Reaching for the Stars by Janice Horton

What They Say:

Scottish celebrity chef Finn McDuff is media stalked and disillusioned after winning his third star and losing his third wife. He decides he’s had enough of all the food campaigns, the TV cookery shows, the constant frenzy surrounding his private life and, after giving up all his accolades and closing down his restaurant, he disappears.

With the enfant terrible of the kitchen missing, two rival newspapers, having lost their media meal ticket, compete against each other to whip up further public curiosity in the missing chef. Love him or hate him, everyone is out looking for Chef McDuff. Who will find him first and whose side will you be on…?

What I Say:

I would like to thank Loveahappyending and Janice Horton for sending me a copy of this in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Finn McDuff seems to have the world at his feet, he has just acheived his ambition of 3 Golden Stars for his restaraunt, his world comes crashing down around him when his wife decides to leave him.

Anna James returns to Edinburgh expecting to be sponsored by Chef McDuff, willing to put the past behind her in achieving her dreams.... But is Anna willing to forgive and forget.  Finn let's Anna down by closing his restaraunt and doing a disappearing act with the press on his tail.

Raine and Ross were competing for the same job until Raine beats him to an exclusive interview with Chef McDuff, now they are working for different newspapers, they are on his tail for the exclusive story surrounding his disappearance.

Janice gives you a clue to the corruption that was once the press over here, this is done in a way that makes you dispise the press for their intrusion into celebrities lives.

As for Chef McDuff I couldn't help but like him, if not the typical book boyfriend, there was something sad about his story and I found myself warming to him and feeling sorry for his plight.

Anna was seeing her father through rose tinted glasses and blamed everything on Finn, I really wanted to give her a slap and tell her to wake up and smell the roses.

Raine I liked instantly she was trying to do her job with an honest integrity, even though she had to deal with her bosses demanding more and falling in love with Finn didn't help her.

Ross I really wanted to come unstuck and I laughed at the way he eventually did, a totally ingenious way of doing it from Janice.

In short the book was totally different from what I expected and would recommend it, it was a journey for so many of the characters that I found myself wanting to work out, with a great supporting cast.

5 out of 5 stars