Raspberry Crush [Paperback]

Jill Winters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2004

Billy Cabot has finally met someone handsome, charming, and interested. A guy she can see a future with. Then her ex, Seth Lannigan, has to screw everything up by walking into the bakery where she works, looking yummier than anything in the display cases.

Now, with her mother pestering her about her career, her divorced sister fuming about men, and her psycho-neighbor giving her the deep-freeze, Billy must also battle her sizzling attraction to Seth-before he breaks her heart again. But in the meantime, it would be harmless to join him in a little murder investigation, wouldn't it?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jill Winters discovered her love for writing fiction while she was procrastinating on her master's thesis in Boston's many bookstores and coffee shops. A member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, she graduated summa cum laude from Boston College. She has taught women's studies and published in Stylus, Boston College's literary magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade (September 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451212142
• ISBN-13: 978-0451212146
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,670,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jill Winters is a summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Boston College. She has published five novels with Penguin Group, which have been featured on Barnes & Noble's Bestseller Lists and Booksense's Top Ten. Her debut novel, Plum Girl, was a finalist for the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence.

Jill also contributed essays to several anthologies, including Flirting with Pride & Prejudice, Coffee At Luke's, and House Unauthorized. Her essay "The Secret Life of Mary" was selected for The Best of Smart Pop (2005). Her sixth novel, THE UNPRINTABLE BIG CLOCK CHRONICLE, which is the first in a new mystery series, has just been released! Currently at work on the second book in the series, Jill can be reached through her website: www.jillwinters.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quirky and sensuous romantic comedy, August 8, 2006

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raspberry Crush (Paperback)

A former web designer axed in her prime by a downsizing, Billy now makes her living as a cake decorator at a fancy Boston bakery. When she is assigned the task of decorating the cakes for Churchill's annual town celebration, memories of her lost love Seth Lanigan surface, since he is from the Churchill.

Seth left Billy behind four years earlier to take a job in Seattle. He's back at his mother's house fixing it up in preparation to sell while she is out of town. When he drops in at the bakery to check on the cake order, he runs into Billy and immediately feels old desires kick in. Faster than you can say salmonella poisoning, a patron drops dead and Billy's overactive imagination thinks it was deliberate. As she drags Seth into amateur sleuthing, passion rides to the surface, and has Billy running scared since she does not want to be twice burned by Seth.

Winters has penned a witty, sensuous, funny, and endearing story loaded with chemistry and her trademark quirky secondary characters.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sweet contemporary romance, September 7, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raspberry Crush (Paperback)

Six months ago, web designer Billy Cabot was downsized because her company Net Circle was trying to avoid bankruptcy. Four months later, she accepts work decorating cakes at Boston's Bella Donna Bakery. Currently she is working on the cakes for Churchill, Massachusetts annual jubilee. Churchill has bitter memories as the hometown of Seth Lanigan, who was her boyfriend for a few months four years ago before he accepted a job at Mackind Associates Consultants in Seattle.

While his mother is in Dublin, Seth is in town for a few weeks fixing up his mom's homes so she can sell it. As a favor he goes to Bella Donna Bakery to see how the cakes are coming. He and Billy see each other and he wants to renew what they had. When a newcomer rude fisherman Ted Schneider dies from an allergic reaction, Billy thinks a homicide occurred while everyone else says no way; she investigates with Seth's help and gets no where as to the so-called crime, but somewhere with her beloved Seth. However, Billy fears a second time around because her heart has not recovered from the first time he left her behind.

RASPBERRY CRUSH is a sweet contemporary romance with a bit of an amateur sleuth mystery starring two nice protagonists and a fine support cast, mostly those working at the bakery. The story line works because of the chemistry between Billy and Seth who have a second opportunity at fulfilling what was left incomplete if she takes a chance. Billy's bungling investigation adds the icing to a delightful contemporary tale.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, FUN romance-mystery with a great twist at the end!, January 18, 2012

By 

missy761 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raspberry Crush (Kindle Edition)

I am really enjoying my discovery of Jill Winters books! I started with The Unprintable Big Clock Chronicle and am working my way backwards. So far Raspberry Crush might very well be my favorite! Though I'm not a romance reader per se, I loved the chemistry in this book between Billy and her ex-boyfriend, Seth, and just how likable both leads were. The setting and mystery were thoroughly entertaining as well and without giving anything away, I will say that I did not see the twist and resolution at the end coming! There were a few different aspects to the mystery, which made it more interesting than a straightforward sub-plot that you might read in other books. This was a rare case where I was genuinely absorbed in BOTH the story of Billy and Seth rekindling their romance that had been cut too short years ago, and the mysterious life and death of a fisherman who once dated Billy's aunt and has now resurfaced in a bizarre set of circumstances... Like I said, I don't want to give too much away, but I'll say that it was a fantastic read! (Note: this book is appropriate for an adult audience, as there are several steamy scenes).