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Eating Life
Carefree and irrepressible, Casey Wilde has spent her life running. Running from love, running from responsibility, and running from commitment. Megan Woodson, Casey’s best friend, has spent her life building security with a long-term partner and a well-paying, highly respected position in the best ad agency in Memphis. Ben Stagg is a man who has lost everything, including the desire to live. And, Brilliant Wilson is a photographer who can’t quite figure out why she keeps dating women who don’t love her.
Faced with painful and pressing decisions, the group is forced to confront their own life choices. When their worlds collide and everything starts to fall apart, these friends must learn that the only important decision is the one to follow their hearts.
Faced with painful and pressing decisions, the group is forced to confront their own life choices. When their worlds collide and everything starts to fall apart, these friends must learn that the only important decision is the one to follow their hearts.
Unknown Binding
Published June 1, 2017
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Beth Burnett
14 books55 followersI can't change my name here or it will delete all of my books. However, my new profile is under Finnian Burnett. Please find me there if we're connected here.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 15, 2017
Casey is a rolling stone. Her carefree lifestyle and nomadic ways had me humming the tune and remembering the lyrics to Crosby, Stills and Nash’s Love the One You’re With. She relies on the kindness of strangers willing to pay for her artwork, friends from her past who offer her a place to crash as she travels and always, always the support and love of her oldest friend, Megan.
It is clear from the first time her car breaks down that she and Megan share an unbreakable bond. How that bond was formed is revealed in the story and I won’t spoil it with this review. Megan chose a different path. She wanted a settled life, a solid career and security. She has battled her way up the corporate ladder and dealt with the old-boys club mentality and sexist remarks in her pursuit of that corner office. Her relationship has its problems but she is trying to remain positive and support her partner while Anna deals with an aging parent. Megan has been busy adulting her whole life and the stresses at work and home are taking their toll. Helping her oldest friend Casey out of financial binds brings her joy.
It’s impossible not to get caught up in the enthusiastic way Casey embraces life. Her positive attitude and faith in the inherent goodness of people gives her an almost child-like innocence. This character strength (or flaw) makes what happens later in the novel all the more poignant. Her thread in the novel felt like a coming of age story, a reality check in a changing world.
I loved this book. There are some hard moments, and some heartbreaking ones too. There is also unconditional love, a love so pure it’s a beautiful thing to witness and experience. If you need an uplifting read pick Eating Life. We all get one kick at this can called life. How you choose to live your life is up to you. Make the most of it.
ARC received with thanks from Sapphire Books for review.
It is clear from the first time her car breaks down that she and Megan share an unbreakable bond. How that bond was formed is revealed in the story and I won’t spoil it with this review. Megan chose a different path. She wanted a settled life, a solid career and security. She has battled her way up the corporate ladder and dealt with the old-boys club mentality and sexist remarks in her pursuit of that corner office. Her relationship has its problems but she is trying to remain positive and support her partner while Anna deals with an aging parent. Megan has been busy adulting her whole life and the stresses at work and home are taking their toll. Helping her oldest friend Casey out of financial binds brings her joy.
It’s impossible not to get caught up in the enthusiastic way Casey embraces life. Her positive attitude and faith in the inherent goodness of people gives her an almost child-like innocence. This character strength (or flaw) makes what happens later in the novel all the more poignant. Her thread in the novel felt like a coming of age story, a reality check in a changing world.
I loved this book. There are some hard moments, and some heartbreaking ones too. There is also unconditional love, a love so pure it’s a beautiful thing to witness and experience. If you need an uplifting read pick Eating Life. We all get one kick at this can called life. How you choose to live your life is up to you. Make the most of it.
ARC received with thanks from Sapphire Books for review.
September 18, 2017
Well written but I'm not a fan. Didn't like it. Not even a slow burn, it's a no burn. Multiple character perspectives including a nomad. There's infidelity, angsty drama, drama for the sake of drama, bad feels, etc. The ending was ridiculous. Lets just say they have kissed twice and then a thing happened. And it is so bloody unbelievable I almost put it down just for the sake of it.
September 1, 2017
Fantastic story, and that is all. Read and enjoy.
August 30, 2018
Just perfect!
Running from everything, always on the go but you can't hide from love. Wow, what a great journey and with fascinating characters. Casey is an amazing, adventurous woman with a great personality. Of course she has flaws and that makes her even more interesting. I loved how she lives her life and I liked her attitude. This was a journey I wish I could travel with Casey. The story was heartwarming, hilarious, sad, passionate and inspiring. Everything is very vividly described. A true treasure and just perfect. I highly recommend it.
Running from everything, always on the go but you can't hide from love. Wow, what a great journey and with fascinating characters. Casey is an amazing, adventurous woman with a great personality. Of course she has flaws and that makes her even more interesting. I loved how she lives her life and I liked her attitude. This was a journey I wish I could travel with Casey. The story was heartwarming, hilarious, sad, passionate and inspiring. Everything is very vividly described. A true treasure and just perfect. I highly recommend it.
September 17, 2017
"(...) Ben smiled. 'Is that your job, then? You eat life?'
'I feel like it. I want to explore everything, draw everything, taste everything, eat everything, make love to every woman.'" (Chapter Seven).
'Eating life' is a book about journeys: a road trip for some characters, a path of self discovery for others. It is a refreshing departure from the typical formulaic lesfic romance in which everyone is beautiful and successful.
Having said that, I have mixed feelings about this book. The author has strong convictions about feminism, patriarchy and relationships. Her characters voice these issues through their dialogues and actions. While I agree with a good deal of her views, I couldn't help finding some parts of the book on the preachy or dogmatic side. For me, some of the conversations or situations that the characters go through look a bit forced or unrealistic. Some of the dialogues seem to be excessively formal within casual settings. Additionally, in some parts the balance between telling and showing seems off. However, I think it's worth a read for its richness of characters and departure from the usual lesfic plots.
Overall, 3.5 stars. An ok read if you are interested in a feminist view on life and relationships.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com
'I feel like it. I want to explore everything, draw everything, taste everything, eat everything, make love to every woman.'" (Chapter Seven).
'Eating life' is a book about journeys: a road trip for some characters, a path of self discovery for others. It is a refreshing departure from the typical formulaic lesfic romance in which everyone is beautiful and successful.
Having said that, I have mixed feelings about this book. The author has strong convictions about feminism, patriarchy and relationships. Her characters voice these issues through their dialogues and actions. While I agree with a good deal of her views, I couldn't help finding some parts of the book on the preachy or dogmatic side. For me, some of the conversations or situations that the characters go through look a bit forced or unrealistic. Some of the dialogues seem to be excessively formal within casual settings. Additionally, in some parts the balance between telling and showing seems off. However, I think it's worth a read for its richness of characters and departure from the usual lesfic plots.
Overall, 3.5 stars. An ok read if you are interested in a feminist view on life and relationships.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com
May 29, 2020
Interesting
Casey is a modern day hippie, traveling the country on her own time in her own way. She has no desire to settle down and put down roots. Her best friend is Megan, a woman who HAS settled down, put down roots and even gotten married. She is a busy and successful ad executive who is always there for her BFF Casey and will do anything and everything to make sure she is alright. From women’s fests, communes, city and country, beaches to forests and everywhere in between this book chronicles Casey’s journeys.
This is a good book and for the most part one I liked. It had a lot going on and while I couldn’t connect to the characters, I think that was totally on me as the writing was lovely. The story was mostly about Casey but there were other side stories going on around her with characters who were involved in her life. Megan and Casey, Casey and Ben, Megan and Anna, Anna and Brilliant, Brilliant and Ben…they are all intertwined and all their stories made this book what it was. This drama held my attention and I loved the perfect last chapters a great deal. Well worth the read indeed! This was the first time I have read anything by Ms Burnett but it will not be the last!
Casey is a modern day hippie, traveling the country on her own time in her own way. She has no desire to settle down and put down roots. Her best friend is Megan, a woman who HAS settled down, put down roots and even gotten married. She is a busy and successful ad executive who is always there for her BFF Casey and will do anything and everything to make sure she is alright. From women’s fests, communes, city and country, beaches to forests and everywhere in between this book chronicles Casey’s journeys.
This is a good book and for the most part one I liked. It had a lot going on and while I couldn’t connect to the characters, I think that was totally on me as the writing was lovely. The story was mostly about Casey but there were other side stories going on around her with characters who were involved in her life. Megan and Casey, Casey and Ben, Megan and Anna, Anna and Brilliant, Brilliant and Ben…they are all intertwined and all their stories made this book what it was. This drama held my attention and I loved the perfect last chapters a great deal. Well worth the read indeed! This was the first time I have read anything by Ms Burnett but it will not be the last!
August 18, 2017
If Buddha came back as a curvy, nomadic lesbian accompanied by a slobbery dog with hip dysplasia, this might have been her story.
At times hilarious and at others heartbreaking, Eating Life is a book that makes you care deeply about its characters -- even as they come into serious conflict with one another. Beth Burnett’s narrative style invites empathy for every player in the story, from free-spirited Casey Wilde (aptly named), to troubled Anna, who, though manipulative, has her own sadnesses to deal with.
Throughout the crazy coincidences and romantic adventures, food emerges as a constant theme. Burnett’s message is clear: If you want to live a happy life on this planet, you need to sample the local cuisine. Sometimes it will give you heartburn. Other times you’ll be transported to food ecstasy. But if you keep eating life, you will always be nourished.
At times hilarious and at others heartbreaking, Eating Life is a book that makes you care deeply about its characters -- even as they come into serious conflict with one another. Beth Burnett’s narrative style invites empathy for every player in the story, from free-spirited Casey Wilde (aptly named), to troubled Anna, who, though manipulative, has her own sadnesses to deal with.
Throughout the crazy coincidences and romantic adventures, food emerges as a constant theme. Burnett’s message is clear: If you want to live a happy life on this planet, you need to sample the local cuisine. Sometimes it will give you heartburn. Other times you’ll be transported to food ecstasy. But if you keep eating life, you will always be nourished.
March 3, 2019
Any story that has a dog in it, gets my heart right away. Add to that a group of sexy women who have flaws and and carry on despite them, and BAM [raises her hand to her heart]. Beth's use of words is stunning, and her ability to get the feelers going is remarkable. I enjoyed growing along with the characters as they revealed their emotional journeys. Life isn't perfect or easy, and this book made it okay that it isn't. If it were, life would be a series of boring routines that had no signifance. Highly recommend this story!
September 1, 2020
I loved this book! I loved the characters, the lighthearted moments, the heartbreaking moments, the "oh wow I didn't see that coming" moments and the story's overall affirmation of living an authentic life.
August 26, 2018
I enjoyed reading a lesfic novel that is not solely focused on getting the girl, making love (or fucking or having) the girl, and living happily ever after with the girl.
The idea of eating life, all of life, the good and the bad, the small and the big, the perceived pretty and the perceived ugly - just all of it - drew me into Beth Burnett's world. Her writing style and the depth of her characters kept me there.
The journey that each character is on, and the overlapping of life, was well written. If you want to read some real, Beth is your author.
The idea of eating life, all of life, the good and the bad, the small and the big, the perceived pretty and the perceived ugly - just all of it - drew me into Beth Burnett's world. Her writing style and the depth of her characters kept me there.
The journey that each character is on, and the overlapping of life, was well written. If you want to read some real, Beth is your author.
September 27, 2020
Casey and her dog Dakota criss-cross the country, staying with friends, avoiding entanglements, and loving whatever life dishes out. Now 40, Casey still values her individual freedom, living life on her terms, and great sex with good people. Megan is Casey's BFF, living a buttoned-down life as an advertising executive in Memphis with her tired-of-buttoned-down-living wife, Anna--who is banging Brilliant, a photographer Megan had hired. Casey and Megan have a lot of love for each other, but they're incompatible in terms of life philosophies. In terms of the novel, Megan "takes care of things" and Casey "leaves." It's who they are.
Megan bails Casey out of the more unfortunate side-effects of her choices often enough that Anna has built up a resistance to their friendship.
While driving from a friend's house in New Mexico to California, and feeling her age a little bit, Casey picks up a hitchhiker--Ben. She's is a little apprehensive about picking up a man on the road, but Ben is a slight fellow and doesn't seem to be a threat. They quickly build a rapport based on Ben's admission that he's heading to his cabin in the mountains where he's planning to suicide because the love of his life had died a year earlier and he just can't shake the guilt.
From there, the story evolves as Casey saves Ben and then revisits her relationship with Megan in Memphis.
Beth Burnett has written a clearly-felt novel of a lesbian woman who avoids growing roots, a rolling stone who lives in the moment with old friends and while making new ones--but who sometimes feels there should be something more. You'll love Casey. Everyone does.
Megan bails Casey out of the more unfortunate side-effects of her choices often enough that Anna has built up a resistance to their friendship.
While driving from a friend's house in New Mexico to California, and feeling her age a little bit, Casey picks up a hitchhiker--Ben. She's is a little apprehensive about picking up a man on the road, but Ben is a slight fellow and doesn't seem to be a threat. They quickly build a rapport based on Ben's admission that he's heading to his cabin in the mountains where he's planning to suicide because the love of his life had died a year earlier and he just can't shake the guilt.
From there, the story evolves as Casey saves Ben and then revisits her relationship with Megan in Memphis.
Beth Burnett has written a clearly-felt novel of a lesbian woman who avoids growing roots, a rolling stone who lives in the moment with old friends and while making new ones--but who sometimes feels there should be something more. You'll love Casey. Everyone does.
December 4, 2017
2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Eating Life Beth Burnett
1) This one has it all. It made me laugh. It made me cry. The book was engaging from start to finish. I loved how the author moved the story along telling everyone's story. Loved all the character except Anna. They were all well developed and you really get to know them.
2) I really liked this book! The story is different enough to be surprising and the characters are very relatable. The pacing is good and have a good flow to it. Maybe I would have used one chharacter less because the story is not so long and sometimes it seemed to have too much going on.
1) This one has it all. It made me laugh. It made me cry. The book was engaging from start to finish. I loved how the author moved the story along telling everyone's story. Loved all the character except Anna. They were all well developed and you really get to know them.
2) I really liked this book! The story is different enough to be surprising and the characters are very relatable. The pacing is good and have a good flow to it. Maybe I would have used one chharacter less because the story is not so long and sometimes it seemed to have too much going on.
November 10, 2019
Another good read from Beth Burnett!
The story’s main character, Casey, savors every little bit of life as she leads her wanderlust lifestyle. Her best friend and soulmate, Megan, has a high-powered job and she and her wife, Anna, are a mismatched couple going through a rocky relationship.
Ms, Burnett is able to write in such a way that has the reader deeply feeling what the characters are going through.
This is a story about sisterhood and the sweetness of friendships and love, but also the heartbreaks and struggles in life, too.
The story’s main character, Casey, savors every little bit of life as she leads her wanderlust lifestyle. Her best friend and soulmate, Megan, has a high-powered job and she and her wife, Anna, are a mismatched couple going through a rocky relationship.
Ms, Burnett is able to write in such a way that has the reader deeply feeling what the characters are going through.
This is a story about sisterhood and the sweetness of friendships and love, but also the heartbreaks and struggles in life, too.
January 12, 2018
Casey has led a nomatic life, refusing to settle down in any one place and with any one woman. She maintains her connection to her best friend Megan who is in a long-term relationship with Anna. But Anna is cheating on Megan with a photographer that Megan has hired to do work for her. Much of the book concerns the unraveling of this relationship and Casey's various travels. It's only toward the very last part of the book that you have any inkling that you are reading a romance.
January 15, 2018
What a breath of fresh air!!!
In “Eating Life,” Burnett manages to touch the depths of our souls, and validates the reader in loving their truest life. This book is both a page turner and a book you want to savor, fully recognizing everything that is held within.
In “Eating Life,” Burnett manages to touch the depths of our souls, and validates the reader in loving their truest life. This book is both a page turner and a book you want to savor, fully recognizing everything that is held within.
June 16, 2018
Well written, with characters that draw you in, and complex stories tie together for a book that brings great pleasure. The interwoven characters all come to one love fest in the end, in surprising ways.
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May 12, 2020I loved this book! I loved the characters, the lighthearted moments, the heartbreaking moments, the "oh wow I didn't see that coming" moments, and the story's overall affirmation of living an authentic life.
April 24, 2018
A whole lot of fun, but moving as well, with a very creative and quirky cast of characters that will really grow on you. It's perfect summer reading, especially if you're hitting the road yourself, or if you're just staying home in your hammock--so grab it now for yourself or a friend! And check out Beth Burnett's other books. She is truly an enjoyable and original voice.
September 15, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The characters were fun and interesting. They felt like people I could really know and enjoy spending time with. I slurped it up and then was kind of sorry to have finished so quickly.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews