Brooke Parkhurst introduces Belle Lee, 25 and straight out of Alabama, who is off to New York to make it as a big-time journalist. Her grandfather’s newspaper at home would afford her a column of her own, but Belle wants to try her hand underneath the big-city lights. Full of Southern spunk, she sets off to tackle the town, resume in hand, only to find that getting a job isn’t as easy as she thought.
Belle learns all about New York the hard way, from awful dating experiences to having her purse snatched. She finally lands a job at a very conservative 24-hour news network and thinks she is on her way. However, Belle finds that she is a “go-fer” used to find footage reporters want late at night, take scripts to those who need them, and do anything to keep her job, including putting up with some obnoxious people.
Belle finally thinks she gets a break when Paige Beaumont, one of the station’s star newscasters, takes her on as her protégé. Paige shows her around and gives her a glimpse of the “in crowd” at certain restaurants and shares office gossip with her. Sadly, Belle is being taken for a ride. When she gets involved with some illegal political dealings, she has to decide whose side she is on and what to do with the information she has.
In a light and charming book, Parkhurst also serves up the bonus of lots of yummy recipes to try, making them in the book, of course, Belle’s recipes. Readers will enjoy finding out how Belle deals with the corrupt “Yankees” and what happens to her career and love life in this New York setting - a pretty predictable but really enjoyable story.