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Chef on Chef
Kierny Sullivan is a celebrity chef whose career has already peaked. Tyler McMurphy is more the next big thing. As an up and coming chef, Tyler was Kierny's protégé, and lover. When Tyler used Kierny to get ahead of the game, though, things went horribly wrong, and the animosity between them survives every attempt at reconciliation.
Then they get an offer to do a show together that neither one of them can refuse, and Tyler has a new scheme. He wants Kierny back in the worst way, and will stop at nothing to get the big-name chef back, including just telling the truth. Can Kierny and Tyler work out a deal?
Then they get an offer to do a show together that neither one of them can refuse, and Tyler has a new scheme. He wants Kierny back in the worst way, and will stop at nothing to get the big-name chef back, including just telling the truth. Can Kierny and Tyler work out a deal?
35 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
1 person is currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Julia Talbot
306 books266 followersJulia Talbot lives in the great Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia is a hybrid author, and has been published by many presses as well as self publishing. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved. Julia also writes as Minerva Howe. Find Julia at @juliatalbot on Twitter, or at www.juliatalbot.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 2, 2009
Kierny and Tyler are chefs and one-time lovers brought back together for a charity cooking competition. Having broken up years before and avoided each other for a long time Kierny is at first determined to not do the show however he finds himself unable to say no to the little kid whose wish they would be fulfilling.
Forced to work with Tyler, Kierny finds himself drawn once again to the man who'd hurt him years before. Tyler for his part is trying to get them past those bad feelings so they can be together again. Will they be able to get beyond their past mistakes or will they once again lose each other?
I'm a big fan of Julia Talbot's writing and this short story, only 34 pages, sounded really nice from the blurb. However I found myself a bit disappointed with this one. There are numerous errors, both spelling and grammatical, throughout the book which were very distracting. As for the main characters I was divided on them. I liked Tyler but the character of Kierny didn't appeal too much to me.
Overall, despite these issues, the story does have some nice scenes, hot sex, and a romantic ending. If you're a fan of the author or looking for a quick sexy read this book might be for you.
Forced to work with Tyler, Kierny finds himself drawn once again to the man who'd hurt him years before. Tyler for his part is trying to get them past those bad feelings so they can be together again. Will they be able to get beyond their past mistakes or will they once again lose each other?
I'm a big fan of Julia Talbot's writing and this short story, only 34 pages, sounded really nice from the blurb. However I found myself a bit disappointed with this one. There are numerous errors, both spelling and grammatical, throughout the book which were very distracting. As for the main characters I was divided on them. I liked Tyler but the character of Kierny didn't appeal too much to me.
Overall, despite these issues, the story does have some nice scenes, hot sex, and a romantic ending. If you're a fan of the author or looking for a quick sexy read this book might be for you.
October 3, 2009
Even though the cover is way too busy with distracting items leaving a rather unattractive outcome, I thought the premise of a few chefs creating heat in and out of the kitchen would be entertaining. Unfortunately, Talbot fails to deliver even a fun read with this simplistic and error-riddled story. Coming in at only 33 pages, the numerous errors were distracting before the basic, clipped dialogue and unattractive commentary during sex scenes were added. The premise fell short on the execution and the style of writing was a departure from previous works by the author.
The plot is rudimentary without much depth or clever reasoning. Chefs Kierny and Tyler are both well known, yet carry similar grudges over the ending of their professional and personal relationship. This causes a high level of animosity between the men whenever they meet but in using a classic trope, they are thrown together with some completely made up reason to be together. In this case it’s a charity cook-off and the sexual chemistry between the two chefs is such that they forget their long time grudge rather quickly in favor of sex. This continues until the end when the Chefs are over their previous anger ~ which the reader is never told exactly what happened ~ and live happily together.
There is not much depth to either man beyond their love of cooking and passion for each other. The writing is made up almost entirely of short dialogue with brief descriptions used very sparsely. Mixed into this were numerous errors that showed very little quality control as they were obvious and repeated. From basic errors such as punctuation to more obvious errors such as "Tyler stopped the roundabout talking with s simple kiss" and “well it warms my heart that thought of me at all.” While it’s easy to see what the author intended, these kinds of elementary mistakes should never have made it into a finished product, let alone with the sheer number of them in such a short book.
The writing and few descriptive phrases added didn’t help the problematic story either. The aside mocking romance novels was no doubt meant to be humorous, but ended up mocking the book itself. Throbbing members are bad but aching members are acceptable. There is a running joke about asparagus used within the story but ran long, especially with a very unattractive comment at the end of a sex scene:
"Seconds later, Tyler returned the favor, shooting hard, filling Kierny's mouth with seed. Thank goodness the man had laid off the asparagus. That would have been foul."
Although I have enjoyed light, entertainment reads from this author in the past, this particular story was poorly written with almost no plot, no development, and filled with so many errors you definitely aren’t getting your money’s worth. Add to that an unattractive cover and this story unfortunately fails to appeal on any level. What is even more surprising is the style of writing is reminiscent of other authors that produce short, dialogue-based stories revolving around sex and not what I’m used to seeing or expecting from Talbot. Here's to hoping this is not a trend.
The plot is rudimentary without much depth or clever reasoning. Chefs Kierny and Tyler are both well known, yet carry similar grudges over the ending of their professional and personal relationship. This causes a high level of animosity between the men whenever they meet but in using a classic trope, they are thrown together with some completely made up reason to be together. In this case it’s a charity cook-off and the sexual chemistry between the two chefs is such that they forget their long time grudge rather quickly in favor of sex. This continues until the end when the Chefs are over their previous anger ~ which the reader is never told exactly what happened ~ and live happily together.
There is not much depth to either man beyond their love of cooking and passion for each other. The writing is made up almost entirely of short dialogue with brief descriptions used very sparsely. Mixed into this were numerous errors that showed very little quality control as they were obvious and repeated. From basic errors such as punctuation to more obvious errors such as "Tyler stopped the roundabout talking with s simple kiss" and “well it warms my heart that thought of me at all.” While it’s easy to see what the author intended, these kinds of elementary mistakes should never have made it into a finished product, let alone with the sheer number of them in such a short book.
The writing and few descriptive phrases added didn’t help the problematic story either. The aside mocking romance novels was no doubt meant to be humorous, but ended up mocking the book itself. Throbbing members are bad but aching members are acceptable. There is a running joke about asparagus used within the story but ran long, especially with a very unattractive comment at the end of a sex scene:
"Seconds later, Tyler returned the favor, shooting hard, filling Kierny's mouth with seed. Thank goodness the man had laid off the asparagus. That would have been foul."
Although I have enjoyed light, entertainment reads from this author in the past, this particular story was poorly written with almost no plot, no development, and filled with so many errors you definitely aren’t getting your money’s worth. Add to that an unattractive cover and this story unfortunately fails to appeal on any level. What is even more surprising is the style of writing is reminiscent of other authors that produce short, dialogue-based stories revolving around sex and not what I’m used to seeing or expecting from Talbot. Here's to hoping this is not a trend.
May 1, 2017
Review written for Love Bytes Reviews.
Two years ago, Kierny was betrayed by the man he loved and since then, nothing has been the same. Despite trying to forget he ever even knew Tyler, Kierny still has it bad for the other man though he’d never allow himself to do something so foolish as to ever trust him again. Tyler fully admits that he was an idiot when he allowed his ambition to override his common sense because in gaining the one thing he wanted, he lost the one person he can’t live without. When Tyler and Kierny are thrown together to do a show, Tyler knows this may be his only chance to get Kierny back; now he just has to hope they’re still as hot together out of the kitchen as they are in it.
Hi, my name is Sarina and I’m addicted to cooking shows…which pretty much means I’m up for reading anything that even hints at one. :D This was a great little story that drew me in from the beginning and kept my attention right to the end. Kierny and Tyler are such different characters yet they still fit together in all the right ways, even if it took them a while to figure that out. While you don’t get an explicit explanation as to what happened to break them up originally, there’s enough to get the picture and that little bit of drama just added to the whole UST they had going on between them.
The story itself was well written and didn’t feel as rushed as some short stories inevitably do, which was nice, and there was a good balance between both the professional and the personal aspects of the main characters’ relationship. I really liked this one; I love a good second chance story and this one left me with a nice ending and a smile for a love recaptured. If you enjoy second chance stories and are looking for a quick read, I’d give this one a try. :)
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2016/11/0...
Two years ago, Kierny was betrayed by the man he loved and since then, nothing has been the same. Despite trying to forget he ever even knew Tyler, Kierny still has it bad for the other man though he’d never allow himself to do something so foolish as to ever trust him again. Tyler fully admits that he was an idiot when he allowed his ambition to override his common sense because in gaining the one thing he wanted, he lost the one person he can’t live without. When Tyler and Kierny are thrown together to do a show, Tyler knows this may be his only chance to get Kierny back; now he just has to hope they’re still as hot together out of the kitchen as they are in it.
Hi, my name is Sarina and I’m addicted to cooking shows…which pretty much means I’m up for reading anything that even hints at one. :D This was a great little story that drew me in from the beginning and kept my attention right to the end. Kierny and Tyler are such different characters yet they still fit together in all the right ways, even if it took them a while to figure that out. While you don’t get an explicit explanation as to what happened to break them up originally, there’s enough to get the picture and that little bit of drama just added to the whole UST they had going on between them.
The story itself was well written and didn’t feel as rushed as some short stories inevitably do, which was nice, and there was a good balance between both the professional and the personal aspects of the main characters’ relationship. I really liked this one; I love a good second chance story and this one left me with a nice ending and a smile for a love recaptured. If you enjoy second chance stories and are looking for a quick read, I’d give this one a try. :)
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2016/11/0...
March 7, 2011
It was a cute story of chefs with a history, but I wish I could have read what Tyler did in the past that broke them up. It tells that his ambitions got in the way, but not what the betrayal was.
January 9, 2014
2.5 stars
August 11, 2011
Cute but not really complete.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews