GRR Reviews The Inn at Willa Bay by Nicole Ellis

Zoe thought as the assistant event planner for a wedding resort in Willa Bay, she would inherit the event planner position when the existing one retired. Instead, her boss handed the position to his son-in-law who had never worked in the industry. Then she learned that her landlord Celia not only needed a hospital stay, she's also in danger of losing the entire place, a former inn, and leaving Zoe with no home. // Her best friend Meg had left a prestigious sous chef job to come home to her mother being treated for cancer, and work in a kitchen with no chance of advancement. When a friend's old rival returned to town, threatening her routine for the kitchen, her timetable for departure may be moved up...  // Her other best friend Cassie did not expect to be a single mother after marrying the love of her life, only to divorce him 10 years later to raise an autistic child alone. She was barely getting by, until an old rival returned to town... and about to destroy her side gig as a cake baker/decorator. // Shawn had just restored a house and flipped it for profit when he got a phone call from across the country from a mystery woman. Who is Celia? Why did Celia have him as an emergency contact? And who is this Zoe that called her? His curiosity will lead him to Willa Bay... // These people are about to meet and change each other's lives... 

As a series starter, this is actually well plotted so everything ties together. It does sound a bit scattered at the beginning, as if all the separate threads don't quite fit together, but they do. My main problem is the final solution, which I will not spoil, is a bit deus ex machina. And also the solution doesn't mean everybody gets HEA. We do have a couple more books, after all. The characters all are reasonable. I feel the connection between Shawn and Zoe was a bit rushed. The rivalry and the unreasonableness of "bad boss" and how the various characters just kowtowed instead of engaging in some malicious compliance just feel... unsatisfying. Also, this being a series, there's no karma in this particular book, which may leave some readers miffed. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews If You Love Me by Ciara Knight

 Drew has a job: get the town to sign off on the revitalization plan for his boss. He was definitely not ready to be ensnared in small-town politics involving crazy elders and a mayor playing him like a chess piece. And he definitely was not ready for Carissa, the town's best baker... // Carissa is a small town girl but the pain from losing who she thought was her forever man to who she thought was one of her best friends still lingers. Except that "friend" is back in town and was determined to show up everyone else. // Drew wanted to know Carissa better, but Drew also wanted to advance his career. Are those two goals compatible? Or will Carissa feel betrayed after learning that Drew may not stay? 

As a series starter, the setup was pretty good as it introduced all of the cast while giving them different personalities, yet made Carissa the main character, and set up an "antagonist" as well. There is some sparks flying, so it's not too bad. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Take a Chance on Me by Becky Wade

Eli is an air force pilot who wanted to date the town baker Penelope. However, in their last meeting, he forgot to mention that he's due for a deployment to the Middle East soon and while they did have a good time right up to the point she found out, she's hardened her heart to all airmen, because they are all cocky bas****s who can't be trusted. She tried to trust one, only to be betrayed. Months later, he's back stateside, and he wants another chance, and helping his best friend's family, which happens to involve Penelope's sister, through a medical crisis after a difficult birth, is a perfect opportunity to convince Penelope that he may be the one for her... 

A novella at just under 100 pages, it actually contains a good amount of plot and some good back-and-forth between Eli and Penelope. 

4/5

GRR Reviews Keep Me At Christmas by Lucinda Whitney

Luciana Romano is just in Hudson Springs, New York, to work on the museum exhibit, as she's a fabric restoration specialist, and the exhibit is about the fabric and textile industry and products of the area. Meeting Jack DiLorenzo and his family is a bonus...  // Jack had to quit his plans when his father died and he took over as the head baker for the family cafe. Love was never in his plans. The snowstorm that stranded her for a few extra days was a bonus, but she's leaving soon... back home to Europe. // Can a long-distance relationship ever work?

Slow simmer romance of fish out of water and different worlds romance. 4/5

GRR Reviews Fierce Bryce by Natalie Ann

Bryce is a certified genius, but he prefers to teach, even if he has to deal with parents who think grades should be "flexible", and students who think blackmailing teachers is tolerable. But he refused to be used... which is why he thought his ideal match would be an intellectual equal. So why was his mind fixated on a blonde bombshell baker? // Peyton had gone all her life without anyone taking her seriously... because she's a blue-eyed blonde with a beach body. Having dyslexia doesn't help. Even her parents told her to use what she's got and she refused. Instead, she's operating a cafe and making simple food people love. She's nowhere NEAR Bryce's league, so why can't she forget about him?

VERY nicely done opposites attract trope story, with nice character arc for both. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Christmas Dreams and Santa Schemes by Barbara Lohr

Sarah is a recently widowed single mother and the bakery she runs is slightly behind in taxes. She's already working all the time and raising two sons but she's worn out and needs help. And the only one available is her brother-in-law Ryan, her husband's "loser" brother, already working full-time as a motorcycle mechanic across town, after a motorcycle accident did give him an epiphany. But Ryan also made a promise to his brother to take care of his Sarah in case anything happened to him. So every day, after washing the smell of motor oil off his hands, he learned to make lemon bars and chocolate cookies and more beside Sarah. There is a growing attraction, but both denied it.. despite Holiday magic...

A bit of "awwwww", it's basically mutual denial angst. The two kids are used sparingly though the "Santa's wish" was done right on the money. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Gambling with the Billionaire by Agnes Canestri

Billionaire Ryan returned to his home town to buy out and dismantle an old restaurant called Sapphire. The owner wanted to sell to fund his daughter's college plans. It should be a clear-cut and emotionless deal, except for the restaurant manager Bianca, and her love of oldies. Her passion had turned the aging taverna into the coolest jazz restaurant in town. She may just be trying to save her job, and Ryan may look a lot like Dean Martin, but Ryan hadn't done relationships and does not plan to start... ever. Not even Bianca spending four grand to win him at a bachelor auction would change his mind... but what about his heart?

Hmmm... characters are deeper than they first seem, but from the start Ryan is a conflicted man. He pretends he's an emotionless robot, but the fact that he will put himself on the auction block to help the local cause means he really *does* care, if he will just admit to himself. While Ryan has a character arc, Bianca doesn't seem to have one. 4/5

GRR Reviews Cooking with the Doc by Jennifer Youngblood and Craig Depew MD

Sam was the sole survivor of his unit from a suicide bomber attack at his field hospital in Afghanistan. He found a quaint small town called Clementine, Alabama, to just be a doctor in, hoping his emotional and physical scars will heal in time. // Harper runs the only restaurant in town and she dares say it's the best restaurant in a hundred miles. Life is perfect except for her nemesis, the real estate agent Pepper, who managed to steal her boyfriend. When Sam, the new town doc, was paraded about town by the mayor and had lunch at Harper's restaurant, Harper felt a connection she never had before. But she's wary of betrayal based on her own experiences, even as Sam wanted to woo her. But Pepper also has Sam in her sights...

Have a bit of a nitpick about the setup, as the suicide bomber attack at the hospital was described in detail. My problem with the setup was... the TOTAL LACK OF TRUST in the senior doctor (Sam), who managed to tackle the suicide bomber. Then someone thinking he went bonkers, wrestled him out of the way to the door, which obviously gave the bomber chance to "pull the trigger", but also why he survived the blast. NOBODY realized it was a setup?  Nobody trusted him that he knew what he was doing? Which only made it less believable when Sam later was unable to recognize an ambush (of a different sort) by Pepper. 4/5

GRR Reviws Wish Upon a Shell by Kay Corell

Reed was told to take a long vacation to deal with his grief, and in the first spur-of-the-moment decision, he booked a month stay at Belle Island, off the coast of Florida. And once there, it took him a few days to stop reaching for his phone or laptop. And that's also when he met Julie, owner of the Sweet Shoppe, who is cheery on the outside, but suffering from her own losses. They are attracted to each other, but Julie can't fall for someone who will walk away from her in a few weeks. or can she? When an outing turned into a medical emergency and caused Reed a painful flashback, will both of their hearts be broken?

While I like the town and the friends, and even Reed and Julie as characters, the plot was a bit clunky near the darkest hour and grand gesture. Without spoiling anything, let's just say the MMC decided it's ALL HIS FAULT and he had to leave her before he destroyed her. MEH. That's such a trope. And the grand gesture was a bit too easy and forgiveness a bit too fast. 4/5

GRR Reviews My Crazy (Sick) Love by Drica Pinotti

Amanda is a New York attorney with a dreaded affliction: hypochondria. She panics at every symptom, has the best doctors on speed dial, self-diagnoses herself with every affliction known to humankind and has a medicine cabinet that rivals a pharmacy. And she's about to turn 30. She has great friends, a stable job, and a supportive family that knows her "condition". Then Amanda met Brian, charismatic restaurant owner. As they get to know each other, will this love be the jolt she needed to cure her affliction?

It's just probably me, but this sense of humor just didn't work for me. All I sense is "drama queen" (unintentional). And Brian showed up late to the novel (we're like, 30 or 40%?)  so the book doesn't "feel" like a romance. 2.5/5

GRR Reviews Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd

Lexi has a degree in French, but no job to apply it to... Until she finally got one as front facing clerk at a French bakery, after a convo with the manager. Pay is barely tolerable, but she has her eyes on the assistant manager position. She's also interested in the manager/baker, who's French... and quite flirty... Or the young lawyer that comes over quite frequently... After she screwed up his order, and managed to save the day. But as Lexi goes through life, she has to make decisions... Even as life presents her multiple paths... and she will have to choose between safety... and adventure, and God will help her decide.

Overtly Christian without littering the book with Bible quotes, it's spiritual without going overboard with the Christian references. The actual recipes are a delight as well (Boyfriend Bait Beef Stroganoff, any one?)  But this isn't really a romance per se, but more of a coming of age story, about how Lexi finally found her calling, or at least, on her way to it. 5/5

GRR Reviews The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson

Vera, back from a year in Europe with a culinary degree, sunk her savings into a food truck. And the only place to operate it, with proper clientele, is also across a parking lot from a famous restaurant with Michelin-starred chef Killian Quinn. Vera had a VERY BAD experience with a chef (who was also her boyfriend, but he gaslighted her and physically abused her when she figured it out) so when Killian came by (to spy? not that a food truck is a competition with his restaurant) Vera can't put up with his holier-than-thou attitude. But as they settled into a grudging respect for each other, Vera's evil ex returned...

There is one thing about this that bothered me. I am reasonably sure that a food truck has no place to actually prep the food, and the actual prep had to be done in a proper industrial grade kitchen. Yet I don't recall seeing any mention of that in the book. And the shift from grudging respect to love was kinda... weird. Oh, and it was mentioned Killian has a beard, but I don't ever recall any sort of facial net was mentioned... 4/5

GRR Reviews to Have and To Hold by Kristi Rose

Lottie and Bill have been together forever (since elementary school), but only as platonic friends. Now Lottie's a pastry chef, and Bill is a pastor. And Lottie is tired of waiting for Bill to "get a clue". So when someone offered to sell her cupcakes to a much wider area, and have her move to the city, she has a decision to make. // Elizabeth runs Meryton Matchmakers, and why would Willaim the corporate raider interested in her business? If Liz can't convince Will that her company means a lot more than just the tiny yearly profit, she may lose everything...

The two plots don't intersect that well. It's as if the author just basically bashed the two separate plots together. 3/5

GRR Reviews Hot in the Kitchen by Olivia Burke

Natalie came home to Crystal Springs to take care of her family, putting her own veterinary school plans on hold. Taking a temp job as waitress at LUSH restaurant, she did not expect to see Seth, the heartbreaker, as the sous chef. Still setting back into town, she swore she'll NEVER go back to Seth, the man who left her. // Seth was determined to learn all he can from the famous chef at LUSH and nothing will deter him from his goal, and that includes Natalie, not that he ever expected to see her ever again. But "as friends", he can't let the infamous playboy bartender date her either... and his own plans may be in jeopardy...

It's clearly they aren't over each other, and the whole short novel (just over 100 pages) is sweet. I don't quite like the darkest hour though... It's cliche. (Emotionally distraught MC lashes out at anyone within reach)  4/5

GRR Reviews Only A Night With A Billionaire by Ellie Hall

Penny got an apprenticeship position with the head royal baker in London. But getting lost in the palace and having a Cinderella moment admiring all the beautiful ball gowns lead to a case of mistaken identity: she's NOT princess Penelope... but when the queen greeted you as a niece, how do you say no? And when it turns out she's to meet no less than Prince Oliver and participate in a royal version of "The Bachelor" with 3 other princesses, Penny fainted on the spot. She had a crush on Oliver for years. Being picked as the future queen of Concordia alongside Oliver is a dream... or a nightmare, as she's sure her deception will be revealed any moment...

Okay, I like the tension, but the rescue scenario does NOT work at all. How can a train, having outrun an avalanche, FAILED TO NOTICE that it is SEVERAL CARS short, one of which contains the king and queen to be? And who uses ladders for rescues nowadays? It's rescue baskets and winches! And finally, what a deus ex machina. I knew there is going to be a twist, but it felt... forced.

Category: Contemporary / Royalty

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Second Chance Grill by Christine Nolfi

Mary is an MD who had to take a sabbatical after a drunk driver killed her best friend. When she inherited a restaurant in Liberty Ohio, she thought it was the perfect out. But the restaurant was struggling, the cook had been fired, and the entrees without the cook are not edible. Elsewhere in town, Blossom, who has leukemia in remission, do NOT want Meade as her stepmom, which means she had to find his dad, Anthony (the town mechanic and handyman), a new girlfriend fast, and the new lady in town, Dr. Mary, will do very nicely. But Mary had promised to help run a clinic in Cincinnati as she had promised her dead best friend, and her stay in Liberty was only for a year. Mary does like Anthony, but does she like him enough to change her plans? When Blossom's leukemia came back, what will Mary and Anthony do?

It's a heart-warming tale, with some bits of romance. You read it for the relationships and the quirky small town, not necessarily for the romance.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews November Homecoming by Bokerah Brumley

Rebecca Martin has a good job in Fort Worth, TX, but she went home to Yearly, TX to help her mom and execute her plan... Open up a restaurant in her hometown, so her mom can stay in their family home. However, the only available contractor in town turns out to be her ex, Johnny Cash Williams, with a teenager son of his own. And Rebecca does NOT date married men ever... So why does she feel so... betrayed? And why does the new bearded Johnny look so handsome? When Rebecca is offered an even better position in Fort Worth, what will happen to her restaurant in Yearly?

For homecoming novels, this one is pretty good. The truth of Johnny's relationship status was revealed bit by bit.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Irresistible by Melanie Harlow

Mack is an ex-marine raising three daughters alone after his wife died. He's also the CFO of Cloverleigh Farms. Being a single dad is not easy, and he needs multiple nannies to help out, one of whom was the boss' daughter, Frannie, who's 10 years younger. And he found himself slowly, but inexorably drawn to Frannie, who can cook, clean, great with his kids, and is just a nice person, and very much a woman... // Frannie had a congenital heart defect and it took multiple surgeries as a young child to fix. As a result, her parents are overprotective and she ended up isolated from almost everything, despite having multiple siblings. She had a crush on Mack for years, but she's a nice girl and can't proposition anyone. Frannie also wants her independence... by becoming partners with a cafe owner in town and be their baker. But can Mack be a father and a lover at the same time? Or will he cut and run?

I love the push-pull, until it's time for the stupid "I'll be a douchebag, get you to break up with me, because I know what's best for you." trope. ARGH!!!!!! 

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Say Yes by Katy Kaylee

Gwen is a divorcee chef and restauranteur who moved back home, needing a fresh start, after she caught her husband cheating. Ryan is her little brother's best friend, now all grown up, younger, but not by much... and a rising Hollywood star. And Ryan wants to bed her. It was incredibly flattering, and sex is out of this world... Until she got pregnant because she forgot to renew the hormone shots. But she's already well on the way to reopen the restaurant, and he's away for 4 months doing a movie shoot... and Ryan's friend (Gwen's brother) is being a total leech and brat hating on Gwen's "success" and attention for two decades... When Gwen's pregnancy was revealed, she panicked and told Ryan it wasn't his (when it totally was)... Can their love survive the lie?

The plot involving Gwen's brother seems a bit underbaked, and the darkest hour didn't seem that dark, which basically is Ryan throwing a hissy-fit.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Accidental Romeo by Nicole Snow

Wendy is a baker and chef and prefers to be alone... too busy to do anything else. When her cake delivery almost had her run over Hunter's son, they came to know each other. Hunter took a semi-retired role to raise his son... but he's a billionaire running a big defense tech company. He found Wendy to be irresistible, and when he saw how Wendy's family is putting Wendy last, he stepped up to be not only Wendy's date to the wedding, but to make sure she had a great time... and throw shade at anyone who dare put Wendy down. But someone seems to be targeting the company. Can Wendy and Hunter actually defy the odds and get together?

The "mystery" was not handled well. It's pretty obvious who the perp was, and he had been manipulating people all along.  There were no attempts to add in some red herrings. The part about Hunter making Wendy very happy is done very well. Unfortunately, when you add both parts together, you come up with something rather average.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.