Review: Turning up the heat
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 21, 2013
A top French chef spends his life working in his restaurant, appearing on a TV show and travelling - and the girl who married him and supported him becomes more lonely and depressed until she runs off to Tahiti.TURNING UP THE HEAT takes the couple on a belated voyage of discovery. As teenagers life took an unexpected turn and Daniel married Lei to secure her late father's restaurant in Provence. She gave up her degree to run the business side while he slaved in the kitchens, always striving for perfection and terrified of losing star ratings. Ten years later with fame achieved, Daniel returns from a business trip to discover that Lei has gone on an unexpected holiday, leaving her phone. Her friends and the sister she put through university don't think she had a lover or was kidnapped, they just think she needed a break. But Daniel can't rest until he knows for sure, and doesn't know if she is leaving him, so he traces her holiday purchase and follows.Tahiti is so scorching hot that even with sun block on Lei has got badly sunburned. As she slathers on aloe vera gel and covers up in loose cotton, she wistfully looks back at her isolated life. Daniel never has time for her any more, and she has time for only the business. Daniel's arrival is like a shock of cold water to her and her reddened skin is too painful to hug him. The couple have to work out their differences gradually, on beaches and under a waterfall rediscovering each other's bodies, while they reflect on their lives and see how they have misunderstood each other through never having time to talk.Laura Florand is an American who now lives in France, and this gently erotic romance with a French and tropical flavour would warm anyone's heart. We cheer for the lovestruck teens fighting to build their quality business - though I'd have liked to see that in flashback rather than reported in thoughts and speech - and wish this short tale was longer.