Review: Standard romance with a dash of spice
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 21, 2012
This is a typical romance novel, set in Scotland in the world of competitive gourmet chefs. There are the usual characters: a stunningly handsome man, another charming and seductive handsome man, the attractive young woman who is drawn to both.The character development is what one would expect from a romance novel. The plot is entertaining, if a bit over the top at times. Even in the world of romance, which requires implausible characters and events, there were a few things that I had a hard time buying. The main character, Finn, is 29 years old, yet he's been married three times. If one assumes he didn't marry at age 16, this gives him an average of 3 years to court, marry and divorce each of his wives, all while putting in very long hours to learn and perfect his craft. That's some quick marrying. He's also managed to win three 3-star awards for his cutting edge restaurant, which is also quite remarkable.The protagonist, Reine, quickly becomes a feature writer for a top newspaper at the age of 23. I would have believed these two characters more if they'd both been at least several years older. In addition, the idea of 'falling in love' after meeting someone once is far-fetched. An attraction, sure. A crush even. Groin-tingling lust. But love at first sight is...well, the provence of romance novels.As for the plot, there must not be much news in Edinburgh if stories about a celebrity chef are front-page features for several months, with the top two newspapers in the city vying to outdo each other.The book is amusing at times, with not-so-subtle references to actual celebrity chefs. I liked the Top Chef approach; reality gourmet cooking shows ARE all the rage these days. Overall, this book is an entertaining light read if you like romances that don't take themselves too seriously.