Liz Isaacson

I really enjoyed "Sixth Street Love Affair"! Liz Isaacson fleshes out Garth Ahlstrom's character and gives him a second chance at love. Engaging story and the perfect one to tell via novella/short story. Another winner in the Three Rivers Ranch series!

A Dash of Love by Liz Isaacson
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Nikki is not a trained, professional chef, but she is an outstanding cook with a creative streak a mile wide. Her foods are crafty, creative, tasty, and oh so satisfying. She’s been gainfully employed in other people’s kitchens for years, but her dream is her own restaurant with complete creative control over the menu. With any luck, Nikki’s new job will be yet another step toward her dream.

Working for Holly Hanson is show more a dream come true and Nikki can’t believe her luck! Holly’s food empire is a thing of beauty, a wonder to behold. She owns a successful, top-notch restaurant, her cookbooks line the bookstore shelves, and she is a celebrity. Trouble is, over the years, Holly’s menus have become bland and boring, her actual kitchen output is noticeably decreased in quality, her restaurant isn’t doing all that well financially, and she’s generally a terrible human being. Though Nikki only knows about a few of these things, she isn’t deterred and is determined to make the best of her situation.

Thankfully, Nikki’s situation includes approval to cook in the state of the art kitchen after closing and interacting with Paul, the delectable and uber-talented executive chef. Like Nikki, Paul is trying to make the best of his situation and that includes cranking out Holly’s tired recipes night after night and having no creative freedom of his own. Nikki’s presence makes the job bearable and, once he discovers her clever, creative, and completely enticing food, the situation becomes exciting. Paul is bowled over by Nikki and wants to see her succeed professionally; Paul also wants her to succeed personally, with him. Trouble is, both Nikki and Paul work for a scheming tyrant whose machinations will have devastating consequences beyond their wildest imaginings.

The Bottom Line: I was looking for a super-sweet, little bit of drama read and A Dash of Love absolutely fit the bill! From page one, I liked Nikki, her attitude, and her determination to see her dreams come true. Though she faces some awful, soul-crushing moments, Nikki doesn’t let it defeat her. She’s plucky, not afraid to stand up for herself, and with Paul by her side, willing to take risks. Paul is the perfect balance for Nikki, and once she helps him work through his family issues, he’s also the perfect man. The only thing I found lacking in the book was a proper ending for Holly Hanson. My evil twin really likes to see the big bads get what’s coming to them. My eviler twin likes to have what’s coming to them all spelled out and that didn’t happen here which left me somewhat dissatisfied. But, only somewhat 😊 There’s nothing ground-breaking or profound here, but there is a solid, sweet, heartwarming, guaranteed HEA read between the covers. A Dash of Love is a quickly read book that makes for an excellent rainy-day distraction. show less

This is a sweet Christian romance novella, taking place in Texas in the late 1980s. Maggie loves Chase, the cowboy of her dreams who works at the ranch of her sister and brother-in-law. And Chase loves Maggie, the sweet small-town gal who stole his heart. They believe God meant for them to be together, and they want to get married. But Maggie's dad has other ideas. Chase barely makes ends meet with his job, and cannot provide for her properly. Chase has no land, and no home for her. Chase is show more six years older than 19-year-old Maggie. And Maggie's dad wants to pass the family store down to her, but not if she is too busy with her own life to take care of it. Her dad gives her an ultimatum: either the store, or Chase. What will she choose?

I thought that this story was a quick, cute, sweet read, and I liked the fact that other than a lot of kissing and hugging it was a very clean book. A great light, fluffy read, perfect for when you're looking for a book that you don't have to invest much time or thought into. Four stars! show less

I thought the writing as always was very good. Love the stories about Horseshoe Home, Silver Creek and Three Rivers Ranch. Without giving away the story, there were a couple of things that bothered me about the story. River Lee's husband has not seen their kids for two years. Yet when he calls and wants them for the holidays, because he is getting married. She just lets them go. It says earlier that he has had nothing to do with her or the girls even when they were married. They never saw show more him. She has tried to be so protective about her girls since the divorce, So I found that a little hard to believe. She also doesn't want to marry Ty, because it might be too much for the girls. Ty would be the best thing for her and the girls, they are crazy about him. show less