Baking Lessons
Series: Off Guard, Book 2
Author: Katie Allen
Publisher: Carina Press
Expected Publication date: March 12th 2018
Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 254 pages
Rating: 4 Stars
Rating: 4 Stars
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Summary: A free-spirited baker becomes the best kind of mess in her uptight landlord’s perfectly ordered life in this next installment of the Off Guard series by Katie Ruggle writing as Katie Allen
Leah loves everything about her bakery—the heavenly smells, the satisfaction of feeding people and, of course, unlimited cookies. The only thing she doesn’t like is her uptight landlord’s daily visits. Sure, the man’s drop-dead gorgeous, but for someone with an insatiable taste for treats, he’s anything but sweet.
Army vet Hamilton knows he comes off as rigid. He just can’t seem to bite his tongue around Leah—he might be a virgin but he can imagine a dozen better ways to use his mouth. But when the woman he considers absolutely delicious is threatened by an unwanted admirer, Hamilton intervenes, captivating Leah with his softer side.
Now the man Leah couldn’t avoid is swiftly becoming the one she can’t resist. Unrelenting temptation soon overwhelms them both, leading to an indulgence in everything they’ve been craving. But when past actions bring a fallout neither imagined, they’ll be forced to confront whether their affair is half-baked—or something to savor forever.
Leah loves everything about her bakery—the heavenly smells, the satisfaction of feeding people and, of course, unlimited cookies. The only thing she doesn’t like is her uptight landlord’s daily visits. Sure, the man’s drop-dead gorgeous, but for someone with an insatiable taste for treats, he’s anything but sweet.
Army vet Hamilton knows he comes off as rigid. He just can’t seem to bite his tongue around Leah—he might be a virgin but he can imagine a dozen better ways to use his mouth. But when the woman he considers absolutely delicious is threatened by an unwanted admirer, Hamilton intervenes, captivating Leah with his softer side.
Now the man Leah couldn’t avoid is swiftly becoming the one she can’t resist. Unrelenting temptation soon overwhelms them both, leading to an indulgence in everything they’ve been craving. But when past actions bring a fallout neither imagined, they’ll be forced to confront whether their affair is half-baked—or something to savor forever.
Review: The first few chapters of this book had me making weird faces as I tried not to grin like an idiot. I basically highlighted the whole dang first chunk of the book on my Kindle. There are just so many great, witty bits of dialogue! I am a desperate foodie so I loved reading all the descriptions about baking and life owning and running a bakery. Leah and Hamilton's back and forth and banter are glorious, and I love their weird little dance of courtship (and Hamilton's horny octopus arms).
"Don't be a baby. Just eat it."
"You eat it."
"I'm not eating it. It's an abomination."
---
"What?"
"What what?"
"You're looking at me."
"Yes. It's one of my favorite things to do."
The only thing I didn't care for as much was some of the language during the sex scenes was off-putting for me (I don't know why, the word "pussy" just bothers me), but oh boy are the sex scenes HOT. Ai!
I love Leah, she's definitely a girl after my own heart. She's the perfect blend of sugar and sass, and she attempts to bribe people with baked goods (though she feeds them anyway even if they don't do what they want - not terribly effective, Leah!) She's friendly and fun, and the way she twits Hamilton before she really gets to know him is hilarious. On that note, Hamilton is wonderful. I love how socially awkward he is, and that's he's a super hot stud with zero social skills. He's so clueless, but he tries so hard to be learn and be perfect. He's clearly super-smart and Allen's characterization of him makes me wonder if he's somewhere on the autism spectrum, possibly Asperger's? I'm also not sure whether to tag this as plus-sized heroine or not, because a few of the descriptions of Leah make it sound like she could be plus-sized, but maybe I'm reading into that because I want her to be...
I love Leah, she's definitely a girl after my own heart. She's the perfect blend of sugar and sass, and she attempts to bribe people with baked goods (though she feeds them anyway even if they don't do what they want - not terribly effective, Leah!) She's friendly and fun, and the way she twits Hamilton before she really gets to know him is hilarious. On that note, Hamilton is wonderful. I love how socially awkward he is, and that's he's a super hot stud with zero social skills. He's so clueless, but he tries so hard to be learn and be perfect. He's clearly super-smart and Allen's characterization of him makes me wonder if he's somewhere on the autism spectrum, possibly Asperger's? I'm also not sure whether to tag this as plus-sized heroine or not, because a few of the descriptions of Leah make it sound like she could be plus-sized, but maybe I'm reading into that because I want her to be...
Do not hug him. Do not hug him. It would not be welcomed. Do not hug him, even though he is the most adorable thing in the world, and he just proudly smiled at his ladybug cookie like he's never made sugar cookies before...
This is the second book in the Off Guard series, but it can be read as a stand alone and really only has a very brief passing mention of the main character of the first book, Acting Lessons. That being said, I'm definitely going to go back and read the first book now, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series as well!
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Insta-adding. I already like the dialogue you've posted on there. And agreed about the use of the word pussy. No me gusta.
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