Bachelor’s Special
By Christine Warner
ISBN# 9781622661312
Authors Website: http://christine-warner.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Vanessa
*Beware of Spoilers*
Synopsis:
Saute, simmer, and flambé…
Jill Adgate wants three things from life: a successful catering business, the devoted love of an exceptional man, and a family. What she has is no job, a mounting pile of bills, and her outspoken best friend—who sets her up on a blind date with the man who inadvertently ruined Jill’s life.
Chet Castle is a prosperous businessman who has everything, except the ability to trust. Burned by a money-hungry fiancée, he refuses to get involved with any relationship that has a shelf life longer than a head of lettuce.
Intrigued by her ambition—and determined to get her in bed—Chet offers Jill the chance of a lifetime: Work for him for the next eight weeks as his live-in chef and he’ll help her get her catering business off the ground. When sparks fly in the kitchen, Jill realizes what’s cooking with her commitment-phobic employer is a recipe for disaster…but it’s just too tasty to not take a bite.
Review:
Bachelor’s Special is a light chick-lit read that’s both witty and entertaining. It was nice to settle into a contemporary romance story that I knew would leave me with the expected HEA (happily ever after) I desired. For me, the book started off a little slow and was off putting but within a few chapters, I had warmed up to the story and characters.
I didn’t expect a whole lot of originality from this book and I wasn’t surprised that this story fell right in line with the typical modern day romance formula. Guy and Girl meet, instant attraction, they are “forced” into a relationship (one way or another), and they have a falling out (usually due to misunderstandings) only to be reunited again just in time for the HEA.
Initially, we are introduced to Jill the female lead who is an aspiring chef and entrepreneur and Chet the male lead who is a successful but guarded and distrusting man with a past. The beginning of the book was where I was the most put off with the story. Within the first few pages of meeting, Chet and Jill, total strangers at the time, end up having a hot make out session. Now, I don’t at all mind characters being drawn or attracted to one another, that happens all the time in real life. I just didn’t like the fact that after a “silly accident” she allows this total stranger to practically have sex with her against a wall because she is “drawn to him.”
I’m a true romantic at heart and I believe in the possibility of love at first sight, but a good romance needs tension and without it, you leave the reader wanting more. After the first “incident” I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the rest of the book, however I was pleasantly surprised to have been wrong. Throughout the story, there were several “misunderstandings” between Jill and Chet to keep the reader wondering, would they? Or wouldn’t they? And although I found myself getting annoyed with both of them, I was invested enough to see where the story would go.
In the end, I was glad to see Jill & Chet wind up together, even though I knew it was coming. This is definitely a book I would recommend for a light causal read whether by the pool or under a blanket in the rain. The romance is compelling enough to satisfy the average romance fan.
Although there wasn’t anything new or original about Bachelor’s Special, I was still entertained and glad that I had read it. Sometimes, getting what you want/expect is a nice break from the non-stop emotional turmoil and cliffhangers. The story and the writing had a nice pace and the characters felt real enough for me to connect with. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
