Review: Just Desserts

Title: Just Desserts
Author: Emma Bennet
Publisher: Joffe Books Romance and Suspense
Release Date: December 2014
Length: 55 pages
Series?: novella
Genre: Romance

Find the book: Goodreads | Amazon

Leah is falling for handsome French chef Jean-Claude. But she’s meant to be getting married to Dan in a few weeks!

Leah is about to give up her job at a top restaurant to marry her fiancé Dan. Then Jean-Claude, a charming French chef, comes to work at the restaurant, and suddenly Leah’s world is turned upside down.

Does Jean-Claude offer a more exciting future than dependable Dan? And does Jean-Claude even really like her?

* Review *

The plot synopsis is juvenile, which is exactly how I would describe this short novella. The plot sets readers up to be worried about Leah, who is living her life very passively with her fiancé Dan.

Dan and Leah have been together for four years and are buying a house outside of London, forcing Leah to resign from her pastry chef job at a prestigious London restaurant. But it’s not just her job. He’s asking her to give up her career that she’s worked so hard for, and Leah is supposed to be struggling with that decision, but it isn’t really a struggle because she just lets Dan tell her how it’s going to be and does as he says. There’s no real resistance from Leah, no true realization or growth.

All the while, Dan is requiring Leah to plan this elaborate wedding. Of course, it’s more for show than at all a reflection of their love for one another because every instance we see Dan reinforces how selfish and self-absorbed of a person he is. The only thing we learn about Dan is the reinforcement of how completely selfish and clueless he is to Leah’s wants and needs as his partner, as a woman, and as a person.

Leah does as she’s told and resigns, but is on-hand to train her replacement while also planning her wedding. Jean-Claude is a hunk with a personality, and he is interested in Leah. After the course of a few days’ work, she realizes she is attracted to him, but she is still planning her wedding and moving forward with building her life and future with Dan.

Needless to say, the wedding is doomed.

This sounds interesting and suspenseful, right? It’s not, really. There wasn’t any real suspense. It was pretty clear cut the entire way through with a predictable storyline. It was difficult to see where the romance was supposed to be in the mix, as well.

I think a little extra time spent developing the characters a bit more and the plot line are in order for this to be a sweet, romantic read.

* About the Author *

Emma grew up and lived in London, before falling in love and moving to Wales to marry her own hero. Emma now lives with her husband, children, and many animals in a small Welsh market town, fitting in her writing around the many demands of little people and cats.The beautiful landscape around her home gave her the inspiration for ‘The Green Hills of Home’.