Avery Collins has just landed her dream job, pastry chef for the posh-Manhattan restaurant Clover. Her new boss, Trace Montgomery, even helped with securing her an affordable place to live: a beautifully restored carriage house owned by his friend, Rafe McKenzie—a man that makes her catch her breath and stirs her imagination. Trouble is, he’s involved with someone, his father is being released … after 25 years in prison and Avery is just his tenant. Exploring the attraction that sizzles whenever they’re together would be the icing on the cake, but Avery knows all too well that you can’t have everything. Of course, what’s cake without icing?
Rafe McKenzie’s world shattered at nine when his father Liam—the only parent he knew—was arrested and convicted for armed robbery. Growing up in the system, Rafe managed to survive his childhood and now has a job he enjoys, a house he’s restoring and a tight circle of friends. He’s even working on reconciling with his dad, both eager to put the past in the past.
Happy for the income a tenant would bring, Rafe agrees to rent his carriage house to Clover’s new pastry chef. When Avery Collins pulls up his drive, she’s not at all what he’s expecting. Funny, sexy and as sweet as her desserts, it doesn’t take long for things between them to heat up. Just when it seems as if they’ll have their cake and eat it too, the past comes back with deadly intent leaving Rafe to figure out who’s pulling the strings before his world shatters again.
This book is part of a series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
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This book did not disappoint me, the writing did not disappoint me, LA Fiore’s writing is beautiful and it makes me fall in love with her writing so quickly, something about it just draws me to it and before you know it the story is truly over and it’s sad. The plot of the story was brilliant and draws you in, I wish I could re-read this story for the first time again. A truly magical contemporary romantic story.
Avery Collins is a very loveable character, she can be very goofy and the things she does in the book really does just make you smile. I don’t know how she manages to make such loveable characters but I have not encountered a character I hate. Other than you know the bad guys in the story. Avery is pastry chef it’s so nice as we watched her create so many treats and how she got lost in the process of making them and the creativity. She cares so much about her friends and family and it shows, we also see Avery facing challenges to do with her father and how she copes with it. Avery really felt like a 3D character which is always a good thing, her interaction with Rafe how it grew from friendship to crush to love it was beautiful to read.
Rafe McKenzie, I feel like when we were first introduced to him back in the first book of Beautifully Damaged he was going to be a complicated character, so when I heard he was getting his own book I was happy. You know to hear his story and I know I’ve said this a lot through this review but it was brilliant and it truly did not disappoint me. Rafe’s story was so powerful, learning about what his mother did and then his father being released from prison. So many emotions from him and they were expressed wonderfully through the writing. Rafe from the outside seems like a hard nut in the sense he doesn’t open up to many people, proven at the start with his girlfriend Melody. To his friends, Lucian, Trace and their wives and some other of their friends you can see he truly cares and only lets them in on his terms, but once they are let in there doesn’t seem to be any getting out. Watching him let Avery into his life and how she slips into his life so easily it made my insides warm the fact that someone who has been through what he has been through can still bring himself to trust the outside people.
The secondary characters of this novel did a wonderful job in making the story light-hearted where it needed to be. Although some serious topics in terms of Liam McKenzie’s past (Rafe’s dad) the lightness works and they surround a lot of those topics around what Avery bakes. That seems to be an ongoing theme throughout the novel about Avery and her baking and in a really weird way, it brings them all together. It was fantastically written.
I want to go into so much detail but I also don’t want to spoil anyone, there is so much more I could gush about this story. As I said this is the 3rd book in the Beautifully series but it can be read as a standalone.
Book #1: Trace and Ember’s story Beautifully Damaged.
Book #2: Lucian and Darcy’s story Beautifully Forgotten
Book #3: Rafe and Avery’s story Beautifully Decadent.
As said you don’t need to read any of these books to be able to read the others in the series, I would reccommend it though not necessary. Just a way to be closer to the characters and understand them a lot more as well as the plot.
So, where do I start with how much I ADORED this book?
With how much I adored both Rafe and Avery separately and together?
With how much I loved the slow, sweet, sexy and hilarious way Avery and Rafe’s relationship grew?
With how much I adored Rafe and Avery’s friends and family (Well, almost all of them) and how every time they appeared in the book only enhanced the story?
Or with how I’ve gained at least 20 lbs just by reading this book?
Okay, maybe that last one is not something to adore, but if one is able to gain weight just by reading about food it would happen to me. But once I started this book only passing out and having to adult had me (reluctantly) putting it down, and even then I ended up sneaking in reading time via my phone app because it was just that good.
Avery’s passion for baking was the draw. She lives and breathes her craft and her desire to constantly challenge herself was something I absolutely admired. Her lack of ego and how much joy she got out of making others happy with her creations made her someone I wanted to see succeed. On top of all of this talent she has a vibrant personality, a huge heart and is so genuine and comfortable in her own skin that she has no issue making fun of herself and the situations she gets herself into.
Rafe did not have an easy childhood and while it may have made him a little more standoffish with people, it didn’t make him bitter. He’s taken his love of woodworking and turned it into a career he is passionate about and has carved out a little slice of heaven all his own. He has something of that tall, dark, sexy, silent type thing going on, but when you get him to relax you find that he has a wickedly sexy and sly sense of humor that could charm the pants off of anyone.
I loved the slow, sexy, sweet and fun way Avery and Rafe’s relationship grew.. The physical attraction was there, but with Avery working for Trace, Avery being Rafe’s tennant and Rafe seeing someone nothing was acted upon immediately. Instead they got to know each other first as tenant and landlord, then as friends and found that they genuinely liked each other. From there things grew and with a little help from friends and family they finally took a leap of faith. Their bantering and flirting was fun and silly and the smexy times were smokin’ hot. But what I liked the most was that they acted like adults. They didn’t play games and actually communicated with each other, which may not seem like a huge thing but I loved how open and honest they were with each other and it just made me root for them to get their HEA that much more.
Note: There is no cheating.
This was my first book by L.A. Fiore and it won’t be the last! I enjoyed everything from the writing style to the well written supporting cast of characters (Sister Margaret was hilarious) in fact I’m doing a re-read right now as I’m writing this review because I enjoyed it that much. Though this is the third book in the series it can be read as a standalone. I never felt lost or in confused when the couples from the previous books came out to play because I got to learn about them right along with Avery.
~ ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~
Really Decadent! This is the third book in the Beautifully Damaged Series. I haven’t listened to the first books in the Series, but I will! I love this slow burn love story. I was hooked from the first page to the end. I love the two main characters, Avery and Rafe. Avery is a pastry chef and she is sweet, funny and feisty. Rafe is a woodworker and he is honest, handsome and protective. They are great together and we can feel their strong chemistry. I also love the other characters. I wanted to eat pastries, cakes or any desserts, while listening! It’s really decadent! The storyline is also filled with a little suspense and some twists and turns, so this story has it all. The narration was really great. I absolutely love the team formed by Tracy Marks and Aaron Shedlock. Don’t ask me how is it possible to like a woman’s voice narrated by a man and a female’s voice narrated by a woman, but I do! I really enjoyed my listening. I received this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.
Let me just start by saying how can you not love a book that puts the recipes of the delicious sounding desserts in the back of the book!!! I know I can’t and now I know I have some new desserts to try!!!
But this book was so much more than just it’s yummy sounding desserts. This book had it all….romance, laughter, mystery, suspense and even an EX who just wouldn’t get a clue 😉 I truly loved this book just as much as the first two in this series. L.A. Fiore has a way of writing books and characters that suck you in and holds your attention all the way through.
Beautifully Decadent is the third book in her Beautifully Damaged Series. This is Rafe’s story and let me tell you I couldn’t wait to read it!!! I have loved Rafe since book 1. But I have to be honest and say I love all the men in this series. This book is a standalone with interconnected characters. You meet them all in the first book and you learn more as the books go on. But to be truthful, I don’t feel you have to read the other books to understand and enjoy this book. The storylines are completely separate and L.A. Fiore does an excellent job connecting all the characters in this book. But to truly appreciate these men, I think you will want to read all three books.
As I said before, this book is about Rafe and Avery. Rafe is a childhood friend of both Trace and Lucien’s. Avery is a pastry chef trying looking for a new job. She interviews with Trace for his restaurant and gets the job. Just having moved into the city she is looking for a place to live and Trace suggests his buddy Rafe’s place, because he has a cottage behind his house that he refurbished and wants to rent it out. This is how Rafe and Avery meet. What I loved the most is that this was a slow moving romance. The author built up their friendship first before processing into something more. Now I know sometimes that can drag out the story, but there was so much humor and mystery built into the storyline you really didn’t miss the sex part of the story. Plus that just built up the tension between Avery and Rafe. But let me tell you…..when they do finally get together….hold onto your panties!!!! STEAMY 😉
I don’t want to say too much about the storyline, because there are some twists and turns you won’t see coming. I will say that this book kept my guessing and on the edge of my seat, just to see how it all worked out. The flow and pace of the story was well written and I loved that we got to meet some new characters. They definitely added some of the comic relief to this story!!
I would 100% recommend this book to everyone. If you love a suspenseful, slow burning romance novel, that even has some tasty treats in it, then this is the book to read!!! If you have read the other books in this series, then you don’t want to miss this book!!
This was the 3rd installment in the beautifully damaged series and in my opinion each one gets better than the last. Trace, Lucien and Rafe are all very different personalities , but they are so close they are like family. The first stories are Trace and Lucien. Rafe is very quiet, but so powerfully emotional and loving. He had a rough start as a boy, but as a man he is making a name for himself in the world with his woodworking skills. Avery plows into his life and she is just this loving goofball. Her antics have you laughing out loud. She has a very carefree and trusting personality. Avery is a very talented pastry chef and she loves to push the limits of creativity. Rafe is more than happy to be her taste tester. A very hot and spicy relationship evolves and will leave you panting. Her creations will leave you drooling. You will just be a hot mess by the end of the book. I was laughing one minute and crying the next. The whole dynamic of the story was amazing with the wonderful characters, a beautiful romance with a hint of mystery. Love, love, love