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The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap
It is part of the Pine Mountain #0.5 series and is a in Paperback edition on September 24, 2013 and has 320 pages.
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Three sweet, in so many ways, short story romances that revolve around baking..
My Take
This was an interesting way to write a book with each of the ladies contributing a story to the introduction that was laid out in the prologue. So don’t skip the prologue!
Each of the ladies has been unlucky at love, a state that will change for all three in as many different ways.
I did enjoy how Kauffman segued into Buff Fireman with Clara’s reminiscing. And the heat between the two…oh, yeah. It’s emotional, physical, and mental, in oh-so-many ways. Good thing for Clara that Will is a fireman, as she needs someone to put out her fires. My one caveat is that Will keeps letting her know how he feels and she keeps unthinking it. I wanted to smack her around.
Mr. Movie Star’s motive for spending all that money on the cookies never does get explained. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy the description of Lander in Abby’s too small clothes the night she rescued him. I certainly got hungry listening to the meals she made for him!
Lily’s insecurities came out right along with Hunky Chef’s; using the contest to bring them out was brilliant. I also enjoyed their discussions of what ingredients to use and why as they cooked. Another tale that got my mouth all het up for tasty food! A nice counterpoint to their individual desires to win and their burgeoning relationship.
Each story concludes with a recipe, and I’m looking forward to trying out those Blondies!
On the whole, it’s a warm and sweet cozy read.
The Stories
Donna Kauffman‘s “Where There’s Smoke” focuses on the hapless Clara, fired from her relationships column and thrust into a cookie baking column. Only. She can’t cook.
Kate Angell‘s “The Gingerbread Man” finds a very embarrassed Abby falling in love with the man she almost killed.
Kimberly Kincaid‘s “Sugar and Spice” is a tasty blend of recipes, juggling, and romance as two contestants find themselves blending and merging with a bit of added spice.
The Characters
Clara Parker is a journalist with dreams of more, and she’s hopeless in the kitchen.
Abby Denton is Clara’s best friend and a professional cookie baker. With a hot commodity this Christmas involving peppermint sticks. Tennyson is her very old cat.
Lily Callahan, friends with Abby and Clara, is a professional baker with a dream in her heart. One that winning the Christmas Cookie Contest will make come true.
Will Mason is the one who got away, only someone caught up to him with the firemen’s calendar — hoo-ey, that man is hot. Fran Stinson is the editor at the newspaper where Clara works, er, worked, er…
Mr. Movie Star, a.k.a., Lander Reynolds, has a lot in common with Abby as he’s recently lost a loved one as well. Catherine is his mother; Angela is his sister. Shane Griffin runs Grady’s Garage.
Pete Mancuso is another chef who always has his eye on the main chance; Jake is his much more cautious friend. Martine is his boss. Chase Bishop is the Pine Mountain Resort’s event planner. The judges are Martin Alexander, the owner of several bakeries; Olivia Reece, a Pine Mountain Resort executive; and, the very successful Chef Carly di Matisse. Chef Conrad Le Clerc is a later judge, whom Pete hopes to replace. Lucas Ford is the young man who brings Pete out into the open. Ava is the sister Pete is protecting.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a white background with a feminine hand reaching into a square jar beribboned with a gingham bow and with only a few frosted Christmas sugar cookies left in the bottom. A masculine hand is reaching out for the same jar.
Half the title applies to all three stories and the other half applies to half, yes, it truly is a Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, you’ll understand when you read it.
