****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Several times while reading this book, I was reminded that as a new author, I have a lot to learn and will hopefully keep getting better. This is the first book I've read by Susan Mallery and, wow, she is an amazing story teller.It's hard to summarize the plot of this book because there were many things going on at the same time (in a good way) but in a nutshell, Jenna is a woman who is recently divorced from a pretty emotionally abusive man. An ex-chef, she has returned to her hometown where her adoptive parents live and has opened a cooking store. After some initial bumps and with the help of her assistant, Violet, the store begins to thrive. Jenna starts to become more comfortable with her living situation until her life is, again, turned upside down when her birth parents make an appearance and aggressively pursue getting to know her. While this is happening, we also get to know Violet, a beautiful and intelligent young woman who is ashamed of her shady past and has serious trust issues with men.This book had it all - romance, friendship, family issues, humor, depth, etc. and I seriously loved it. I really felt like I got to know all of the characters and not just Jenna and Violet. I very much enjoyed the storyline between Jenna and her adoptive mom, Beth. The love between the two of them was apparent but the mixed emotions felt by Beth when Jenna began to bond with her birth mother felt very real. And I also loved the instant brother/sister bond between Jenna and Dragon. All of the characters were flawed in their own way but incredibly self-aware.
