Customer Reviews

Delicious (Aphrodisia)

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

 

 

Gabe Bankovic couldn't forget the one night stand he had with a total stranger. Imagine his suprise to find that his mystery woman had hired him to guard her body after receiving disturbing fan mail. Chef Reggie Caldwell hosts the very popular cooking show Simply Delicious.

As the couple get reacquainted, they fall for each other, but first there remains a stalker to take care of.

This story was very slow to get started, and I was close to tossing it, but was glad I hung in there because once the story got past all the introduction and backgroud information (which is very lengthy), it actually turned out to be a pretty good story.

Okay, I'll admit to being a tad biased--I read this book a dozen times before it was published. But just today, I picked up the paperback book and thought, "Oh, I'll just skim the first page, and then put it on my bookshelf," and I COULD NOT STOP READING!!! I was laughing so hard--Jami is such a witty, funny writer. And the sex scenes leave my breathless every time. I am 100% positive that anyone who picks this book up will adore it. And aren't you lucky--Jami Alden has five more books coming out in the next year. A whole treasure trove of fantastic books.

This is a very well done contemporary romantic suspense novel set in beautiful San Francisco by someone who knows the City well. The characters are funny, interesting and are well developed. Their motives are explained and logical and the love stories (two!)are just dandy. Lovely sensuality and emotion between couples you like and want to be happy. Finally, a great complicated mystery with a fine hidden villian
to give just a touch of tension. The one negative note is that the cover is very salacious and did get me negative male attention when I was reading it while waiting. Bookcovers might be in order!

Chef Reggie Caldwell hosts the extremely popular Simply Delicious with Reggie Caldwell show on the Cuisine Network and is working on a cookbook. However, though on top of the world, Reggie receives explicit letters and pictures of genitals. Her sister Natalie persuades her to take it seriously so they go to the nearest San Francisco Police Department station where Sergeant Mulvaney, though a fan, admits the SFPD can do nothing for her.

Reggie hires a bodyguard, Gabe Bankovic, whom she shared a fabulous night of sex with in Hawaii that neither has forgotten. As they reacquaint themselves to one another's delicious body, they fall in love, but first there remains a stalker angered by her giving away her cherry pie to Gabe, who worries he may be to distracted with the main course to insure the adversary receives his just dessert.

Jani Alden writes a torrid erotic romantic suspense that hooks the audience because fans will care what happens to Reggie (and by whom). Reggie is a wonderful brave protagonist who does her thing; for instance simply becoming a chef took courage as that vocation alienates her mother the Boston lawyer. Gabe is her perfect partner in and out of bed as he knows he is willing to risk his life to keep his beloved safe from her unknown stalker. The audience will root for this couple enjoying delicious dining at home.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoyed reading about all characters except Natalie. Hot and well done sex scenes. My problems were with the plot, which used my pet peeve of creating conflict through vague communication and inaccurate assumptions. In addition, the author did not make Gabe's actions realistic and believable. Some examples follow.

CAUTION SPOILERS:

1. Gabe was a bodyguard for movie star Marly. He slept with her. A photographer was obnoxious, and Gabe hit the photographer. Gabe lost his job and was sued. Marly lied and made it look like Gabe's fault. Then, Gabe worked as a bodyguard for Reggie. He and Reggie were desperately in lust with each other, but he acted cold and indifferent to her, because he didn't want a repeat of the Marly disaster. The first half of the book was about Gabe and Reggie wanting each other but it didn't happen because Gabe feared being involved with a client. I didn't buy it. He should have known that Reggie was different from Marly. Reggie, of course, felt rejected and undesirable.

2. After Gabe and Reggie stated having a relationship and fell in love with each other, Gabe's associate told him that the stalker's emails to Reggie came from Reggie's own computer. Instead of considering that the stalker was going into her home, which was the truth, Gabe believed Reggie had lied and made up the whole "stalker thing" for publicity. Therefore, Gabe broke up with Reggie. Gabe was in the security business and should not have jumped to erroneous conclusions based on circumstantial evidence. I call this incompetence, lack of logic and poor job performance on the part of Gabe.

3. I hated the fact that Reggie employed her incompetent sister Natalie as an assistant. Natalie messed up the majority of her responsibilities on the job, including violating security rules. Because of Natalie's incompetence, the stalker learned the security code for Reggie's home and Reggie's computer password. Reggie should have just given money to Natalie as gifts and hired someone competent to work for her.

4. One of the vague communication problems happened with both Reggie and Natalie. When they first had sex with a lover, each one snuck away the next morning without saying anything because they believed the guy wouldn't want them around. They were both wrong. A rational person at leasts tests the water before fleeing. They should have said something, and after hearing the response, then they could then quickly leave if appropriate. I didn't like the conflict created by that vague and inaccurate assumption.

Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: ten. Setting: current day San Francisco area with some traveling to other U.S. cities. Genre: contemporary romance (with a little suspense).

I smiled from page one to The End. Ms. Aldens' voice is fresh, and sassy. I thoroughly enjoyed the sexy relationship between the two protags, but what was equally enjoyable to me was the relationship between Reggie and her sister.
I also enjoyed how Ms. Alden gave her characters real issues.

I found this book sexy and emotional. The attraction between Reggie and Gabe is depicted well in the beginning of the book and only gets better as the story progresses. However, what I liked most about the book is the dramatic ending. I loved LOVED how the suspense comes in when we find out who the real stalker is, and feels Gabe's pain because he didn't believe in Reggie. She suffers for his mistake. The last chapter is romantic and shows the dept of feelings between the two main characters. That, combined with the sexy scenes, make this one a keeper!

I really enjoyed this book. It was so intriguing I finished in one sittting! I love the way the author combined the erotic with suspense. This is definitely someone to watch. I can't wait for her next novel!

Reggie is a star on a popular cooking show who begins to get disturbing letters from a fan. Her sister decides Reggie needs professional security help when the fan goes a little too far and hires a man who turns out to be a past one-night-stand of Reggie's. You get where this is going...

There isn't any real heat or chemistry between Reggie and Gabe, although the author tries to make it seem this way through the usual "sensual dialogue", but you just can't feel it. Also, Reggie is described as the all-american, girl next door, brown eyed, brown haired, and very talkative tv cooking personality (Umm, Rachel Ray?!), and being that I'm not a huge fan of Ray's, I didn't like the main character. But, if you are a fan, to each his/her own.

This book was just okay for me. Jami Alden is a great writer, her books are guaranteed to keep you turning the pages. She is one of the best "romantica" authors I've read, so this is why I bought this book. I don't recommend buying it, maybe just a read? If this is your first Alden book, pick another to read first.


Language: Explicit
Love Scenes: 5+
Romance/Heat Factor Between Two Main Characters: Lukewarm (at best)
Overall Rating: 3 Stars