Booked and Introduced: Jess Turner
This week you get to meet the fabulous Jess Turner. Jess released her debut novel, THE ONLY CATCH, this past summer, and we connected on Instagram to do a chef-centered book giveaway together—because I just loved this book! If you want to know a touch more about Jess, THE ONLY CATCH, and what she’s working on currently, then be sure to give this a read and be sure to connect with Jess on Instagram (link below).
Tell us a little about yourself and the kinds of books you write.
I’ve been writing my whole life, but my first published book is The Only Catch, which just came out in June. It’s a contemporary romance, and after years of working as a journalist, a business owner (I owned/operated a sweet little kitchen shop for almost 15 years), and even a short stint as a ghostwriter, I realized that love stories are the only stories I’m interested in writing. I write stories in which women are in charge of everything—they run every single world in my books, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Where did the idea for your current or most recent book come from?
The Only Catch takes place on a small island off the coast of Maine, very much inspired by the Maine island where my family lived for 20 years. It’s the most beautiful place in the world with its craggy coastline, pine forests, and absolutely ice cold water. There’s a fascinating dynamic there that I think you find at a lot of locations that are considered “summer places”—a natural tension between the massively wealthy people who spend a week or two a year out there and the islanders who work for them, caretaking these giant homes. I always knew I’d write a book about it someday. So that definitely inspired the sense of place for The Only Catch, and beyond that, I adore a love triangle romance, and I really like a messy FMC! I wanted to write a character who is powerful and confident, but who also makes mistakes and acts on impulse. And I always want to write about food.
What kinds of books do you reach for when you are reading purely for fun?
I read a lot, and I only reach for books that I think will be purely fun! I love a beach read, and Elin Hilderbrand is my queen. I’ll read anything by Jennifer Weiner, Sophie Cousens, Kate Clayborn, Talia Hibbert, Emma Straub, and Curtis Sittenfeld. I’m always looking for female-led stories with an element of romance, but maybe they don’t exactly follow the traditional beats of a romance. I want a book to surprise me. My favorite reads of the past few weeks are Into the Blue by Emma Brodie, and The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson.
What is a book you never get tired of recommending?
I will recommend everything by Curtis Sittenfeld. I think she’s a genius. Start with Prep, and read American Wife, then Rodham. I’ve recommended Yellowface by R.F. Kuang too many times to count! It’s hardly romantic, but I love the exploration of storytelling and what stories are ours to tell. For romance, I’ve been recommending Swept Away by Beth O’Leary to anyone who will listen! It’s such a good forced proximity romance that takes place on a houseboat that’s gone adrift. Also, no spoilers, but there’s an incredibly hot sex scene that takes place in a pretty perilous situation. A 10/10 danger bang!
What are you working on now, and where can readers find you and your books?
Right now, I’m about to get into my first round of edits for my second book, Claire Charles Says Yes. It comes out in May 2027. It’s about a celebrity pastry chef who is entering the dating world for the first time after her divorce. It’s really sweet and it’s full of delicious pastry porn! You can buy my books anywhere books are sold, but my advice will always be to pick them up at your local independent book store :-)
Connect with Jess Turner here:
Instagram: jessturnerwrites
Wedbsite: www.jessturnerwrites.com
She came to cook. Love was never on the menu.
After a public meltdown torpedoes her culinary career, chef Chloe Foster reluctantly agrees to a hush-hush job as private chef to Hollywood’s clean-eating heartthrob, Charlie Davis. But instead of sunny L.A., she’s shipped off to a remote island off the coast of Maine…in the dead of winter.
Stuck in a sprawling mansion with a moody A-lister who barely eats, Chloe's hoping to keep her head down, cook her heart out, and regroup. But Charlie turns out to be more complicated—and more tempting—than the tabloids suggest. Then there’s the rugged local lobsterman with a quiet strength and a wicked smile, who offers a different kind of heat.
With her career hanging in the balance and her heart pulled in two very different directions, Chloe must figure out what she really wants: the dream job that once defined her, or the messy, mouthwatering life that’s taking shape on the edge of the Atlantic.