Leaving her name—and her job as a top food critic—behind in New York, Shea Summers seeks respite in Sapling. Her borrowed mountain getaway seems perfect for writing her opus. It’s also perfect for riding out a messy divorce and hiding the roomful of cash she kind-of-sort-of stole from her ex.
Too bad Sapling is a remote, three-restaurant logging town with food that leaves much to be desired. … to be desired. Sexy grocer, Dev Kingston, may be Shea’s saving grace. The way he looks at her with his aspen-green eyes shows her everything her marriage was missing; and he can special-order every culinary delicacy she craves.
But Shea’s not the only one who isn’t what she seems. Dev moonlights as a sheriff’s deputy, a fact she finds out too late; a spate of suspicious crimes finds the town crawling with investigators; and her ex is going to extremes to find out where she is. Taking the money might have been on the right side of wrong, but trifling with Dev is a dangerous game. She’s still running and he’s still the law.
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The author does a great job making the story flow smoothly through the pages and captivates the reader. The characters are fun to get to know and well developed. The story line is an enjoyable and entertaining read. Highly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The premise was there but I think the plot is just too heavy which caused a lot of busyness with slow progress on each dilemma. I did finish reading it but I couldn’t really connect with the characters so it was just an ok read to me. I was sent a free book and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
Dev and Shea were similar in stature meaning they were looking to find their true selves. When Shea stole money which was a technicality, she did it to get away from the man she was divorcing who didn’t know how to love and only manipulate making everything about himself. Dev wanted to know who his real father was and in the end when they came face to face he got a lot of his questions answered giving him the opportunity for closure. This story is empowering and will have your emotions going out for Dev and Shea as they navigate through love, loss and hope. I voluntarily agreed to receive an ARC of this story for an honest review.
This story is full of good to great characters, each with an interesting back story. I really love Dev, he is so sweet and strong and caring and full of love. He takes care of everyone. I love Shea. She is carrying a lot of baggage and starts to grow from the first pages of the book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Loved it. The characters are realistic and likable. I loved the scenery, very picturesque. I would love to visit there sometime. The story has heat, attraction and some suspense. I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader copy of this book.
A Book in Search of a Focus
While eventually a lot happens in this book, it starts off very slow, so slow that I considered DNFing it because seeing a woman have a semi info dump telephone call with a good friend and then going to the store—followed by another semi info dump from the potential love interest who happens to be working at that store—just b0red me. This took up almost the first 10% of the book. I wondered when it would get interesting… and eventually, if it would. Unfortunately, when it did become less slice of life, it almost felt like there were too many things going on, like the potential romance, the town’s mysterious happenings, and all the balls that the heroine had to juggle as she was trying to hide from her manipulative husband she was trying to divorce. Some plot threads were dropped. While the members of the community were individual and sometimes quirky, there seemed to be too many to keep track of. Despite what felt like navel-gazing at the beginning, I didn’t feel like I was able to truly get to know and connect with the hero and heroine. Their romance felt more fizzle than sizzle. The heroine was juggling so many alternate stories and lies with different people that I wondered how she could keep it all straight. Ultimately, the book felt unfocused to me, a book in search of a genre that didn’t quite succeed.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
While well written with decently developed characters, this book was very slow. It took more than half the book before the story really started to flow. Had I not agreed to read and review, I would not have finished the story at all. The book, in my opinion, is mislabeled as romantic comedy. It reads more like mainstream fiction. The story itself suffered from “too much.” There were too many characters, too many story lines, too many secrets…just too much of everything and not enough focus. This is my first time reading this author. I would very much be willing to give her another read as I feel that she will certainly improve with time and experience.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The title alone drew me in. Shea is a NY food critic and is hiding from her ex in a small town in the mountains. There she meets Dev, the local grocer who also moonlights as the sheriff’s deputy. Did I mention that she stole a bunch of cash from her ex on the way out. It gets better when the town is crawling with investigators over a string of recent crimes. Can she lay low so her ex doesn’t find her? I enjoyed this fun, witty, action packed romance. I received an arc of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Dev and Shea were both likable characters who had issues that could undo their slow burn attraction. The secrets, mystery and intrigue rounded the overall story, which I felt were fairly predictable. Though there was one element that surprised me which I didn’t see coming and enjoyed. I read a complimentary copy of this book. I liked the book, however I craved something more.
The writing is good, but the story moves too slowly and there are too many story lines. Between them, both Dev and Shae seemed to wear many entrepreneurial hats. This is tagged as a Romantic Comedy, which is a misnomer. There is nothing funny in this book and the story doesn’t mirror the synopsis. In fact, the romance was a very minor character in the overall story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Spooning Leads to Forking is the second book in the Hot in the Kitchen series. The books are complete stand alones. This one takes place in a sweet little town in the mountains. I really loved the people here and how they all came together to help each other, and eventually the heroine when she was in trouble.
The writing is impeccable and description and flow are easy to read. The beginning has lot of detail and back story but once you get into it, you need to keep turning the page. The story picks up and the action starts. I love how the main characters didn’t jump right into bed. They took their time and really got to know each other first. Rare in many books these days. There’s a little steam but it’s more about the emotion which I like.
This author is definitely one I will keep my eye on.
The town of Sapling and its very limited food, whatever source, at the healthy grocer, the baker, the pub, or the one restaurant, the Big Spoon, are very unfulfilling for Shea Summers, until recently of NYC and well-followed food critic, Kent, for the Times. But the small town certainly has been an opportunity for Dev Kingston’s talents: he is owner/manager of both the grocery and the Spoon, as well as acting sheriff and leader of the town’s developmental council. First, the story focus is on Shea, her hiding from her husband from whom she is seeking a divorce, and the fact that she has bags of cash stashed in the glasshouse she is living in. But then the focus shifts to other crimes being committed against the sawmills that provide the means for most of the town to earn its living. In the end, the spotlight lands on Dev as he falls in love with Shea and solves his heritage problems as well as the crimes as his plans for acquiring and redeveloping the sawmills finally come to pass in a very emotional and satisfying way. i enjoy Ms. Blades’ books and this is another good one.
This is part of the Hot In The Kitchen Series. This is Shea’s story . Shea is aka Elle Winters/ Elle West. A famous food critic who’s on the run from her wealthy, controlling ‘ex’. She’s taken a large sum of his $$$ and is hiding out in a friend’s cabin that just happens to be 6,000 sq ft. She connects with Dev who also has hidden secrets. The story and their romance is slow moving at times. The book was a thriller and at times more a mystery than a romance. The story was entertaining. I read an arc and voluntarily chose to review.
The story line and character work were good. The story line was fairly smooth. I was entertained and enjoyed the book.
I received an ARC copy from Booksprout in exchange for my honest opinion.
3* ARC Review – Interesting concept, poor execution
I received the ARC of this book from Hidden Gems in exchange for this review. Prior to reading this story, I read the first book in the series, which I really enjoyed. Both stories have a food backdrop, and in this one, the main character, Shea, was a famous, anonymous food critic before she left to hide out in Sapling Colorado. She is on the run from her husband as she tries to get a divorce, while hiding the large sums of cash she stole before leaving him. Conveniently, she has a very wealthy friend who loans her a palatial home in Colorado. In this small town she meets Dev, who she thinks runs an organic food mart, but we later find out he wears many other hats. They start with a flirtation and it builds into a slow burn relationship.
Although the relationship between Shea and Dev is interesting, it was a little too slow moving for me. Plus, all the back and forth or will they or won’t they got on my nerves. My main issue was the amount of errors and confusion in the third section of the book. There were spelling errors, wrong word and misuse of names. Shea has two names, because she is on the run. Also, one of her friends and her husband have names that both start with K, and the author kept using the wrong one which made it confusing. The ending was a little abrupt considering the buildup of the story.
The storyline was well written and the well defined characters made this book a very enjoyable read! I look forward to reading more from this author!
On the “lam”
What a delightful premise for a book about a NY food critic. Shea is hiding away in the small mountain town of Sapling, Colorado. Who is she hiding from? Her filthy rich, controlling husband, Keenan is who. A 6000 sq ft mountain mansion is certainly not somewhere a normal person would consider a “hideout”. Add to the mansion the fact that she has bundles of cash just lying around. The hero aka love interest Dev was involved in all kinds of jobs around town as well as his daily exercise. There are some “normal” characters that keep the book “real” and offer a different perspective on how things really are. Great characters, interesting story, and creative writing make this a wonderful “must read”.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
I enjoyed this book, but I’m not sure if it was for the reasons I was supposed to. What really drew me into this book was the mystery, the suspense, the psychological thrill factor. Shea and Dev are good characters. They’re complex and vulnerable with unique strengths. They’re well-written and so very human. And, while I cheered for their happily ever after, I just wasn’t as invested in their romance as I was with solving the vandalism and seeing the town come out the winner. I’ve got to admit, I was also pretty invested in seeing her soon-to-be-ex get what was coming to him too.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book through Hidden Gems Books.
Food critic on the lam finds a handsome grocer and a town to love
3.5stars
This second book in the Hot in the Kitchen series had a homey, everybody knows (or wants to know) your name vibe, a tentative romance, a heroine with a messy past and some odd mishaps threatening the town’s future. There’s a twist at the end that I did not see coming and even an extended bit of intimacy, but, for the most part, this story is not about the steam. The food part of the story made me wonder if this couple was really compatible; a foodie and a health fanatic who chooses all his food and drink according to its health benefits just does not say match made in heaven to me!
The plot and subplots were fine but I just never developed any connection with the lead characters. Heroine Shea (if it’s Tuesday, that’s the name she goes by!) was a writer in hiding from her former fans and domineering almost-former husband but never seemed to make any progress on her screenplay(?). Hero Dev was the Man of 1000 Hats; are there more than 24 hours in the day in this Colorado town (because he really needs alot more if he wants to include sleep and exercise in his daily routine!)? Some of the supporting characters, like hero Dev’s foster mother Evie and her beloved, departed Pete were more salt of the earth and easy to relate to.
I wish the author had chosen less similar names for Kendrick, the heroine’s wealthy friend, and Keenan, the estranged husband. It was just too easy to confuse the two.
If I only had time to read one and had to choose between this book and The Secret Ingredient, I would go for The Secret Ingredient. Both are standalone stories.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review and the opinions expressed are my own.