THE GIRLS' GUIDE TO LOVE AND SUPPER CLUBS

Adam’s parents have finally invited Hannah to dinner. They have finally acknowledged her existence after an ill-fated luncheon nine months ago. All she has to do is keep her mouth shut. All she has to do is keep the secret that she and Adam have been living together for three months. Can she do it? 

No. Unable to control her behavior or her tongue, Hannah Sugarman is not having a good year. The political aspirations—not to mention the parents—of her boyfriend, Adam, bump up against her wild, unpredictable spirit. Her own parents, professors who hope she shares their academic tendencies, would be astonished to learn that Hannah actually dreams of attending culinary school, starting a catering company and even running an underground supper club. Sadly, she currently works as a research assistant at the Institute for Research and Discourse, appropriately dubbed NIRD. As if analyzing public policy weren’t bad enough, she has to deal with Millie every day. The Millie who introduced her to Adam. The Millie who wants to steal Adam away. The Millie who will very likely have Adam all to herself after Adam dumps her and gives her a matter of weeks to find a new home. Losing her entire social network, however, brings Hannah to the doorstep of Blake Fischer, who offers her a basement apartment. Blake also has his own very tempting kitchen, which he hasn’t technically offered to her, but it isn’t long before Hannah and her friend Rachel surreptitiously use it for a secret supper club. Hannah’s talents reap instant success, a new-but-weirdly-uncommunicative boyfriend, fresh encounters with Adam and Millie, and increasing guilt over deceiving Blake. 

Journalist and debut novelist Bate deftly conjures up a witty, resilient heroine, surrounds her with delightful friends and frenemies, and sends them all on a rollicking quest for love and delicious food.