by Katie Fford
ages: adult
First sentence: “Well? Are you going to come in?”
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Ten years ago Perdita’s life fell apart. Sure, she was young — only 19 — but she loved Lucas. And even though their marriage wasn’t much of anything, he didn’t need to slap her in the face by running off with an older woman.

Now, Perdita has gotten her life together and owns a vegetable supply business, growing unique and unusual high-end vegetables for the local spa and high-end restaurant. Sure, she doesn’t have a boyfriend, but who needs one when her business and her relationship with her elderly next-door neighbor and close friend, Kitty, takes up so much of her time. So, it comes as a bit of a shock when Lucas shows up in the kitchen of the high-end restaurant she supplies, having taken over. Since when did he become a chef (especially since he was a stock broker last she knew)? And while he’s as abrasive and bossy as ever, since when did he develop a nice streak?

I picked this up because I wanted something fluffy, something fun, something romantic, and something British. On those counts, it succeeded quite nicely. It was quite fluffy, it was somewhat romantic, and it was definitely British.

But I’m not sure it held up as a story. Aside from the fact that it wasn’t insta-love (yay!), I didn’t get the chemistry between Lucas and Perdita. She spent the whole book hating him, thinking he was just boorish and domineering (which he was), and then, boom: she was back in bed with him. What makes them think that this time around they’d be able to make it work? Sure, she’s ten years older, but I wasn’t convinced that they’d be good together. Or even that they wanted to be together. It didn’t make sense.

Aside from that problem (major though it is), it was a fun little diversion. I just wish it could have been better.