Audiobook10 hours
Dining with Joy
Written by Rachel Hauck
Narrated by Cici Dee
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
"Chef" Joy Ballard longs for a simpler life. But when a good-looking outsider arrives and spices things up, life becomes deliciously complicated.
Host of a regionally syndicated cooking show, Joy Ballard has a little secret: she can't cook. But when her show is picked up by a major network and given a prime time slot, her world heats up faster than a lowcountry boil.
Enter Luke Redmond: handsome, creative, and jobless after having to declare bankruptcy of his Manhatten restaurant. When her producers ask him to co-host the show, Joy sees Luke as her way out. But Luke sees much more than just a co-host in Joy.
Their relationship begins to simmer on and off set. Until Joy's secret is revealed and her reputation is ruined on national television by her rival, Wenda Devine.
But could Devine's cruelty be a divine gift? Losing Luke-and her sister-forces Joy to consider where her worth really comes from. Could God be cooking up an even bigger adventure from the mess? And will Joy hang on long enough to find out?
Host of a regionally syndicated cooking show, Joy Ballard has a little secret: she can't cook. But when her show is picked up by a major network and given a prime time slot, her world heats up faster than a lowcountry boil.
Enter Luke Redmond: handsome, creative, and jobless after having to declare bankruptcy of his Manhatten restaurant. When her producers ask him to co-host the show, Joy sees Luke as her way out. But Luke sees much more than just a co-host in Joy.
Their relationship begins to simmer on and off set. Until Joy's secret is revealed and her reputation is ruined on national television by her rival, Wenda Devine.
But could Devine's cruelty be a divine gift? Losing Luke-and her sister-forces Joy to consider where her worth really comes from. Could God be cooking up an even bigger adventure from the mess? And will Joy hang on long enough to find out?
Author
Rachel Hauck
Rachel Hauck is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Wedding Dress, which was also named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times and was a RITA finalist. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pet and writes from her ivory tower. Visit her online at RachelHauck.com; Facebook: RachelHauck; Twitter: @RachelHauck; Instagram: @rachelhauck.
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Titles in the series (3)
Sweet Caroline Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love Starts with Elle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dining with Joy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Dining with Joy
Rating: 3.7575757424242426 out of 5 stars
4/5
33 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I never read Christian fiction, but I was encouraged to read this one simply because it was pretty chick-lity and I needed to read at least one thing from the collection I order for at work. Eek! :) This was a sweet romantic story that centered on the main character finding herself after losing everything. The depth of the characters, both main and supporting, is incredible and I found myself cheering and supporting them along their own individual journeys. I sort of breezed over the Christian aspects of the book to really just enjoy the family-centric story, and I got lost in Joy's South Carolina world. Kind of like a Hallmark movie in book form. :)
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Joy, who is the host of a TV show called Dining with Joy, can not cook. I mean she can not cook, she can not make toast, boil water, nothing.
She has her staff sworn to not say anything - well as you can image this book is about how everyone finds out and the consquences of that.
I enjoyed this book, there was a little dragging right after the middle but I got sucked back in and enjoyed it.
Joy, is living with her mom, raising her 2 nieces (while her brother and his wife figure out life (a rushed happily ever after at the end of the book)and being the star of the TV show.
The show is sold and the new producer sees things differently including bringing in a very cute sexy hot male co star.
This is Joy's story, the story of her mom and the neighbor (not really sure why that is there - unnecessary to me), the story of Luke, the story of the nieces - so as you can see it is the story of many. Too many? Maybe - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I picked this book because a cooking show host that couldn't cook really appealed to me. This book started out slow to me. It took me a little more than 100 pages before I was drawn into the story. The story is focused around Joy Ballard. She is a celebrity host of a well know cooking show. Joy took over hosting after her father died suddenly. Joy has mixed emotions over her masquerade as a cook. So many people depend on her for their livelihood that I could sympathize with her character. This book also had several themes such as, forgiveness, redemption, trust and finding out who you really are, woven into the storyline. I liked Joy's character but at times she frustrated me. Her banter with Luke, a cook who's looking for a second chance, was great. I thought they had good chemistry together. My favorite character is Joy's mom, Rosie. She has an ongoing lawn rivalry with their next door neighbor. It is hilarious! Rosie and Joy also have the responsibility of raising her teenage nieces. The Ballards lead complicated lives full of hard lessons to learn. Overall this was an okay read for me. I did have trouble getting into the story but by the end I liked it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An enjoyable read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I feel this author gets better with each book she writes. This was my favorite in her "A Lowcountry Romance" series! It was witty, charming, and a "joy" to read.Joy Ballard is the host of an up and coming cooking show that has been picked up by a major network. A slight problem though, Joy can't cook! Anything! (This was some of the fun of the story, but also hard to believe part of the story). She has had a great team behind her helping her "cover up" her unability to cook. Enter Luke Redmond, a creative, cute and jobless chef who has lost his Manhattan restaurant to bankruptcy. He joins Joy's team and Joy sees her way out of cooking, by handing the cooking part over to Luke, while she does the "stand up comic" part of cooking. Their relationship seems to simmer on the air and off, but when Joy's cooking secret (she can't cook) is revealed her reputation is ruined, she fears she is losing Luke and things at home aren't going so well either. Can Joy figure out what God's will for her life is?I really enjoyed the interaction and "sizzle" between Luke and Joy. I also got a kick out of Joy's Mom and appreciated the way Joy related to her neices. Although this book can be easily read as a stand alone, if you read the other two in the series first, you will understand some of the other characters mentioned in the book better. But if you only read one book in this series, I recommend you choose this one; it is my favorite!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joy Ballard is a chef. At least that what everyone who watches her show, Dining with Joy, believes. Only a few people know she really can't cook. He lack of skill is covered by her lively personality and funny sense-of-humor. Luke Redmond is a professional chef who's trying to pick himself up after losing his restaurant. When Joy's producer asks Luke to co-host the show Joy decides this might just be her way out. He cooks, she tells jokes and give humorous tips. Perfect. The chemistry between them is electric and when a spur-of-the-moment searing kiss is caught on tape the demand for them becomes strong. But what will happen when Joy's secret is revealed on national television?I thoroughly enjoyed Dining with Joy! Rachel Hauck breathes life into her characters and you always feel by the end of the story that they are your good friends. I liked that the author brought back the characters from Sweet Caroline and Love Starts with Elle. It was fun catching up with them. This story was full of difficult situations to overcome but I think the author did a wonderful job in weaving the spiritual message that God is good and God is Love. (Great illustration with the coins). If you've read the previous books, you won't want to miss this installment. You can read it as a stand alone story but the whole series is great fun. This author blends a touch of humor, a dash of romance and a splash of spiritual truth which makes a wonderful recipe for "Dining with Joy". I highly recommend it. Thank you goes to Booksneeze for providing me with this complementary copy for review.