cover image The Secret Ingredient

The Secret Ingredient

K.D. Fisher. Carina Adores, $14.99 trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-1-335-95714-6

Fisher (Love on the Hudson) cooks up a steamy, straightforward enemies-to-lovers romance between a pair of female chefs. Single mother Adah Campbell leaves her hardscrabble life in Chicago and finds her big break in Maine as the head chef of Bella Vista. But when Adah decides to check out other local eateries, she can’t help feeling jealous and pressured upon visiting Beth Summers’s award-winning restaurant, the Yellow House—and even more so after meeting the stunningly beautiful owner. But what starts as professional rivalry between Adah and Beth quickly turns to romance; Adah opens up about her repressed childhood and oppressive family life while Beth comes to terms with falling in love for the first time. Through struggles with their respective restaurants and conflicts among their co-workers and friends, Adah and Beth work to figure out their relationship as both competitors and lovers. Though the romance is a bit shallow, Fisher offers a good balance of vividly described, mouthwatering meals and relationship development. This no-nonsense love story will especially appeal to foodie romance fans. [em]Agent: Claire Draper, the Bent Agency. (Oct.) [/em]