Dazzled by Books

One sexy fire captain. One Cajun chef. One combustible kitchen…

When chef Colby Robicheaux returned home to New Orleans to save her family restaurant, the last person she expected to reconnect with was her brother’s best friend and her childhood crush. As tempting as a sugar-coated beignet, Jason is one dish she can’t afford to taste. Colby can’t wait to leave the place where her distrust of love and commitment originated and go back to Vegas.

Fire captain Jason Landry isn’t looking for love, either. Disillusioned by his past, he knows he should be focusing on finding the perfect mother for his daughter. But when he first sees Colby, all grown up and gorgeous, he can’t help but be drawn to her. And when she suggests a no-strings-attached fling, Jason can’t say no.

As their relationship grows more intense, Colby finds that Jason isn’t as easy to leave behind as she thought. Could turning up the heat on something real be worth the possibility of getting burned?

Review

“Taste the Heat” by Rachel Harris is one of the best adult fiction novels that I’ve read in awhile. I personally read a lot more young adult books because I am usually disappointed with the adult fiction novels but this one definitely rose above par. “Taste the Heat” is about a chef name Colby, who comes home to help save her family restaurant after her father has passed away. Colby ends up falling for her very first crush, Jason, again several years later. Colby not only learns to deal with her past and her fears, but she learns to love again. Jason is still getting over the loss of his wife, even though it has been several years, he has avoided the dating pool until Colby comes back into town. Jason finds out if he can really love someone else again.

I really enjoyed “Taste the Heat.” This book had just the right amount of heat and romance to make you swoon but not be too overpowering to feel like you are intruding. Getting to know the vulnerable sides of the characters was a very unique experience. There is plenty of family drama to keep you occupied and personal problems that the characters have to face. You are quickly drawn in with the wonderful mouth watering Cajun cuisine that is introduced throughout the book of the wonderful culture of New Orleans. Let’s just say that I wouldn’t mind traveling to New Orleans to try some of these dishes; goodness they can make your mouth water.

Colby moves away to New York to go to culinary school and then she moves to Las Vegas to open up her own Italian restaurant. No one knows why Colby uprooted herself from New Orleans and moved away, they just know that she left and didn’t look back. When Colby returns, she has to face the reasons of why she left in the first place. Harris creates a character that readers can relate too because she isn’t perfect, she is perfectly flawed like everyone else.

Then there is Jason who lost his wife when his daughter Emma was 8 years old and now Emma is turning 13. Jason has to deal with the trials of fatherhood on his own. On top of dealing with a new 13 year old daughter, Jason is trying to figure out if he wants to get back into the dating life and how that would affect Emma. When Colby comes back to town, Jason finds that he is immediately attracted to her but he isn’t sure if this is just a fling or something that will last. With the help of Emma trying to play matchmaker, Jason and Colby are through together on a few family dates and then everything takes its course from there.

Rachel Harris definitely knows romance. I felt like “Taste the Heat” had just the right amount of Romance without being too steamy yet it was still completely swoon worthy. Harris brings her readers a lovely romantic tale that can help anyone escape everyday life for a few hours. “Taste the Heat” will definitely hook you write away. The characters are amazing and are in real life situations. I love how Rachel Harris can take a simple idea and create an entire book out of it that readers can fall in love with. There is absolutely nothing in this book that could be considered crass or crude which I think is great. Nowadays you can’t find a whole lot of honest sweet romance books; everything is full of crass and crude comments and scenes. I really appreciate the fun romance novel that Harris has provided to the readers. The two main characters go back and forth between being together and apart trying to decide on how deep they really want to get involved with each other. “Taste the Heat” will definitely provide an abundance of emotions for the readers.

My personal favorite character is Emma. Yeah I know, I read a romance novel and I chose the child as my favorite character. I couldn’t help it. She is adorable and I love how she was trying to play matchmaker for her father. So cute. Emma looks up to Colby because Emma would like to be a chef one day just like Colby. It was a lot of fun reading about how these two women interacted. The way Colby helped out when Emma had her first period; she stepped right in to help make Emma more comfortable with the situation. You have to admire a woman who would automatically step in to help a young girl feel more comfortable with the changes going on.

Harris has created the perfect book if you are looking to make a change from reading young adult fiction to adult fiction. Of course there are some steamy parts but nothing like the vast of novels that are out there. This is one of the cleanest romantic novels that I have read. Rachel Harris creates the perfect plot and story line for her characters that provide the reader to get to know them on a more personal level. I like how the conflicts and trials these characters go through are down to earth everyday issues that “real” people can relate too. When I read Harris’ first novel “My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century,” I knew that she would become one of my favorite authors. This woman can write. She has so much potential that I am glad that she is putting it to good use. It isn’t very often that you find an author that is writing really good wholesome books for both teens and adults. Harris has done a great crossover between the two.

I give "Taste the Heat" five out of five bookshelves.

Author

Links

Pre-order link for Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taste-the-heat-rachel-harris/1115688179?ean=9781622660940

Pre-order link for Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Games-Novel-Entangled-ebook/dp/B00DFFMYZ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371558802&sr=8-1&keywords=taste+the+heat

Link to add on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17611022-taste-the-heat