Italy

[close] Enter to win a *signed* Trade Paperback of FEEL THE HEAT, the first in the new Hot in the Kitchen series from Forever Romance/Grand Central about a Chicago Italian family and the sexy, sizzling chefs who love them.

IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT . . .

Photographer Lili DeLuca spends all her time managing her family's Italian restaurant, instead of following her dream of getting an MFA. When famous British chef Jack Kilroy unexpectedly challenges her father to a cook-off, Lili decides she's tired of playing it safe and vows to seduce the tempting Brit. But once a video of her and Jack kissing goes viral and her luscious butt starts trending on Twitter, Lili fears she's cooked up a recipe for disaster . . .

. . . GET INTO THE BEDROOM

Jack Kilroy's celebrity has left him feeling used and used up. While Lili's oh-so-sexy moans when she tastes his delicious creations turn him on, he's even more aroused by how unimpressed this beautiful, funny woman is with his fame. He knows they could be amazing together, if she could only see past his bitch fork-wielding fan base. Now, as he's about to start a new prime time TV cooking show, can Jack convince Lili to realize her own ambitions - and turn up the heat in his kitchen?

* * *

Praise for FEEL THE HEAT:

"I loved the dynamic with these characters and their families. They will have you crying they are so funny!" - HarlequinJunkie.com

"I went from spewing my drink one minute, to needing ice water because the scenes were so hot the next..." - Read Your Writes Book Reviews

"...one of the best culinary romances that I have read." - BS Book Reviewers
[close]

[close] American novelist Linda Lappin, author of The Etruscan, takes up the mystery of the Monster Park of Bomarzo in her new novel, SIGNATURES IN STONE set in Bomarzo in 1927, when four unlikely misfits find themselves entangled in the meanders of the park. Daphne, a mystery writer with a hashish habit; Clive, an American gigolo and art forger; Nigel, an English aristocrat down at the heels; and Finestone, a fly-by-night art historian, are thrown together in a decrepit villa looked after by two Italian servants who are not what they seem. Each character will find his or her own hell hidden in the park, and not everyone will make it out alive. Through the deforming mirror of the Bomarzo sculptures, Daphne will face up to the darker sides of herself while solving a murder for which she has been unjustly accused. Unraveling that mystery, she unwittingly solves another, who designed the Monster Park and why. Perfect summer reading for a plane trip or the beach, SIGNATURES IN STONE tells a story of secrets, forgery and murder, and shows how waking life, intuition, and dream are much more interfused than we normally admit.

Vikki Walton of I Love a Mystery writes:
Lappin is a modern day Agatha Christie with prose that is like eating dark chocolate or sipping a glass of fine wine — the story continues to entice your senses and simply gets better and better the more you partake. Not one to hurry to the plot she unveils the scenes piece by piece, character by character and leaves her own signatures for you to find along the way. [close]

[close] Lena Wallace was supposed to go to Italy on her honeymoon. That was sixteen years ago. Instead, she settles for cooking Spaghetti Bolognese for her two children while her husband, Alex, is on yet another business trip to Florence without her. Lena deals with his absences in the same stoic way she deals with all her responsibilities. And then comes the call that changes everything—the one from Alex's Italian mistress.

Stunned and heartsick, Lena flies to Florence to confront Alex. The city is every bit as beautiful as she imagined, from its glittering fountains and cafés to the golden sunsets over rolling hills. But the further she goes to salvage her marriage, the less Lena recognizes herself—or the husband she's trying to win back. Instead, she's catching glimpses of the person she once hoped to be and the life and family she truly wants. Most of all, she's wondering if the real journey is only just beginning. . .

In a novel as warm and vibrant as its rich Italian setting, author Mary Carter explores the intricacies of marriage, the ways love can both liberate and confine, and the journey to happiness that begins with one surprising step. . .
[close]