Jenny Gardiner Books

Go hard or go home... After losing her beloved neighbor Violet, Daphne Sweeney realizes her dream when Violet leaves her part ownership of the duplex she shared with her aged friend. Finally, after years of trying to scrape together the money for her own place, Daphne can stay put, establish some real roots, in her humble little home from Violet. Until she realizes Violet left the remaining ownership of the house to a very distant relative, Brady McGovern, who just so happens to be Daphne's college boyfriend who fled town the day after graduation, never to be heard from again. And Brady has touched down in town just long enough to unload the property and get back on the road again, just like the good old days.

Hard up... Sunshine Ferguson had finally gotten her Zen on. After years of being an uptight staffer for a hotheaded senator, she'd been forced to switch careers, changed her name to something more cheerful and less evocative of the implosion from her last job, and became a yoga instructor. It was the furthest thing, career-wise, from what she'd been doing. She really needed to nourish her soul upon being fired when she got caught accidentally making out in a dark bar with a staffer of the candidate trying to take the senator's job. The loud-mouthed press secretary proved once again that men were never to be trusted, though at least his blabbering their secret finally forced her out of the job that had been toxic for a long time. Life was finally good for Sunny. She was calm. She was imperturbable. Until the very man who blew up her career-and ultimately absconded with her job-shows up in her class, seeking to find his own nirvana.

Lola Quigley feels incredibly lucky after winning a spot on the Food Channel's Shop till you Drop, where amateur foodies compete to create prize-winning meals using staples often found in food banks. Having faced financial struggles in the past, Lola learned to craft delicious dishes from the cheapest ingredients, including those donated from her local food bank. Winning the competition is crucial for her; the prize money would help her launch her dream of a soup kitchen food truck, a way to give back after overcoming her financial difficulties. Meanwhile, Levi Patton is frustrated to find himself as a guest chef on the same show, where he must endure enthusiastic contestants trying to outshine him with undesirable ingredients. Once a celebrated chef, Levi's career plummeted after a food critic exposed a rat in his bouillabaisse, leading to his current predicament on the reality show. His situation worsens when he faces Lola, the cheerful contestant with a Popeye tattoo, who happens to be the woman he left at the altar nearly a decade ago. As they compete, both must confront their past and navigate the challenges of the culinary world.