Bliss

October 15, 2013

Serafina Wilde's world fell apart a year ago. She lost her boyfriend and her job on the same day in a disastrous scene that may have cost her any chance of a baking career in New York. When her Aunt Pauline calls in tears, Sera is almost relieved to drop everything to travel to Santa Fe, NM, to take over the family business. Sera soon falls for the quirky Southwestern city. A new home and the chance to convert Pauline's House of Passion into a bakery may be just what Sera needs to solve her problems--the business ones anyway. What she still has to work on is her self-confidence and allowing herself to believe that a real relationship may still be possible. VERDICT This novel by a writer who previously penned historical romances under another name contains charming characters with enough quirks to make them interesting and fun. Fans of Harriet Evans's novels should take note.--Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
Pastry chef Serafina Bliss Wilde moves to Santa Fe to lend a hand to her aunt Pauline, but it's Sera who ends up getting help repairing the damage her egomaniacal ex-boyfriend, Blake, also a chef, has done to her career and self-esteem. Pauline, a renowned women's sexuality expert, convinces Sera to turn her shop, Pauline's House of Pleasure, into a bakery with a back room that caters to more carnal satisfaction. The irony is that Sera has never experienced climax, but if Pauline and her friends, The Back Room Babes, and the handsome landlord, Asher, have anything to do with it, that will soon change. When Blake shows up in town to try to destroy Sera's newfound success and confidence, it all ends up getting played out in an epic, televised bake-off. Pastries and sex toys make for an unusual and entertaining mix in this tasty debut novel. The romance and revenge are as sweet as the luscious descriptions of Sera's confections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)