Synopses & Reviews
A touching and hilarious novel from the fabulous Stacey Ballis about best friends, true love, and the joy of foodand#151;for fans of Jen Lancaster, Jennifer Weiner, and Emily Giffin...
Jenna has lost her best friend.
With Aimee gone so tragically young, Jenna barely knows where to turn. Aimee was the one who always knew what to doand#151;not to mention what to wear. The two built a catering company together and had so much in commonand#151;well, except their taste in men. Jenna never understood what the successful, sophisticated Aimee saw in Wayne, with his Star Wars obsession and harebrained business schemes.
And gained her best friendand#8217;s husbandand#133;
But Aimee has left a shocking last request: Jenna now has financial custody of the not-so-merry widower. True, Wayne needs someone sensible around to keep him under control, but what was her dear departed friend thinking?
The thing is, as she gets to know Wayne better, his latest moneymaking idea actually starts to intrigue her. Her attractive new lawyer boyfriend doesnand#8217;t approve of itand#151;but then, Wayne doesnand#8217;t approve of her attractive new lawyer boyfriend. Now Jenna has to figure out what direction her life is going to take next. And she canand#8217;t help asking herself: What would Aimee do?
Review
“Stacey Ballis dishes up another fabulous and soul-satisfying meal in her newest novel. With the perfect blend of humor and heart, Ballis' writing is powerfully honest and genuinely hilarious, and embodies everything I love about contemporary women's fiction. Off the Menu is an irresistibly delicious five-course read!”--Jen Lancaster, New York Times Bestselling Author
Review
"Alana Ostermann has a great job working as an executive culinary assistant to Patrick Conlon (one of Chicago's top chefs), great friends (including one with whom she has been trading some "special" benefits), a great family and an adorable dog — all of whom love her dearly. So what if she still hasn't met her Mr. Right? But when an online dating service accidentally matches her up with a sweet, sexy transplanted Tennessean named RJ, Alana begins to think she may have found the missing ingredient in the recipe for a perfect life. Readers hungry for cleverly written contemporary romances will definitely want to order
Off the Menu."
—Chicago TribuneReview
“Witty and tender, brash and seriously clever, Stacey Ballis’ characters are our friends, our neighbors or, in some cases, that sardonic colleague the next cubicle over…Her storytelling will have you alternately turning pages and calling your friends urging them to come along for the ride. And in Stacey Ballis’ talented hands, oh what a wonderful ride it is.” --Elizabeth Flock, New York Times Bestselling Author
Review
"ENTICING. Ballis writes a bit like Emily Giffin and Isabel Wolff, and the recipes will please gal foodies as well."—Booklist
Review
"A wonderfully joyful ode to good food, best friends, tough choices and great love. Off the Menu = one delicious read...that comes complete with recipes! So much fun." --Alison Pace, author of You Tell Your Dog First
Review
"Stacey Ballis knows her readers like books smart and funny—and she always delivers." --Laurie Gwen Shapiro, Author of Brand X: The Boyfriend Account
Review
Praise for OUT TO LUNCH and#8220;Heartfelt and hilariousand#8230;.A deeply satisfying look at food, friendships and the families you create for yourself when you need them most.and#8221; --Jen Lancaster, author of The Tao of Martha and Here I go Again
"A sparkling, heartwarming novel with all the elements of a can't-put-it-down read--a heroine you'll root for, unexpected plot twists, and dangerously good descriptions of food!"- Sarah Pekkanen, author of The Best of Us
"A funny and heartfelt tale of friendship, food, and how difficult it can be to open yourself up to love, youand#8217;ll want to devourand#160;Out to Lunchand#160;in one delicious bite. This is Stacey Ballis at her witty and chef-tastic best."--Amy Hatvany, author of Heart Like Mine and Best Kept Secret
Synopsis
Jodi and Jill Spingold are the Spinster Sisters. With a radio show, speaking engagements, DVDs, and two bestselling books, they've built a thriving cottage industry helping other single women find happiness. Their futures have never been brighter-until Jill turns out the lights on Jodi by announcing her engagement.
Jodi is stunned. How can they be the Spinster Sisters if one of them is married? Complicating things is her own love life, involving three vastly different paramours offering three different kinds of happiness-none of which Jodi is sure she wants. And her ex-husband, backed by his lawyer girlfriend, may be angling for a piece of the Spinster Sisters empire.
Now, Jodi must make some tough decisions, keep the business afloat, and get to the altar to stand by her sister-even if means that from now on she'll be single all by herself.
Synopsis
Having built a thriving cottage industry helping single women to find happiness while remaining unattached, radio show hosts and sisters Jodi and Jill Springold find their partnership challenged by Jill's engagement and Jodi's complicated relationships with three different paramours. By the author of Room for Improvement. Original. 30,000 first printing.
Synopsis
The last thing Melanie expected to lose when she went on a diet was her husband. Former lawyer Melanie Hoffman lost half her body weight and opened a gourmet take-out café specializing in healthy and delicious food. Then her husband left her-for a woman twice her size. Immediately afterwards, she's blindsided by a financial crisis. Melanie reaches out to a quirky roommate with a ton of baggage and becomes involved in a budding romance with a local documentary filmmaker.
In this warm and often laugh-out-loud novel, Melanie discovers that she still has a lot to learn about her friends, her relationships with men, and herself-and that her weight loss was just the beginning of an amazing journey that will transform her life from the inside out..
Synopsis
As the executive culinary assistant to celebrity Chicago chef Patrick Conlon, Alana Ostermann works behind the scenes—and that’s just the way she likes it. But with developing recipes for Patrick’s cookbooks, training his sous chefs, picking out the perfect birthday gifts for his ex-mother-in-law, and dealing with the fallout from his romantic escapades, she barely has a personal life, much less time to spend with her combo platter of a mutt, Dumpling.
Then a fluke online connection brings her RJ, a transplant from Tennessee, who adds some Southern spice to her life. Suddenly Alana’s priorities shift, and Patrick—and Dumpling—find themselves facing a rival for her time and affection. With RJ in the mix, and some serious decisions to make about her personal and professional future, Alana must discover the perfect balance of work and play, money and meaning, to bring it all to the table—one delicious dish at a time…
Synopsis
The last thing Melanie expected to lose when she went on a diet was her husband. Former lawyer Melanie Hoffman lost half her body weight and opened a gourmet take-out café specializing in healthy and delicious food. Then her husband left her-for a woman twice her size. Immediately afterwards, she's blindsided by a financial crisis. Melanie reaches out to a quirky roommate with a ton of baggage and becomes involved in a budding romance with a local documentary filmmaker.
In this warm and often laugh-out-loud novel, Melanie discovers that she still has a lot to learn about her friends, her relationships with men, and herself-and that her weight loss was just the beginning of an amazing journey that will transform her life from the inside out..
About the Author
Stacey Ballis is the author of seven foodie novels: Inappropriate Men, Sleeping Over, Room for Improvement, The Spinster Sisters, Good Enough to Eat, Off the Menu, and Out to Lunch. She is a contributing author to three nonfiction anthologies: Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, and Living Jewishly. She is currently writing two new works of full-length fiction for Berkley/Penguin. She was an educator for more than fifteen years in Chicago, including teaching high school English in the Chicago Public Schools and serving as director of education and community programs for Goodman Theatre for seven seasons, before pursuing a full-time career in writing and consulting.