Vicky had been delighted when J.P. Duncan's letter arrived offering double the tuition for a place in the women's summer cookery course at Beauclare's. As the principal instructor, she volunteered to provide the extra lessons requested.
But when J.P. Duncan arrived for registration at the beautiful old country house near London, Vicky was stunned. J. P. Duncan was a man! And a most infuriating one, at that.
Not only did Jay expect her to give him private tutoring, but he had more than cooking on his mind!
Kay Clifford's Recipe For Love is the perfect example of a "Classic" Harlequin romance. I'm rather surprised at how old fashioned the heroine is throughout most of the story, considering the book was published in 1988, when it was becoming more and more commonplace to not be the 24 year old virgin.
Vicky is a cookery instructor who gets caught up in the affairs of her boss. J.P. Duncan is an owner of some highly popular diners who had come to take the course in gourmet cooking so that he can seduce Vicky, so that one of his secrets wouldn't be revealed.
I loved that while Jay was the typical alpha male, who seemed to believe the worst of Vicky, he wasn't obnoxious. In fact, it was easier to like him than the very prim, proper Vicky at times. She was a little too old-fashioned in her ways, even when she set out to get Jay to make love to her, she just didn't seem like she was ready for a casual affair, which, of course, she wasn't.
One of the only things that bothered me was how Jay seemed to not notice that he deflowered her. I think that should have had him on the phone to his blackmailer instantly, to tell her she had the wrong woman. The right woman was actually Vicky's boss, Claudeine.
I definitely would have liked some more time spent on Jay's point of view. You only got a glimpse into his feelings and his life towards the beginning when the blackmail starts.
All in all, it was a sweet book, typical of the series at the time.
Oh boy oh boy oh boy. This was definitely not the book for me, but the flavor of crazy sauce it was might be appropriate for someone else. Someone who enjoys Old Skool ridiculousness.
Upon reconsideration, have upgraded this from 1 to 2 stars, purely for the rock hard...clichés that litter this book and make it so special. And also for the avoidance (for the most part) of making the virgin/whore sisters also pure/evil sister character tropes.
Vicky had been delighted whe J. P. Duncan's letter arrived offering double the tuition for a place in the women's summer cookery course at Beauclare's. As the principal instructor, she volunteered to provide the extra lessons requested.
But when J. P. Duncan arrived for registration at the beautiful old country house near London, Vicky was stunned. J. P. Duncan was a man! And a most infuriating one, at that.
Not only did Jay expect her to give him private tutoring, but he had more than cooking on his mind!