Challenging the Chef: Summer Creek Book 6

CONTEMPORARY: Tawni Young is a burned-out school psychologist. Her aunt bids on an auction package and wins, gifting it to Tawni. A weeklong trip to Summer Creek, full of great benefits, and topped off with four days of cooking lessons from non-other than Celebrity chef, Owen Thorpe. Tawni used to have the biggest crush on Owen, and now they’ll be sharing a kitchen! Owen Thorpe left the glitz and fame of NY to move to Summer Creek. He enjoys the peace and quiet of the small town and its league of strong family relationships – until he is forced to be part of a tourist package offered in auction. His contribution is to give cooking lessons to a chef wannabe for four days.

Shanna Hatfield fans will enjoy the final book in the Summer Creek series. It would be advised to read the books in order to fully understand the supporting characters. Owen has major control issues, and the first day with Tawni starts and ends rough. They may have a quick attraction, but that doesn't mean an instant fondness. Sharing his kitchen with anyone is never pleasant, and it’s even worse when the winner of the auction package is someone who knows her way around a kitchen. She might know as much as him, and worse yet, she’s a delight to be around. The details about the setting and Owen’s mysterious habits could have been made clearer, but Ms. Hatfield gets her point across. The mouthwatering recipes—including a tantalizing Brookie—will keep readers hungry for both the sweet and the spicy of Tawni and Owen’s romance, and the wholesome Christian message.

Emerson Matthews