Love at First Slice

by Mandy Baggot

Dare to dream...

Caterer George Fraser has a mission. Owner of catering firm Finger Food and black sheep of her family, she's determined to succeed in business where she's so far failed in her personal life.

Asked to cater for gorgeous rock star Quinn Blake's after-show party, her life suddenly takes a turn for the dramatic.

Magnetically drawn together, George and Quinn embark on a relationship that no one must know about. But is Quinn everything he seems or is there more to his star life than he's telling her?

A gorgeous, romantic read from top 20 bestseller Mandy Baggot, perfect for fans of Portia Macintosh, Sophie Ranald and Beth O'Leary

Previously published as Strings Attached

Praise for Mandy

'The slow-burn romance between Eve and Gianni was perfect, and the Greek cast, particularly, adorable. A gorgeous summer read with all the ingredients I like best.' Sue Moorcroft

'Mandy Baggot at her best - equal measures heart, humour and romance. A must read.' Sandy Barker

'Mandy Baggot is the queen of sexy, fun, Greek-set stories.’ Isabelle Broom

'A delightful escapist romance packed with sunshine, second chances and an utterly charming cast of characters.' Nina Kaye

'I loved the quirky local characters and even quirkier animals at the sanctuary. It was fun and romantic and a wonderful trip to Corfu!' Leonie Mack

'A sizzling summer read full of romance, drama and Greek sun! ... Mandy Baggot just gets better and better!' Katie Ginger

'Full of Mandy's trademark humour, wonderfully drawn characters and sizzling romance, there is also a deeper emotional level to this book. I loved every word of it.' Sue Fortin

392 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2024

About the author

Mandy Baggot is an international bestselling and award-winning romance writer represented by Tanera Simons of Greenstone Literary.

Mandy is best-known for her laugh-out-loud romantic comedies featuring strong heroines, gorgeous heroes and always that happy-ever-after!

The winner of the Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK's Festival of Romance, her novel, One Wish in Manhattan, was also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year award in 2016. Mandy's books have so far been translated into Bulgarian, Czech, German, Hungarian and Italian.

Mandy loves the Greek island of Corfu, wine, cheese, Netflix, country music and handbags. Also a singer, she has taken part in ITV1's Who Dares Sings and The X-Factor. Most recently, Mandy took part in BBC1's Ready Steady Cook with Greek celebrity chef, Akis Petretzikis.

Mandy is a member of the Society of Authors and splits her time between Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK and Corfu, Greece.

Visit Mandy's website at www.mandybaggot.com

Reviews

[Robin Bernhart · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was terrible.
I did not like the writing, the plot went a 100 different ways and the writer did not seem to make up her mind about a lot of things.
Do not pick up this book, unless you like bad interpunction, predictable plots, stereotypical characters and just general… disrespectful language.

Spoilers incoming, so don’t read any further if you, by any chance, still want to read this book.

First of all, somewhere in the beginning, the MC referred to drag queens as “transvestites”. It could be ignorance from the writer, it could be a character choice, but I should have known by then that the MC was not the kind of person I would like. Against better judgment, I kept reading.
The love interest, Quinn, was an a**hole at best. He kept nagging about his life (oof, it’s so tough to be a rich, famous rockstar) and he even referred to his fiancée as a “silly b*tch”. Excuse me, even if you don’t like a person, you should never call someone you’re MARRYING a b*tch. You should never call anyone a b*tch, period.

George KNEW he was engaged and said no to him a few times, but kept giving in. But all is allowed for love, right?
Nope. You barely know the man (admittedly, turns out she’s known him for quite a while, but I’m getting to it). Meanwhile, the writer liked to turn her into a stereotype (this is a reoccurring theme in the book). A girl who likes rock music? She must be an aspiring alcoholic and getting into trouble all the time. Of course the love of her life is a musician who seems to disappear and there’s no way of contacting him, just when she appears to be pregnant. Surprise surprise. Impossible to track down, in this day and age? Please stop the nonsense.

In the beginning of the book, we get introduced to Marisa, a very hysterical teenager, who was annoying at best, and her mum, Helen.
Sure, teenagers are supposed to be a little annoying, but this was straight up stereotypical.
Helen was fine and actually turned out to be the voice of reason in the book.

Then, there’s Taylor. Quinn’s fiancée. And of course, she’s portrayed as a spoiled, uninterested girl who isn’t into Quinn’s music at all. She has no depth, and is portrayed as the villain in this story, even though she so clearly isn’t. Also: stereotype.

Also, there’s Adam. Poor guy doesn’t know what he’s dealing with. Halfway through the book, turns out that George is his mum and not his sister. Of course.
The writer really made sure to put traits of both his bio mom and bio dad in him, but it just felt rushed and unbelievable. And all of a sudden, Adam wants to fight everyone? What the hell was that?

Quinn is being mysterious about why he’s in debt with Roger, his father-in-law-to-be. Eventually, the entire (very complicated and not very convincing) story comes out.
In my notes, I wrote “I bet it’s Paul” when this story was told. And guess what? It was!
Also, I wondered, this man is a multimillionaire rockstar. Why can’t he pay Roger and tell him to f*ck off?

Another thing that really bothered me, was that once they found out it WAS Paul, they kept referring to him as a different person. Nope, Quinn and Paul are one and the same, so stop talking about Paul as if it’s someone else.

Last few things I noted: Quinn is absolutely deranged, George is a selfish character that keeps hiding behind some morally questionable choices and Helen seems to be the only sane person in this entire book.
And how in the hell is everything suddenly okay with George’s parents at the end of the book?

All in all, these are some hours I’m not getting back. Won’t be reading from this writer again.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Such a good story

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable Sunday read

I enjoyed this book by Mandy Baggot. There were a few loose ends at the end and a few of the plot points didn’t make 100% sense, but Mandy wrote characters who are rich, well thought out.

[patricia mctaggart · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great story , i didnt like swear words . and the bedroom door should be shut . a story can be made without either

[Aj · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Awful male MC.

[Wendy Ann Neels · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

Id give this ten stars if it possible. It's a real WOW story, brilliant from start to finish. Fabulous characters

[Danielle Sheets · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got several chapters in and decided I hated the characters so much that it wasn't worth finishing.

[jessy jansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my fav book. The male lead was really unlikable

[christine verrall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annoying.

I love Mandy's books but this one I found disappointing. I got really annoyed with the characters and the storyline. I struggled to finish it.

[Mrs MJH Compton-Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me this was predictable, sorry but prefer not to be able to reach a conclusion before I am into a story.

[Shari Savlick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit if a slog. Sweet trope. Ok payoff.

[Ivanka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t like the male lead, plot was too predictable and it felt like it was coincidence after coincidence