Making Up for Lost Time

Rating:
Summary: Could have done better
Review: I admit I spent also only one day reading it, but I was more disappointed than pleased. She is not up to her best in this romance. It is all too clear what will happen and the woman who tells the story is far too outragouse a person to mark any scores with avid K readers. I know this is rather harsh for someone who really like to read Kallmaker, but I thought this one was a let down. Let's hope for her next romance.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read it while on a diet!
Review: If ever a book was meant to be read on a beach, this one is it. It's really witty, romantic, and diverting. Just what a vacation needs. Warning to all readers on a diet, though -- when Jamie starts talking about all the chocolate she needs to mask her feelings for Val, you'll find yourself getting hungry! I wanted a huge slice of chocolate blackout cake! And if that wasn't enough there's a recipe for chocolate body paint. I dont' think I can say here what it is I wanted after the chapter where that body paint was used.

This was a fun read. Also recommended: Substitute for Love

Rating:
Summary: Sweet and Romantic
Review: In this novel, I found a gentle mix of very different characters that brings about a sweet story of how two women's goals, though different, become fused. There is: Shelia, born with a golden spoon in her mouth and, as a "predator," she mixes business with pleasure; Jan prefers flings, no commitment please; and Kathy is immature, selfish and homophobic -- yes I am a lesbian, no I am straight. Jamie carries the world on her shoulders as she buries her anxieties in chocolate. Em, although absent, and Liesel, provide guidance to Jamie at a time when she needs to make a change. Val, on the brink of success, realizes she has to become the person she has sold herself to be. The story is tied together effectively with recipes and columns interspersed between chapters, energetic meal preparation in the kitchen, and vigorous renovations of the inn and restaurant. Thus, I have two criticisms. Sheila, who is brought in and out of the story abruptly, is not needed as a narrator. The two-page introductory could have been cut. The writing around Sheila could have been changed slightly to keep the book in the third-person and not hurt the story line. I really did not see anyone making up for lost time. They were more like renovating the inn and restaurant and renewing themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Quick-paced Farce. Plus Chocolate.
Review: Not since Paperback Romance has Karin Kallmaker written a book so lighthearted and delectable. It's as delicious as all the recipes included, and as funny as a screwball comedy. Val's little white lies have caught up to her and she needs to prove that not only can she completely renovate and redecorate an old inn, she also needs to prove she can cook. Jamie has an old inn needing repair. She's clueless with a hammer, but she can cook like Julia Child. Val is flightly. Jamie is serious. Val likes to knock down walls. Jamie likes to punch down dough. Can two crazy, mismatched gals find love in a small town?

This is a Kallmaker romance. Of course the answer is yes! Along the way is the use of chocolate body paint that put me in a swoon. I read that part twice. Okay, three times.

Rating:
Summary: Moveable Feast!
Review: She's got a tool belt and knows how to use it! She's such a fun character -- a little naughty and likes to play the field. Then whammo! Jamie's serious ways sneak into her heart. This book reads fast, is light and sexy, and filled to the brim with chocolate and other goodies. A real treat for all the senses!

Rating:
Summary: Not quite up to par
Review: The characters lacked depth and generally the story was more about food and construction than love. I should have taped Home Improvement and saved my $10. She has never disappointed me in the past. I suppose my expactations for Kallmaker are a little to high.

Rating:
Summary: Laught Out Loud Funny and Slide Off Your Chair Sexy!
Review: There were times that I would be reading this book and my partner would look at me like I had fallen off the moon because I would be laughing out loud! I couldn't help myself. Karin has the best sense of humor and a great hold on what is sexy. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a really great time not just a great read. And the recipes sound wonderful! Please check this out.

Rating:
Summary: Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!
Review: This is a delicious book <g> with Jamie trying to overcome lust with chocolate. All my senses were excited by this book -- I could smell the food and hear Val's drills and hammers and fantasize what Jamie's pie tasted like. I had no trouble at all imagining the chocolate body paint!

The recipes alone make this book a keeper. I'm not much of a cook, but the cookies at the very front were terrific! Chocolate of course.

Rating:
Summary: A little more tame than the earlier Kallmaker-but I like it!
Review: You will like Jamie and Val-they are both down to earth and not at all interested in each other-right! Throw in a little innocent deception, a few skeletons in the closet, and a love triangle or two and you have the recipe for yet another great lesbian romance story.

Rating:
Summary: A little more tame than the earlier Kallmaker-but I like it!
Review: You will like Jamie and Val-they are both down to earth and not at all interested in each other-right! Throw in a little innocent deception, a few skeletons in the closet, and a love triangle or two and you have the recipe for yet another great lesbian romance story.