ABOUT THE BOOK
Conceited, unattainable, and downright delicious, renowned Michelin-starred chef Ambrose Casablancas has one passion in life—food.
Women are a distraction, and he doesn’t do those. Especially Cal Litvin, his baby sister’s best friend. Her entire existence is a complication; she’s awkward, eccentric, infuriating…
And, much to his chagrin, hotter than his kitchen.
Ambrose has a lot on his a new restaurant to open, a multimillion-dollar property deal to execute, and a violent stalker to tame.
Then Cal shows up at his doorstep, looking for both a job and salvation after their messy goodbye. His resolve, like his patience, is ebbing each day she works at his restaurant.
Because Cal is no longer a doe-eyed girl.
Now? She’s the woman he’ll do anything to conquer.
***
Quirky, compassionate ball of sunshine Calla Litvin can’t catch a break, and not just because she swore off running.
Back in her hometown to nurse her mother’s broken heart after losing her father, she finds herself jobless, hopeless, and penniless. She hopes to rekindle her friendship with her former BFF, but Dylan is attached at the hip to her cruel brother—the one Cal’s been secretly crushing on since middle school.
Falling for the bad boy the second time around would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.
Too bad she’s always been clumsy.
MY REVIEW
Oh, L.J. Shen, I missed you so! When I need a fix for an angsty, odd pairing that brings me to tears, anger, and beyond, I can count on you.
Cal returns home for her dad’s funeral and runs into the two people she loved, only to find hate. I really felt bad for her. Her fear of men is real, and it’s heartbreaking how she’s tried to hide it her whole life—even from her best friend. What does normal even mean? I love how honest she is, her positive attitude, and her quirky curiosity. She trusts Row because she doesn’t fear him like she does other men, but now that she’s back, he only responds with sarcasm and anger.
Ambrose “Row” Casablancas is honestly pretty awful at first. He might have his reasons, but it’s not fair to take it out on the one person who truly sees the good in him. He claims Cal was just his little sister’s sidekick, but she broke his heart, and he’s determined not to let it happen again. Now he’s a famous chef who sold out his hometown to a big corporation, which means a huge mall will replace the town’s charm. He didn’t like who he was around Cal, so he made up an alter ego to keep his sanity. In other words, the man was still in love with her and was not going to let it happen again.
Then there’s Dylan, Row’s sister and supposedly Cal’s best friend. I say “supposedly” because she was really awful to Cal over something so minor before Cal left town, and then she ignored her for five years. I didn’t like Dylan at all. Where was her loyalty? I felt she owed Cal an apology, but she never really gave one.
Cal and Row are total opposites. He’s grumpy, she’s determined, and their chemistry is both wild and sexy. I started loving second-chance romances because the characters really have to work for their happy ending, and Row definitely had to prove himself here. It seemed like everyone was unfair to Cal, and she always had to be the one to forgive. I got frustrated with how much Cal and Row kept pushing each other away, and it dragged a bit near the end, but seeing Row finally open up to Cal was the best part for me.
Overall, I enjoyed this read. LJ definitely cooked up some spicy scenes, and I ate them all up.
BUY THE BOOK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.J. Shen is a New York Times, USA Today, WSJ, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon Kindle Store bestselling author of contemporary romance books.
She writes angsty books about unredeemable anti-heroes in Bill Gates’s tax bracket and sassy heroines who bring them to their knees (for more reasons than one).
Follow L.J. on her website, Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, Facebook Group, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Bookbub, Pinterest, and Newsletter.
