willaful's Reviews > Delicious

I unintentionally read this series in exactly reverse order, which I now see is really a shame; there are continuing story lines and I probably would have appreciated the other books more if I’d gotten the order right. On the other hand, perhaps I liked this one the most because I read it last? Anyway, what I had read about the first couple’s story always made this sound like the most interesting book of the series, so I was happy to finally get it; ironically enough it turned out to be almost the opposite of the story I was anticipating, but very good anyway.

Ex-spouses Cal and Penny find themselves in each other’s lives again when Cal hires Penny as the chef for a family restaurant that needs a major overhaul. There’s no emotional agenda on his part, he just needs the best chef. But unexpected events bring them closer together, leading them to discover truths about the past that had kept them apart.

This is the second story in a row I’ve read about a couple who were parted by a dealbreaker, which really highlights how much better this one was. In this case, the dealbreaker was Penny’s desire to have children, and the big hook of the story is the fact that Penny is pregnant, via a sperm donor, when they meet again. Or at least that’s what I thought; I expected a story about Cal’s jealousy and needing to come to terms with the pregnancy. In fact, the story was not about that at all.

The real issue between Cal and Penny was his inability to emotionally commit to her. Cal is detached towards their relationship for much of the book; at one point he thinks, “Two months ago, he’d never given Penny a thought.” Normally I would be incredibly turned off by that from the hero of a romance. But here the back story is so interesting, I was able to understand Cal and forgive him.

I appreciated the slow development of the new relationship between the characters, which made their reunion seem plausible. I also really enjoyed all the backstage detail about the restaurant business, and the set-up for Cal's sibling's stories, even though I had already read them.

I think this is the best Mallery book I've read, which considering that it wasn't the story I was expecting, and had the type of hero I normally hate, is really saying something.