TWO ! TWO BOOK REVIEWS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!
So, I think you all remember I bought a 3-1 Brides of Bonneterre set at a Christian
bookstore about a month ago and I read Stand-in Groom right away.
Well, I just finished Menu for Romance and A Case for Love:
featuring friends and family to the Guidry family: a prominent aspect of the
mythical town of Bonneterre, Louisiana. Indeed, Bonneterre becomes a character
of its own: a Cajun-laced spicy sphere of historic buildings, Southern charm,
delectable dishes, sticky heat, sprawling plantations and a plentitude of
events and weddings to be planned, by Anne Laurence nee Hawthorne (of Stand-in
Groom) and Meredith Guidry and Major O’Hara, planner and chef alike.
I really enjoyed spending time in the world of these
characters. The plots of each novel in the trilogy were easily usurped by the
friendly nature of the characters. At more than one point in each tale, I was
surprised not to look up and find myself sitting across from one of them over a
glass of sweet tea.
A Menu for Romance
softly etches the slow-blooming love story between Chef Major O’Hara and event
planner Meredith Guidry. Unbeknownst to both of them, they have each harboured
a mutual flame for 8 years; however Major’s complicated family life and
Meredith’s certainty that Major is attracted to the beautiful news reporter,
Alaine Delacroix, keep their paths from crossing until much, much later in the
story. Like all good romances, you know
before the characters do what will bring their eventual happiness and you wait,
on baited hook, for them to catch up. Elements I appreciated about this story
include the amount of knowledge Dacus displays about culinary arts and cooking
shows. I found all of these scenes in
Major’s world to be authentic. Further, Major’s mother suffers from
Schizophrenia and the compassionate scenes involving her care at a supervised
facility, Major’s terms with his mother and their mutual love of John Wayne
movies was a treat to read.
A Case for Love finds beautiful Alaine Delacroix at odds
with charming lawyer Forbes Guidry when she understands that the Guidry
enterprise might be over-taking her family business, she tries desperately to
quell her developing interest in the charming lawyer in order to secure her
family business and name. Several misguided turns, misunderstandings and a few
ballroom dancing lessons help pave the way to eventual happiness. The strongest
element of this novel is the characterization of Forbes. I must confess when I
first “met” him in Stand-in Groom, he rubbed me the wrong way. I think this was
intentional on Dacus’ part and she carefully fleshed him out into a
fully-realized sympathetic character in the third novel. While he didn’t
capture my heart to the extent Major O’Hara and George Laurence did (perhaps,
like his romantic counterpart Alaine, because they both seem to physically represent
the “traditional” movie-star couple), I did enjoy reading his ups and downs in
the dating world. In fact, the dating world is explored more closely here than
in the previous two novels due to one of Forbes’ successful enterprises: an
online dating site called Let’s Do Coffee.
I really enjoyed the ballroom dancing sequences and the
careful way Dacus coupled dance skills with the talkative and sometimes
clashing relationship of Forbes and Alaine.
I am now working through the last two novels in the Ransomeseries: so Dacus will pop up on this blog again soon!
Happy reading all!
Visit Kaye Dacus on the web
1 comment:
Great reviews! I like your two reviews for the price of one thing, I don't think I could do that though...I am too dang wordy. :P
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