Product Description

Elisabeth Page is the daughter of Ben Page, yes, that's right, THE world famous novelist. And yes, she's also the sister of Rascal Page, world famous novelist in his own right. So what does Elisabeth do? Much to her family's disappointment, Elisabeth is a pastry chef. And a pretty damn good one, at Beverly, the hottest restaurant in LA.
The last relationship Elisabeth had was with Will, a man she grew up with and whose family ran in the same social circles as her family. But Will's constant jaunts around the world have left her lonely and brokenhearted in L.A.
That is until Daniel Sullivan bids on one of Elisabeth's pastry tutorials at a charity auction. Daniel is everything her family is not: a basketball coach, a non-intellectual, his family doesn't summer on Martha's Vineyard, and the only metaphors he uses are about passing the ball and being a team player. But somehow they fit.
Between her family, Will, and the new cooking show that Elisabeth is recruited to star in, Elisabeth's life is suddenly incredibly new and different--the question is, can she embrace being happy or has her family conditioned her to think she's just not good enough?
Liza Palmer expertly depicts a woman trying to come to terms with professional success, personal success, and finally dealing with a family that might love her from the bottom of their heart but doesn't necessarily have her best interest always at heart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42409 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 295 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780446698375
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Palmer follows up her mirthful debut, Conversations with the Fat Girl, with a subtly sophisticated romance that outclasses most of the genre's other offerings. Elisabeth Page is a 30-year-old pastry chef at L.A.'s restaurant du jour whose perpetually knotted stomach has roots in any number of sources: her father, Ben, a two-time Pulitzer-winning novelist and the kind of cultural icon that doesn't exist anymore, with whom every conversation is a chess game; childhood sweetheart Will Houghton, whose globe-trotting as a journalist has stunted their ill-defined relationship; the head chef from hell at her all-consuming job; and her patrician family's way of bonding through blood sport. But relief begins to filter in as Elisabeth's dalliance with beer-drinking, salt-of-the-earth basketball coach Daniel Sullivan turns into a fulfilling relationship and her culinary career takes an unexpected turn. If it sounds chick litty, it is, but consider it haute chick lit; Palmer's prose is sharp, her characters are solid and her narrative is laced with moments of graceful sentiment. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Liza Palmer lives in Pasadena, California with her dog, Poet. She has written two plays that were performed in Los Angeles, and is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts-West. She is the author of CONVERSATIONS WITH THE FAT GIRL (5 SPOT, 2005).

Customer Reviews

One of the best I've read in a long time
Elisabeth has always lived in the shadow of her famous novelist father and brother. A pastry chef at a trendy LA eatery, she is approached by two producers who offer her the opportunity of a lifetime - her own cooking show on the Food Network that could mean relocating to New York. She's ready to jump at the chance, but fears the backlash of her family, particularly her father who feels that Hollywood destroyed his novels when they adapted them for the screen. Further complicating matters is the sexy college basketball coach she met at a fundraiser. David is her polar opposite and yet so perfect for her, particularly now that she has decided to move on from her tired relationship with childhood sweetheart and always on the go Will. Can Elisabeth throw caution to the wind and take a chance on a happily ever after her family and firends might not approve of?

Palmer's latest was a treat from start to finish. While the title is pretty racy, the story is not - the nakedness is pretty much the baring of Elisabeth's soul, not her clothing. She's a great modern heroine; flawed but human. Palmer's witty dialogue, plotting and pacing are first rate.

Delightful and engaging
Reviewed by Lisa Kisner for Reader Views (1/08)

Elisabeth Page is a pastry chef at the hottest restaurant in Los Angeles. Living up to family expectations is difficult, to say the least, with a father whose past novels have won the Pulitzer prize and made him a living legend, an heiress mother and a brother with a current best-selling novel. Elisabeth's five-year plan (now on year eleven) to open her own patisserie and marry her childhood sweetheart looks to be no further along than when she started it. Golden opportunities arise when she gets an offer to host her own cooking show and when she meets Daniel, a basketball coach who is everything her childhood sweetheart is not. Much to her surprise, Elisabeth begins considering acting on both possibilities even though they are completely opposite of the life she, and her family, expects. Does Elisabeth have the courage to take on this new life, or will she forever be in her family's shadow?

I found "Seeing Me Naked" to be delightful and engaging. It is just the book to read curled up in an armchair on a rainy day or lounging on the beach in the sun. Ms. Palmer combines solid characters with an appealing story. She even includes a few recipes of the mouth-watering dishes that appear in the story. The result is a fun to read novel that transcends traditional chick lit with a clever and classy romance.

Too Much Fun
I find myself thinking about Palmer's characters and their careers throughout the day. And often laughing aloud to myself. I'm in the kitchen cooking, thinking about becoming a pastry chef in a French village, or watching a UCLA basketball game, asking myself "Who do I know on that team?" All from the book.

The world the characters live in is too much fun, but their emotional challenges, and short comings, are all too real. Seeing Me Naked is an easy pleasure to read, and stays with you the way a good story should.