Bonus: Sweeter with You

Harlequin

Sweeter with You
Susan Mallery
2016

The Summary
"Ana Raquel's greatest passion is food:  she's a gifted chef with the experience to prove it.  Armed with an Airstream trailer-turned-mobile-kitchen, she's back in her hometown of Fool's Gold, California, ready to make her dreams of running her own kitchen come true.  There's just one problem--one tall, dark-eyed,utterly exasperating problem:  Greg Clary, her archnemesis.

"Greg has always one-upped her at everything.  he even has a restaurant in Fool's Gold that's wildly successful.  And when the mayor asks Ana to collaborate with Greg on a cookbook, she's forced to confront her unresolved feelings for him.  Ana can craft the most delicate souffle, but can she navigate the desire of her own heart?"

The Good
I've been a fan of Susan Mallery for a long time, and I've come to love her imaginary town of Fool's Gold.  I don't know why, but I've always been enchanted by her stories.  They're short and sweet, but (not often) foolishly romantic.  Sweeter with You is much the same of what I've come to expect.

Except shorter.  Much shorter.

It was fun.  I read it quickly (during lunch, I believe), and I enjoyed a short jaunt back to Mallery's idealistic little town.

The Bad
Honestly, Sweeter with You feels rushed.  I mean, it's only a novella, so I understand that a lot has to happen in a few pages for the story to progress and for the romance to happen.  And yet I still didn't feel very interested in the characters or as invested in the story.

It just wasn't quite the same, like it was missing something.  It probably could have used an entire novel to improve upon the development of the plot and the emotional evolution of the characters.  I might have preferred a longer novel in that regard.

Or I might have like to read it in the original cookbook format.

The Ugly
Nothing really.  It's very mild for a novella, especially for a Fool's Gold story.