Housewife Blues and Chihuahua Stories

BOOK SYNOPSISUSA Today bestselling author Lauren Dane delivers a second serving of sexy in her new Delicious novel, in which taste and temptation make up a sweet recipe… Mary Whaley has her hands full running a successful catering company and overseeing her supper club. She has everything she ever wanted—or so she thought. When she meets ridiculously hot and very dirty rock star Damien Hurley at her friend’s engagement party, the attraction she feels is overpowering—and she isn’t about to deny herself. Damien is used to a hard and fast life. He and two of his brothers started a band when they were fresh out of high school—then they hit the big time and stayed there. He’s also a legendary madman on the stage and in the bedroom. But when he meets Mary, something clicks, and the bad boy starts thinking he may have finally found something good. What begins as a series of fleeting trysts soon gets much more complicated. Damien can’t figure out why Mary doesn’t want more from him. And before long, it’s Damien who wants more from Mary. But it turns out Mary is no stranger to celebrity news, and he’s got a very big job ahead of him: proving that he’s worth more than a one-night stand…My ThoughtsLush represents for me, as a longtime fan of author Lauren Dane, everything that I love in her books such as family and friends and the love they share with each other. The characters that she has gifted us with that intertwine from previous stories and series are ones who stay with you as they are all such strong individuals who at the same time are a cohesive unit of solidarity and support when one of them needs a morale boost or a shoulder to lean or cry on!Returning back to some of my favorite characters from the Brown Sibling series and adding in some new ones that are now more of my favorites that were created and brought to life by Lauren Dane.This is such a great read, the whole way through we are treated to glimpses of Adrian, Gillian and Miles; Jules, Cal and Gideon; Erin, Daisy and more from previous stories until it feels like old home week!The book starts with Adrian and Gillian's rehearsal dinner where Mary Whaley is the caterer whose tasty offerings appear in great detail all through the reading and make one quite hungry for a bit of her freshly cooked treats. Mary and Damien hit it off and end up in her hotel room after the dinner to explore the heat that is almost too combustible to stand when they are together! From that point on the relationship takes off and slowly builds over the course of the book from the initial "in lust with each other" to totally "head over heels" in love with each other, the compromises they make along the way as things grow more serious than either Damien or Mary planned on show just how much they are willing to make the effort to make things work out.Of course the drama caused near the end where certain behavior from the past comes back to "bite" Damien and which also almost causes him to lose Mary is something that you can actually see coming for a while as after all the "bad boy drummer" has got quite a well documented past of hard fast living thanks to the paparazzi that make a living off escapes like those he was once famous for within the rock n roll community.Pretty much this is standard fare as for as a bad boy/good girl romance but for me the fact that Mary Whaley's character in no way allows the fame and fortune that is part of Damien Hurleys everyday life to sway her into being awed by these facts and instead she very matter of factly lays it out that neither the fame or the fortune appeal to her as she has her own life and is making her own way without wanting or needing to be "given" anything. Pretty much that independence is also the greatest appeal for Damien as he is used to "rock groupies" who want nothing more than to be shown a good time and showered with gifts as much as they want Damien to take them up on their sexual promises. Of course the fact that Mary is a fabulous cook, beautiful, sexy, good with animals, loves the outdoors and is very adventurous in the bedroom and out does not hurt his attraction to her either!Not only is there a lot to be said for the way author Lauren Dane brings to the forefront the strong bond between Damien and his family but also the one between Mary and her parents and beloved girlfriends as well as for me that is what has always been my biggest appeal for reading her books and this one is certainly no exception to that rule.Unlike some others who have had a rough time with this one because of all the characters and their respective relationships this was a welcomed easy read that I devoured in one day as fast as I could turn the pages on my reader! I do admit that it helps to have read the entire Brown Sibling Series thus familiarizing myself with most of the group and their prior histories first.Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher who allowed me to revisit some favorite characters who I am in love with and to meet some new ones that I fell in love with also![EArc from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]