Foodie Romances: Romancing the Palate
I have a new blog that I'm working on, for all of my foodie thoughts. It's called Romancing the Palate, and it will be linked here soon. For right now, I want to contain all of my foodie writing on NKotB. But the reason I came up with the blog for Romancing the Palate is that I am writing foodie romances. I love the idea of combining food and love. (Not in the emotional eating sense... that, I still don't have a handle on, but I'm working on it, Geneen Roth, I promise!) So I'm working on a book that I hope will one day become a Foodie Romance Novel. Stay tuned.
Anyway, since my book isn't out yet, I wanted to give a shout out to other authors who are writing Foodie Romance Novels, or romance novels that focus on/around food right now. Here are a few that I haven't read that are in my TBR Pile for the moment, and one that I have read that I loved.
FIRST: a Foodie Romance I've read and loved (and, actually, the foodie romance that got me started thinking about writing one of my own)
Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise
When I picked this book up at the library, it looked like lots of fun. I was in the mood for some chick lit at the time, which is unusual for me, and I decided to pick this book up and take it with me to Intensives. Well, I started reading it and just couldn't stop. It was great. The characters were engaging, I cared what happened to them, I felt like I was a part of the story. And the food descriptions were great. This was the book that got me started learning how to cook Chicken Marsala. Excellent book. Min is still one of my favorite characters from a chick lit/romance book of all times. Loved her.
"Thirty-three-year-old Minerva Dobbs is annoyed when her current boyfriend dumps her three weeks before her sisters' wedding. But she's downright furious a few moments later when she overhears her now "ex" boyfriend bet hunky Calvin Morrisey that he can't take her home and bed her. In fact, she's so angry at them both that she lets Cal take her to dinner and decides to string him along until after her sisters' wedding. Minerva pegs Cal as a handsome "used car salesman of seducers."
Cal thinks Minerva is a "cranky, starving, risk-averse statistician." But Minerva's hormones keep whispering "this one," although she knows the gorgeous Cal isn't the man for her practical, white-cotton-bra, several-pounds-over-thin, self. And Cal is blindsided by the lust he feels for the voluptuous, sensual woman he glimpses behind Min's actuary exterior. While Cal and Min struggle to deal with their mutual distrust and attraction, their friends and families try their best to interfere and direct the progression of the unlikely romantic connection."
And now for the unread:
Number 1
On the Steamy Side by Louisa Edwards
"When Lilah Jane Tunkle fled her dull life in Virginia for the bright lights of New York City, she didn’t expect to wind up a nanny to a gorgeous celebrity chef’s ten-year-old son. Working for the delectable Devon Sparks is a sure-fire recipe for disaster, especially after Lilah gets a tantalizing taste of his perfectly seasoned kisses …
Devon’s not sure he can handle one more surprise ingredient in his life—he quit his popular TV show, his culinary reputation is on the line, and now the son he barely knows is back for seconds. Lilah’s Southern sass is supposed to keep the boy in line, but soon enough she’s teaching Devon a thing or two about homespun food…and turning up the heat."
What excites me about this book, after having read about its release on the Romance Junkies blog is that Edwards seems to be a true foodie. She's not just jumping on the food craze bandwagon and trying to get a good run for her money. I like that. Looking forward to reviewing this book at some point soon.
Number 2
Breakfast in Bed by Robin Kaye
"He'd be Mr. Perfect if he wasn't a perfect mess…
Rich Ronaldi is almost the complete package-smart, sexy, great job-but when his girlfriend dumps him, Rich swears he'll learn to cook and clean just to win her back…
She'll be happy to make him over, but not for another woman…
Rich is the only guy Becca Larsen's ever met who hasn't tried to change her. She's glad to help him master the domestic arts, but she'll be damned if he'll start cooking in another woman's kitchen-or bedroom…"
Okay, first of all, the heroine's name is Becca. Gotta love that. And second, any man who will let a woman teach him the domestic arts is a hero I have got to read about! I've not heard of Robin Kaye before, but I look forward to getting to know this book better. :-)
Number 3
Can't Stand the Heat by Louisa Edwards
Adam’s not about to have his reputation burned by a critic who doesn’t even know the difference between poaching and paring. He’ll just have to give the tempting redhead a few private lessons of his own—teaching her what it means to cook with passion…and doing more with his hands than simply preparing sumptuous food.
Okay, I know that I already had one book by her on this list, but because she's a true foodie, and her books are getting great reviews on Amazon, I had to put one more on the list. I think this one might have the potential to be even more exciting than the one just released... we shall see!
Number 4
Delicious by Sherry Thomas
"A Cinderella story with a compelling culinary twist, Thomas's scrumptious Victorian confection (after Private Arrangements) proves impossible to resist. Madame Verity Durant works for Bertram Bertie Somerset at his estate, Fairleigh Park—after serving as the mistress he failed to marry (due to a questionable background that includes an illegitimate child).
When Bertie dies unexpectedly at 38, Verity worries as Bertie's bastard-born brother, Stuart—now London's foremost barrister —takes over the estate. Verity had shared a secret, mouthwatering affair with Stuart 10 years earlier, and she doesn't expect him to keep her on, especially since he's affianced to the very proper Miss Lizzy Bessler. What ensues, however, is happiness on a plate, as Thomas shows that hunger for passion, and madeleines, never dies."
Number 5
The Goldy Culinary Mystery Series by Diane Mott Davidson
"Davidson's debut is as embarrassing as a fallen souffle would be to her narrator, divorced culinary artist Goldy Korman of Goldilocks' Catering in Aspen Meadows, Colo. Goldy, in business to support herself and her 11-year-old son, Arch, caters the gathering after the funeral of Arch's teacher, at which her former father-in-law, gynecologist Fritz Korman, drinks from a poisoned cup.
While the police make sure that Goldy is now "catering to nobody," she begins her own investigation to clear herself. As amorous detective Tom Schulz courts her, Goldy courts danger, seeking connections among the recovered Fritz, the teacher and nearly everyone else in the rustic town, including her teenage lodger, Patty Sue. The only rewards of the mystery are recipes for tasty dishes and the endearing Arch, who outwits the killer and is the sole credible character in the overstuffed cast."
There are 14 books in this series, and it looks like they are gonna be pretty entertaining! Love the mysteries. Love food. Love romance. The combo of all three should be really great!
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