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From One Place to Another
Dina and Mark Marshall, a nouveau riche couple in their thirties, live at Boca Forest, the top country club in Boca Raton, Florida, where they vie to keep up with wealthier residents. Mark, a financial planner and popular golf partner, regularly invites club members to partake in Dina's gourmet dinners in an attempt to further his business that affords them a luxurious Florida lifestyle. When Mark suddenly leaves his wife for the hot, younger blonde Taffie and the two take off for Key West, Dina finds little solace in her family and "friendships"--instead, she trumps her initial self-doubt and turns her obsessive list-making tendency into a flourishing home-catering business. Intent on keeping her head above the water and winning back her husband, Dina encounters a dashing young fellow chef and all-around great guy, Dex Ryder. Now everyone's talking--and not just about her fantastic cuisine. Dina's life is definitely on the upswing...until it all comes crashing down. Laugh, cry and cook with Dina as she discovers her true friends and decides where and with whom her future lies.
298 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2012
8 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 21, 2014
I started out liking this but it went downhill quickly. Just awful. I enjoyed the story of her and her husband splitting, her striking out on her own running a catering company with a friend...but then it all fell apart. The story was completely unbelievable. About a third of the way through the book her catering clients made comments about her and Dex perhaps being a couple(which she denied) but then at the halfway point he declares he is in love with her? They hadn't even had a conversation in the book except her thanking him for helping with catering gigs! I just didn't believe any of it and she was incredibly weak thinking that her husband was going to come back to her all the time despite everything. Ugh. No. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. An editor and a better character development would have helped this.
June 25, 2013
Enter Dina, the perfect Boca Raton country club wife. Exit Mark, her user of a husband for a trial separation – and he’s headed out of town with his new girlfriend. Dina struggles to make ends meet by starting a small catering business, and catches the eye of Dex, who helps her stay afloat.
Dex and Dina’s compatibility in the kitchen makes them long for something more, but both are a bit gun shy. When their relationship turns intimate, people from their pasts contrive to pull them apart.
I got very hungry reading this book! For the foodie reader and the romance lover, this book is made just for you. A nice diversion from the summer heat.
Dex and Dina’s compatibility in the kitchen makes them long for something more, but both are a bit gun shy. When their relationship turns intimate, people from their pasts contrive to pull them apart.
I got very hungry reading this book! For the foodie reader and the romance lover, this book is made just for you. A nice diversion from the summer heat.
November 1, 2013
A fun read in the romance genre. I liked the main character a lot. She had a habit of making lists but it wasn't taken to excess and all the food stories were great.
October 21, 2013
I received this book from the author to read and review. It seemed that it would be quite different from what I usually read, and I was not in error on that point.
Carol White writes with confidence, which is obvious by the way she tackles the dialogue and personalities she created. In From One Place to Another she throws open a door into the elaborate, wealthy lifestyle of a country club in Boca Raton, Florida, at which her main character half-heartedly thumbs her nose.
Dina Marshall knew she was a very good cook. In order to help her husband build his business, she became immersed in creating gourmet dinners in their home to attract clients. It was working well until the evening she and her husband were dining out on her thirty-sixth birthday. Mark delivered news that would totally change her life -- he was leaving her for a younger woman - that day. This was a complete shock to Dina who thought they were moving forward together in life. And how could he on her birthday?!
Carol White captured well the roller-coaster ride of a jilted woman's emotions. Dina tried all she could to get her husband back, was drawn into other circumstances and relationships, waited expectantly when she learned all was not as her estranged husband thought it would be in his new life. (Don't worry, I won't spoil the story for you.) In the meantime, she developed her own catering business in order to keep up the lifestyle to which she had become accustomed, but also to impress her husband while waiting for him to come to his senses.
That last point is the main focus of From One Place to Another. It was written with descriptions of the exotic food and elaborate meals Dina prepared, the craziness that ensued, and the hilarity of the best laid plans gone wrong. One thing that Dina does is make lists, and - good or bad - she makes lists all through this crisis time in her life.
I must mention that bad language is used in several places, and there is also a thread of heated romance throughout the story.
Although I was appalled at the behaviour and habits of some of the people for whom Dina catered, I enjoyed this book. Actually, I was appalled at some of Dina's behaviour and I grew to not like her very much. Perhaps, given the set of circumstances she was dealt, her actions and reactions are understandable, but the comical, tragic turn of events that befell her biggest, most important catering job seemed justified. The author told it well, winding humour in and around as the tension built. Dina's spirited attitude made for entertaining reading that kept drawing me back until I finished the book. (My reading time is rarely uninterrupted.)
Carol White wrote From One Place to Another in a way that pulled this reader into the very room where each scene unfolded, making it not simply an act of reading the words but with a sense of being there. I like that.
Carol White writes with confidence, which is obvious by the way she tackles the dialogue and personalities she created. In From One Place to Another she throws open a door into the elaborate, wealthy lifestyle of a country club in Boca Raton, Florida, at which her main character half-heartedly thumbs her nose.
Dina Marshall knew she was a very good cook. In order to help her husband build his business, she became immersed in creating gourmet dinners in their home to attract clients. It was working well until the evening she and her husband were dining out on her thirty-sixth birthday. Mark delivered news that would totally change her life -- he was leaving her for a younger woman - that day. This was a complete shock to Dina who thought they were moving forward together in life. And how could he on her birthday?!
Carol White captured well the roller-coaster ride of a jilted woman's emotions. Dina tried all she could to get her husband back, was drawn into other circumstances and relationships, waited expectantly when she learned all was not as her estranged husband thought it would be in his new life. (Don't worry, I won't spoil the story for you.) In the meantime, she developed her own catering business in order to keep up the lifestyle to which she had become accustomed, but also to impress her husband while waiting for him to come to his senses.
That last point is the main focus of From One Place to Another. It was written with descriptions of the exotic food and elaborate meals Dina prepared, the craziness that ensued, and the hilarity of the best laid plans gone wrong. One thing that Dina does is make lists, and - good or bad - she makes lists all through this crisis time in her life.
I must mention that bad language is used in several places, and there is also a thread of heated romance throughout the story.
Although I was appalled at the behaviour and habits of some of the people for whom Dina catered, I enjoyed this book. Actually, I was appalled at some of Dina's behaviour and I grew to not like her very much. Perhaps, given the set of circumstances she was dealt, her actions and reactions are understandable, but the comical, tragic turn of events that befell her biggest, most important catering job seemed justified. The author told it well, winding humour in and around as the tension built. Dina's spirited attitude made for entertaining reading that kept drawing me back until I finished the book. (My reading time is rarely uninterrupted.)
Carol White wrote From One Place to Another in a way that pulled this reader into the very room where each scene unfolded, making it not simply an act of reading the words but with a sense of being there. I like that.
March 11, 2013
Dina is looking forward to celebrating her birthday when her husband Mark declares he wants a divorce. He’s moving to Key West with his young, rich girlfriend. Dina finagles a promise from him to help support her country club lifestyle for one year, after which she’ll sign the papers.
As a resident in an exclusive Boca Raton gated community, she has hosted numerous dinner parties for Mark’s business associates in the past. Why not start a private catering business? She needs the money and loves to cook, and so her idea blossoms. Soon she’s running a successful operation along with Dex, the hunky delivery man who acts as her assistant.
Dina grows from a doormat wife to an entrepreneur, finding love along the way and a purpose in life. You’ll laugh at her foibles and root for her success. Engaging secondary characters, mouth-watering food descriptions, and dynamic relationships will keep you riveted to the page. From One Place to Another is a buffet for the senses! One caveat: this story will make you hungry. I was hoping the recipes were attached at the satisfying end.
As a resident in an exclusive Boca Raton gated community, she has hosted numerous dinner parties for Mark’s business associates in the past. Why not start a private catering business? She needs the money and loves to cook, and so her idea blossoms. Soon she’s running a successful operation along with Dex, the hunky delivery man who acts as her assistant.
Dina grows from a doormat wife to an entrepreneur, finding love along the way and a purpose in life. You’ll laugh at her foibles and root for her success. Engaging secondary characters, mouth-watering food descriptions, and dynamic relationships will keep you riveted to the page. From One Place to Another is a buffet for the senses! One caveat: this story will make you hungry. I was hoping the recipes were attached at the satisfying end.
December 16, 2012
What a fun book to read. It is a quick page turner that had me laughing aloud - especially at the end. Truly captures the lifestyle of the Boca Raton Country Club crowd in the way I have never seen before. I would have given it 5 stars except it's not great literature just a really fun read. (However, I definitely appreciated the author's literary talent which far surpasses most of the other chick lit on the market). Perfect for the beach or for the airplane. This book screams to be made into a movie due to the author's vivid descriptions and VERY funny scenarios.
November 23, 2013
I don't think I've ever given a book one star before. It's hard to justify giving this book anything higher. The characters were underdeveloped or whiny. The story doesn't flow. Not only is the story disjointed, it never goes anywhere. I finally got to the point where I couldn't get through it quickly enough. If I weren't slightly OCD I would have quit in the middle of the book. Thankfully, my OCD did allow me to skim through the last 8-10 chapters.
May 8, 2015
Dina's husband leaves her on her birthday, for a rich young woman. Dina convinces him to wait a year before they divorce. She wants to win him back. She starts a catering business to make ends meet. They live in a gated community in Boca Raton, Fl. I had difficulty putting the book down. I was surprised that recipes were not included at the end of the book, though.
March 21, 2017
A fun read! Would have given it 3 1/2 stars so I rounded up to 4. Since I am somewhat of a foodie I really enjoyed Dina's cooking adventures. Really liked the Dex character - he seems like a stand-up kind of guy. The catty, cliquey nature of the country club set was portrayed realistically.
August 14, 2014
I actually struggled to get through this book. The plot builds but then seems to stagnate.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews