Recipe for Romance by Ari McKay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rhys Montgomery is kind of a big deal in Charleston. He's the owner of the Montgomery House, a former mansion that's been completely renovated and turned into a restaurant and rental hall for catered events. It's within this house that all 4 stories are set.

Bay Leaves and Bachelors is the story of Rhys, the mansion owner himself. When he sees a diner at the restaurant one night he knows he wants him and tries his hardest to get him. Unfortunately, Clay Turner, historian, has been harboring issues from his last failed relationship and isn't very quick to trust.

Fennel and Forgiveness is the second chance age gap story of Darius Cooper, the maitre d of the Montgomery House and his long time ex, Max. When Max shows up to film a wedding, he sees Darius for the first time in 7 years. He had told Darius he wasn't looking for long term back then, but he made a mistake and now it up to him to convince Darius that he'll stick around this time.

Ginger and Gentlemen is the friends to lovers romance of Matt and Ian. Ian accepts his brother's request to be on his cooking show to save his diner with the help of Matt, his best friend and business manager. But Matt wants to help him succeed and does so without Ian's knowledge. Trust is a difficult thing to bridge.

Cinnamon and Seduction is the story of Robert and Stephen, the chef and his assistant, who have been talking around romance forever. Both oblivious to their obvious connection, it takes the whole of the business to get involved to show them what they've been missing.

If you are looking for a few fun, relatable, quick reads, this is a great place to go. Given that all of the stories are related, you get more and more glimpses into the relationships and the characters as you read their tales. Each story is unique in the issues and romance.

I was a bit disappointed at the lack of character depth. Given the length of each novella, it's difficult to accomplish, however I felt a bit lackluster at each of the couple's relationships. I had hoped for a bit more spark, though I felt the more I read, the better it became.

*Galley copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. Cross posted to http://gaybook.reviews/*

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