'Just One Taste' Recipe for Love #3 by Louisa EDWARDS

From the BLURB:

Bad-boy chef Wes Murphy is dreading his final-semester cooking class—Food Chemistry 101—until he meets the new substitute teacher. Dr. Rosemary Wilkins is a feast for the eyes, though her approach to food is strictly academic. So Wes decides to rattle her Bunsen burner by asking for her hands-on advice—on aphrodisiacs…

Rosemary is a little wary about working with Wes, whose casual flirtations make her hot under the collar. But once they begin testing the love-enhancing power of chocolate, oysters, and strawberries, it becomes scientifically evident that the brainy science nerd and the boyish chef have some major chemistry together—and it’s delicious…

Wes Murphy spent his formative childhood years grifting and conning with his Pops. They were a bunko team – swindling to get by and make a buck. But that all changed when one con too many landed Wes in a halfway home, where he discovered and nurtured his love of cooking.

Years later and Wes is making good on his talents, studying at the acclaimed Academy of Culinary Arts. He’s in his second-to-last rotation, with high hopes of gaining an internship at Adam Temple’s infamous Market restaurant in NYC. The only thing standing in Wes’s way is a little chemistry class, and a much sought after passing grade. If Wes doesn’t pass chemistry 101, he doesn’t get his dream placement. But when the geekishly adorable Dr. Rosemary Wilkins takes over the class halfway through the semester, Wes thinks he has found a way to gain extraordinary new insights into the art of chemistry . . .

Rosemary Wilkins was a child prodigy. The daughter of an infamous novelist and respected lecturer, Rosemary was bound for greatness. But being a Mensa member isn’t as fulfilling as some may believe. Rosemary has felt used and flaunted her entire life. It seems everybody wants her genius, not her. And she’s not entirely sure that her new student, Wes Murphy, is any different. All this talk about an aphrodisiac science experiment is all well and good, but does he want the grade or the woman handing them out?

‘Just One Taste’ is the third book in Louisa Edward’s ridiculously delicious ‘Recipe for Love’ contemporary romance series.

We first met Wes Murphy back in second book ‘On the Steamy Side’. Wes was introduced as the new Market intern (after the last one went bonkers!) and he came with a shady back-story about an illicit student-teacher romance and a broken heart pining for him back at culinary academy. In ‘Just one Taste’, Edwards backtracks and gives fans the full explanation to Wes’s back-story . . . and boy, is it good!

Wes falls for his chemistry teacher, Dr. Rosemary Wilkins. Rosemary is actually at the academy conducting research for a scientific journal she’s writing, and her presence is a real coup for ACA since she is so infamous in the science world. Rosemary was my favourite thing about this book. She is adorkable – and I feel the best way to describe her is to say she’s just like Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler from ‘Big Bang Theory’ (but blonder, and with a pert ass). Seriously, she wears Wookie and Browncoats t-shirts (I loved her the moment she revealed herself to be a ‘Firefly’ fan!). Rosemary doesn’t say “For God’s sake!” she says “For Buffy’s sake!”. I found my girl-crush cemented after Rosemary awakens from a particular sex dream about Wes and role-play. . .

With a sigh, Rosemary opened her eyes and blinked sleepily into the darkness, glad there was no one there to witness her skin glowing bright red with embarrassment. Her blush felt hot enough to set off radioactivity alerts.

“Hi,” she said to the featureless black of her room. “My name is Dr. Rosemary Wilkins, and I have Star Trek sex dreams.”

Wes, by contrast, is a saucy delight. He’s all tan and sinewy, with a smirk to die for. I definitely got the reformed bad-boy vibe from him . . . but even though Wes and Rosemary are polar opposites, it was never hard to believe that Wes would fall for her and vice-versa. Their research into aphrodisiacs aside, these two just fit. Rosemary needs to lighten up, and Wes needs someone to believe in him. These two were precious, and I loved them!

If I had any problems with this book it has to be the rather convoluted story about Wes being an ex con-man. Edwards sets this story up to be the big obstacle for Wes and Rosemary and for a little while you hold your breath expecting Wes to fall into his old, scheming ways. But this story never felt fully fleshed-out, and it just seemed a little too tangled and frayed to pose as a real, pivotal hurdle for the romance . . . which, incidentally, meant there wasn’t all that much tension in the relationship, no ‘will-they-or-won’t-they’ juiciness.

One of the things I L-O-V-E about the ‘Recipe for Love’ series is the ongoing story of Jess and Frankie. Frankie is Market’s sous-chef, and Jess is a part-time waiter at the restaurant. Frankie is Jess’s first boyfriend since coming out to his sister and being honest with himself. They got together in ‘Can’t Stand the Heat’, but hit a few major bumps in ‘On the Steamy Side’. I love Frankie and Jess together, so I had my heart in my throat regarding their broken relationship in ‘Taste’ (seriously, they are the Qhuay of the ‘Recipe for Love’ series!). I love (and appreciate) that Edwards offers Jess and Frankie’s romance as the one continuous side-story of the series. It means that fans can get really invested in their story, and caught up in the melodrama. I don’t want to give anything away about the status of their romance in this third book, but I will say I look forward to where they go from here . . .

Edwards’s writing is a sumptuous delight. I love just how committed she is to her series theme – everything begins and ends with the food, the restaurant atmosphere and the hectic cooking that goes on in the kitchen. Edwards remains true to her theme in every aspect of the novel. It’s very subtle, and never over-cooked, but if you look for it you can read just how much Edwards has imbued her series with flavour . . . whether she’s using a food simile to describe someone’s emotion, or infusing a romantic declaration with food parallels;

Drawn to her like butter melting toward the hottest spot in the pan, Wes knelt up and shuffled around the blankets until he was right there, next to her, above her, sharing the same air with their quickening breaths. “I checked to make sure not a single ingredient has ever been classified by myth, legend, old wives, or science, as an aphrodisiac.”

“And why did you care about that?” A slick pink tongue darted out to wet her plump bottom lip, leaving it shiny and tempting as hell.

Wes nearly groaned. “Because,” he panted, sliding one hand around her back and lowering her gently down to the blanket, “when I kiss you, I don’t want there to be any confusion about why you kiss me back.”

I have said it once and I’ll say it again; the setting of an infamous NYC restaurant is genius for a contemporary romance series! Edward’s has given herself boundless opportunities to write about juicy relationships and smouldering hook-ups. Forget hot-under-the-collar, it’s what’s heating up in the kitchen that counts!

4/5

Recipe For Love #4

August 2nd 2011

'On the Steamy Side' by Recipe for Love #2 Louisa EDWARDS

From the BLURB:

When Lilah Jane Tunkle fled her dull life in Virginia for the bright lights of New York City, she didn't expect to wind up a nanny to a gorgeous celebrity chef's ten-year-old son. Working for the delectable Devon Sparks is a sure-fire recipe for disaster, especially after Lilah gets a tantalizing taste of his perfectly seasoned kisses .

Devon's not sure he can handle one more surprise ingredient in his life - he quit his popular TV show, his culinary reputation is on the line, and now the son he barely knows is back for seconds. Lilah's Southern sass is supposed to keep the boy in line, but soon enough she's teaching Devon a thing or two about homespun food and turning up the heat.

This is the second book in Louisa Edward’s ‘A Recipe for Love’ series. The first book was 'Can't Stand the Heat'.

I loved this book. Straight-up, pure and simple – I loved it!

The characters are so much fun in this second installment. Devon Sparks is a celebrity chef –a Gordon Ramsay type reality-TV chef snob – except that Devon Sparks isn’t British, he’s got Adonis-like good looks and he’s secretly lacking in self-confidence. My one complaint about Devon is that while other characters built him up to be an egocentric, womanizing blow-hard the moment he meets Lilah he’s sort of on his best behavior (showing glimpse of the famous ego) and I never really bought his ‘jerk’ reputation. When Devon’s ten-year-old son, Tucker, is unexpectedly left in his care, Devon’s world slowly unwinds and he is forced to examine his life. I genuinely enjoyed reading Devon’s struggles and his transformation – especially because it wasn’t easy, and the biggest obstacle to Devon’s changes was Devon himself. It always makes for fascinating development and reading when readers can see the flaws in a character that they cannot recognize in themselves.

I love, love, loved Lilah ‘Lolly’ Tunkle. She’s from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, and talks like it. At first I rolled my eyes at all her colloquialisms – i.e. “Oh my Stars and Stripes!” but then they started to help form this lovely, energetic, nurturing character and I found her speech-patterns to be one of my favorite things in the book. It helps that Charlaine Harris and Anna Paquin (on ‘True Blood’) gave me some sort of reference and idea about how such phrases would actually sound.

Lilah is an absolute hoot. She may act like a Southern-belle, but when push comes to shove she doesn’t mind going toe-to-toe with Devon or her little charge, Tucker. Some of my favorite scenes involved Lilah shedding her ‘Southern hospitality’ and showing her true feisty self. One such scene that had me laughing out loud was between Lilah and Devon’s son, Tucker when they first meet;

“Look, kiddo. Everything I know about nannying comes from movies like ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘The Sound of Music’ – I realize it’s your job to start out surly and untrusting and I’m supposed to win you over with my charm and warm heart and incomparable singing voice, but unfortunately for both of us, Tuck, I am so not Julie Andrews. So what do you say we skip that part and head straight for being buds?”

Tucker looked at her blankly. Dear sweet Lord in Heaven, was it possible the child didn’t know what she was talking about?

While she was struggling with the horror of a kid who didn’t know who Mary Poppins was, Tucker opened his mouth and dispelled any worries she’d had about his ability to speak.

“You talk weird, Lolly.”

His ability to speak politely, however, was still in question.

“I’m from the South,” Lilah said. “As I think I already mentioned.” She struggled for a moment against the hated nickname, then reluctantly added, “And that’s ‘Miss Lolly’ to you.”

Tucker stared at her challengingly. “Does everyone down there take so long to say stuff? You sound like the big chicken in the cartoons.”

Oh, he did not just compare her to Foghorn Leghorn.

The above except is also an example of Ms. Edward’s infectiously funny writing. I love the fact that at times she is quite aware of the fact that she is writing a ‘romance’, and she’ll become cleverly self-deprecating of the genre. It makes for an entertaining romance read when the author is clearly aware of her audience, and can sort of have an ‘in’ joke with them about the schmaltziness of the genre.

One thing I really loved about first book was the M/M subplot between sous chef, Frankie, and NYU student (and part-time waiter), Jess. Jess had just recently come out of the closet, and in ‘Can’t Stand the Heat’ he was experiencing his first love with Frankie. Jess is young and bright-eyed, about to start his arts degree in the fall. Frankie is British, in a punk band, smokes like a chimney and is a few years older than Jess. Frankie also has a less-than-savory romantic history, and Jess is his first *real* relationship.

They were so sweet in ‘Can’t Stand the Heat’, and I remember wishing that Jess and Frankie had had a bigger role in that first book. Well, Ms. Edwards clearly anticipated fans reaction to Frankie/Jess – because it becomes clear in ‘On the Steamy Side’ that their relationship and progress will be a constant in future ‘Recipe’ books. Whereas book #1’s protagonist, Adam, makes a small cameo in ‘Steamy’, his ladylove Miranda is only referred to. So I am really glad that Frankie/Jess didn’t get the same treatment – because in ‘Steamy’ Edwards delves deeper into their relationship and creates some future conflict for them. Sucks that there are speed-humps ahead, but *yay!* for Ms. Edwards intending them to be regular’s of the series!

One of the best things about the whole premise of the ‘Recipe for Love’ series is the setting – a trendy, busy up-scale New York restaurant. There’s so much room for drama, hook-up’s, break-up’s, gossip and bitchiness. Louisa Edwards beautifully captures all the mayhem and intrigue of the kitchens – but she also shows the camaraderie, the ‘family’ feel working in such a competitive and close environment creates.

I love this series, two-books in and I know that Ms. Edwards has me for the long haul. Book #3 is called ‘Just One Taste’ and comes out August 31st this year. I can’t wait!

5/5

Coming 31 August 2010

'Can't stand the Heat' Recipe for Love #1 by Louisa EDWARDS

From the BLURB:

For sharp-tongued food critic Miranda Wake, the chance to spend a month in Adam Temple’s kitchen to write an exposé is a journalistic dream come true. Surely Miranda can find a way to cut the hotshot chef down to size once she learns what really goes on at his trendy Manhattan restaurant. But she never expected Adam to find out her most embarrassing secret: she has no idea how to cook.

Adam’s not about to have his reputation burned by a critic who doesn’t even know the difference between poaching and paring. He’ll just have to give the tempting redhead a few private lessons of his own—teaching her what it means to cook with passion…and doing more with his hands than simply preparing sumptuous food.

This is Louisa Edward’s first book, and the debut in her ‘A Recipe for Love’ series.

I really liked this book. I was a bit hesitant at first, because the premise sounded a little too ‘romantic comedy’ sickly-sweet… but I was pleasantly surprised.

Miranda Wake is not a totally-together woman. She may appear to be a suave New York food critic, but underneath her biting reviews and killer red stilettos is a woman trying to kick-start her lukewarm writing career and deal with her baby brother’s emotional withdrawal. I really liked the two sides to her character – the ‘front’ she shows the outside world, and the slow reveal to her deeper emotions and shortcomings that readers, and Adam, begin to uncover.

To be honest, ‘Can’t Stand the Heat’ could have been too cloyingly sweet and a bad rom-com schtick if not for the second storyline. As well as Miranda & Adam’s romance, Edwards writes about Miranda’s 22-year-old brother, Jess, who is coming to terms with his homosexuality and burgeoning feelings for sous chef, Frankie. Jess has thrown in his scholarship and returned to NYC to live with Miranda after a disastrous ‘outing’ to his University friends. He is coming to terms with his sexuality while navigating a flirtation with serial-dater, Frankie, all while trying to keep everything secret from Miranda.

I really loved the Jess/Frankie storyline, probably more than I liked Miranda/Adam. I probably preferred Jess’s story because he made such personal progress and took so many chances in his romance. Plus he and Frankie were super cute and hot.

That being said, Miranda and Adam are just as steamy and delicious. Edwards knows how to write her way around a smutty scene;

Hot damn, the girl had a mouth made for sin. That cupid’s bow shape all puffy and kiss-swollen, rubbed redder than usual from his own mouth. The taste of her was like nothing he’d ever encountered. If he could separate out the flavors and figure a way to re-create it, he’d have the hottest dessert the world had ever seen.

My one complaint is to do with the book’s ending. I was thinking that I’d dodged a bullet and completely avoided reading a cheesy rom-com – but the ending is a little too unbelievable and tacky – very over the top. But that is my one complaint.

I don’t know how many books Louisa Edwards has in store for her ‘A Recipe For Love’ series, but there is lots of potential in a series about the goings on of NYC restaurants. I have never worked in the food industry myself – but plenty of my friends and family have worked as waiters/waitresses, bartenders and bouncers – and I was surprised and delighted at how well Edwards knows the in’s and out’s of the behind-the-scenes of restaurants. Plenty of hook-up’s, break-up’s and cattiness to tide the series over.

I will definitely be reading the second installment ‘On the Steamy Side’, released March 1st this year – and hope that Edwards is contracted for more books.

3.5/5

'On the Steamy Side'

Release Date: March 1, 2010