But beyond all this, she starts to get verbally assertive towards Elliott – surprising even herself, and him as well. She isn’t young and inexperienced, sucking up to people for approval anymore and can play the games as well as anyone. She’s older, she knows how to get to people, and stands up to Elliott – stepping into his space and refusing to back down. But one thing Sophia is sure of, she’s not going to just roll over and play good little amateur, sweet accommodating woman – nope, this is a Challenge and she means to win it, ornery Scot or no. Her presentation is divine, his sauces make you moan.

Quiet, reserved Sophia and Elliott Adamson (or the Grumpy Scottish Bastard as his fellow competitors call him) are like oil and water, match and dynamite, war and peace. Maybe the competition is insane but since everyone thinks she’s insane (the scene with the lawn guy is hilarious), it makes a weird kind of sense. Their push to get her into the competition is clearly done from love and doesn’t feel like the standard “meddling” relatives so often populating Romance books. She’s also got two daughters determined to help her like cubs defending their mama. Her emotional life might be wretched but her food is divine and her table presentation is the bomb. Sophia is a widow still in the stages of grief. Like “Apples,” “A Taste of Heaven” features an older couple romance. Frankly the Santa Claus sons books didn’t call my name so when I saw this book, I jumped on it. Fear, courage, and inspiration from unlikely places will mark this journey, and Sophia is determined to persevere until the very end.Īfter being introduced to your work last year via Laura Florand’s guest review of “Apples Should Be Red,” I’d been looking to read more. Spurred by her daughters, she embarks on a poignant adventure that takes her from the wildflower fields of Vermont to the wind-swept vista of North Berwick, Scotland. Scottish chef Elliott Adamson has a chip on his shoulder the size of Loch Ness, and he’s blocking her path to victory.

Unfortunately, there is a large, angry obstacle standing in her way. But in a moment of defiance, she creates an extraordinary dessert, one that combines both the bitter and the sweet, just like her own life.Īfter a year grieving for her dead husband, forty-seven-year-old Sophia is finally ready to break out of her shell. She has only one shot to impress the judges on A Taste of Heaven.

When the producer of a cooking competition requests an amuse-bouche, the chefs stick with proteins. Good little widow Sophia Brown always follows the rules. Jayne B Reviews Chef / Contemporary / Contest / cooking / older couple / older heroine and hero / Scotland / Widowed Heroine 1 Comments DecemREVIEW: A Taste of Heaven by Penny Watson