Review: Quick read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 11, 2012
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my review.As stated by other reviewers, this book can easily be read through in a single sitting.  The CEO of a family run fast food Mexican Chain (think Taco Bell) decides to go undercover to other restaurants to see why his is floundering so badly and how he can revamp the chain to bring pride back into the family company.  On his first day, the clunker rental car breaks down and he is stranded in a small town, rescued by none other than the owner of the first restaurant on his list of places to go (imagine that!) who is a war widow with a small child to boot.More diner than restaurant, where the menus are on the table but no one has looked at one in decades--the staff just brings out what they feel like making for you under the premise of you don't order off the menu at your mama's kitchen, you have to eat what she cooks.  Max, our floundering undercover CEO, is flabbergasted.  These people are beneath him.  They are truckers and common folk.  He is out of place here.  Then he finds out his car won't be fixed for three days, the chef has a heart attack and is in the hospital, and Max pitches in to pass the time with the expected result.(Note: none of this is spoilers.  All happens in the first few minutes of reading the book.)The writing is choppy.  The grammatical errors were driving me nuts while reading, but I was an English Grammar major.  I did laugh aloud when the "intimate" scenes were written--it was as if it was written by two people, one who was trying to write it in the most flowery descriptive language and another who was anxious to get through it by saying "and later on" so that they could call it over.  So uneven.But there are some poignant points in the story too.  The devotion of Allie for her son, her staff, and the people that frequent her restaurant.  The self-awareness that Max has as he realizes the jet-set life of a CEO in Los Angeles may be missing something that he can find here in this small-town haven.  The author, Tabitha Foster, did well on these secondary plot lines, showing that there is potential for growth and caring in the characters.  This was done well, and lends itself to the two secondary plot lines.All in all, it was a fun and quick read.  If it had not been so short, it would have been an unfavorable review, however the length makes up for many of the shortcomings, as the pace has to be fast and move along in order to wrap up in the proper time frame.  Enjoyable when you want a mindless evening in a book.