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
"[A] frothy, fun send-up of reality TV....Readers will have a blast watching Lily and her friends try to figure out what their priorities are in this lighthearted tale." Booklist
Review
"[A] laugh-out-loud novel that will appeal to HGTV devotees as well as those who like their chick lit on the sexy side." Library Journal
Review
"Note to Ballis: Alliteration is not the height of literary craft. There is only a limited number of times (say, zero?) that you can read sentences such as, 'It's criminal the craft with which my cronies can give credence to any crumb of a possible crush, credible or no' before flinging this book in the pool. Still, Lily's spirited search for success and love on her own terms makes for a pleasurable read though its plucky protagonist's propensity for wordplay is likely to, well, perturb some people." Suzanne D'Amato, The Washington Post Book World (read the entire Washington Post Book World review)
Synopsis
Give two singles their own fashion consultants and interior designers and allow them four days to perk up each other's style and homes and Lily Allen's dream job turns into a nightmare. Episode by episode, through disasters and matchmaking miracles, Lily starts to discover that a little bit of controlled chaos is the spice of life and love.
Synopsis
The author of
Inappropriate Men and
Sleeping Over tackles home improvement and reality TV.
Give two hopeful singles their own fashion consultants and interior designers, and allow them four days to perk up each other's homes and style, and what do you get? Swap/Meet, the newest reality show on the network block and Lily Allen's dream job turned nightmare.
At first, Lily thought working on Swap/Meet would make her an interior design star. She just never imagined she'd end up working with a ditzy host, a jealous competitor, and feuding fashion czars. Plus, the cute, curmudgeonly carpenter on her team knows just how to push her buttons. Episode by episode, through do-it-yourself disasters and matchmaking miracles, Lily starts to discover that a little bit of controlled chaos is the spice of life and love.
Synopsis
Stacey Ballis tackles home improvement and reality TV—and reminds us that sometimes life and love are better left unscripted…
What do you get when you give two hopeful singles fashion consultants and interior designers, allow them four days to perk up each other’s homes and get a total style overhaul, then let their single friends celebrate the results at a fabulous party? You get Swap/Meet, the newest reality show on the network block, where major changes are either embraced or embarrassing—and Lily Allen’s dream job turned nightmare.
At first, Lily was thrilled to appear on Swap/Meet. What better way for a Chicago interior designer to promote her business and enjoy some pseudo-celebrity? She just didn’t think she’d be doing take after take with the ditzy host, dodging sabotage attempts, and getting caught in the middle of the fashion czars’ lovers’ spat. Plus, the cute, curmudgeonly carpenter on her team knows just how to push her buttons. Episode by episode, through do-it-yourself disasters and matchmaking miracles, Lily discovers that a little bit of controlled chaos is the spice of life—and love…
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 Director of Education and Community Programs at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. She is also a home improvement junkie and a huge fan of DIY television, and has a strange compulsion to buy occasional tables.