Reviewed by Roberta

TITLE: Dinner At Home

AUTHOR: Rick R. Reed

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 206 Pages

BLURB: It only takes a few days for Ollie D’Angelo to lose his boyfriend, his job, and his home. Instead of mourning what he doesn’t have, Ollie celebrates what he does: the freedom to pursue his real passion—cooking. He begins Dinner at Home, a home-catering business, and it takes off.

Late one night, Ollie catches Hank Mellinger, a streetwise hood down on his luck, about to rob his car. Ollie soon discovers that appearances aren’t necessarily what they seem. Hank isn’t a criminal caught red-handed, but a hungry young man trying to make a life for himself and the four-year-old niece he’s trying desperately to take care of.

Instead of calling the cops, Ollie offers Hank a job and a way to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Together, they discover they can really cook… and that their shared passion for food just might lead to a passion for each other.

REVIEW:

I have read a couple of Rick’s books before and I really liked them, so I was really happy when his newest book came up for review.  I’m really glad that I did.  What a sweet book!

Ollie D’Angelo is having a heck of a time.  He was happy.  He’s been living with his boyfriend of a year for about 9 months and he’s working a job he’s really good at.  During the course of 3 days, he loses his boyfriend, home and job.  As Ollie has got to start over, he realizes that he’s been unhappy in his job for a while.  He’s good at what he did, but it’s not what he’s passionate about.  What’s Ollie’s passion?  Cooking.  Ollie loves to cook. Cooking brings Ollie a sense of peace and it allows him to be creative. Ollie is this really wonderful guy.  He’s sensitive, kind, generous and so very loving.  Ollie is so sweet and kind that it’s a shame that he’s had to deal with this crap, but it just helps to get Ollie out of the grind that he was in and to be able to do what he’s ALWAYS LOVED…COOKING!!

Hank Mellinger is as different a story as possible to Ollie.  He’s from a small town in Nowhere, Pennsylvania.  He’s a former addict who spent some time in jail.  Hank is out and really wanting to start fresh.  He’s learning how to cook and is hopeful for his future.  Hank is streetwise and smart. He’s made some bad choices in his past, however, he’s doing his very best to make his future brighter. Hank is such a loving person and has such a good heart.  Hank is thrown ifor a loop when his mother comes to Seattle with his niece, Addison in tow.  But, no matter what happens, family means something and must be protected and sheltered.  Hank learns that the definition of Family is so much more than he ever imagined.

The secondary characters in this book were such wonderful characters. Lula, Hank’s mother, even though she wasn’t on the page much..was this great character of a single mother who did the best that she could.  She didn’t always make the right choices, but she did what she did and never once complained. Rose who’s story you didn’t get until the very end, she loved Addison and by being apart of Hank, Ollie and Addison’s life, she created her own family filled with love and understanding.  Addison…WOW!!  That little 4 year-old girl had a mouth on her!! But this little girl came to Hank and Ollie when her life was in this huge uproar.  Her mom in jail and her grandmother being sick and unable take care of her. She’s got such old eyes.  Eyes so old that no child should ever have.

This book started out really kinda sad for me.  But the author really wanted you to see where the characters were coming from and where they were going.  Rick did an amazing job doing that.  I really loved Ollie.  He was this really sweet guy who had so much love to give and that he then he got the love and family that he has always wanted.  It was so very sweet.  I loved him to pieces.  Hank made me hurt.  For the life that he lived and the hurt that he’s suffered.  I just felt for him. I loved how having Addison helped to change him. It was sweet to watch him grow into a caring, giving young man.

This is one book that I will whole-heartedly give a you need to read this.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon