My other major gripe with the Bliss line—or any of its ilk—is the short length: I generally feel like I don’t get a good sense of the characters or the setting and the romance is entirely too rushed and unrealistic in fewer than 200 pages. But TASTE THE HEAT manages to bring the vibrant food-and-tradition-steeped culture of Cajun Louisiana to life from the opening line and throughout. I’ve never been to New Orleans or small-town Louisiana, but I definitely feel as if I’ve experienced all the city has to offer vicariously through this book. Bring on the crawfish étouffée and jambalaya! Ms. Harris also lays out the dilemmas driving the story and character growth clearly and from the get-go: sexy fire captain and single father Jason Landry lost his one true love to random violence and now seeks to guard his heart and simply find a companion and mother figure for his daughter Emma; big-city chef Colby Robicheaux has been burnt by infidelity and has sworn off relationships and ever trusting a man again. She ran from tiny Magnolia Springs at 18 to escape a life-altering family secret and is only back in town temporarily to get the family restaurant back on its feet… but seeing her childhood crush all grown up and sexier than ever—and being the perfect dad to his delightful daughter—has her rethinking things. The same is true for Jason: one look at the woman his best friend’s little sister has become (and whom he doesn’t initially recognise in an adorably hilarious meet-cute that sets the tone for the entire novel) and his dormant libido and heart spring to life. Watching the two of them help each other heal from their respective heartbreaks and realise that they want (and deserve) it all is incredibly sweet and heartwarming without being over-the-top and cloying.
Jason is the perfect book boyfriend. Not only is he ridiculously hot, wears a sexy uniform (have I mentioned I have a thing for firefighters?), and knows his way around the kitchen, he’s also selfless (must be the firefighter thing), dedicated to preparing people (especially women) to deal with violence with the ninjitsu classes he teaches at his gym, and one hell of a father despite a crazy shift schedule at the fire station. A man that will brave the feminine products aisle with his tween/teen daughter for her first period (and knows to add a bottle of Midol to his purchases after some help choosing pads) is definitely a keeper. The way he woos Colby and restores her love for her Cajun roots by replacing her painful memories tied to food and the city with delightful, sensual ones… be still, my heart! I seriously want to take him home. I quite liked Colby as well—she has serious trust issues and is quick to jump to the wrong conclusion when it comes to men, but she knows it and acknowledges when she lets that mistrust get the better of her. Watching her learn to open up and the way she is with Emma despite believing she doesn’t have a maternal bone in her body is incredibly satisfying. And she’s hilarious, to boot, which makes her incredibly relatable and easy to root for, even when you want to slap her upside the head for letting her past threaten to ruin things with Jason.
Colby and Jason together are a delightful, awww-inducing couple, and there is plenty of heat between them despite the intimate moments being of the fade-to-black persuasion. In addition to the strong chemistry and all-around adorableness of the romantic leads, TASTE THE HEAT boasts a great cadre of secondary characters whose relationships to the hero and heroine and each other are an integral part of the story and the tight-knit community feel and add a surprising amount of depth and realism to so short a story. Colby’s bad-boy-who’s-really-a-math-nerd older brother Cane gets his own story in SEVEN-DAY FIANCE, and I hope her equally delightful younger sister Sherry gets her own shot at a HEA.
TASTE THE HEAT is one big ball of happy—in a good way. You can see the perfect HEA coming a mile away, but it’s so darn adorable and uplifting that it just makes you want to keep reading and bask in the feel-good vibes. It’s short enough to be read in one sitting, and if you don’t come out of it with a huge smile on your face, there’s no hope for you! I’m looking forward to returning to Magnolia Springs and reading Cane’s story in the next instalment in the series.
**ARC provided by Publisher**
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