look inside investigations…but my NDAs meant I couldn’t use any of that information in a mystery story. So, an amateur sleuth it had to be—but one who didn’t do stupid things instead of going to the police! Before that, I worked in children’s television, and I understand the power of the media to get people to talk. I brought those two sides of my work life together to create Poppy, my main character, and put her in Sydney, Australia, the city of my heart.
I’ve been a reader of Jennifer Crusie for a while, so I was delighted to find that she’d moved into murder mysteries. Then, when I read this, I thought: Liz Danger and my Poppy would really get on well—so naturally I loved it! I like the creation of a small town that isn’t the normal sweet-as-pie cozy place, and the slow-burn romance is handled deftly. Just quirky enough but not too quirky.
I like Liz and her ambivalence about the town and her erratic family. Because it’s a collaboration, the two points of view (Liz and cop Vince Cooper) are distinctly different, which I really enjoyed. I immediately went on to read the rest of the series, which is the highest praise I can give!
From the NY Times Bestselling duo that wrote Agnes and the Hitman, the first book in a new series.
Liz Danger has come home after fifteen years to deliver a giant teddy bear for her mother’s birthday (color: Guilt Red) when a cop with a great ass picks her up for speeding, fixes the missing lug nuts in her back wheel, pulls her out of a ditch, doesn’t give her a ticket, and helps her avoid her family. This is a man with real potential.
Vince Cooper picks up Liz for speeding and his life gets a lot more interesting.…
I often feel as if I live with one foot in the present, and one in the past. It’s always been the little-known stories that fascinate me the most, especially women’s history. Their lives can be harder to research, but more rewarding for that. As a writer and historian, it has been wonderful to discover the histories of intriguing but ‘overlooked’ women, and to share their tales. I hope you enjoy reading the books I have selected as much as I did!
A romantic attachment between Lady Georgina ‘Georgy’ Lennox, later Baroness de Ros, and the Duke of Wellington matured into a long-lasting friendship. Georgy was present at the Duchess of Richmond’s famous ball, held before the Battle of Waterloo. Through Georgy’s eyes, we gain a different perspective on events—and people—that we thought we knew all about. This is a fascinating look at the life of a little-known woman who was a first-hand witness to some of the most important events of her era.
Using largely unpublished sources, this book tells the story of Lady Georgiana Lennox and the unique friendship she cherished with the Duke of Wellington. She first met the Duke on his return from India when he was serving under Georgy's father as Chief Secretary. The Lennox family moved to Brussels in 1813 and Georgy's mother the Duchess of Richmond threw the now legendary ball the night before the Battle of Waterloo. Georgy was a young, beautiful and immensely popular young lady at the time with many suitors. She and the Duke enjoyed a flirtatious early friendship, which blossomed into a…
I have been fascinated by Napoleon and the French Revolution since I was a teenager. Novels that capture the essence of the struggles of the French people – and especially those that feature Napoleon as a highly layered character – have always called to me. As a Jewish author, I am particularly drawn to a fair representation of Jewish characters in these tales – which frankly, Georgette Heyer does not, as she adheres to stereotypes in describing any Jewish characters. (I only forgive her because her books are so brilliant.)
I’m a huge admirer of Georgette Heyer, who single-handedly created the Regency historical romance genre. Her research and knowledge of the time, including aspects of dress, manners, etc., are unsurpassed.
An Infamous Army tells the story of Waterloo from the British perspective, and its battle scenes are so accurate that the novel is actually taught at the British military academy, Sandhurst. Heyer includes characters from her other books in this novel, and it was a surprise and a joy to meet them in this wide-ranging narrative.
If you love Bridgerton, you'll love Georgette Heyer!
'The greatest writer who ever lived' ANTONIA FRASER 'My generation's Julia Quinn' ADJOA ANDOH 'One of the wittiest, most insightful and rewarding prose writers imaginable' STEPHEN FRY ___________
1815, and the British and French armies are massing ahead of one of the greatest battles of all time ...
Occupied by the British, Brussels however is en fete.
And Lady Barbara Childe, renowned for being as fashionable as she is beautiful, is at the centre of all that is fashionable and light-hearted.
When she meets Charles Audley, the dashing aide de camp to…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I was born and raised in Leeds and moved back here in 2013. My ancestors first came here a couple of hundred years ago. The place is my passion, but it’s also in my DNA. I write historical crime novels, many of them set in Leeds between 1730 and 1957. I know this place through the soles of my feet. My work means constantly researching its history, trying to understand this city, how it shifts and changes, and the people who call it home. The longer I continue, the greater my fascination, and the deeper I dive to keep learning more. These books all beat with the heart of Leeds.
This tells the story, not just of Beckett Street Cemetery, supposedly the oldest municipal cemetery in the UK, but more important of those buried there, both rich and poor (and there are plenty of both). It sits across the road from what was once Leeds Workhouse, and has its share of former inmates from there in unmarked graves. Poignantly, there’s are also many guinea graves, where several are buried on top of each other, names listed on a headstone, all for a guinea (just over a pound). In its tales, this becomes a 19th-century social history of Leeds – there’s even a survivor of the Battle of Waterloo buried there. Not a widely-known book, but it has a wonderful, quiet importance. I have relatives in unmarked, guinea, and regular graves.
With the growth of English cities during the Industrial Revolution came a booming population too vast for churchyards. Beckett Street Cemetery in Leeds was to become the first municipal cemetery in the country. This study relates how the cemetery was started and run, and describes the developing feuds between denominations. The author draws upon newspaper articles, archive material and municipal records to tell the stories of many of the people who lie there, from tiny infants, soldiers and victims of crime to those who perished in the great epidemics of Victorian England. The study throws new light on the occupations…
I have a passion for ships and the sea which I try and bring to my writing. I was first drawn to the Age of Sail by earlier novelists in the genre who opened my eyes to a fascinating world. I went on to study the 18th-century navy at university, I sail myself whenever I can, and have always loved the sea. When I decided to give up a well-paid job in industry to try my hand as an author, there was only one genre for me.
2005 saw the bicentennial of the Battle of Trafalgar, and a slew of books about the engagement. The best of the lot was Men of Honour. In it Nicolson broadens his focus away from the mechanics of the battle to explore the psychology of the protagonists and explains the world they grew up in so that the reader understands why they acted in the ways that they did. Good history answers the ‘what happened’ question. Great history lets you understand why.
An unforgettable look at the contradictions of heroism, as embodied by Horatio Nelson and as tested by the battle of Trafalgar. Adam Nicolson looks at the variety of qualities - ruthlessness, bravery, kindness, cruelty - that combined in both Nelson and his troops to carry that fateful day.
Trafalgar gripped the nineteenth century imagination like no other battle: it was a moment of both transcendent fulfilment and unmatched despair. It was a drama of such violence and sacrifice that the concept of total war may be argued to start from there. It finished the global ambitions of a European tyrant…
Historical fiction meets the picaresque in many novels about going on the road. As a fiction writer, my narrative tools are not forged in a vacuum. I stand on the shoulders of centuries of writers who invented the novel form and developed it through its beginnings in romance and all its permutations since. In my new book, I am following innovations in two genres. In historical romance, romance “fell” into history. What was lost in the historical world could be made up in the romance of heroic characters. In the picaresque, characters belonging to the lower echelons of society “go on the road” for all sorts of reasons, mostly to survive.
Through all the twists and turns of this plot, Becky shows herself to be both conniving and resilient in her quest to use those around her for her own gain. While not an attractive rendition of human nature, she forever has a wolf at her door and does what she thinks she must to stay one step ahead.
One gets whiplash from sympathizing with her one minute and being appalled by her lack of scruples the next, but, like all the characters she hoodwinks, we are captivated by her as someone who is never boring. She hops from one doomed circumstance to the next, and we are along for the ride.
William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair depicts the anarchic anti-heroine Beky Sharpe cutting a swathe through the eligible young men of Europe, set against a lucid backdrop of war and international chaos. This Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction and notes by John Carey.
No one is better equipped in the struggle for wealth and worldly success than the alluring and ruthless Becky Sharp, who defies her impoverished background to clamber up the class ladder. Her sentimental companion Amelia Sedley, however, longs only for the caddish soldier George. As the two heroines make their way through the tawdry glamour…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
I love writing my steamy, happily ever after romance novels. Billionaires are my Prince Charmings and they have a lot to offer the heroines I write. However, none of my heroines are weak. They are strong and they love the billionaires for who they are, not what they offer. I want a world full of romance, steam, and happily ever afters, so that’s what I love to write. My books are perfect for a relaxing day on the beach that will leave you feeling good.
Skye Warren is a queen of romance and feelings,
and this book is one I’ve read multiple times. I love that this billionaire
romance has Pretty Woman vibes, but it’s own story. Sutton, our hero, has a
tortured past and dark demons inside of him, but the love he feels for Ashleigh
is so sweet and heartfelt that it breaks my heart every time I read it. They
struggle so hard for their love, and the two of them together make for an
emotional and powerful read. This is a story of two broken people finding one
another and finding a powerful love.
Billionaire Sutton Mayfair has nothing left to lose...
My best friend is getting married to the woman I love. They say the nice guy finishes last. So what's the point of being a goddamn gentleman?
Maybe I should take what I want.
Even that sexy little thing on the street corner.
She needs a hot meal and a place to sleep. Instead I'm taking her home to soothe the savage beast inside me. I was born a bastard, and for the first time in my life I act like one.
