Mirepoix (A Recipe Of Love, #1)

by Paige Conners

[stacey_is_sassy]

The hero was so good…he was almost unbelievable

Now, please note I said almost. Joe, our hero does not show himself in the best light when we first meet him. He is cranky, arrogant…and wearing a lavender shirt to bring out the colour of his eyes. Luckily for us, this is not the real Joe. The real Joe is ambitious, sweet and a henley wearing, motorbike boot-wearing HOT GUY…WITH A MANBUN. Tick, tick and tick…see almost unbelievable.

Mirepoix starts out with us meeting the heroine Frankie. She comes across as a little quirky and a lot jittery. It seems like her mind and body never stops. Frankie’s best friend Lindsay entered her in a pasta-making competition that she wins. Frankie does not like having attention centred on her, though. Frankie knows Lindsay was doing it with the best of intentions but she’s a wee bit cranky at her for being in this position.

All this attention brings forth an opponent, in a very determined chef who can’t believe someone with no professional culinary training, could beat him. The shock…the horror!!

Frankie’s skill was learnt at the hands of someone she loved. Her Gram and Pap who have both passed taught her everything she knows about food preparation. The very determined and rude chef is known to Frankie. While he’s quite famous, she has no hesitations in telling him where he went wrong and how his recipe could be improved. Frankie also tells him in no uncertain terms that his lavender shirt will give her nightmares. I think this may have made the very determined and rude chef a little shocked. What? The lavender shirt isn’t appealing to women???

Joe has made his career his life. He knows that he is ruled by his restaurant, but he is actually on a mission. I’m not going to tell you the how or why he’s on the mission because once you read it, it will damn well melt your heart like it did mine. When he rocks up to his meeting, Frankie is not what he was expecting. The little Pixie has attitude, spunk and a smoking hot body. He realises that maybe it’s time to put some effort into a relationship, but before that idea can even take root…he’s back to the grindstone.

Considering Joe is so career-focused, it surprised me that he had such incompetent and lazy staff working for him. Once Joe meets Frankie some home truths come to light and he realises that a job he once loved has lost some of its shine.

Frankie and Joe have a rocky start. Once they get past these issues, things get very, very HOT!! Turns out Frankie likes a little bit of kinky play…and Joe likes to be the man to give it to her. Frankie likes to give up her control and Joe likes to be holding the reigns. This is not an OTT erotic book by any means. It’s more about a couple who have found the right partner to explore and enjoy their intimate times.

One of the major parts of the storyline revolves around Frankie and her anxiety issues. She has a fabulous group of friends who are like family to her. What has always been an issue for Frankie, turns out to be a non-issue for Joe. His feeling for Frankie was already starting when he finds out about her issues, and instead of scaring him off, bring out his macho man protective instincts. I LOVED THIS SIDE OF JOE!!

The storyline flowed well, the characters were lovable and the angst was low. This is a feel-good story that will leave you on a high and impatient for more about this wonderful group of friends.

I’ve created a few Style Setter Tributes from the book. The first one is for Angie, one of Frankie’s good friends who is a piercing artist. The second is Frankie’s everyday style. I would definitely wear both of these outfits.

Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.