Reviews for Delicious

The average rating for Delicious based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-12-27 00:00:00 Marc Shry Low 3 Stars Overall, Delicious was an okay read. Susan Mallery is an excellent author and has a way of telling a story that's captivating and entertaining. I just wish this book was a bit more romance centered, had a better love story, and feature a hero deserving of the title. There wasn't much to admire or like about Cal. I guess he redeemed himself somewhat by the end, but his ambivalence toward Penny, the heroine, for the majority of the book was disappointing and didn't make for a great love story. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out why she would take him back after the way he treated her and lied to her while they were married. I guess it's expected considering this is a romance book, but I didn't believe in their HEA. In fact, I kept rooting for her to wash her hands of him for good. That's NOT the reaction a reader should have while reading a romance novel, that's for sure! Still, the writing was excellent and the plot, minus the romance, compelling and engaging. Even with all my issues, I'm still glad I read this book.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-07-30 00:00:00 Nuria Ricart Casaponsa Due to his family's failing restaurant, Cal Buchanan is, very reluctantly, pulled back into the family business, where he is expected to bring The Waterfront back to life. To do that, he needs to best chef there is. Too bad the best just happens to be his ex-wife, Penny Jackson. Despite their divorce and differences, Penny decides to work for Cal because it would be the career opportunity of a lifetime. After a few mishaps (bad fish delivery, problems in the kitchen, etc.), they get into a flow and start getting along. They joke around, are friendly, and are finally some kind of "friends." Then Cal finds out that Penny is pregnant, by another man, and he flips out before running to Reid, his younger brother, to find out what Reid knew about it. And to make sure Reid wasn't the father. Turns out Penny had In Vitro Fertilization and used a sperm bank, and while Cal still isn't happy, he deals. Meanwhile, Walker, the third Buchanan sibling and youngest brother, comes home from the Marines and tells his family that he's left the military for good this time. He has a mission: Find Ben's Ashley. After the whole baby debacle, things finally start getting back to normal between Penny and Cal. Until they become lovers again. Then things change. And they get even worse when Gloria tells Penny Cal's deepest secret, one he never shared with anyone: he has a seventeen year old daughter. Penny is furious that the man she had loved never told her, even when they were married, and told her that he didn't want to have kids ever. Things go from bad to worse when Penny throws a knife at Cal's head and he finally has to explain the Lindsey situation. A few days later, Cal takes Penny to her ultrasound appointment and things become...intimate between them again. Penny admits to understanding why he kept Lindsey a secret even though she wished he'd told her, and Cal continues to apologize. But they are back to being "friends" again. Not many days later, Dani, the youngest Buchanan, comes to Cal and tells him that her husband wants to get a divorce, after everything she'd done for him and loved him and stayed by his side through his accident and being paralyzed. When Dani goes to serve Hugh the divorce papers, she and Cal discover that Hugh had been cheating on her all along with his students. Penny offers to let Dani move in with her. To make matters worse, when Dani confronts Gloria about why she has never let Dani move up in the company, Gloria reveals that Dani isn't a Buchanan, as her mother had an affair and she was the result. During this time, Lindsey's mother reaches out to Cal because Lindsey's cancer is back and this time chemo just won't be enough, she needs a bone marrow transplant. So Cal goes through the testing and finds that he's a match. After the marrow is pulled out of him, Penny stays with him for a few days to take care of him. Then she goes along with him when he goes to finally meet Lindsey for the first time. While talking to his daughter, Cal has a moment of crystal clarity and realizes that it would be best for Lindsey if he didn't tell her that he was her father. While it saddens him, he knows it's for the best. That night, Penny goes home with him to offer comfort and they fall back into their role as lovers. With the exception of Penny realizing that she was still in love with Cal after all this time, everything was going great. Until Gloria stops by again. This time she tells Penny that Cal's company was expanding to the East Coast and that Cal was moving to New York. While Penny doesn't believe Gloria, she calls the heads of the company to find out the crushing truth. She then goes to confront Cal, tells him that she never wants to have anything to do with him ever again because all he is is a lying bastard who doesn't know how to trust. Hell of a time for him to realize that he loves her, too, huh? With that, she goes home and cries with her friends. Reid, who also happens to be one of Penny's best friends, goes to Cal and the two brothers proceed to get into a fist fight on the front lawn of Cal's house. After the fight, the brothers are cool again. And then Lindsey shows up. She tells Cal that she knows he is her father and she's excited by the prospect of having more family once she learns that she has two uncles and an aunt. She then forces Cal and Reid to go to the hospital because the First Aid Walker was applying was doing nothing for their wounds. At the hospital, Cal talks to Dani and realizes what he needs to do to get Penny back. First, though, he goes to Gloria's office and quits, saying he's never again going to have anything to do with her after the way she has hurt Penny and Dani. Then he goes over to Penny's house and begs for forgiveness and tells her just how much he loves her, that he'll do anything to get her back, anything for her to marry him and have a family with him. Of course she accepts and they live happily ever after. So, I've finally finished the Buchanan series at long last. This is probably one of my favorite contemporary romance series ever. The characters are just so alive to me and the stories are so eloquently written that I can't help but love them. That being said, I am said to see this series at an end, not just for me but in general. Lucky for me, though, I'll be able to read the books any time I want. Cal Buchanan was a character I loved from all the other Buchanan books so I knew I'd love him in his own book. I will admit, though, to experiencing moments of frustration with him. However, those moments in no way detracted from his appeal. And one of the most appealing things about him was how he always tried to protect those he loved, particularly Dani. He is a man with trust issues that he never realized he had until the love of his life steps back into his life. He finally comes to terms with his guilt over giving his daughter up for adoption and realizes it was the best thing for her. I enjoyed seeing Cal grow into himself and finally realize that it is okay to let others into his heart. Like Cal, I loved Penny from the other Buchanan books, but she drove me absolutely insane at times in this book. That being said, however, I have to say that I admire her. She is an independent woman not afraid to do things on her own, like having a baby. She has dreams and goals for her life and would do anything to achieve them. Also, despite everything, she was there for Cal when he needed her. So, while we had our ups and downs, I loved and enjoyed Penny's character. While I absolutely love Reid, he drove me nuts sometimes in this book. And I will admit that I was jealous of his and Penny's relationship for Cal. I wanted to say, "No, no, Penny, go talk to Cal! Not Reid!" However, Reid is probably one of the best friends a girl could have. I mean, the man was willing to get into a fist fight with his brother because he made Penny cry. Who wouldn't want a best friend like that? I felt for Dani in this book and almost wanted to go into the book to give her a hug at some points. Even though I'd already known about Hugh, the bastard, cheating on her and divorcing her and Gloria cruelly telling Dani she wasn't a Buchanan, it hurt my heart to read that. And Hugh, don't even get me started. I wish Dani had let Cal punch him. As much as like Gloria from Sizzling and Tempting, it was just so hard to hold onto that during Delicious, and Irresistible, because of how hurtful she was to her family. I was glad that Penny was able to stand up to Gloria, too. The thing that bothered me most about this novel was Walker and Naomi hooking up. Now, I absolutely love and adore Walker, but I actually teared up when he kissed and went home with Naomi. I know it's because I've already read Irresistible, in which he falls in love for Elissa, so I felt a little like he was cheating on Elissa, even though I know he wasn't because he hadn't even met her yet. I already knew, too, that Walker and Naomi slept together once from Irresistible, but it just broke my heart to see the evidence right there in front of my after I'd read his happily ever after with Elissa. Again, this is a fantastic series and I believe that it deserves every star that I've given it. I know I'll be rereading these books for many, many years to come.