Greedily Yours - Episode 1: Taste Test

by Emma Hamilton

Mia Maxwell loves food. She loves it so much that she's made it her career. On the surface Mia seems to have it all. She lives in trendy east London with her best friend, Lizzie, who owns a cupcake cafe. By day she runs her own food PR consultancy, and by night she's a food blogger with a burgeoning audience. Mia has a banker boyfriend, Paul, who enjoys travelling the world, enabling her to taste the globe's culinary delights. But Mia is still hungry and, when she heads down to Cornwall to run a food festival, she doesn't realise that her entire life is about to be cast adrift.

Episode 1 - Mia Maxwell knows that her love of food is tied to her healthy appetite for romance. She's admitted as much on her food blog, "Culinary Confessions of a Greedy Girl." But could a chance encounter with a fellow foodie in Cornwall really entice her to question her own romantic relationship?

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction

79 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 15, 2015

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first in a series to be released weekly from the 15th June.
Mia is a food blogger and she helps organise festivals around the country. One of her favourite events is down in Cornwall. Whenever she travels down she stays with Lord Trelawney . This year he’s not there to meet her at the station and after trying to move all her baggage and contemplating walking, she’s met by a very grumpy man who had been sent to collect her. There isn’t an instant good impression for either of them.
Lord Trelaney says he’s had a bit of a to do, but doesn’t elaborate- but he seems quieter. She discover that Tom, the grumpy man, is his son.
I loved the description of the preparations for the festival and could imagine it all being set up. The manor house sounds so tempting that I’d love to stay there and this has whetted my appetite for reading the next episodes in the series. There are some delicious sounding recipes in the back of the book.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this lovely book.

[Shyames · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm, don't know how I feel about the whole breakdown into episodes yet. I'll probably continue, since this first part ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. Overall, it's a quick read in which we get more of a character introduction, a bit of development, sprinkled with a little action towards the end. I do hope the main character will figure out her feelings through the next ones, otherwise if she stays as is, she'll just be annoying to the max.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Posted in full http://www.reviewedthebook.co.uk/2015...

Taste Test is episode one of the eight part serialisation of the Greedily Yours novel. It was an enticing, intriguing opener and one which makes me hungry just thinking about it. Mia is a food blogger who also spends her time organising food festivals and this instalment sees her head to the festival in Cornwall – which even getting there was less than straightforward. I liked Mia, I found her quite amusing and liked how she could laugh at herself but then quite feistily stand up for herself too. At times I felt like she moped a bit too much – she does love a good moan – but I think she’s a character I’ll find easy to root for as the series goes on.

Taste Test started off very slowly and it did take me a bit of time to fully connect with the story. At the beginning, we learn a lot about Mia’s relationship with her boyfriend Paul and it’s very obvious that she’s not too happy with him, even when she tries to make excuses for that. The first quarter or so of the book is a lot of Mia thinking about things that have happened with her and Paul and complaining about him which did slow the book down and whilst I think it’s setting the reader up well for events further on in the series, I kind of found myself wanting her to ditch him – and fast.

Having said that, I found this to be a real easy, escapist read and I enjoyed it much more as I went on. I loved the parts where we get to see both Mia and her best friend Lizzie together because they are a bundle of laughs and seem, at first glances, to have a pretty honest and forthright friendship which I think will probably play a part considering Mia kind of needs a bit of a pep talk and relationship guidance, in my eyes anyway. Lizzie runs her own cupcake business and those cupcakes sounded heavenly! Mia also can’t resist them which she’s not overly impressed with considering she’s wanting to lose weight. I think personally the cupcakes sounded worth every calorie! I really liked Lizzie and I hope we see a lot more of her in future instalments.

There’s a lot more going on in Taste Test than I will mention – because it’s all in the fun of reading it yourself but I did enjoy the surprising quite dramatic turn of events. That ending drew me right in – very eager to read more! This book is worth reading for Mia’s foodie blog posts alone which are refreshing to read. Her blog Culinary Confessions of a Greedy Girl is the kind of uplifting blog with delectable food that would have me drooling over it in real life if it really existed (I wish it did). There are also a set of yummy recipes at the end of the book to whet your appetite, if the scrummy descriptive writing all throughout the episode wasn’t already enough to have you reaching for a cupcake or six.

*Book received for an honest review

[Petra Quelch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greedily Yours sounded like a delicious read so I just had to sample it myself! And what a treat it was! This short story had definitely tick all the boxes for me.

In Episode 1 ( Taste Test) we meet Mia Maxwell. She is pretty happy with her life. During the day she runs her own business, PR company specialising in food ( her passion) and most nights are reserved for writing her food blog, The Culinary Confession of a Greedy Girl. She is also in a stable relationship with Paul. What could be better?

But while Mia's business is on the rise, her relationship seems to be getting slightly stale. To take her mind of it, Mia is booked in to run the famous food and literary festival for Lord Trelawney in Cornwall and while she is down in Cornwall things take a rather surprising turn. Spending time away from her boyfriend Mia starts to really question the stability of her relationship and to complicate the matter further there is the extremely rude and grumpy Tom, the son of Lord Trelawney.

Mia Maxwell is an incurable romantic. She has this image of a perfect relationship in her head and always seems to compare her real life against it. Paul. Mia's long term boyfriend is a workaholic, often unavailable and rather prudent. Mia keeps hoping that the romantic side of their relationship will get better soon. Thankfully she has a wonderful best friend Lizzie who is more pragmatic and helps Mia navigate through some of her love crisis. Mia and Lizzie's friendship is very strong and nicely balanced.

I adored reading about Mia's journey down to Cornwall and how the west country makes her feel relaxed and refreshed, happy just being herself.
My eyes were feasting hungrily on the culinary delights and delicious description of the food Mia was tasting, especially the Lavender Drift cupcakes. Even the grumpy Tom added a spark to the story and a possible new love interest.

The Taste Test definitely leaves us with a tantalizing cliff-hanger.

Emma Hamilton has a fun, witty and delightful writing style! I am very much looking forward to reading the next installment of Greedily Yours.

[Fabulous Book Fiend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: Wow, what a fun, quick read. I love the idea that this book is going to be published in little parts twice a week, it will give me something to look forward to every Monday! It was also the perfect length to be read in one or two sittings (as I did) which makes it ideal for this kind of publication!

I liked the character of Mia and in this little installment, we are able to see what a well rounded character she is already. I think that Mia is someone that we can all relate to, doing a bit of blogging and writing on the side, not wanting to make too much of a big deal about it and being invested in her day job. She is also someone who tries not to eat too much cake but fails miserably every single time-at least she runs to make up for it which is more than I can say! She also has a strong friendship that she can rely upon.

In terms of plot, this little installment really sets up events that I am sure are going to be developed as the story progresses. The most important thing here is Mia's blog and also Mia's love life. Yes, she is in a relationship, but not one that she is happy with and now there has been the complication of a man who infuriates her coming onto the scene, i can't wait to see how this all unfolds in future issues!

The description in this writing is amazing, I could picture the long train journey down to that bottom corner of England, the scenery when Mia arrived there and the buzz of the food festival that she was there to attend., I completely understood when she was waiting for texts from her boyfriend and felt her passion for food through the writing in this novella.

Overall I would definitely recommend giving this a read, after all, who doesn't want a quick lunchtime read that features amazing countryside, fabulous food and a twisty love story? Fabulous!

[Lara Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Greedily Yours – Taste Test – Episode 1
Author: Emma Hamilton
Publisher: Bastei Entertainment
Thank you to Netgalley and Bastei Entertainment for the opportunity to read and review Episode 1 of Greedily Yours!
Greedily Yours is a serial novel. This is my first experience with a serial novel. If you aren’t familiar with them like me, here’s a quick run through of what it’s all about. Greedily Yours is an 8 episode series. Each new episode is published twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. This started on June 15. From what I can gather from it, it’s like instant gratification or like a teaser that you don’t have to wait too long for. I’m all for it!
In Greedily Yours, we are introduced to Mia Maxwell. She lives in east London where she works in PR food festivals and is also a secret blogger of food. We follow Mia as she navigates her way through her favorite local food festival on the grand countryside of Cornwall. Here she is in her prime while she helps vendors sort out their tables and set up the festivities. Because she is so busy, she barely notices that her boyfriend of 3 years doesn’t bother to check on her. Or could it be the brooding son of Lord Trelawney that is occupying her mind enough to forget her annoyances with her boyfriend?
The storyline was more of a character development as we get introduced to the main players. But it could certainly stand alone as a short story as well! The good part about it is if you want more, you just need to get your hands on the next episode! I got through this episode in two quick days (you could easily finish it in one sitting!) I’m interested to see if Mia’s boring, comfortable relationship will change now that she has met someone with potential that to stir emotion in her!
Extra added bonuses are the recipes at the end of the book!

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a book blogger I really should read the descriptions more carefully on Netgalley before pressing request! It wasn't until I had received this book, that I twigged it was Episode 1 of an 8 part serialisation of a novel. Generally I would prefer to read the whole book in one go, and not in many different parts.

However I did find that I enjoyed the Taste Test episode. I thought it started off fairly slow, but I was definitely starting to have a properly level of immersion and enthralment that means I was a bit gutted when the episode finished and I didn't have any more pages to find out what happened next (until I buy the next one and its released!)

Mia Maxwell is an excellent food blogger, her blog posts are equally amusing and informative, and her overall attitude to food is quite refreshing. She likes to eat, and loves talking about food too. Luckily her best friend runs an delicious sounding cupcake business, and Mia regularly helps her friend with menu descriptions, and taste testing.

Mia has a high flying boyfriend of 4 years, but she doesn't seem completely satisfied by him or even happy with him. It seems as though they are stuck in a bit of a rut, although it may take a few more episodes for Mia to do anything about it.

Greedily Yours - Taste Test is a good start to the serial and does exactly what it is designed to do, and made me very interested in the rest of the book, as I would like to know what happens to Mia next. And for those that love seeing recipes in books, there are a few at the back, that featured in the story.

Thank you to Bastei Entertainment and Netgalley for my review copy of this book. This was my honest review.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia is a food enthusiast blogger who channeled her love of all things foodie into a PR career; a job that leaves her free to fulfill her passions of eating and consulting on her friend Lizzie’s café menu while living in a less than passionate relationship with Paul, a man who works in finance and is happy to whisk Mia away on holiday after holiday (Who says having it “all” is actually fulfilling??). A yearly work trip to a Food Festival not only allows Mia to indulge in her passions, but to set sail on a new course before life throws her overboard.

Greedily Yours is the first episode in an eight-novella series written by a food blogger and journalist under the name of Emma Hamilton. I’m a food and chick lit fanatic, so I knew this was right up my alley. Having never read a novella series before, I was unsure if I’d be a fan. Would it be too short? Would I not be satisfied with where the story stopped? More importantly...Would I feel compelled to keep reading?

Yes…..yes….YES!

As a mom with a very busy toddler, I found this not only to be a quick read, but it left me fulfilled. The story was written succinctly, and while I was definitely left wanting more, I was very at peace with where the novella finished. A fun addition to this series was the inclusion of recipes that were mentioned in the story. Mia’s description of Lizzie’s Lavender Drift cupcakes was so divine that I wished I had one to try….thanks to Hamilton gifting readers the recipe; now I can! I was provided with a free ARC from NetGalley, but look forward to purchasing the remaining eight novellas and finding out where Mia’s story takes her.

[Nash Norden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was actually written in eight parts, and Taste Test was just the first book. I couldn't pass the chance to read this book when I saw it on NetGalley. The cover was pretty and the summary hooked my interest when it mentioned food and food blogging.

Greedily Yours: Taste Test started off a bit slow to my liking. It took me a while to like the author's style. But I guess, the first part started to introduce the characters. At first, I was a bit confused as to who is the main character of the book. There's Lizzy, who owned a cupcake cake and Mia, who owned a food PR consultancy, and both of them were interesting characters.

This book is definitely a fun, quick read. It took me a short time to finish the book from the start. There are enough mentioned of food to get my stomach rumbling. And I do enjoy reading about Mia and her work at the food festival. There is a bit of romance in the story, but not so much. I guess, I will have to read the next book to find out about Mia's work, blog and romance.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taste Test is the first episode in an eight part serialisation of the Greedy Girls novellas and gives a tantalising taster of food, love and zesty adventure. We are introduced to Mia, a food blogger of Greedily Yours, whose four year on/off relationship with her boyfriend, Paul, forms part of the novella. But it is with her friend, Lizzie , who runs a cup cake cafe, where the fun lies.

A quick read at 79 pages, Taste Test is the perfect accompaniment to a lunch break in the park. Easily loaded onto your kindle, this lovely story is less than the price of meal deal and so much better for your waistline. The pages fly by, and by the cliff hanger ending, I was more than eager to start book Two...enticingly named ,Salty Tales...!

At the end of this novella are a series of delicious recipes of which Aunt Agatha's Fish Pie is one such scrumptious treat.


Bon Appetit !!

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received Greedily Yours through NetGalley, so here's my honest review.

This was a somewhat unexpectedly enjoyable read about the love, life and the tribulations of 31 year old events organiser and food blogger, Mia Maxwell. She's going through some sort of life crisis, as she's not quite sure that her high flying boyfriend is the man for her.

This first installment of a 6 part novel was a great appetizer, that sure left me wanting more. If anything, that was the only downside about this short read. Otherwise, it was a charming, well written, contemporary romance.

Recommended: Sure, if you can wait to read the follow-ups.
Cover: 4 stars

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part one of a story that is being released in 8 parts, which is interesting but would prefer to read them all at once personally. Main character Mia is very easy to relate too, with her love of cake and insecurities about her body but I'm hoping to see her become more confident in later episodes. I do definitely want to read more of Mia's adventures - it's like having one delicious chocolate knowing more are to follow at intervals!

[Donna Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first instalment in this series and it features the main characters of Mia, Lizzie and Tom. I found the book really easy to read and it flowed very well. There were a few twists and whilst I did guess what was likely to happen in the end the book still had some unexpected twists and I thoroughly enjoyed it.