Review, Interview & Giveaway….The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap by Donna Kauffman, Kate Angell & Kimberly Kincaid

I’m SO excited for this post today! Along with my review of The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, I’ve got a fabulous interview with Pete the delicious pasty chef from Kimberly Kincaid’s story in the anthology, Sugar and Spice.

 I also have a two super cute wine charms, some signed goodies from Kimberly and an ecopy of The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap to give away to one lucky winner!

How much fun is all of this!?  So, enjoy and be sure to enter to win in the rafflecopter below!

Book links:

Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble  ~  Goodreads 

Where There’s Smoke by Donna Kauffman

Synopsis:

When flames from a recipe gone disastrously wrong send hunky fire fighter Will Mason to pretty Clara Parker’s rescue, the sparks really begin to fly! And once Will gets a taste of Clara, he aches for more than just a little sugar from the famously single food columnist…

 

My review:

Talk about a fantastic start to this hot and sexy anthology!  Where There’s Smoke combined a hot and sexy firefighter, a clumsy-yet-adorable newspaper columnist and a long lost friendship for a delicious first course.  Clara Parker isn’t having the best luck, but then again, that’s nothing new.  Always the slightly awkward and clumsy one out of her trio of girlfriends, she is used to things not necessarily going her way, but this week has really been epically bad.  Dumped by her love interest and having to write a column on baking to save her job, Clara is at her wits end.  But when she runs into Will, a guy she hasn’t seen since he moved away suddenly years ago and a guy she’s held a flame for, things seem to start looking up.  Well, until she almost burns her house down baking for her column.  Luckily, Will is a firefighter waiting to save a damsel in distress. And Clara is just the damsel he’s been dreaming about saving since he left all those years ago.

This story totally rocked my socks off! The heat and build up between Clara and Will is phenomenal.  Will is an amazing character….cut to the chase and open and honest.  I loved him.  Clara is so cute and quirky and just so real! Together they balance each other out and cause enough heat for more than a few sirens to go off!

 

The Gingerbread Man by Kate Angell

 Synopsis:

Folks have always told fun-loving Abby Denton that her anatomically correct Gingerbread cookies are…impressive. But those erotic cookies have nothing on the sexy stranger Abby saves from a snowy country road. Could Lander Reynolds be the Christmas treat she’s truly been longing for?

 

My review:

The most emotional and intense in the story, in my opinion…. The Gingerbread Man was a meaningful and savory middle course.  Abby has kept her X-rated gingerbread men hidden from the townspeople, and she intends to keep it that way…but when a handsome stranger breezes in to the cookie swap and buys a box of those secret cookies, she has no idea what’s in store for her.  Lander can’t believe his eyes…what exactly are on those gingerbread men? He also can’t believe his eyes when he wakes up in the cabin of a beautiful stranger…clearly injured, he must have had an accident.  The last thing he can remember was a glace at those peculiar cookies.

What started out as an innocent story turned into an emotional journey dealing with loss and the holidays for both Abby and Lander.  I adored Lander and Abby sharing their family memories while being snowed in and the bond they built because of their feelings of loss.  It was truly a beautiful tale that had me crying more than once.  In the end, Abby and Lander prove that wishes can come true.

 

Sugar And Spice by Kimberly Kincaid

Synopsis:

When caterer Lily Callahan goes up against hotshot pastry chef Pete Mancuso in the bake-off of the season, the stakes are high – and scandalously passionate. Will the gorgeous gourmand steal Lily’s heart – and the top prize in the Christmas cookie competition?

 

My review:

I always say the dessert is the best course, and Sugar and Spice was deliciously delectable and exactly the ending I craved.  Lily Callahan has always dreamed of owning her own bakery.  So when she sees a chance to win a good chunk of change in the local bake-off of the holiday season, she knows this is what she needs to make her dreams a reality.  Pete Mancuso, for years, has dreamed of creating his sugary confections at the most exclusive restaurant in the area.  So when he sees a chance to gain the notoriety in the local bake-off of the holiday season, he knows this is what he needs to make his dreams a reality.  Both Lily and Pete are fighting for their dreams and fighting to both honor and hide theirs pasts.  They also soon realize they are fighting their attraction to one another.  Will they be able to focus on the heat in the kitchen and not in their desires for each other?

Oh yum, Pete Mancuso is not at all what I would think of a pastry chef as.  He’s daring and cocky and delicious bad-boy but with a heart of gold and a soft side I never saw coming.  Lily is genuine and has a beautiful spirit and sense of family and self.  Combined, they both are similar and different in equal amounts and it was a brilliant combo.  Lily, the strict, rule following, outlining gal and Pete the bold, risk taking, original guy make a pair that’s hard to beat.  It’s the perfect sweet and salty combination that make up a taste meant to be savored.

Four Loves For All

 

Interview with Pete Mancuso the Pastry Chef from Sugar and Spice:

So, Pete, how are things in Pine Mountain? 

Great, actually! Lily and I just chose the shop front where The Sweet Life is going to go down on Main Street, and of course we’re already having, um, lively discussions about the menu. (Flashes a smirk) Suffice it to say, we might go with a his-and-hers theme. You know, a little sugar, a little spice. We’re hoping to have the place open by late summer (hint: if you keep your eyes open nice and wide, you might see it in Gimme Some Sugar, coming in June 2014!)

 

Have you and Lily come up with any delicious cookie recipes together?

Of course! She still hates to wing it, but every once in a while I can convince her to step outside the box a little. Usually it works.

(Lily pokes her head into the interview to lift her eyebrows at Pete) Uh-huh. Emphasis on the usually. Ask him about the chocolate covered bacon debacle.

(Pete laughs) Hey, that would’ve worked if you’d let me figure out the right ratios!

(Lily makes a face and shakes her head before kissing Pete on her way out the door)

(Pete grins) Anyway, yeah. It’s always an adventure in our kitchen.

 

I absolutely love what you did with Lucas and you gained some major bonus points with me……have you seen any more of him and is he doing well? 

Yup and yup! Lily and I go hang out with Lucas at the community center once a week. He’s really interested in food, so he got an after school job at Joe’s Grocery. Once the bakery opens, we’ll keep him busy there too. (hint: keep your eyes open for Lucas in the Pine Mountain series…especially in Stirring Up Trouble, coming in October 2014!)

 

Quick…..what was the last dessert you ordered in a restaurant that you adored?

(Grinning) Funny you should ask! To celebrate getting our store front, I took Lily to L’Orangerie. It was one of Conrad Le Clerc’s last days there, but he made us these truly insane double-chocolate tartlets with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and raspberry reduction sauce. I seriously couldn’t have made them any better.

 

Oh, and speaking of restaurants….did you ever get into trouble for “borrowing” a bit of that Remy Martin XO?

Gee, Jillian, I don’t know what you could be talking about! I would never do such a thing (Big. Fat. Smile.)

 

 

Ok, now for a little fun with “this or that”…..

 

Chocolate sauce or whipped cream? Yes! (don’t make me pick. Please!)

 

Boxers or briefs? Now this one, I’ll pick. Boxers

 

Batman or Superman? Man of steel, baby! I’d kill to be able to fly. Also, bulletproof.  Enough said.

 

Fancy night out or cozy night in? (chuckling) Either one is fine by me, as long as I’ve got Lily by my side.

 

Thanks Pete, and Lily, for stopping by!

Giveaway

 

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