{"id":9326,"date":"2017-10-11T09:46:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T13:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9326"},"modified":"2022-09-30T09:42:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T13:42:20","slug":"delicious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9326","title":{"rendered":"Delicious"},"content":{"rendered":"

Delicious<\/a><\/em> (2008) Sherry Thomas<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in England in 1892.<\/p>\n

This was a fun story–and one full of loving descriptions of food. It also has main characters who are middle aged (30s may not sound middle aged nowdays, but it would have been at a time when most people died in their 50s and 60s.)<\/p>\n

Verity Durant is an infamous chef. Her meals are divine, and according to gossip, so are other things.<\/p>\n

After her initial diaster-laden months as Monsieur David\u2019s apprentice, in the Marquess of Londonderry\u2019s household, Verity had realized, to her own and everyone else\u2019s amazement, that she was talented before a stove. She had a sensitive nose, an unpolluted palate, and a manual dexterity rivaling that of a circus juggler\u2019s.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Stuart Somerset is a bastard, legitimized by an act of Parliament, and long at odds with his half-brother, Bertram “Bertie” Somerset. <\/p>\n

Sir Francis had willed to Stuart everything that was not entailed. The Lords Justices of Appeal, before whom the case had eventually gone, had given Stuart the Somerset town house on Grosvenor Square. But without the rent-rich urban tracts that went to Bertie, the sheep land that Stuart received couldn\u2019t generate enough income for the upkeep of such a house.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But when Bertie dies, Stuart inherits everything–including his brother’s chef.<\/p>\n

One of the things I like is that you are told from the start that the couple will end up together, that this is a Cinderella story, and the Cinderella theme comes up throughout the tale.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid I haven\u2019t the luxury of a footman.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d <\/p>\n

She looked and sounded highborn enough to have half a dozen footmen at her disposal. She was too old\u2014and too striking-looking\u2014to not already be married. Had she slipped out for an adulterous rendezvous? <\/p>\n

She lifted her head. Their eyes met. The skin just above his collarbone tingled. \u201cHaven\u2019t got any lizards in my kitchen,\u201d she said, a trace of wistfulness beneath her matter-of-fact tone. <\/p>\n

Her answer made no sense until he recalled that in Perrault\u2019s story of Cinderella\u2014his and Bertie\u2019s governess had been an enthusiast of such tales\u2014lizards were what the Fairy Godmother had turned into footmen, to accompany Cinderella on her nocturnal forays into Society. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot a pumpkin in your kitchen either?\u201d <\/p>\n

Her lips curved slightly. \u201cPumpkins aren\u2019t in season.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The story jumps back and forth in time, which I like as a way to learn about the characters pasts. <\/p>\n

I won’t say I loved the ploy of Verity always hiding her face when she sees Stuart. That felt ridiculously contrived, but… it did work.<\/p>\n

One the I did love, however, was how there weren’t good and bad people–just people. Bertie starts out as almost a caricature of a bad guy, but in the end is just a complicated gentleman. <\/p>\n

Stuart thought of the boys in the photograph, their hands held tight. Seven years later they would despise each other. For the next twenty years they would communicate only through intermediaries, sustaining the hostilities as if the bonds of brotherhood had never meant a thing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also very much liked Marsden, Stuart’s secretary. His part starts out small, but then the more I learned about him, the more I liked and respected him. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want a reprieve from seating people. Tell me about music hall.\u201d <\/p>\n

He dropped his pen. He picked it up and blotted the droplets of ink that had splattered onto the seating chart. \u201cIt\u2019s an amusing way to spend an evening.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what I mean,\u201d she insisted. <\/p>\n

He flashed her a smile that was as bright as a theatrical footlight. \u201cMusic hall is an actionable offense in this country. I\u2019ll need an inducement to expound upon it.\u201d <\/p>\n

She glanced at him from underneath her lashes. \u201cWhat inducement?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSymphonic concerts.\u201d <\/p>\n

Her heart bounded high enough to knock against her palate. \u201cI beg your pardon?\u201d <\/p>\n

He looked at her steadily and the air around her thickened into pudding. At last he said, \u201cI want to hear about your experience at symphonic concerts. Did you like it?\u201d <\/p>\n

She dragged the Debrett\u2019s from across the desk and opened it to a random page. They hadn\u2019t had to use it. He seemed to know everyone\u2019s pedigree and precedence by heart. \u201cWhat would you say if I said I did?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been asking myself that very same thing,\u201d he said. \u201cI decided that I hoped you liked it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you could have been ruined over it, you stupid woman. At least you should have enjoyed it while you were at it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I found him utterly delightful by the end of the book.<\/p>\n

This is, very much, a boinking book, but at least the boinking was an important part of the story. And it was, despite the boinking, a very enjoyable story.
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Publisher: Bantam<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Delicious (2008) Sherry Thomas Set in England in 1892. This was a fun story–and one full of loving descriptions of food. It also has main characters who are middle aged (30s may not sound middle aged nowdays, but it would have been at a time when most people died in their 50s and 60s.) Verity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,24,33,26,56],"tags":[50,616,170],"class_list":["post-9326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-food","category-historical","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-boinking","tag-cooking","tag-sherry-thomas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2qq","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5962,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5962","url_meta":{"origin":9326,"position":0},"title":"Chaos Choreography","author":"Michelle","date":"July 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Chaos Choreography (2016) Seanan McGuire This is the 5th InCryptid book, and shifts back to Verity and Dominic. Verity is offered the chance to return to Dance or Die--the reality show she was one before she retired her Valerie persona, and so she decides to take a chance, taking Dominic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chaos-Choreography","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Chaos-Choreography.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11222,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11222","url_meta":{"origin":9326,"position":1},"title":"Treacherous Is the Night","author":"Michelle","date":"November 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Treacherous Is the Night (2018) Anna Lee Huber Set in Europe in 1919. The second Verity Kent story finds Verity and her husband trying to come to terms with each other--and decide if their marriage will survive his letting her think he was dead for more than a year. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Treacherous-Is-the-Night.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18477,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18477","url_meta":{"origin":9326,"position":2},"title":"Murder Most Fair","author":"Michelle","date":"November 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Murder Most Fair (2021) Anna Lee Huber (Verity Kent) Set in England in 1919. I'll be honest, I haven't enjoyed this series as much as the Lady Darby series, and have been borrowing the books from the library because of that. But this book I very much enjoyed. The Ardmore\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Murder Most Fair","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Murder-Most-Fair.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20776,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20776","url_meta":{"origin":9326,"position":3},"title":"Lucky Charm","author":"Michelle","date":"September 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Lucky Charm (2019) Chace Verity Set in Hollywood in 1928. Gilbert's director and lover takes him out to dinner--and dumps him. \"I need an actor who can go to the future with me. You can talk, but it doesn\u2019t sound right.\u201d I got tossed because there\u2019s no longer any place\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "eBook"","block_context":{"text":"eBook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ebook"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lucky Charm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Lucky-Charm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Lucky-Charm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Lucky-Charm.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13568,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13568","url_meta":{"origin":9326,"position":4},"title":"A Pretty Deceit","author":"Michelle","date":"November 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A Pretty Deceit (2020) Anna Lee Huber (Verity Kent) Set in England in 1919 Verity and Sidney are still searching for evidence of the crimes they know were committed by Lord Ardmore, but in the meantime, Verity's parents guilt her into visiting her aunt, whose house had been damaged by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Pretty Deceit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/A-Pretty-Deceit.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12168,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12168","url_meta":{"origin":9326,"position":5},"title":"A Duke in Disguise","author":"Michelle","date":"October 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A Duke in Disguise (2019) Cat Sebastian (Regency Imposters) Set in England in 1817 Ash (John Ashby) spent years as a child being bounced from home to home until he was apprenticed to an engraver who all but saved his life. All Ash knew was what Roger had told him:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/A-Duke-in-Disguise.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9326\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}