Discover new kitchen selections
Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
OR
$3.99 with 69 percent savings
Print List Price: $12.99

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Home Cooking (Empire State of Mind Book 3) Kindle Edition

4.3 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

She has the perfect job. Scratch that. Had the perfect job.

Mia’s job as head chef at a farm-to-table restaurant is her dream come true. Being stuck in a small town in the Catskills? Not so much.

But when she’s invited to work on a cooking show in New York City, she realizes her family matters more to her than ambition.

And then one pitcher of margaritas turns her life upside down.

Picking up the pieces in Brooklyn, she meets Juan, whose sparkling eyes and easy laugh immediately cure her homesickness.

But Mia is after the big prize: taking NYC’s culinary world by storm.

She doesn’t have time for love. Especially after her dream job becomes the stuff of nightmares.

As Mia’s troubles boil over, Juan tries to lower the temperature. Instead, he turns up the heat. Has he offered her a lifeline, or is he leading her away from everything she wants?

Get your copy of Home Cooking, the standalone third book in the laugh-out-loud Empire State of Mind series, perfect for readers who love chick lit with a lot of heart.


Book 1: Splitting Heirs
Book 2: Last Resort
Book 3: Home Cooking
Book 4: Keyed Up, coming March 2021
Book 5: Date Bloomer, coming April 2021
Unwell Hydration from Alex Cooper
Hydrate & focus with every sip Shop now

Shop this series

 See full series
There are 5 books in this series.

Customers also bought or read

Loading...

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08T86WWR6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ArrowHeart Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 16, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.6 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 213 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1735102245
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 3 of 5 ‏ : ‎ Empire State of Mind
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Diane Michaels
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Diane Michaels is a professional harpist and author. She balances her fondness for ice cream with her enjoyment of working out and walking through the woods. When she is not spying on the world from behind her harp to collect ideas for her next book, she and her husband make up stories and songs for and about their miniature poodle, Lola. You can find our more about Ms. Michaels at dianemichaelsbooksandharp.com Click the follow button to be notified about her new books.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
25 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021
    Comfortable working at her brother’s resort kitchen in Jimmy Creek, Mia is excited when her meals are met with positive reviews. But Mia doesn’t just want comfortable. She loves to cook and is very good at it, but she wants adventure, she wants to be a famous chef in New York, and she wants a more exciting life. When given the opportunity to work on a cooking show, as the behind-the-scenes chef, she is positive she has found the new life she has been dreaming about. What she doesn’t know is that working behind the scenes for an arrogant non-chef is not all she thought her new life would offer. I love this story of self-discovery while living in the big city. Mia is a wonderful character. I have loved all three Empire State of Mind books, including this one. I hope there are more. This is my honest, voluntary review of an advanced reader copy of this book.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2021
    I’ve read all the books in the series so far, and have enjoyed each one. In this latest, we focus on Mia, and the story shifts from Jimmy Creek back to NYC.
    In a ‘leap before you look’ move, Mia takes what she thinks will be a dream job ..... only to find out there are potential nightmares involved. With a new job, new home, and new (potential) friends and lovers, Mia has to decide if leaving home was the best decision for her - and if not, what to do about it.

    Once again, the author delightfully immerses us in in the world of her characters. I come away from each book in this series with a better understanding of real estate, resort running, and now (show) cooking. The characters all feel very real, and in these days of Covid, I yearn to pop in to NYC/Jimmy Creek and hang out with them.
    I really like how the various threads of each books’ storylines and characters are being followed, and intertwined. Looking forward to the next installment.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2021
    This is a short story about Mia and her struggles to be her own self and an accomplished chef. I found this story to he more about Mia finding herself than love, this story is very light on romance. It is a quick read.

    I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021
    Well-written and a great escape. I am enjoying this series!
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2021
    This book was great at making workplace frustration so entertaining! Mia is ambitious and has to learn how to find fulfillment in more than professional recognition. Once she hones in on cooking with love, she finds love too. The author writes with love on every page!
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2021
    This is the 2nd book I've read written by Diane Michaels; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.

    The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.

    I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021
    Although Home Cooking is the third novel in the Empire State of Mind series, it can be read as a standalone. The story features characters that are present in the other books in the series. As someone who did not read the rest of the series, I wondered if I would be lost, however, that was not the case and I was able to understand everything that occurred in this story perfectly. It is a short novel that is perfect for anyone looking for a nice easy and quick read. The story is light-hearted and entertaining and I found my interest peaked to read the rest of the series.

    Mia is the head, well only, chef at her brother’s resort in Jimmy Creek located in the Catskills. It is slightly remote and the resort offers guests both traditional hotel-like rooms and new glamping tents. Mia loves creating new recipes from the produce from her parents’ farm and local meat providers. She suddenly receives a voicemail from a tv producer for a job that she applied for months ago prior to taking the resort job. Although the original show did not pan out, this is for a brand new cooking show with a well-known tv celebrity chef. The position they are offering is for a behind the scenes head chef position for the prep kitchen in New York City. As Mia dreamt of being a New York chef, she decides to take the chance on the new position. Luckily, her friend Katie, also a chef, is in need of a job and is the perfect replacement for her Jimmy Creek position.

    Mia’s new job is working for tv chef, Chet, who is all over the place with his choices and does not always stick to the planned meals, which leaves more work for the behind the scenes chefs. This is the main conflict as Mia tries to adjust to life in the fast-moving adaptable tv world with the help of her sous chef, Imani. Although Imani tries to get Mia to go with the program as this opportunity is great experience for their resumes, Mia has a hard time adjusting. Her reactions to this job makes me wonder what she though the job would be as she is just the chef who prepares the delicious meals for the cameras and the prep ingredients for the tv chef to use for him and his guest star when they are on camera. It became a little wearing as Mia always seemed to think that the tv crew were in the wrong if they made last minute changes or something went wrong on set. Granted, there is no way Mia could control everything or plan for every circumstance, but it seemed that Mia never really tried for the most part. Her apartment in Brooklyn is income based, which means that it is affordable living and works perfectly for Mia. It also is an added bonus that the super of the building is a handsome man who can fix the many things that seem to go wrong in her apartment. Juan, the super, seemed nice enough and I like the glimpses the reader gets into his life with him and his grandmother. I wish that there was more, though, as it seemed there was not enough time to truly connect to him or the idea of him and Mia becoming a couple.

    Overall, the writing is very easy to read and is very relatable. It has a very humorous flair to it that make it a very entertaining read. The writing almost feels conversational where it feels as if it is a friend telling you a story. While the writing was fun, I just wish the story had more details. It felt as if there was a ton of potential to get to know Mia and her relationships with others, her love interest, Juan, her co-worker, Imani, and the tv crew. The overall theme of finding out what you want to do and maybe the path you think you’re on might not be the right one was well-done as Mia’s life started out with her working in Jimmy Creek and ended up a whole different way. It was a fun story and I would gladly read more from this author.

    **I give a special thank you to Booksprout, the author, and the publisher for an ARC to read. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2021
    I received an ARC from the author thru Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving my review. This book seemed more about Mia trying to find her way in life than about the romance. Our maybe I was just not feeling the romance. She was having to deal with small town roots and big city dreams. She learns reality is not always as glamorous as her imagination. Even with the support of family, she needs to figure it out on her own. This was not my favorite of the series

    I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?