Good Things by Mia King

From the Publisher

A charming debut novel about a lifestyle maven who learns that living simply isn't simple.

Deidre McIntosh became famous teaching women to live simply, and simply live-ironic for a woman who thrives on the chaos of a television career, and shares a home with her best friend, the one man she can count on-who happens to be gay.

But when her Seattle cooking-and-lifestyle show gets bumped off the air, and her best guy moves in with his boyfriend, she's left trying to figure out the next segment. Seizing on a chance encounter with an attractive stranger, Deidre accepts his offer to use his country home. She hopes to get away for a while and learn to practice what she preaches. To appreciate life without voice mail. To gain the courage to start again, and take the first slow, cautious steps toward a new kind of success-and maybe even love.

It seems like a simple task. But it may be the hardest thing she's ever done...

Publishers Weekly

A domestic diva goes from princess to pauper in King's mushy debut. Deidre McIntosh, the 40-year-old host of Seattle television show Live Simple, has had a successful five-year run, but, as with all cookies, hers too must crumble. The show gets canceled, her gay best friend and roommate moves in with his boyfriend, and her investments tank, forcing her to sell her designer clothes and land a cheaper place to live. By chance, she meets the dapper and wealthy Kevin, who, after an exceedingly serendipitous second encounter, offers her the use of his vacation home in remote Jacob's Point. It takes her a little while to warm up to the backwoods, but Deidre finds a friend and retail outlet for her gourmet baked goods in Lindsey Miller, the owner of the local diner. After a few months at Jacob's Point, Deidre, armed with a proposal for a new TV show, returns to Seattle, but getting back on the air isn't as simple as she'd hoped. There's never a doubt that Deidre will find her professional and romantic happy ending, and readers' patience may be stretched while the earnest heroine orchestrates her comeback. But the plucky protagonist and sweeter-than-syrup ending will please those willing to wait for the inevitable. (Feb.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Seattle's version of Martha Stewart stages a comeback. Deidre McIntosh hosts Live Simple, a local TV show for those who want to learn how to bake a perfect fruit tart or fold a napkin into the shape of a lotus flower. For five years, she's neglected her personal life while devoting herself to the domestic arts. So when Live Simple is canceled and her gay roommate moves in with his boyfriend, Deidre's world comes apart. She loses her apartment (the lease was in her roommate's name) and has hardly any savings to fall back on, thanks to lousy investment advice. She needs an angel, and sure enough, one appears. Handsome Kevin Johnson picks up the tab when Deidre finds herself wallet-less at a local restaurant. Later, he bumps into an intoxicated Deidre in the elevator. Sparks fly, and the couple lands between the sheets. Not normally one for flings, Deidre is horrified the next morning. Kevin, ever the gentleman, ignores her hung-over bumbling and offers a no-strings-attached solution to her housing troubles: his country cottage near Lake Wish. Lacking alternatives, Deidre heads to the house to come up with a plan to resurrect her career. She reacquaints herself with her passion for cooking and gets a sensational idea for a new show. With renewed confidence, she is ready to head back to Seattle. But she needs someone to believe in her, and it will come as no surprise who that someone will be. First-novelist King slops together a mish-mash of ingredients to create this sugary concoction. She jumps from recipes to steamy sex scenes so quickly it will give readers whiplash. Amateurish prose and a hackneyed plot make for literary indigestion. Agent: Jean Naggar/Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency

Product Details