Good Reads Review: Duck a l'Orange for Breakfast by Karina May
This book was provided courtesy of Pan Macmillan Australia, with an accompanying interview with Dianne Yarwood featured on the literary podcast Date With A Debut in May 2023. I have not received any rewards or compensation for this review and therefore all views and opinions are of my own, the reviewer.
Mild spoilers below.
What do you get when you combine a recipe for finding the perfect Tinder date, a trash head of an ex, and a cooking project based on a pun? This delicious debut from Karina May.
Following Maxine ‘Max’ Mayberry, Duck a l'Orange for Breakfast - or simply, Duck, as referred to by author Karina May - tells the story of Max at a terrible time in her life, having being diagnosed with a brain tumour, having broken up with her long-time boyfriend/comedian Scott after finding him cheating on her. Even worse, Scott is part of a pretentious French family, whose famous cookbook, The Laurent Family Cookbook, has gone everywhere.
So, getting back out there for something casual, she meets a Tinder date - simply known as Johnny - and together, to get revenge on her boyfriend, they found the ‘Fork Him’ project, cooking the entire cookbook together as part of their online dates. However, as Max’s date under the knife approaches, she finds herself being drawn more and more to this mysterious - and smoking hot - man on the other side of her Tinder screen.
Okay, let’s keep it simple. This is a romantic book, with similar beats and journeys compared to many books in its lane. If that isn’t your cup of tea, you may not enjoy this book. However, I’m of the opinion that if you are going to follow these cliches, have fun with it. Karina May does that in spades.
Max is a great lens to tell this story, brilliantly realised on the page. In these cheesy, romantic settings, her troubles keep it much more grounded than the fluff you might get from watching say, Emily in Paris. While stories like that have their audience, what gives this more dimension is, with her brain tumour in the background, her struggles make the whole thing work, and her interactions with Johnny are the best parts of the story.
Okay, Johnny. Hot. Very hot. Yes, there is an element of a ‘perfect man’ that has secrets to unfurl - the cliches are hard to ignore. But what makes it still work is that Johnny is still a believable individual and the chemistry on the page is undeniable.
The story really kicks into gear in the second half when Max finds herself in Paris, and several surprises emerge that add plenty of colour to the well-trodden rom-com formula.
Duck is a delicious delight, pure and simple. May has carved out a story that plays your heart like a fiddle and is an absolute must for anyone who loves a good rom-com in their lives.
4/5
Booktopia: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/Y990JJ
Angus & Robertson: https://angusrobertson.4tqiav.net/MAQ5E3
Date With A Debut Podcast episode with Karina May: https://spoti.fi/4gYGcbf
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