Roman's debut book starts with a great premise - two women dealing with their own specific issues/lack of support who are thrown together with each able to help the other when Hudson ends up renting from a cash strapped Ari and supplementing the rent with working on the house . This falls into the "push/pull" kind of romance as the characters are attracted but fight it. Unfortunately the story was a bit uneven and at times confusing and I had a hard time connecting with Hudson and found her level of angst at odds with her backstory. With a bit more character development and tightening of the storyline, I think this would have been elevated to a four or five star story. Despite the issues, there were elements I enjoyed and I will be on the lookout for Roman's next book(s).

Oddly enough, with a title like "Epicurean Delights" there was not as much about the Ari's catring business as I expected..

For a debut author I found this pretty good. Yes, it had a few things I took issue with but overall it's not bad. My main issue is that you really don't get to know the characters enough to really connect with them. For the amount of time the characters spend together just chatting and yet neither knows that much about the other.

The story is basically about love going wrong and family not supporting. So you move and start again and try to surround yourself with like minded individuals.

It's a nice light story and I will look out for the author in the future. Enjoy!

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2284562152

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2ZV5OXJ6OMUJQ/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This was the first publication for the author, which I applaud in recognition of the noteworthiness of the achievement, but there were definite detractions in the volume that are attributable to that lack of editorial veneer. While I was greatly interested in Ari's character, from her emotional turmoil at the conclusion of her relationship to her business acumen; there was much less substance to Hudson. Her existence as the romantic endgame was insufficient and she was, often, grating as a character. Also, the tendency for extended self-reflection and internal turmoil grew annoying as the novel progressed. It is fine for a tale to lack some divisive peak, when the protagonists have established a strong, enduring bond that has been developed throughout the plot, but too much introspection, without proper anchoring, can prove to be too distracting. In this instance, the chemistry was not lacking but greater dimensionality between the two women was. Still, Ms. Roman brings much to the genre that I was grateful to experience and would welcome the opportunity to return for.

For a first novel I think this was a pretty good. It was good enough I will read this author's future books. The push and pull relationship was a bit much at times. I also felt as though the characters could have used a little more development. Just in the way they spend a great deal of time with one another, and they have conversations but know very little about the other's lives prior to meeting one another. Hudson we do find a bit more about near the end of the book, which actually only confused me more. Her behavior is a bit much, and Ari is almost overly understanding. I just didn't connect much to either character, but of the two Ari was better written. I know I have written this in other reviews but I dislike big issues in books that could have been solved with a conversation. Conflict caused by a refusal or avoidance to communicate really bothers me in books. Of course this is just personal preference on my part. This book falls into that category. Conflict was minimal, and I found the book slow in parts but not overly so.

This book just wasn't my cup of tea... It's not bad overall, not that it isn't worth the reading, but I personally find the dialogues pretty immature and kind of... dull... On a bonus point, it has some cute romantic scenes and the sex scenes are pretty steamy.

This was a cute but easily forgettable book. The main characters were nice and they worked well together. I found that this needed a little more depth and the characters needed a bit more substance. Don’t get me wrong I was entertained while I read but it’s not one that I would read again.

This was another book for me that started off slow, but got much better the further you go along. It could have been because the characters were so doooown in the beginning, that it made me feel that way too. Luckily for us, they get happier!!

The two main characters definitely help each other to grow and open up again, so character development was a plus. It's not a book that's full of action and adventure, so reading this as a cute, smooth romance is exactly what it's advertised to be. To that fact, it succeeded expectation.

The story of Hudson and Ari. Hudson is an accountant and swimming instructor who had a really bad break up and ran to Albany to try and get her life back in order. Ari wants to be a chef for her own catering business, but, when her business loan is denied that dream looks to be beyond her reach. But then someone suggests that what she needs to get the business loan is to buy a house (um, quick question, the bank will give her a mortgage but not a business loan?)

Anyway. She finds one, and it isn't going to be cheap. But, it has an attached apartment. She's bumped into Hudson more than once, and remembers that one of those times Hudson mentioned that she was looking for an apartment to rent. They make a deal and then slowly start getting to know one another, and of course, start falling in love.

But, they both have insecurities and such, and there is the question, will their separate insecurities keep them apart or can they find their way to one another?

I did sort of have a problem with some of the Pam stuff at the end. It seemed a little rushed, a little too pat and easy, and just off after so much build up.

Overall it was a fun book though, and now I'm hungry too.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

Ari has worked hard for a long time. She comes from a family that never made her feel like a part of it. She wants to own her own catering company and she has studied and worked hard hoping to make it. After being turned down for a loan her best friend encourages her to buy a house and start her company using her home as a base for her company. Hudson is still trying to overcome the heartache of a failed relationship. She's scared to love again. Needing a new place to call home she decides to take Ari up on the offer to rent the apartment over the garage in Ari’s new home. Ms Roman makes a tried and true romance fresh again. The characters are easy to care about and following their journey to love makes for a wonderful read.

This is a cute book, with an engaging storyline. Unfortunately it shows that it is a first book as the dialogue is weak and some characters could be fleshed out more. This does not mean I am counting Roman out, I look forward to her sophomore effort and to witnessing her growth as a writer.

Both Ariana and Hudson are reluctant to open themselves up to a relationship. Unlike many of the “will she, won’t she” stories, the characters here confront the issues with integrity and disclose to each other their reluctance – we should all be so lucky.

ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to read this story because it’s by a new author, and the description sounded interesting. The book isn’t bad, but it has a few problems.

The characters spend a lot of time together, but still know next to nothing about each other, even towards the end of the book. Ari is more developed character wise, but only from the readers persepctive, if quizzed, I doubt Hudson could reveal much about her. Hudson was even worse, she’s ‘recovering’ from a bad breakup, and very little is revealed about her, outside of the fact that she has multiple jobs, an ex, and two mothers. There’s even mention of a brother she hasn’t seen in years, but no explanation as to why, which was just weird.

Hudson’s issues take up a large portion of the book and the resolution is quick and kind of unbelievable (especially given that she almost has ‘flashback’ type reactions regarding this relationship and all the trauma seemed to just be related to the fact that the ex left her, there are worse things). Ari has her own issues, which I actually thought would be harder to overcome on balance, but she thankfully doesn’t get too bogged down in them, if she had, then the relationship would have gone nowhere, since they’d both have been too stuck to move.

There also not much drama in the book, and while I appreciated the lack of the usual 3/4 breakup, it could have done with a bit more... something to help keep the readers interest. Instead it felt repetitious, and most of that was in regards to Hudson.

Still, I felt it was alright for a debut novel and showed promise. 3 stars.

This had so much promise! There were really good characters, interesting jobs, backgrounds and what not. But then it kind of stayed on the ground instead of taking off. A fairly decent romance that is better off reading on KU (if it shows up there) or on Scribd.

A bit of a dull beginning this book eventually fleshed out to be a decent story. Ari and Hudson's tale is a standard love story of two cautious souls dancing around their attraction. This would have been probably a better story at novella length but the author managed to add several chapters of interest. For instance, where Hudson takes Ari to meet her mothers in her delightful hometown of Provincetown, MA. Their caution to dive all in gets a bit dragged out but by the end of the book I found myself fully invested in their HEA.

The story was a bit confusing and repetitive and some parts of the book seemed to be irrelevant and more a space filler. I did not like the main character Hudson - she was too pushy and sure of herself and therefore I did not see any chemistry between the two main characters. They just did not go together - I liked Ari and i just could not see her falling for Hudson... I think that was my main problem with the book.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35504365-epicurean-delights" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Epicurean Delights" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498245200m/35504365.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35504365-epicurean-delights">Epicurean Delights</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16975224.Renee_Roman">Renee Roman</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2243458746">2 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books provided me with an ARC for an honest review. <br />Hudson and Ariana are the leads in this romance with angst. I found the storyline a bit slow and confusing (having to re-read sections on occasion) and think the characters needed more fleshing out. Overall, however, not a bad read. I would take a chance on Ms. Roman's future work.<br />2.5 stars
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>

This is a read about what happens when love goes wrong and family is not meeting your needs. Response, you make a fresh start and surround yourself with individuals that care. Hudson Frost and Ariana Marks have something the other needs. I wanted to like the read but I found difficulty connecting with the main characters because I wanted/needed to know more about Hudson and Ariana. In general, the story was disjointed and did not flow very well.

#awesome! This is one of those books that you know you are going to love from the first page. I sometimes struggle with some writing styles but from the start I fell into this book and fell into these wonderful ladies story. The only thing I don’t like about this book and in fact I really don’t like it, is the title. Don’t ask me why but the title almost put me off reading the book. Please, no one be put off reading this book, you will not regret it. I’m away to search out if this author has written anything else.

This book has some confusing points and so do I while making this review. But this does not mean that it has not been a nice read, so my overall rating is quite high. My confussions come from several aspects of the story. The first one is the amount of time that it spans, suddenly six months have passed without much interaction between the main characters but much growing feelings for both. Then Ari has a BF than disapears once Hudson comes to live as a tenant in Ari's new house. Another subject is the age of the main characters, they act a little immature way but nearing the end of the book is mentioned that they weren't getting any younger so it seems that they must be in they mid thirties. And the biggest one is Hudson reaction from a bad break up that affects her so much making her unable to trust in a new relationship. Really, after the background that is showed about her childhood, her loving and caring parents and brother, her strong and measured personality, seems a little out of place such a dramatic response. And the book has too much inner struggling, so much tath the main characters themselves note it more than once. As a good point, the book has some steaming and hot sex sceenes, but must be mentioned also that they are quite repetitive, if not by the conflicting emotions that sorround their lovemaking they wouldn't be worthwile. Certainly, Ari puts in the pursuing of a relationship between them, much more than Hudson. But as I said earlier, the book is worth reading.

2.5 stars

Ariana Marks is out to show her disapproving father that she can set up and run her own business. Working two jobs and mad hours to save up the money to start her own catering firm, Ariana wonders if her dream will derail when she is knocked back for a business loan.

Hudson Frost is struggling to come to terms with being dumped by her selfish long-term girlfriend. Knowing she can’t afford to rent a place by herself, Hudson accepts the offer of a room to rent in Ariana’s new house. The deal is that Hudson does some work on the house, and Ariana reduces the rent.

Both damaged from life and exes, can they find a path to recovery in each other?


The setup in the book is quite interesting, and offers lots of possibilities for us to see the characters under stress, and time to get to know one another. The author has come up with a plan, and set it in motion.

However, I don’t think Roman quite pulls it off. There are problems with the main plot line. The original set up of getting the two characters in the house takes a long time to happen, as neither character moves in while the renovations are taking place. I had trouble believing that a relative stranger would be trusted with the keys to a house. It also seemed odd to me that the deal would be done with a stranger, without any paperwork being signed, or that anyone would do months of work on a house without some sort of guarantee that there would be a payoff at the end, even if it was cheaper rent. This just didn’t seem believable to me.

Neither of the characters really gelled for me. I thought much was made of the butchness of Hudson, but it didn’t come across in her behaviour at all. Their relationship, and the butch/femme-ish thing was a little play-by-numbers for me. I liked the idea of it more than the actuality of it.

I think there are good ideas in here, but it needs more work to be a really satisfying romance.