The Secret Ingredient (Love Around the Corner #1)

What do you get when you mix together one gorgeous male, one meticulous female, and a heap of chemistry? You get “The Secret Ingredient!”  Short order cook by day, bartender by night, Nate Garner is in the midst of try-outs for a reality cooking show, thanks to his sister! Unable to continue the task as videographer, his sister quickly drafts June Sinclair, the overtly organized elementary school secretary to fill the job. 

Through Nate’s creative ideas, and June’s compulsion for organization, the two drift from markets to butchers, to his family owned bar while filming and getting acquainted, but can their new relationship blossom into something more when Hollywood comes knocking?

Wow! What woman doesn’t love a man who can cook?! The first book of this series immediately comes to life with descriptions so delectable and vibrant you can practically taste the words! The characters are well written which helps bring chemistry and sexual tension to the novel. There are however, a few points throughout that will leave the reader scratching their head. The author alludes to a deeper internal conflict within each character. Rather than give an answer to those questions, it’s breezed over and replaced with pleasantries. Perhaps in book two the reader will not only have their questions answered, but bear witness to the depth and story behind these characters. 

Overall, from the deliciously described foods all the way to the steamy bedroom, Ms. Rae manages to find the perfect recipe for this feel good novel!

Stephanie Lodes