One Hot Chef….
Eric Vail has always loved a challenge. After leaving the Navy, he mastered his passion for cooking. As the sous chef at Top, one of Dallas’s hottest restaurants, his skills are pushed to the limit every night. Unfortunately, his ultimate prize still eludes him. Server Deena Holmes is the sweetest thing he’s seen in forever, but she’s as distant as she is beautiful. When they’re put together in the same training class at the infamous club Sanctum, he knows this is his shot. And this former SEAL never misses.
A Woman Who Lost Her Taste for Love…
Deena thinks Eric is the most gorgeous man she’s ever seen, but her heart has been burned too many times before. She’s sworn off relationships for good and she can’t trust herself with a man that easy to fall in love with. She takes a spot as a trainee at Sanctum in the hopes of finding a safe place to explore and experiment. When she discovers her partner is the same chef she dreams about every night, Deena knows she may have bitten off more than she can chew.
A Perfect Recipe for Passion
While exploring the world of Sanctum, Eric and Deena find themselves learning about each other and finding an intimacy neither expected. But when the ghosts of her past resurface, old wounds are reopened. Can their newfound love survive when it’s put to the test?
Review:
Deena and Eric’s book may be short, but it’s steamy as heck!
Both Eric and Deena work at Top, he as the sous chef and she as a server. He’s had his eye on her for a while, but her trust issues and difficult past help to keep him in the “nice guy but not for me” box. When they both get invites to train at Sanctum–and are paired together!–he sees it as his chance to make her his…but she’s going to need some serious convincing.
Fortunately for Deena–and the reader!–Eric is up to the task 😉
As an MC, Deena might possibly have benefitted from a longer book–she had a lot of issues to work through, and not quite enough page real estate here to do them true justice. Eric (mostly–he had his moments) was very patient and worked hard to figure out what she needed to move forward so we end up with a very satisfying HEA in the end. I’m hoping they’ll be back for guest appearances in the next 2 Topped books.
Just One Taste is part of the Masters and Mercenaries universe, and of course has many characters and plot points from other books throughout. It can be read as a standalone, but it’s always more fun to know the background events and people too. (Since this is an older book, I especially appreciated seeing Kyle from The Dom Who Came in from the Cold as he left to join the Navy–it’s like seeing a really brief, unexpected prequel to a book I have fond memories of.)
I listened to an audio version and really enjoyed it. The (male) narrator has an absolutely delicious voice.
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an audio copy of this book.