Hungry for More (edition 2008)

Four hundred pages of 'just not that good.' ( )

Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Sep08

I opened “Hungry For More” looking for a change in tenor from my recent reading. Diana Holquist certainly provided that with a story about food and love…or food as love. Each chapter is headed with a food quote from the hero of the book comparing life’s lessons with food. Since I was hungry for something unusual, I dug right in.

James is a fabulous, but lonely chef. His food and his restaurant are his whole life. His famous dishes are each inspired by, and named after, the temporary women in his life. When he meets Amy, just being near her inspires one of his best ever appetizers. It’s not long before that’s not all she’s inspiring!

Amy is a footloose gypsy. At five years old, suddenly she became able to touch a person and tell them the name of their One True Love. When she touched her mother and said a name, her mother promptly left her current family for her real love. A lonely, hurting Amy named the voice Maddie, learned her ‘lesson’ and has used her ability to con her way through life; never becoming too attached to anyone or anything and never staying in one place too long. Then, three months ago, on the biggest day of her life, Maddie left her. Amy is determined to get ‘her’ back.

This story is really about a pair of people who are lonely at heart but have found other ways to compensate. Their younger years weren’t very happy and each grew up without a mother. So even though one grew up rich and one poor, they have a connection and understanding that goes deeper than appearances. The biggest difference between them is that James is quicker to realize and open himself up to love. Amy, on the other hand, is a shallow and selfish woman. I didn’t like her in the beginning and I still didn’t like her at the end. I would have chosen another woman, any other woman, for James. I thought he deserved so much more. Because I didn’t like the lead female character, I didn’t ‘feel’ the love between the two, and that meant that nothing else worked either!

The story in “Hungry for More” is an interesting one. What would be the consequences of knowing your ‘one true love’? I just wish Diana Holquist’s heroine was one I could care about and want to like. But if heroines who run away, again and again, from their hero (and then of course, have hot reunion sex) are more to your taste, then you should certainly try a serving of this story. As for me, it only left me hungry for ice cream. ( )