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hldavids's review against another edition
2.0
Review now available at: http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2013/04/books/genre-fiction/xpress-reviews-e-originals-first-look-at-new-books-april-26-2013/
eteniamagnum's review against another edition
3.0
This was a decent read, and I enjoyed the characters. However, sometimes the emotions, especially Sam's, seemed forced. The conflicts were also particularly forced. If this was the first book in the series I probably wouldn't keep reading.
alexiachantel's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
Cute, sweet and will give you a craving for chocolate. A Fine Romance is another fun read from Christi Barth.
Sam and Mira are twi feisty characters who start off on the wrong foot. It's fun to see them keep trying though. They have some very sweet dates, Sam shows off his talent by bringing over fresh pastries and chocolate. How can you turn that down?! The road blocks to their relationship were the only drawback to the story, but that could be because of compairing them with Ben and Ivy's love story.
We still get to see Ben and Ivy! They are prepairing for their wedding and keep bringing all their interesting friends together to do so. They make fun of one another, act like family, and make you want to grab a glass of wine and hang out with them. Gib is still as naughty as ever. And we get to meet a new man, very yummy so lets hope Christi brings him back.
Joint review posted at Reading Between the Wines blog:
http://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-wine-clubs-first-joint-review-fine.html?zx=3e55b6f6bb42a909
ecopy courtesy of author
Cute, sweet and will give you a craving for chocolate. A Fine Romance is another fun read from Christi Barth.
Sam and Mira are twi feisty characters who start off on the wrong foot. It's fun to see them keep trying though. They have some very sweet dates, Sam shows off his talent by bringing over fresh pastries and chocolate. How can you turn that down?! The road blocks to their relationship were the only drawback to the story, but that could be because of compairing them with Ben and Ivy's love story.
We still get to see Ben and Ivy! They are prepairing for their wedding and keep bringing all their interesting friends together to do so. They make fun of one another, act like family, and make you want to grab a glass of wine and hang out with them. Gib is still as naughty as ever. And we get to meet a new man, very yummy so lets hope Christi brings him back.
Joint review posted at Reading Between the Wines blog:
http://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-wine-clubs-first-joint-review-fine.html?zx=3e55b6f6bb42a909
ecopy courtesy of author
emilyhei's review against another edition
4.0
Mira Parrish isn't expecting her transition to her new life to be easy, but she thought at least the person picking her up from the airport would have at least shown up. Stuck with no help she finds her drenched in a rain storm and prickly by the time she arrives at her new apartment. Sam Lyons knows the first thing out of his mouth when he meets Mira should be an apology, but her stunning beauty floors him and then when she lets him get the verbal lashing of his life as well he decides he likes seeing her hackles raised.
Mira thinks Sam is the sexiest man she has met, but he is still not forgiven. Sam wants to get to know Mira but he has to find a way to break through her jaded image of him, which should be fairly easy if it weren't for one thing, Sam putting his mom first in his life. Sam feels he is duty bound to take care of his mom after his dad died, but the main issue is his mom is perfectly capable of taking care of herself and has no idea that Sam is his own train wreck.
Full review on Single Titles
Mira thinks Sam is the sexiest man she has met, but he is still not forgiven. Sam wants to get to know Mira but he has to find a way to break through her jaded image of him, which should be fairly easy if it weren't for one thing, Sam putting his mom first in his life. Sam feels he is duty bound to take care of his mom after his dad died, but the main issue is his mom is perfectly capable of taking care of herself and has no idea that Sam is his own train wreck.
Full review on Single Titles
jonetta's review against another edition
4.0
I never thought about the many ways a baker could be sexy and Sam Lyons has transformed my image of a man who handles dough and sugar. Who knew that transporting huge wedding cakes helps develop a guy's biceps and pecs!! Even though he was a bit of a jerk in the beginning, Sam goes to the top of my book boyfriend list!
Mira is no slouch either and she goes toe-to-toe with Sam when their first meetings were less than perfect. She certainly got and kept his attention. Their romance eventually takes off and Sam finds some really exciting uses for the concoctions and sauces found in his bakery. Use your imagination.
Both have some really tough family issues to contend with that have the potential of derailing them and it adds some realism to their conflicts. I also love the interactions with their tight friends network. They keep things fun and help Sam and Mira focus on what's really important to them both. I don't know whose story is next but I know I'll be one of the first to read it. I'm really enjoying the series with its eclectic mix of personalities and sexy heroes and this one was hard to put down.
Mira is no slouch either and she goes toe-to-toe with Sam when their first meetings were less than perfect. She certainly got and kept his attention. Their romance eventually takes off and Sam finds some really exciting uses for the concoctions and sauces found in his bakery. Use your imagination.
Both have some really tough family issues to contend with that have the potential of derailing them and it adds some realism to their conflicts. I also love the interactions with their tight friends network. They keep things fun and help Sam and Mira focus on what's really important to them both. I don't know whose story is next but I know I'll be one of the first to read it. I'm really enjoying the series with its eclectic mix of personalities and sexy heroes and this one was hard to put down.
arickman's review against another edition
4.0
A Fine Romance is the second book in Christi Barth's series and it was just as enjoyable as the first. I love that I was able to connect to the characters and it is enjoyable that this series keeps you connected to past characters (not just glimpses). Looking forward to the next book.
cranberrytarts's review against another edition
4.0
A strong contemporary romance. I enjoyed the main characters as well as the secondary. The close-knit group really brought the story together.
kboc923's review against another edition
4.0
cute continuation of the story - will definitely read the next :-)
beckymmoe's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book; I really, really did. I had enjoyed the banter in the first book, and really liked Ivy's--and Ben's, eventually--group of quirky friends. Sam, the news-junkie/baker sounded like such a great guy.
The characters in this one--the aforementioned Sam and Ivy's graduate school friend Mira--just didn't do it for me this time, though. I spent more of the book aggravated with them than enjoying their story. Sam's insistence that he had to silently follow his dead father's wishes--not telling a single soul about them or what he's doing--and at the same time not give his mother or his sister a 'heads-up, I could really use some help here so I can attempt to do something I want to with my life' was just ridiculous. Talk about a contrived conflict; it drove me bonkers.
Mira's "poor rich girl" hangups didn't get her any sympathy from me either. I pretty much lost all respect that I had had for her when she disparaged Sam to her brand new cook--in front of Sam, though she didn't know it at first. She essentially said he had an unsophisticated palate and was "just" a baker of cookies and doughnuts. I get her reasons for why she responded in that way (though they were totally silly; come on, a grown woman can't handle watching a hot guy sample food without throwing herself at him? Really?)--she didn't know he was there, and was trying to keep their relationship during the day on a professional level, but when he was understandably hurt by her words she didn't understand what she'd said to make him so upset. Really??? That wasn't the only example of her being completely oblivious to her tendency to be unfeelingly snobbish, but that's the one that did it for me. (And really. I don't care how long it's been since you've had chocolate sauce. NO ONE who has ever had some in their lifetime needs to ask "What is that?" when tasting chocolate sauce again, no one!)
There's just too much conflict of the "I'm going to completely internalize everything and not tell those nearest and dearest to me a thing, because this is all my problem and not theirs" variety. It made the characters seem more like contrived caricatures and less like real people. Mira's parents were a perfect example of this--they were cookie-cutter examples of snobby rich people who have no time for their kid(s), with nothing at all humanizing about them. I kept pushing through just for the sake of finishing, not because I really felt invested in them by the end. Still, I have hopes for book three--Gib and Daphne, maybe? I hope they--or whomever the protagonists are--can bring back some of the magic from book one in the series.
The characters in this one--the aforementioned Sam and Ivy's graduate school friend Mira--just didn't do it for me this time, though. I spent more of the book aggravated with them than enjoying their story. Sam's insistence that he had to silently follow his dead father's wishes--not telling a single soul about them or what he's doing--and at the same time not give his mother or his sister a 'heads-up, I could really use some help here so I can attempt to do something I want to with my life' was just ridiculous. Talk about a contrived conflict; it drove me bonkers.
Mira's "poor rich girl" hangups didn't get her any sympathy from me either. I pretty much lost all respect that I had had for her when she disparaged Sam to her brand new cook--in front of Sam, though she didn't know it at first. She essentially said he had an unsophisticated palate and was "just" a baker of cookies and doughnuts. I get her reasons for why she responded in that way (though they were totally silly; come on, a grown woman can't handle watching a hot guy sample food without throwing herself at him? Really?)--she didn't know he was there, and was trying to keep their relationship during the day on a professional level, but when he was understandably hurt by her words she didn't understand what she'd said to make him so upset. Really??? That wasn't the only example of her being completely oblivious to her tendency to be unfeelingly snobbish, but that's the one that did it for me. (And really. I don't care how long it's been since you've had chocolate sauce. NO ONE who has ever had some in their lifetime needs to ask "What is that?" when tasting chocolate sauce again, no one!)
There's just too much conflict of the "I'm going to completely internalize everything and not tell those nearest and dearest to me a thing, because this is all my problem and not theirs" variety. It made the characters seem more like contrived caricatures and less like real people. Mira's parents were a perfect example of this--they were cookie-cutter examples of snobby rich people who have no time for their kid(s), with nothing at all humanizing about them. I kept pushing through just for the sake of finishing, not because I really felt invested in them by the end. Still, I have hopes for book three--Gib and Daphne, maybe? I hope they--or whomever the protagonists are--can bring back some of the magic from book one in the series.
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