Marissa, highly competent but also high strung, is a heroine with a lot to learn in Mia King's second novel, “;Sweet Life.”; She must learn to relax, for example, to acknowledge lifestyles that don't operate at her own Manhattan pace, to accept cows in her back yard.

It all comes with moving from New York to the ranch town of Waimea.

Like her first novel, “;Good Things,”; King's new tale is a romance — chick lit to the nth degree, actually. Both also add a food element, her central characters spending quality bonding time in the kitchen, and recipes fill out the back pages.

The action's been moved, though, from Seattle in “;Good Things”; to the Big Island, much as King herself has transitioned from a high-level corporate position in California to the relative quiet of Waimea. The fictional Marissa has given up her marketing job in New York to move here with her husband, Paul, the new general manager at a fancy Kohala Coast resort.

In “;Sweet Life”; the food offerings include Marissa's “;Winging It”; Chicken, Malia's Pregnancy Ginger Tea, Kavena's Vegan Macadamia Nut Bars, Jane's Tropical Medley Muffin. There you also have the book's supporting cast — the women of Marissa's new life.

Malia is the beautiful secretary who's in a spot o' trouble, as noted by her tea recipe; Kavena is the Mother Nature type; Jane is the successful businesswoman. Marissa distrusts them all at first, except Jane, whom she mistakes for a coffee shop employee and not quite her equal (Jane actually owns the joint).

Then there's the husband, an idiot, basically, and their daughter, Pansy, who seems too perfect for words. And a handsome rancher, also too perfect for words. The mix is colorful and makes for a breezy, satisfying read with a tidy ending, well suited to the genre.

No deep thoughts here, no great adventures. But it's nice to see this beautiful corner of the islands made the central setting in a national release.

The grand Valentine's Day break-up scene is even set in a real-life restaurant, Merriman's Waimea, and the real-life Peter Merriman contributes his recipe for Wok-Charred Ahi.

King — her real name is Darien Hsu Gee — is working on a third novel, “;Table Manners,”; to be published next year.