Grill Me, Baby - Sophia Knightly Title: Grill Me Baby

Series: stand alone

Author: Sophia Knightly

Genre: Contemporary Romance

The heat is on… Raised among women who taught him to cook at his family’s Buenos Aires restaurant, master chef Paolo Santos deftly works his culinary wiles—and his gypsy charm—on posh Flamingo Island’s female clientele. The tastiest tidbit on the island, though, is cool, elegant Michaela Willoughby. The redhead’s slender curves are as enticing as her rabbit-food menus are maddening. And she’s his main competition for the chance of a lifetime.
Michaela overcame her own weight issues to become Flamingo Island’s premiere spa chef. Now she has a chance to share her innovative recipes for healthy living on a new cooking show—if she can somehow outshine Paolo. His sizzling, Latin-lover looks are more heart stopping than his decadent cooking. And she’d love nothing better than to stick a fork in his outsized ego.

When the stage lights ignite, so does the competition…and a sexual chemistry no one—least of all Paolo and Michaela—saw coming. Suddenly, separating business from pleasure is as impossible as separating a scrambled egg. And the big question isn’t whose knife cuts fastest…it’s whose heart can take the most heat.

Product Warnings

Contains two hot chefs duking it out in a lively showdown of sexy rivalry. Mix in family drama, luscious recipes and spicy mischief, and there’s more than just steam rising out of the kitchen. May cause lusty cravings for midnight indulgences.

Michaela has overcome a number of obstacles to become Flamingo Island's premiere spa chef. She tried hard to make her disapproving parents happy, even so far as making it through 3 years of law school before she walked away to pursue her own dream of becoming a chef. Having struggled with her own weight issues, she's recognized for her tasty, healthy, low-calorie cuisine. Now she's in the running to host Miami Spice on the Food Network. Having her own cooking show will allow her to pay back the money her parents spent on law school and promote her self-published cookbook. She won't let anything stand in the way of getting this job, especially not her competition, even if he is charming and sexy.

Paolo Santos, playboy chef of Flamingo Island's Bella Luna, is determined to be the host of Miami Spice. He knows how to entertain an audience and has a passion for cooking having been raised in his family's restaurant in Argentina. Since the death of his father, he has carried the responsibility for his family on his shoulders. Working for the Food Network will give him the financial freedom to help his mother and sisters, especially 20-year-old Claudia who shows up at his door about to give birth and estranged from her husband. As much as he likes Michaela (and the more he knows her the more he really likes her), he's determined to win. Can these two chefs see past the competition to what they could mean to each other?

GRILL ME, BABY is a fun read for foodies who love romance I know I do. Paolo and Michaela are equals who go toe-to-toe with wit and humor. They are each strong and independent yet compassionate and caring. Paolo comes off a little smug and inconsiderate at the beginning but that softens as the story progresses and you get to know him better. At heart, the story is a contemporary romance but Ms. Knightly artfully weaves in the complexities of following your dreams, unconditional love, and loving across cultural boundaries. The plot, characters, and dialogue in GRILL ME, BABY feels very authentic.

Grade A
Review by: Helen

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