Cooking Up a Storm

Rating:
Summary: The story
Review: The Coates Inn is about to go belly up when beleaguered owner Abby Coates jumps at a stranger's offer to help - both in her kitchen and in her bed. This handsome fellow claims to have a secret weapon, an all-aphrodisiac menu that her customers won't be able to resist. But can this playboy-chef really save the day when Abby's body means more to him than her heart, and when stealing her restaurant out from under her means the most of all?

Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: there is more then just the two main characters in this story. although there are points that aren't needed, it was an all around hot read.

Rating:
Summary: All but the end!
Review: There's actually a plot that you want to follow, and the sex compliments it well. I have to admit though, toward the end it got a bit boring; there was nothing new to hold my attention, and the ending was unsatifactory. Open endings are fine, but this one leaves you with almost nothing, and the epilogue fails to reveal.

Up until the last 40 pages, however, I really enjoyed the characters and story line. Storm is fantastic and never loses his dignity or masculinity (as can sometimes happen - it usually makes the story lose all appeal), and Abby is a wonderful opposite. Not as good as some of Holly's other books (i.e. Menage), but still worth the read!

Rating:
Summary: Yes, yes, yes!!!!
Review: This book is VERY hot!!!! From Storm's first auto-erotic scene which explores so many fantasies simultaneously, this book is a roller coaster ride of the erotic. Storm is so sexy. He helps Abby explore sight, touch, smell, and taste with absolute sensual abandon.

The only reason I didn't give it five stars was a feeling that the characters here weren't as well developed as those in MENAGE. There was a bit more gratuitous sex that didn't seem to have any relevance to the plot, or provide any real intimacy with the characters. I would have liked to have seen a little deeper into both Storm and Abby to believe that they would really be happy together.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!!!! Emma Holly's best book yet!!!
Review: This is my favorite Black Lace book I've read so far (and I've read a lot of them!!!). Emma Holly combines a great story with plenty of hot scenes. Wish I could find me a Storm!

Rating:
Summary: Really run of the mill...
Review: This is not a great read. Although it's 200+ pages thick, but nothing much happened in this book. It could had been condensed into less than 50 pages without losing any of its plot line.

Rating:
Summary: Best One Yet!
Review: This is not only the best book yet by Emma Holly, it's my absolute favorite Black Lace book.

I wish there were more like this - erotica doesn't have to have five people having sex in different places while tied up to be interesting or arousing - two people with the right chemistry and a good plot would be my choice (most of the time). It starts with several encounters between two virtual strangers, and plays on the ages-old theme of a 'bad boy' who's really a nice guy, once he finds the right woman.

There are several other key characters, and some not-so-vanilla scenes, though it's mostly M/F with less S/M than in Menage (my second favorite!).

Rating:
Summary: A great read as well as hot!
Review: This is the second book of Ms. Holly's which I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed both. As well as writing knock-out erotica, she writes in a way that makes you care about the characters. I hope the Black Lace Press publishes more of her work.

Rating:
Summary: Cooking in the Bedroom, not Just the Kitchen
Review: This novel by Emma Holly is set on Cape Cod, and boy oh boy you have to look at the Cape differently after reading Cooking Up a Storm. Thee is more sex here than you can imagine regular working people having, but not only do both Emma and Storm have each other, they have numerous other partners. This is ma modern erotic romance where the woman has traditionally masculline traits, and the hero has more feminine traits in some respects. While that may be disconcerting to some, it makes for a different, interesting read.

Storm comes looking for a job but really for a business he can take over. He is not sympathetic at all. Abby has a failing restaurant and needs help, both in the restaurant and in finding her sexual side. Storm unleashes a monster. Abby finds herself witha a number of people before deciding to make her way back to the aphrodesiac laced cooking, and loviong, of Storm.

I started our liking Abby and not caring much for Storm, but ended liking Storm much more but still not rooting for either one. I thought, by the end of the book, that they deserved each other.

Would I buy it? Yes. Would I keep it? No. The ses is to ordinary and the plot not interesting enough for it to go on my keeper shelf. Good beach or bathtub read where you don't care if it gets wet.

Rating:
Summary: Another hot, enthralling erotica from Emma Holly!
Review: This novel is further proof of Emma Holly's talent. Cooking Up a Storm was one of Black Lace's all-time bestsellers and I couldn't wait to get my hand on a copy. I am so glad I came across this new trade paperback reprint.

Abby Coates's Cape Cod restaurant, The Coates Inn, is about to go out of business. That is until Storm Dupre, a handsome and sensual chef, comes to the rescue. But he does far more than cook meals with recipes that seem to awaken the diners' libidos. He takes Abby into a sexual odyssey she'd never envisaged. She wants to experience as much intense passion as she can with as many people as possible. However, she has no idea that Storm's insatiable pleasures have a price -- ownership of The Coast Inn, to be exact. There are various twists throughout.

What I love about this novel is that it has a compelling plot and characters you grow to care about. Storm is my favorite character. His metamorphosis is far more palpable than Abby's. Abby's change from innocent flower to borderline nympho annoyed me at times. I couldn't help but notice that the changes the protagonists go through are quite ironic. I loved the scenes centered on Abby and Storm. Their erotic scenes are beautiful -- and I marveled at Storm's sexual confidence. And the sexual tension is almost as wonderful as Beyond Seduction. I couldn't put this book down. That's what happens when you read an erotic romance with good characterization and story development. Emma Holly never fails to surprise me. I've only read two of her Black Lace offerings and I cannot wait to pick up another one. I strongly recommend this to those with a penchant for smoldering erotica.