Tag: chef

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#BookReview: Hooked On The Heart by Maddie Evans

Solid Maddie Evans Clean Romance. I’ve been reading Evans’ books for a few years now, and this first entrant in a new series is a perfect exemplar of her style… with references (and a few cameos) to what I think was the first series I read from her (the Brighthead Running Club). And yes, if you like what you see here, that series offers several great books to read while you wait for this trilogy to complete out over the next couple of months. 🙂

What you get here is a small town romance where everyone knows everyone… except when they don’t, because suddenly there is a new guy in town. Foodies will absolutely love all of the restaurant details in this book, and knitters/ crocheters will love all of the yarn talk herein (by an author who is an avid knitter and crocheter herself. Seriously, wait until you see the author’s note at the end here. :D)

Those looking for anything more spicy than a warm glass of milk will be disappointed here, but “spice” and “Maddie Evans” have never really gone together. There are other authors that offer that, but Evans always manages to create a compelling romance that does not shy away from the fact that her characters would *like* to go there… without ever actually going there. So in this book, for example, there is some heavy kissing… and that is as far as anything actually goes. Seriously, my 10yo niece has seen more in the TV shows she watches these days.

There *is* one common romance element employed here that turns some off, but revealing it feels a touch spoilery so I’ll simply note that it is so common that it is used across every trope I’m aware of, which is why I refer to it as an ‘element’ rather than a ‘trope’. So those that are hyper sensitive to this particular one can probably guess what I’m referring to here, but this should note *should* be vague enough that it doesn’t actually spoil anything. 🙂

With the epilogue both closing out this story and blatantly setting the next one in motion, this is absolutely going to be one series where you’ll be glad that the next book is just a few weeks away. (Indeed, I was sent ARCs of all three books at once, so I can personally verify that all three are at least ready enough to release to ARC readers, which is a significant step to making them fully ready. :D)

Again, truly a solid romance full of the joy of creating and arts that will make you fall in love with both these characters and this world, thus serving as an almost “Iron Man” level tale. (Ok, I’m a dude. I had to get *something* in here to save at least a modicum of my man card! :D)

Very much recommended.

This review of Hooked On Love by Maddie Evans was originally written on August 17, 2025.

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#BookReview: Get Lost With You by Sophie Sullivan

Solid Small Town Romance With A Touch Of Spice. For those looking for Carolina Reaper level spice… this ain’t that. Yet it also isn’t a warm glass of milk. I’d say it hits around a habanero or so – spicy enough to zing the taste buds a bit, but also mild enough to excite those who generally prefer a warm glass of milk without giving them “the vapors”. 😉

On the actual romance side, well, there’s as much family drama going on here as romance, so your mileage will absolutely vary on that side. There’s a lot of drama to work through, though both halves of our couple wanted each other all those years ago… and that never really went away, despite our female lead marrying and having a kid with another dude in the meantime (one source of so much family drama).

Fans of small town insta love/ second chance Hallmarkie type romances will generally enjoy this one. Those looking for more spice or more glitz or more glamour or more action or some such… likely not as much.

Overall I thought this worked quite well for what it is, and I was quite happy with it as such.

Very much recommended.

This review of Get Lost With You by Sophie Sullivan was originally written on December 17, 2024.

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#BlogTour: Talulah’s Back In Town by Brenda Novak

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a fairly standard Hallmarkie type romance. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Talulah’s Back In Town by Brenda Novak.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Goodreads, TheStoryGraph, BookHype):

Fairly Standard Hallmarkie Type Romance – And There Is Absolutely Nothing Wrong With That. This is one of those fairly standard Hallmarkie type romances that meets up with a touch of Runaway Bride with real-world type complications, particularly in a small town. There is even a minor *hint* of danger (without ever really feeling too suspenseful, more as a touch of “spice” than anything). In other words, those – not even that arguably *millions* – who read romance books and/ or watch Hallmark movies as pure, mostly light, escapism… hey, this book is *exactly* in that vein and thus will be *exactly* what you’re looking for. For those who don’t like such tales… well, again, this *is* that type of tale. So don’t leave a 1* review because it didn’t exactly break any new ground or because it had some sex scenes and cursing and such. I’ve already told you pretty well *exactly* what to expect here, so the fact that you’re reading this particular review means that you can’t say *no one* warned you. I have! 😀

But again, for the millions – *and millions!* (to channel a bit of The Rock) – who want some romantic type drama complete with all that this entails… welcome home. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Talulah’s Back In Town by Brenda Novak”

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#BlogTour: Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a book that is a solid introduction to this author’s ability to showcase her chosen settings so beautifully. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan.

Interestingly, NOT A Beach Read. For my own tastes, “beach reads” are light and breezy that don’t really have much (if any) drama. Maybe action, yes, but no dusty room kind of stuff. Which actually makes this tale *not* a beach read, as there is quite a bit of drama and a few dusty rooms to be had in this tale.

But don’t get me wrong, it really is a strong tale and beautifully set in a small beach town in California, and the story itself is excellently told. If you haven’t read this author before, this is actually a great tale to introduce yourself to her with, as it shows her ability to both pull heartstrings and capture the beauty and charm of wherever she chooses to place her tale. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan”

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#BookReview: The Love Square by Laura Jane Williams

Not An Actual Love Square, But A Solid Romance. I’m a math oriented dude. The imprecision of “love triangle” has always bothered me. For those, assuming both sexes are involved, you need two bi people and a straight person, at minimum. (There *are* possible variations, but a true love triangle would have Person A in love with Person B and Person C – *and* Person B and Person C in love with both Person A *and each other*.) “Love Triangles”, in the common parlance, are actually Love *Angles*, such that two points are connected at a common third point. Similarly, for this Love Square to work, it would really need 2 couples such that each couple is in love with each other *as well as* exactly one person in the other couple. Here, we get two side by side Love Angles such that *three* points are connected at a common *fourth* point.

Math technicalities and English imprecision aside, however, this was actually a solid romance tale of finding oneself and what one really wants that put an interesting spin on the colloquial “Love Triangle” by introducing a *third* man that the common woman falls in love with. And in some fairly direct ways, it actually parallels a lot of what Padma Lakshmi said about her own “love triangle” in her memoir Love, Loss, and What We Ate. You’ve got the guy that our female lead – Penny – has an instant connection with. Then you’ve got the guy that actively pursues her and they wind up together almost via fluke. Then you’ve got the guy Penny is introduced to and has a fun time with, but who isn’t interested in long term or commitment generally. And along the way, Penny gets thrust into situations she doesn’t always have complete control of, all while still trying to discover herself after having survived cancer at a fairly early age – mid 20s. The characters are all solid and interesting, and each of the guys makes very strong points about love and what matters. In the end, if you like romance novels at all, you’re probably going to enjoy this one. And if you don’t, give this one a chance – at least it has a few more-interesting-than-normal wrinkles. 🙂 Very much recommended.

This review of The Love Square by Laura Jane Williams was originally written on December 18, 2020.

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#BlogTour: The Secret Ingredient by KD Fisher


Once again we come to a Carina Adores Blog Tour, which are always awesome. Seriously, I haven’t encountered a bad book in this program yet, and I’ve found several authors doing this that have taken me to places I’d never been before – and that is always awesome. 🙂

This time, we’re looking at The Secret Inredient by KD Fisher.

Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads:

Fun Foodie FF Romance. This is a lesbian romance where the two ladies are about as opposite as it gets – one is a trained chef working for a corporate restaurant group, the other is a legacy baker who took over and revitalized her mom’s shop. As a short romance, it works well in that it hits all the requirements of the genre (yes, including sex) and executes each solidly – but you’re not going to get the conflict and growth of a 100 page longer book. Though there are still significant, more complicated than Hallmarkie, conflicts here. Ultimately a fun book that hits all the right notes and even manages to highlight the particular region it features very well. Very much recommended.

And below the jump, a page-ish excerpt from near the front of the book (Chapter 2, IIRC):
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Secret Ingredient by KD Fisher”

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#BookReview: The Second Chance Supper Club by Nicole Meier

Sometimes It Takes Losing Everything To Find Everything. Not that I haven’t lived this before. Not at all. Yes, this story of two sisters awkwardly reconnecting 3 yrs after a major fight that left them not speaking to each other somehow managed to resonate with a guy who only has brothers. 😉 Seriously, great job from new-to-me author Nicole Meier in crafting a very readable and relatable tale, that admittedly I wanted to stop reading at one point because it got a bit *too* real and brought back some difficult memories of my own. Hallmarkies and/ or foodies in particular will get a kick out of this one, but a strong book for any crowd I’ve ever come across. This is due to Meier’s skill in focusing on the very human even while also relishing the particulars she has set in motion here. Very much recommended.

This review of The Second Chance Supper Club by Nicole Meier was originally written on September 15, 2019.