Angels Fall is a book to get lost in – which is exactly what I did over a long holiday weekend. Featuring fascinating characters caught up in events they can’t control and set in a remote town in the majestic Wyoming mountains, this big, meaty story represents born storyteller Nora Roberts at her incredible, storytelling…
Seattle and fine restaurants seem to go hand in hand in my mind and make a rather delightful setting for romance. But a romantic dinner for two is hardly the scenario in Delicious since its focus is on the fast-paced business behind the ambiance and excellent dinner fare. And there is an additional element of…
For those who didn’t make it to Italy on their summer vacation, The Food of Love offers a first-class getaway to the country. It’s another variation on the classic Cyrano de Bergerac, this time with a culinary twist. With a perfect sense of place, wonderful food and a warm storytelling style, Anthony Capella delivers a…
Hot Nights In Ballymuir wasn’t very hot. It wasn’t very interesting either. It whiled away a couple of hours, but it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. Jenna Fahey is an American, a chef who has opened a restaurant in Muir House in the picturesque town of Ballymuir. Jenna lives to cook, and…
Table for Two is Dara Girad’s debut novel and a promising start for a new author. The book’s heroine is a plus-sized woman with lots of emotional baggage of which she remains unaware while the hero is a chef obsessed with food. Cassie Graham is a self-help guru who helps people deal with their social…
Roxanne St. Claire makes a reasonably strong debut with Tropical Getaway. It has its flaws – namely a problematic heroine, an unlikely and unexplained plot twist, and an ending that dragged on a bit too long – but the writing is mostly smooth and compelling, the relationship sings despite character problems, and the suspense works…
Last year I discovered Karen Templeton and glommed her books. I enjoyed all of them, fell in love with the town of Spruce Lake, Michigan, where most of them are set, and put her on my automatic buy list. When I began What A Man’s Gotta Do, I was happy to see it takes place…
With a fresh, fun premise and plenty of creative touches, Cathy Yardley whips up a great read in Guilty Pleasures, a book that lives up to its title. It’s not very deep. It’s not even close to being great literature. But it was a pleasure to read. Chef Mari Salazar is struggling to keep her…
Surrender had a very pleasant hero and heroine. If it had stuck with their story, I would have enjoyed it very much, but too many secondary characters and a couple of really silly scenes made it a bit of a chore to get through. Netherland Brooms owns a successful restaurant and has many friends. She…
I first picked this book up at a used-book store and thought “Omigod, what a lousy cover!” I’m glad I didn’t judge the book by the cover, for this book is surely keeper material. A Rose at Midnight begins with cook Ghislaine de Lorgny planning the murder of her employer’s unscrupulous rakehell cousin, Nicholas Blackthorne….