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Chef Charming
The neatly ordered life of Chef Marcus MacRae changed dramatically when Aurora Sinclair walked into his evening cooking class. Marcus was drawn to Aurora but couldn’t seem to stop himself from pushing her away. He fought to hide his ridiculous, unwanted attraction behind a facade of indifference.
Aurora ‘Rori’ Sinclair could not understand what she had done to annoy the handsome chef. Letting her roommate talk her into taking this class so close to graduation was a bad idea. The dislike she read in Chef MacRae’s actions confirmed her mistake. Not only was she facing the pressure of her graduate art show but now this enigmatic man had invaded her life. Unfortunately she found herself fighting a losing battle with attraction. Marcus was fascinating, and according to their mutual friends, not really a mean guy.
Would Rori be able to keep her attraction secret long enough to survive the class? Would Marcus be willing to admit his feelings in time to keep her from walking out of his life forever? Could God actually use ‘love at first sight’ to bring two people together?
Aurora ‘Rori’ Sinclair could not understand what she had done to annoy the handsome chef. Letting her roommate talk her into taking this class so close to graduation was a bad idea. The dislike she read in Chef MacRae’s actions confirmed her mistake. Not only was she facing the pressure of her graduate art show but now this enigmatic man had invaded her life. Unfortunately she found herself fighting a losing battle with attraction. Marcus was fascinating, and according to their mutual friends, not really a mean guy.
Would Rori be able to keep her attraction secret long enough to survive the class? Would Marcus be willing to admit his feelings in time to keep her from walking out of his life forever? Could God actually use ‘love at first sight’ to bring two people together?
133 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 23, 2013
5 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 19, 2013
Very cute, very Christian read. It didn't shove the preaching down your throat, but got close. Fun characters, fun story. I would've enjoyed it more if there were a few more kisses.
June 18, 2013
Chef Charming is the story of Aurora "Rori" Sinclair and Marcus MacRae. Rori is actually an art student who takes a cooking class with her friend, Jessica; the class is taught by the handsome Marcus MacRae.
First, what I liked: I loved the Christian theme which runs throughout the story. Faith was important to both Rori and Marcus, and was an integral part of their lives, both individually and as a couple, later. And in today's atmosphere where erotica seems to be the best-sellers on an on-going basis, it's SO nice to read a romance where the couple remains true to God's will for purity before marriage; it was especially nice that the author chose to portray a man struggling to remain chaste, because Christians experience sexual desire just like everyone else (they just don't give in to it until the time is right).
What I didn't care for: SPOILER ALERT! Okay, so Rori was stood up for a date in high school. THAT'S this huge trauma that has colored her entire life? Come on. It was ONE date, ONE guy. The way she and her family acted, I was expecting to discover she'd caught her fiancé naked with her maid of honor on their wedding day. At one point, I even wondered if she had been raped by some date. But nope. Just...stood up by a teenage boy. It just didn't ring true for this gorgeous young woman to still be stuck in that mind-set. I also didn't care for the way Marcus fought his attraction to Rori; his behavior and words were, at times, decidedly un-Christian, IMHO. Sometimes, he came across as downright nasty and hateful. Additionally, he was assured there was no policy at the college that prevented him from dating Rori; rather than verify this, he simply continued to be rude and arrogant?
NEXT SPOILER ALERT: I also had a problem with the fact that they supposedly fell in love with each other, in spite of all the misunderstandings and went from "she hates me" and "he knows I love him and it made him angry" to "will you marry me" and "yes" in record time. I'm saying when Marcus should have been doing some sucking up to Rori, explaining his snotty behavior, he was asking her to marry him. Hello? They didn't really even know each other. That's not love, and it's not realistic.
Finally, this book could have been a cute little novella, but it felt like the author tried to stretch it to novel-length; as a writer of Christian romance myself, I feel if I'm having to stretch a story, I need to end it. I'd recommend this to readers when it's free, but I don't think I'd recommend people buy it. I WILL look for more work by this author and see if she takes constructive criticism; there's definite potential here.
First, what I liked: I loved the Christian theme which runs throughout the story. Faith was important to both Rori and Marcus, and was an integral part of their lives, both individually and as a couple, later. And in today's atmosphere where erotica seems to be the best-sellers on an on-going basis, it's SO nice to read a romance where the couple remains true to God's will for purity before marriage; it was especially nice that the author chose to portray a man struggling to remain chaste, because Christians experience sexual desire just like everyone else (they just don't give in to it until the time is right).
What I didn't care for: SPOILER ALERT! Okay, so Rori was stood up for a date in high school. THAT'S this huge trauma that has colored her entire life? Come on. It was ONE date, ONE guy. The way she and her family acted, I was expecting to discover she'd caught her fiancé naked with her maid of honor on their wedding day. At one point, I even wondered if she had been raped by some date. But nope. Just...stood up by a teenage boy. It just didn't ring true for this gorgeous young woman to still be stuck in that mind-set. I also didn't care for the way Marcus fought his attraction to Rori; his behavior and words were, at times, decidedly un-Christian, IMHO. Sometimes, he came across as downright nasty and hateful. Additionally, he was assured there was no policy at the college that prevented him from dating Rori; rather than verify this, he simply continued to be rude and arrogant?
NEXT SPOILER ALERT: I also had a problem with the fact that they supposedly fell in love with each other, in spite of all the misunderstandings and went from "she hates me" and "he knows I love him and it made him angry" to "will you marry me" and "yes" in record time. I'm saying when Marcus should have been doing some sucking up to Rori, explaining his snotty behavior, he was asking her to marry him. Hello? They didn't really even know each other. That's not love, and it's not realistic.
Finally, this book could have been a cute little novella, but it felt like the author tried to stretch it to novel-length; as a writer of Christian romance myself, I feel if I'm having to stretch a story, I need to end it. I'd recommend this to readers when it's free, but I don't think I'd recommend people buy it. I WILL look for more work by this author and see if she takes constructive criticism; there's definite potential here.
August 24, 2013
Aww cute book. I loved Rori. She was a great personality. Marcus was an idiot. That's it. What was he? Like 7 years old??? I think 1st grade is about the ONLY time it is SLIGHTLY acceptable for a guy to be mean to a girl when he likes. I didn't love how things went. It was just a little to quick for me. I was still having a hard time not hating him when things changed. I just wish the romance would have built a little more.
August 29, 2013
The book started out cute and I was enjoying things. I didn't care for the writing style. I enjoy when novels switch perspectives but this book seemed to be all over the place. Also I was excited once the class was over to see things progress but I found it ridiculous how things went from there.
It was a clean read.
It was a clean read.
January 21, 2015
A very reluctant two stars. This is something I'm sure I won't pick up again :(
June 23, 2013
I liked this story, but could have liked it more.
There were good messages in this story, resisting the temptation to make a mad dash for the bedroom, making sure your significant other holds values similar or at least compatible to yours, and talking about concerns rather than letting them possibly ruin something good, but there was something lacking for me.
For a story where the main characters value their faith and want a relationship with a someone with similar morals and values, there wasn't a whole lot of talking between them. If the interaction in class had been slightly different, this one could have worked a lot better for me.
I would also have liked it if the author had made the instant messaging/emailing between them clearer by labeling the message with the senders name (such as 'Rori:' before what she writes and 'Marcus:' before his messages).
Like I said, I liked this one. It is a different story like from what I've read recently, with good ideas and likable characters. It just needed a bit more in order for me to love it.
There were good messages in this story, resisting the temptation to make a mad dash for the bedroom, making sure your significant other holds values similar or at least compatible to yours, and talking about concerns rather than letting them possibly ruin something good, but there was something lacking for me.
For a story where the main characters value their faith and want a relationship with a someone with similar morals and values, there wasn't a whole lot of talking between them. If the interaction in class had been slightly different, this one could have worked a lot better for me.
I would also have liked it if the author had made the instant messaging/emailing between them clearer by labeling the message with the senders name (such as 'Rori:' before what she writes and 'Marcus:' before his messages).
Like I said, I liked this one. It is a different story like from what I've read recently, with good ideas and likable characters. It just needed a bit more in order for me to love it.
July 9, 2013
I really liked this book. It caught and held my attention right from the start.
I did have problems with a few things such as Marcus's treatment of Aurora(being extremely mean and rude), just because he was attracted to her.
I would have liked to have given the book a 3.5 or 3.75 stars mainly because it is one of the first Christian romances that got my attention the way it did in a very long while.
I did think that them falling in love and getting married was fast considering they had spent most of the time they knew each other at odds. Even taking their private correspondence into consideration its still far fetched.
I just took it all in stride though and suspended by disbelief and enjoyed the story for what it was; a light, clean, romance.
That's the thing about fiction it doesn't have to be believable to everyone. How much you enjoy this book or not is going to depend on rather or not you are looking for something with a bit of substance or not.
The best thing about this book is that the relationships are centered around their faith in God.
I did have problems with a few things such as Marcus's treatment of Aurora(being extremely mean and rude), just because he was attracted to her.
I would have liked to have given the book a 3.5 or 3.75 stars mainly because it is one of the first Christian romances that got my attention the way it did in a very long while.
I did think that them falling in love and getting married was fast considering they had spent most of the time they knew each other at odds. Even taking their private correspondence into consideration its still far fetched.
I just took it all in stride though and suspended by disbelief and enjoyed the story for what it was; a light, clean, romance.
That's the thing about fiction it doesn't have to be believable to everyone. How much you enjoy this book or not is going to depend on rather or not you are looking for something with a bit of substance or not.
The best thing about this book is that the relationships are centered around their faith in God.
July 3, 2013
*Spoilers* I didn't find this book very believable. Marcus treated Rori horribly from the moment they met, and for her to fall in love with him despite this was unrealistic. Sure he was nice via email, but face to face he was a jerk - even in Church! I didn't like the fact that while he's a portrayed as a strong Christian (and refuses to get involved with women who aren't spiritually strong), he is perfectly aware of how badly he's treating Rori, but continues to be mean to her and claims he can't help himself. For the strong, Godly man his character is portrayed to be, he should never have consciously treated a woman the way he treated Rori. Overall I just found the whole concept of falling in love in two weeks (with very limited pleasant interactions) to the point of not only getting engaged, but having the wedding only four weeks later, unrealistic. Not the worst book I've ever read, but I did not particularly enjoy this one.
June 18, 2013
This book was okay but there were parts that were just not believable. First, they went from 0 to 10 in a day. The trauma caused by one boy standing a girl up in high school does not cause a lifetime of insecurities and heartache, normally. Chef's college break up after only a few months of dating causes the Chef not to date for four years, really? Doesn't sound right to me. And let's not forget that Chef couldn't touch Princess in any way, even in a room full of relatives, and not lose control. No holding hands, hugs, kisses, NOTHING. No wonder she had doubts because I would have as well. I think that clearly shows great weakness. Princess mentions how important talking and learning about each other is, as they learned in premarital counseling, but yet she couldn't even tell him that she was troubled by the ex-girlfriend?
Just not a realistic story.
Just not a realistic story.
June 18, 2013
I think instead of graduate students we have high school students, including chef charming. The I'm going to be mean to you because i like you is very grade school. Hello we are adults. The insecurity over a boy who stood princess up in high school seems a bit over important. Same with Clarissa , ex-girlfriend, didn't sleep together, he broke up with her, where is the problem?
I found the book to drag. Focusing on each class was not necessary and the wedding plans ,along with how much i want her, why wont he touch me blah blah blah way too long. Overly repetitive themes.
I did enjoy how clean the book was. Its refreshing.
I found the book to drag. Focusing on each class was not necessary and the wedding plans ,along with how much i want her, why wont he touch me blah blah blah way too long. Overly repetitive themes.
I did enjoy how clean the book was. Its refreshing.
June 24, 2013
Ok, Goodreads, you really need to do half-stars on your rating system!
The book wasn't bad, the writing and story were good and I really liked the characters. I just didn't love it and wasn't expecting it to be a Christian romance, which threw me off a little, (maybe I missed something in the synopsis?). I felt like some of the ideals in the book went totally against how I think personally, which influenced my rating. Maybe next time I read it I'll change my mind on the star rating?
The book wasn't bad, the writing and story were good and I really liked the characters. I just didn't love it and wasn't expecting it to be a Christian romance, which threw me off a little, (maybe I missed something in the synopsis?). I felt like some of the ideals in the book went totally against how I think personally, which influenced my rating. Maybe next time I read it I'll change my mind on the star rating?
June 20, 2013
A free read that was quick and a mental break. A bit disappointing while cute in some ways. It had a good message about purity, but not very realistic. I think like some of other free reads I've read it needed to have a little more work done on the plot and characters. I think that the two in this story were going to have a lot of rough times ahead of them, because of how quickly their relationship progressed.
June 18, 2013
What a cute and romantic story. I love the faith that is included in the book and the convictions of the hero/heroine.
June 25, 2013
Beautiful faith based love story
October 23, 2013
Love god faith as long as u believe you in something miracles will happen an true live will win beautifully written a must read for all who love a good soppy romance
June 22, 2013
Too much Religion !! not so much of a credible story
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews