Fictional Candy: Review/Giveaway: Bachelor's Special by Christine Warner

Title: Bachelor's Special
Series: No
Author: Christine Warner
Published: June 2013, Entangled Indulgence
Format: Ebook received for review

Jill Adgate wants three things from life: a successful catering business, a family, and the love of an exceptional man. What she has is no job, a mounting pile of bills, and her outspoken best friend—who sets her up on a blind date with the man who inadvertently ruined Jill’s life.

Chet Castle is a businessman who has everything, except the ability to trust. Burned by a money-hungry fiancée, he refuses to get involved in any relationship that has a shelf life longer than a head of lettuce.

Intrigued by her ambition—and determined to get her in bed—Chet offers Jill the chance of a lifetime: work as his live-in chef and he’ll help her get her catering business off the ground. When sparks fly in the kitchen, Jill realizes what’s cooking is a recipe for disaster…

I tend to get excited when a local author comes up for review, so when I got a chance to read Bachelor’s Special – even though it really isn’t one of my normal genres – I jumped at it. I was pleasantly surprised to find a funny, snarky, and romantic story within this book.

Jill is a chef, and on the night of the birthday party for a very elderly woman two things happen. One she kisses the sexiest man she has ever laid lips on. And two, she drops the cake all over the floor. Both of these events catapult her into what is one of the worst years of her adult life. One year later she finds herself on a blind date with the very same man. As it turns out, he has a name, and it’s Chet Castle.

Jill was awesome. She is this totally vintage chick who can cook anything. And even more than that, she just has flair. I really liked being along with her for this story of hers. There were a few times I just wanted to tell her to stop worrying so much and just go with the flow, but hey, if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be Jill. But generally she was this really awesome woman who I know I would like to be friends with, if I was in this book.

As for Chet, he was back and forth. There were times where he was playful and loving, and then at others he seemed like a stereotypical playboy jerk. But he was described as, “A man with eyes of melted dark chocolate.” And I know that surely would have won me over every time had I been the one in front of him. He jokes about being psychic, but he has such wonderful intuition about people it is only serving to make him that much more attractive to me.

So on this date, things blow up to smithereens as one would expect. But Chet, not used to not getting what he wants, devises a plan that will ensure that Jill is near him for quite some time. Hello “Live In Chef”. The plan is devious and genius, I love it. And Jill goes for it without much provocation, so that totally made me happy. When it comes to romance, I love a seemingly unlikely pair. I love when life throws them in the path of each other. So when Chet, with all of his searing kisses, proposed that deal to Jill, my inner hopeless romantic did some cartwheels.

Their time living together in the house was a rollercoaster. At times it was very heated and sexual, and at others it was full of friendship or innocent flirtation. But then there were times it was downright uncomfortable and I’d wished one of them would leave or scream, because something needed to happen. This story takes its ups and downs, and there are a few dramatic events. I think if you like contemporary romance, this would be a good fit for you. It’s also what you might call a “foodie” romance, because her chef skills and food play quite the role in the story too. All in all, I would have to say I quite enjoyed myself with this story. It made me smile time and again, and I can’t ask for more than that!

Author Information

Christine Warner is living her dream in Michigan along with her husband, three children, one laptop and a much loved assortment of furry friends.
Besides laughing and a good round of humor, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, writing but no arithmitic. A confessed people watcher, she finds inspiration for her stories in everyday activities. She loves to read and write about strong heroes and determined, sometimes sassy, heroines.A girl gone wild, at least where social media is concerned, she enjoys meeting other avid readers and writers on facebook, twitter and her website at christine-warner.com.