Reviewed by Danielle
Title: Heat
Author: R.J Scott & Chris Quinton
Publisher: Love Lane Books
Pages: 141 pages
Blurb:
Serving up passion, family, love and hate, with a side order of arson.
Lewis has lost nearly everything, and now it seems that Devon is here to take the last thing he has left – working in his beloved restaurant, Laurels. But when an arsonist threatens everything Lewis
loves, he realises sometimes everyone has their ghosts, and he discovers an unexpected ally who is prepared to risk everything for him.
* * * * *
Set in the small cathedral city of Salisbury, Master Chef Lewis Mandineau no longer owns the Laurels, the restaurant that had been in his family for generations. Betrayed and robbed by an ex-lover, he’s had to sell to Trelawney Enterprises, an American corporation. That isn’t all Lewis has to contend with. Rachel, his beloved younger sister has been left severely hurt by the car crash that killed their parents, and taking care of her has to be his priority.
Enter Devon Trelawney III, sent to assess the viability of the restaurant and its staff. Devon knows all about family tradition. But he also knows sentiment has no place in business matters, and the Laurels’ potential is swamped by the debts it has accrued. Devon is a hardheaded businessman, first and foremost, but Lewis and Rachel test his resolve in different ways. Soon Devon is forced to admit that what seems like an impossible love can sometimes become something very real
Review:
Let me first start by saying this story surprised me in a good way. Why I cannot even say so myself, just that when I picked it up didn’t expect to review it but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It fit in perfectly in our food week theme week so I decided I wanted to put a review out on it.
The character of Lewis is adorable. He is sweet, compelling, sincere and lovable. The love for his sister Rachel is so genuine and sincere and lifts you to a totally adorable level in reading this.
You just can’t help falling for Lewis. His passion, his drive, his contact with his co-workers is all there and in a very pleasant way.
You feel for him and his struggle to keep his restaurant running and to save peoples jobs. He’s frightened for what will happen when the new owner, Devon, steps in to take over his family business.
You either dislike Devon on the spot I think or you like to see what he is going through and what he’s all about. (I admit not an easy thing to do the latter one as he makes it difficult for the reader.)
I like the way the authors made the two main characters completely different and I think they did a good job in building the attraction that is there, crackling under many layers, into something more.
I do have to say it goes a bit too fast at a certain point and that feels slightly unrealistic.
I want to make a point of mentioning Rachel. The authors did a phenomenal job in working her into this story. Her connection with Lewis right at the start with the family bond, the way care for and love for each other but also especially the way Devon warms up to Rachel and vise versa.
The love and care of Lewis takes you through this whole story on a breeze. It’s a smooth, easy read and I went through it in one go, hence my comment about the surprising aspect.
Though in all fairness I need to say there is one thing that despite the smaller things I had kind of an issue with and that is the arsonist angle. It is very predictable and in my honest opinion didn’t add to the story either but just the opposite
I like the characterization of this novel, the people, the history mentioned, the personalities in both main characters as well as the staff and people surrounding the story.
Where I can understand the authors tried to put in a mystery/action part into the book, the story on its own was solid and strong enough to built on which I mentioned above, at least in my opinion.
I really liked the collaboration between these two authors. Being familiar with both their individual work it was interesting to see a story written by them together and I enjoyed it. I will definitely keep an eye out for another release of them together.
And to finish up can I just sum up in saying Lewis = <3!
Rating: 4 stars
Buy Links:
Another one that is sitting in my tbr pile, waiting for more hours to be added to a day! Who needs sleep anyway