Customer Reviews

The Chef's Choice (Silhouette Special Edition)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Compass Rose Inn in Maine is the setting for Kristen Hardy's The Chef's Choice. It's the kind of place, and The Chef's Choice is the kind of book, that makes you just want to snuggle down in the covers and read the afternoon away.

Cady is the daughter of the Inn's owners and Damon is the new chef. He's intense, and a bit tempermental; she's a green thumb landscaper/gardener. Both Cady and Damon are searching for home and find it in each other.

I can't boil water, but the food scenes make me want to grab my guy and run to the kitchen. The family is fun and engaging, too.

Don't miss this one.

If you have read any of my reviews, you know I subtract a star for series stuff. But this one, I didn't. It is a series set up, but that is not apparent from the writing. There are no real open plot lines (though one character is obviously, painfully single and another is obviously, painfully married and won't stay that way long).

The story takes place in Maine, which always makes me think Stephen King. Not so much this time :). Cady's family owns a hotel resort that does ok, but they want it to do better. They hire Damon , an uber chef with an attitude (think chef Gordon Ramsay), to bring some attention to their fantastic restaurant. Cady is the groundskeeper / gardener. He has to go to her to get the stuff for his recipe.

Insert sexual/food cliches all over the place.

This book made me very hungry; the author is very certainly a chef. The characters are very strong - they have strengths and flaws and they grow with each other. There is very believable angst and romance, and the timing is not too rushed (as it often is in these small romances). There are also good side stories that fill out the main story - her parents run the inn, and her dad is getting older. Scenes that address this are quite poignant and well written.

All in all a good read. I will read the rest of the series when they come out.

(*)>

I plan on reading as many books by Kristin Hardy as I can find. This book is way, way above the average series. The likable characters are well developed; the writing is great as well.