A Dash of Salt and Pepper
-
- $16.99
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
One of Amazon's Best Romances of December
A December LibraryReads Pick
Sometimes two cooks in the kitchen are better than one in this swoony romantic comedy from the author of I’m So (Not) Over You.
Xavier Reynolds is doing less than stellar. He just got dumped, was passed over for a prestigious fellowship, and to top it all off he's right back home in Harper's Cove, Maine (population: 9,000). The last thing he wants to do is to work as a prep chef in the kitchen of the hip new restaurant in town, The Wharf. Especially since the hot, single-father chef who owns it can’t delegate to save his life.
Logan O’Hare doesn’t understand Xavier or why every word out of his mouth is dipped in sarcasm. Unfortunately, he has no choice but to hire him—he needs more help in the kitchen and his tween daughter, Anne, can only mince so many onions. It might be a recipe for disaster, but Logan doesn’t have many options besides Xavier.
Stuck between a stove and a hot place, Logan and Xavier discover an unexpected connection. But when the heat between them threatens to top the Scoville scale, they’ll have to decide if they can make their relationship work or if life has seasoned them too differently.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This charming romance from Jackson (I'm So (Not) Over You) takes readers to the quaint town of Harper's Cove, Maine, to which Black, gay business school grad Xavier Reynolds returns after losing both his job his boyfriend. Xavier initially mistakes chef Logan O'Hare, a white, bisexual single father, for a burglar breaking into his parents' house, leading to a comical but slightly over-the-top meet-ugly. The cutesy narration of this opening dials back a bit as the plot progresses, allowing the story room to breathe. When Xavier takes a sous chef job in Logan's restaurant, the very different men soon learn to work together—and indulge in some intense "erotic flirting." They also reveal their vulnerabilities, which may be why Logan trusts Xavier to run the restaurant alone one night—unaware that a make-or-break food critic is in the house. Complications further arise from their clashing desires: while Logan is looking for a relationship, Xavier plans to leave ASAP. And when Xavier develops a secret plan to help Logan's business, he jeopardizes their budding romance by violating Logan's trust. Jackson seasons his rom-com with quippy dialogue and oodles of pop culture references, if not quite enough food porn. Even so, readers will eat this up.
