The Way She Reads

I guess Heat is best described as an ‘enemies to lovers’ story. Lewis Mandineau and Devon Trelawney are, when the story starts, firmly on opposite sites when it comes to the Laurels, the restaurant which has been in Lewis’s family for generations. Devon doesn’t believe that sentiments matter when it comes to making business decisions while Lewis has invested his heart and soul (as well as every penny he could get his hands on) in his restaurant after his ex-lover defrauded him and others.

The meeting between these two men would have been fraud under the best of circumstances. Devon arriving short tempered due to jet-leg and a looming migraine, only makes matters worse. The two men get off to the worst possible start.

What follows is a reluctant coming together, initially facilitated by Lewis’s brain damaged younger sister and jelly-babies. But just because he’s growing closer to Lewis and his sister doesn’t mean that Devon takes his focus off making a professional rather than sentimental decision. It will take an arsonist and an attack to make him realise that sometimes there are more important things in life than sound business decisions.

I liked this book. It was very well and smoothly written. Lewis and Rachel stole my heart from the moment they were introduced and the restaurant staff where fun and charming characters. Devon on the other hand, was an utter prick for the first few chapters. Sure, there were hints that he might have a conscience and a heart, but he didn’t show those initially.

While I enjoyed reading Heat, I can’t help feeling it could have done with a few more chapters. As it was, the turnaround Devon made and the ease with which Lewis accepted it, were a bit too smooth for me. Having said that, I read most of this book with a smile on my face, except for the times when I held my breath because of the sudden suspense.

In short, this was a good and thoroughly enjoyable read.