Photographer Kay Turner is dealt a double whammy when she flies home for her grandmother’s funeral to find her boyfriend with another woman. Now with two losses to mourn, she retreats to her newly inherited beach house to clear her head.
Everything at the beach is familiar: the sounds of the ocean, the scent of her grandmother’s perfume—and the irresistible smile of James Margolis. The man Kay spent her adolescence pining for is every bit as charming as she remembers.
James always thought of Kay as “a nice kid”, but he feels something very different for the woman she’s become. Especially when he asks if she’d be willing to part with some of her grandmother’s recipes for his new restaurant—and they wind up sharing much more than culinary secrets.
But as their relationship deepens, Kay finds herself caught between the demands of her dream career as a travel photographer, and a chance for happiness with the one man she’s wanted for a lifetime.
Warning: This foodie romance contains sensual scone baking, a heroine who discovers one bad apple hasn’t spoiled her appetite, and a delicious hero you can’t help but crave. Blend well, serve hot.
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Foodie Romance? I'm in! Because I love me some romance and you can tell by my big fat ass that I love me some food.
Kay is a photographer who spends most of her time away from home traveling to exotic locales for work. She is on location in Greece when she gets the call that her beloved Grandmother has passed away. When she gets home, she finds that her boyfriend had been cheating on her while she goes away.
She heads back to the beach house where she stayed with her grandmother and runs into James Margolis. Six years older than she is, he was the guy she had a crush on as a teenager. She is relieved to find he has grown into a very good looking man.
James is super swoon worthy and as a bonus, he cooks! James is sweet, a perfect gentleman and the kind of guy you dream about sharing pizza flavored kisses with. He is seriously perfect. He's the kind of guy you would want to bring home to mama. Or at least show her your Kindle and make her read about him.
James is opening a restaurant at the beach and hopes that Kay will share her grandmother's famous recipes with him. They start spending time together and sparks fly. Obviously, a man in an apron is very sexy.
Kay is enjoying her time off, spending it with people she loves and loves being in a familiar place. Things with James are going perfectly. But a part of her is missing her work. Her photography is her passion and she begins to miss it. When an offer of a lifetime comes knocking at her door, Kay's got a pretty hefty decision she has to make.
Kay loves what she does but knows that she will be away more than she is home. Can she ask James to stay wait for her while she is off traveling the world?
James has worked his ass off to get this restaurant off the ground. He promised himself that nothing would distract him from his goal. He knows if he lets Kay go that he will miss her, but he wonders if maybe that it's the best thing for him and the restaurant.
Anyone that knows me and what I read, knows that I love the angst filled twisted stories. Sometimes I wonder if I've fallen too far into the dark side that sweet, romantic books don't do it for me anymore.
I was a little worried that I've become too jaded to find pleasure in the sweet stories. I was very happy to find that I read this book in one sitting and I couldn't put it down. No angst, no violence and no bad boy was needed to keep my attention.
What you have here is a sweet, lighthearted and funny story that was a breath of fresh air for me. If you're looking for a book that will have you Awwww-ing the entire time and giving you the sweet tingles in your tummy, this is the book for you.
Source: ARC provided by author for honest review
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: May 21, 2013
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
About the Author:
Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies and fictional British men. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking extravagant meals and serving them to family and friends, who never seem to mind the excessive quantities she tends to prepare. She attributes her ability to multitask to the fact that she rarely sleeps, which gives her more hours every day. Prior to deciding to write full time Karen worked as a hand drawn animator, a clinical therapist, and held various food-related jobs ranging from waitress to specialty cake maker. Planning elaborate parties and fundraisers takes up what's left of her time and sanity.
Karen has always been fascinated by the way people relate to one another so she favors books and movies that feature richly detailed characters and their relationships. In her own writing she likes to explore the dynamics between characters and has a tendency to craft romantic tales filled with sarcasm and sexy details. Although she writes in three genres (erotic romance, contemporary romance and women's fiction) all of her stories are love stories with happily ever after endings.
Karen has published several erotic romance novels with Ellora's Cave including two award winning stories: Always You (published September 2011, First Place Winner of the RWA Passionate Plume Award - 2012)and Marry Me (published June 2012, First Place Winner in the NEC-RWA Bean Pot Reader's Choice Award - 2013).
Her works of women's fiction, Meant To Be, and its sequel, Holding On, (published by Turquoise Morning Press in August and November 2012, respectively) both made multiple Best of 2012 lists and are rated as true gems and recommended reads.
Karen's latest release, Then, Again is a contemporary foodie romance published by Samhain Publishing.
To learn more about Karen and all her upcoming books you can visit her website karenstivali.com where she blogs original recipes, sassy commentary on The Bachelor, and tidbits about her journey in the writing world. Karen can also be found attempting witty banter on Twitter.
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Giveaways:
(1) Digital copy of Then, Again by Karen Stivali (ePub or Mobi). Open internationally. Enter by leaving a comment on this post with a way to contact you by May 30th.
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