Food and Romance Go Together, Vol. 1: An Anthology

Jillian has loved Ash forever. He is divorced now, and his children are staying with his father who lives next door to Jillian. He asks Jillian to tutor his daughter, Lilly, in reading. Jillian wishes his interest in her were personally. Kestin is an Army Ranger who lost his leg in Afghanistan. He answers an ad to teach a woman to cook. Will this arrangement turn into more than business? Sawyer is getting married, and it is breaking Aviana’s heart. They dated until his mother forbade it. Yet she is contracted to cater his engagement party. Sawyer asks Aviana to trust him, but Aviana doesn’t understand why. Toril has a daughter out of wedlock and for forty years hears nothing from the father, Erik. Now he is on her doorstep with explanations and asking forgiveness. Beth is at her ten-year reunion when Hank comes up to her and asks her out. She can’t believe her high school dream is coming true. Eric and Clarissa are childhood friends, but he moves away. When she is in a compromising position, Eric unexpectedly comes to her rescue.

The stories in this anthology are tied together by the old cliché, “The fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”  Each is a delightful tale of an unlikely couple pulled together through dining. Since these are very short vignettes, the authors have little time to develop more than their main character in their stories. Typically, in these stories, the men have little depth and aren’t even a presence for most of the tale. There are also times when the voices are confusing, and it is difficult to tell which character is talking due to a lack of punctuation. Yet, the endearing qualities of these stories make them well worth the read.  

Belinda Wilson