Publisher:
Dreamspinner
Press
Published: May 9, 2014
ISBN: 978 1 62798 836 0
Genre: Contemporary Romance M/M
Book
Format: E-book
Obtained
via: Publisher
Reviewed
by: Helena Stone, helenastone63@gmail.com
Rating:
3.5
Ollie
D’Angelo’s life is turned upside down over the course of only a few days. It
starts when the boyfriend he wanted to present with a ring on their one year anniversary
tells him he’s fallen for somebody else and only appears to get worse when he
loses his job as well. On his own in an unfurnished apartment Ollie tries to
work out what he wants to do with his life now that the universe has presented
him with an apparently blank slate. It takes him a little while but he once he
realises that he could make a living through his big passion cooking, he’s
found his path.
Hank
Mellinger’s life has never been easy and hit rock bottom when a meth addiction
landed him in prison. Out in the world again he’s clean and learning to cook in
a shelter. In cooking he finds something he can get excited about and he can
see tiny glimpses of hope as far as his future is concerned when he finds
himself stranded with his four year old niece.
When
Ollie catches Hank breaking into his car he should call the cops. Instead he
brings the younger man into his house and feeds him while listening to his
story. Before he knows what he’s doing Ollie has not only fed both Hank and his
niece but he’s also offered Hank a job in his quickly growing catering
business.
Life
for both men is looking up but surprises still lie in wait. They may share a
love of food, but could they also share a love for each other?
This was a sweet love story and that was both its
selling point and its weakness. For me this book was a bit too sweet, Ollie a
bit too nice and trusting, Hank a bit too comfortable despite his shitty past
and solutions to problems a bit too easily achieved.
This is going to sound funny from somebody who up
until recently claimed not to like angst, but I really feel this book could
have done with more of it. Ollie seemed to suffer very little after the
boyfriend he’d bought a ring for breaks up with him. Losing his job just a day
later doesn’t seem to bother him either. By the same token, while we get the
details of Hank’s horrible past, I never really felt his pain or the trouble he
might still be having dealing with it. And when tragedy does strike it doesn’t
come as a surprise and, once again, seems to be accepted by the characters
almost before the reader realises what exactly has happened. For me the shifts
from pain to happiness were too abrupt. A chapter filled with inner turmoil
would be followed with a chapter filled with bliss. It was too black and white,
the changes in feelings too extreme. Shouldn’t doubts linger, pain ease only
slowly and solutions come gradually?
I constantly found myself wanting to like the
story more than I actually did. The storyline felt like something that should
work perfectly for me and yet it didn’t, which made this a somewhat frustrating
reading experience.
I did like the obvious love of food and its
preparation in this book. Every chapter starts with a recipe and every single
one of them was enticing and at least one or two may have to be tried out at
some point in the future. Having said that, I almost wish I had a paper copy of
this book available. On my Kindle the recipes seemed to take up a lot of – dare
I say it, too much - room. I’ve got a feeling though it wouldn’t feel that way
if the pages had been bigger.
Even now, after I’ve finished the book and have
written most of my review I still find myself wanting to say I liked the story
more than I actually did. The characters managed to charm me, the story line
had an almost fairytale-like quality and it was a smooth read. If I had to describe this book in one
sentence I’d say this was a feel good book that could and should have been a
feel great book.
This is an objective review
and not an endorsement of this book.
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