Love and hot chicken : a delicious Southern novel
(Book)

After her father's death, PJ Spoon leaves her prestigious PhD program to return to her small hometown of Pennywhistle, Tennessee, where she impulsively takes a job in the kitchen of the local Chickie Shak. While she tells herself she's back to support her mother in her grief, it is clear PJ is dealing with her own significant feelings of loss. It's not all sadness, though; the silver lining is getting to work side by side with her enticing coworker Boof and hanging out with her best friend Lee Ray. When the owner of The Chickie Shak announces a mandatory company-wide Hot Chicken Pageant, PJ resists until she realizes it is an opportunity to get closer to Boof, who is dealing with her own life changes as she searches for her birth mother.