Review and Giveaway for Can't Stand the Heat!

Title: Can’t Stand the Heat “A Recipe for Love Novel”
Author: Louisa Edwards
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Rating: 4.75 of 5
Reviewed by: MarthaE

Buy Link: http://search.barnesandnob/hich/af0/dbch/af31505/loch/f0%20le.com/Cant-Stand-the-Heat/Louisa-Edwards/e/9780312356491
ISBN-13: 9780312356491
Pub. Date: September 01, 2009
368pp

Synopsis:
SHE'S HUNGRY FOR EXPERIENCE.
For sharp-tongued food critic Miranda Wake, the chance to spend a month in Adam Temple’s kitchen to write an expose' is a journalistic dream come true. Surely Miranda can find a way to cut the hotshot chef down to size once she learns what really goes on at his trendy Manhattan restaurant. But she never expected Adam to find out her most embarrassing secret: she has no idea how to cook.

AND HE KNOWS JUST HOW TO SATISFY HER CRAVINGS...
Adam’s not about to have his reputation burned by a critic who doesn’t even know the difference between poaching and paring. He’ll just have to give the tempting redhead a few private lessons of his own—teaching her what it means to cook with passion…and doing more with his hands than simply preparing sumptuous food.

Author's Biography
Louisa Edwards grew up in Virginia before moving to Manhattan to work with some of the biggest names in book publishing. She later moved to Ohio, where she worked as a restaurant reviewer. She decided to bring her love of romance and cooking together by writing the Recipe for Love series. http://louisa-edwards.blogspot.com/

Review: This is a very sassy and fun read! I really enjoyed it and found it hard to put down!
Miranda Wake is a great character as the bright, sharp-tongued food critic. Having lost her parents when she was just entering young woman hood, she is protective of herself and the younger brother she has had to raise and help put through college. She has never been able to really let go and open up to anyone else because of her self-imposed responsibilities.

Adam is another great character as a temperamental “artist” chef. He is very passionate about cooking and life! He surprises himself when he discovers he wants to share that passion with the feisty Miranda.

Miranda is determined to raise money for her brother’s tuition by doing an expose' book on Adam’s restaurant kitchen. Considering all the unique and crazy characters in the kitchen this seems easy at first. However, as Miranda works in the kitchen she gets closer to Adam and those other characters and the expose' becomes less attractive. Unfortunately someone else leaks her draft causing immediate betrayal and heartache.

It was clear that the author knows cooking (which I do not!) and I loved her use of cooking analogies which fit so perfectly with the storyline! Here is an example where Adam is describing Miranda's shoes to himself: "Bright, shiny with a glossy patina like you get on a good creme Anglaise, the color of pinot noir help up to the light. Heels like ice picks, and then above them, her legs stretched for miles, slender, perfect. Those shoes sparked his interest." Another describing Miranda's feeling happy: “Happiness bubbled through her veins, popping and fizzing like sparkling wine.”

I also loved the snappy repartee between not only Miranda and Adam but also among the other chefs in the kitchen. I liked the style of writing which has a nature feel – the way my own brain might think.

The plot moves consistently to keep the reader moving towards the train wreck you know is coming. When the betrayal occurs you get the full emotional, breath clinching punch of the heartache for both characters. Then you don’t want to put the book down or be distracted until you find out how the split is resolved!

The book includes some gay relationships, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that when I recognized it. The author’s handling of the issues is done in a way that is tolerant, not offensive, and adds an extra facet to Miranda’s story. One additional warning: In the first 30 pages the “f” word was used 4 or 5 times. This was SO unnecessary in my opinion. And I do not recall seeing or noticing it after that! I read a spiral bound manuscript arc so I do not know if those made it to the final print. Although the word isn’t pleasant, try to get past that because the book is worth the fun reading.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

A Spiral Bound ARC copy of Can't Stand the Heat will be awarded!

1. Comment here including a brief description involving food or drink- just something you like if you can't think of an analogy! Please include your email address, so that I can contact you if you win.
2. For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.
3. For another entry, share this giveaway on your blog, my space, facebook or Twitter and tell me where you shared it.
4. For another entry, go to the author's website [link above] and tell me something of interest you found there.
5. Leave a separate comment for each entry or you'll only be entered once. (This method is used to make it easier to put the entries into the random generator!)
(Four total entries possible.)

• This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.
• No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons.

This contest will close Midnight (Central) on September 25, 2009. The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.

A Big Thank You to Jeanne at Nancy J. Berland Publicist for sending this book to me and providing the ARC for the giveaway!