Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Spaghetti Western
SERIES: Delectable #5
AUTHOR: E.M. Lynley
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 220 pages
BLURB:
Cordon-Blue trained pastry chef Riley Emerson arrives in Aspen, Colorado for a summer season at the best restaurant in town, only to discover his jerk of a boyfriend has dumped him, leaving his heart and his summer plans in tatters. Doubting himself and longing for a change of pace, he takes a low-paying position as chef at a guest ranch, the Rocking Z. The scenery is gorgeous, but he expects that nature up close and personal can’t hold a candle to his exciting Paris lifestyle.
When born-and-bred cattle rancher Colby Zane spots a newcomer letting himself be pawed at by a passel of horny cowboys at Aspen’s Club Rawhide, he doesn’t think twice before rushing in, throwing the guy over his shoulder, and rescuing him from the volatile situation. Sober, Riley Emerson turns out to be sweet and sexy, but not interested in more than a one-night stand with Colby. Initially disdainful of the guest ranch side of the business, Colby’s over the moon when Riley late arrives as the new cook on his family’s ranch
But all’s not well at the Rocking Z. Unsurmountable financial problems force them to rely on a cash infusion from an outside investor, Fitz Wellington. Only Fitz is hot for Colby, and he won’t sign on the dotted line without some very personal incentives. The future of the ranch is at stake, and Colby’s just desperate enough to go along, but saving the Z might mean losing Riley.
**This book also contains recipes mentioned in the story**
REVIEW:
Awww…. What a sweet story!
Riley is a nice boy, from a rich family, who broke away from the expectation of his father, and became a chef (gasp!). He’s studied in Paris at Le Cordon Blue, or Core-don Bloo as it comes to be known as…. He has a nice boyfriend, Denny, whom he loves and has decided to follow to Aspen Colorado for a summer job. He’s excited to start his new life and gets an earlier flight hoping to surprise Denny. Which he does. And Denny’s new boyfriend.
Colby is a cowboy, living on a ranch in Colorado that is just barely hanging on. It’s been in his family forever, he runs the ranch side of the business with his uncle, while his aunt and cousins run the guest ranch side, which was started to supplement the struggling ranch. He’s big, beautiful, and lonely. He has the occasional one-night-stand, but has never had a relationship.
So Riley and Colby run in to one another, and again. I don’t want to say too much about how it all happens, it is predictable but fun. Eventually Riley ends up as the chef at the Rocking Z, Colby’s family ranch. They start off with what will be a nice summer fling, with lots of really hot sex. With boots on! Their relationship develops nicely over the course of the book, again, following a fairly predictable pattern. It was fun and enjoyable, but no real surprises. There is drama from an outside source in the form of Fitz, a potential investor who turns out to be a total ass-wipe, and some drama caused by Riley and Colby’s lack of communication skills. The story surrounding the ranch and trying to save it as an independent business was interesting, and Fitz the ass-wipe added to that as well. I liked the family feeling of the whole story, all these people are all tied in together, with Colby at the center. The whole guest ranch concept made me want to go stay at one, I loved the sound of it. The author gives us a great feel for how a week at a guest ranch would be, plus a great visual description of the land and sky. I want to go! Then there is the food…. YUM! I want biscuits now!
I enjoyed this story, it was fun, but I have to say it followed a very predictable path. At no point was I surprised. There is nothing wrong with that, I just finished reading a dark and heavy book, and some lightness was very nice. I liked the characters, especially Riley, I enjoyed the budding relationship between the two of them, and the family story surrounding the ranch. There was a bit of drama here and there, and a lot of yummy sex. The writing was just fine, the author has a light touch that gave this a playful feel that worked very well for me. The ending was predictable, I hate to use that word again, but I saw it coming from a mile away. I liked it, it made sense and fit with the story, and it made me go “Awwww”. But if you are looking for surprises in this book, you probably won’t find any! I’ve read a couple books from EM Lynley now and I have enjoyed them!
RATING: 
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