P-Town Queen

Ute
Carbone
ISBN Number: 
978-1927454169
Genre: 
Contemporary

Nikki Silva is an interesting mix – gorgeous to look at, descended from a long line of Portuguese fishermen, and with a degree in oceanography.  She wants to study sharks, but has no grant money or project. Now she's living with her widowed father in Provincetown.
Enter Marco Tornetti, a chef married to a mobster's unfaithful daughter.  Her escapades lead her father to believe that Marco is a bad influence, and he arranges a hit on Marco.  Marco escapes and boards the bus of a gay men's choir headed for Provincetown.  By the time the bus arrives, Marco has concocted a cover story  –  he will pose as a gay man named Parker Bench!
Meanwhile, Nikki has a possible shark study, a source of funds, a boat, and some equipment.  All she needs is an assistant.  Nikki and Parker connect, he in need of a job, and she not wanting to hire her cousin.  Parker knows nothing about fishing or sharks, but is attracted to the beautiful Nikki.  Nikki finds Parker cute, but writes him off because she thinks he is gay.  Ute Carbone has a great sense of humor as she brings Nikki and Parker together, attracted to each other yet believing that the other is totally unavailable.  She also paints a wonderful picture of life in a small traditional fishing town, and Nikki's close-knit Portuguese family is a engaging mix of relationships, fights, reconciliations, and being there for each other.  Parker cooks his way into Nikki's family and steals her heart, making the reader beg for more.  And, what happens to the mobster and the hit man makes an unpredictable but perfect ending to a modern romance story!
Victoria Z. Burg