Alice Clayton

I didn't like this as much as the first in the series, though it was still a fun read. There were two problems for me. The biggest was that Oscar, the MMC, was sort of an asshole. He is insanely passive-aggressive and way too nonverbal for my liking. For the most part I loved Natalie. I hated her label-dropping. Chanel, Burberry, and Prada do just fine, you don't have to advertise for them. I hated that she kept showing up for events in the country in 4" heels. She is not supposed to be stupid, so she would not do that. Non-stupid people know there is mud on farms. Still, overall she was a strong heroine with a good sense of self. Based on the description it was clear that Oscar was supposed to look like Jason Momoa, and though he is not my type I do understand that he is pretty physically extraordinary -- I fully understand that Natalie was attracted to him. What I could not figure out was what else drew her to him besides physical attraction and later appreciation for his sexing skills. He had no conversational ability and he consistently put his ex-wife's needs and feelings ahead of Natalie's. (I was happy to see a divorced couple who remained friends in the story, but when the ex-wife gets in the way of a new relationship and instead of respecting the new GFs feelings the man just tries to gaslight the new GF to make her thing that she is imagining the ex's clinginess, that is just offensive.) The attraction was clear and made for some good sexiness, but the jerkiness baked into Oscar killed the romantic part of this. There was enough here I liked that I got to a 3, but I am hoping the 3rd (and final) book in the series brings back the charm of the first.… (más)

Absolutely bloody adorable, and bloody hot romcom. Sure, it is that Hallmark staple, hit-it-and-quit-it city girl (private chef Roxie making gluten-free meals for LA size 00's) returns to her small quirk hometown (somewhere in the gorgeous Hudson Valley) and meets the farmer of her dreams. (In this case it is relevant to know that Roxie's first girlhood crush was on Almanzo Wilder, which was awesome.) This is better than most of the lot because Clayton is funny (her Redhead Series is also a blast) and can write, and because a lot of this is about food, growing it and cooking/baking it, and Clayton clearly knows food. I picked up two baking tips, and Roxie did something I always do when I bake cakes (substitute buttermilk for 1/3 to 1/2 of the milk, sour cream if it is a denser cake) so I felt validated while reading this. And hungry too, for hummingbird and caramel cakes and farmers of one's dreams.… (más)