Casee‘s review of With a Twist by Deridre Martin.
He’s a tall order. She’s a hot dish. Are they ready for the main course?
Natalie Bocuse is a waitress at her sister’s French bistro in Brooklyn, yet she dreams of managing a chic restaurant in Manhattan.
Among the regulars is Quinn O’Brian, a reporter known for breaking stories—and hearts. When he offers Natalie a job at his parents’ Irish pub in Manhattan, she jumps at the chance to be one step closer to her dream. But Quinn will need the luck of the Irish to charm Natalie and write a happy ending to his own love story.
I didn’t really care for this book. I really liked Deirdre Martin’s earlier books. Body Check, Fair Play, and Total Rush were great. I can’t decide if I’ve grown as a reader or if Deirdre Martin has lost her edge. Maybe it’s a little bit of both. All I know is that I’ve really disliked the heroines in the last two books. Vivi and Natalie. They just rub me the wrong way.
We first meet Natalie in Just a Taste. She was Vivi’s shopaholic sister; a woman that had her heart broken in Paris and comes to New York with Vivi to lick her wounds. Unfortunately, licking her wounds includes going into debt.
Natalie is working in Vivi’s bistro and attending SA meetings when With a Twist begins. Her dream of managing a classy New York restaurant seems to be as distant as the moon. When she has a chance to go work at an Irish Pub in New York, she takes it, figuring that it will only get her closer to her dream. The only problem is that she has to see Quinn O’Brian almost every day. The reporter delights in teasing her and just driving her crazy in general.
Quinn has been attracted to Natalie since he first saw her. He bides his time and now has her exactly where he wants her. Things don’t go according to plan when she starts getting chummy with his new boss at the Chicago Senntinel. Quinn wants to claim Natalie as his territory, but knows that she won’t stand for it. All he can do is fight for her.
The whole love triangle thing didn’t work out for me. Quinn’s boss was a total ass who probably didn’t even like Natalie. Natalie was way too childish for my tastes. I just didn’t care for her at all. She grew on me the last 50 pages or so, but other than that, I could barely tolerate her.
Quinn’s devotion to his work was explained, but it was somewhat ridiculous. The way he screwed up his relationship with Natalie could have been avoided. It seemed to be thrown in as a way to create conflict between the two. There was already enough conflict.
I just wasn’t feeling Natalie and Quinn as a couple. They were just blah.
3 out of 5.
This book is available from Berkley Sensation. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Casee, I agree with your review of With a Twist . It’s not a keeper for me and I had high expectations for this book after really enjoying her previous book, Power Play . Overall, I enjoy Deirdre Martin’s Blade Series the most.