Series: Take It Off*
Release Date: July 25th, 2014
Spencer Waller’s main purpose in life is to protect and serve. After spending years in the military, he gets a coveted spot on the Secret Service detail protecting the president. Spence doesn’t have time for women or all the work having a relationship with one requires. But just because he isn’t looking for a lady doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate a beautiful one when he sees her.
And he makes it a point to see one, in particular, every single day.
Elle Bond has literally chopped and fried her way to the top of the food chain. Earning a coveted position in the White House as the president’s personal chef, she figures her professional life can only get better. her personal life, on the other hand, could use a little bit of an overhaul, and because of that, she tries to ignore the charm-dripping cookie thief every time he comes into her kitchen. After all, she knows better than anyone that just one taste of something good is never enough.
One night after work, Elle is assaulted, threatened, and given an ultimatum. She can’t go to the police, and she sure as hell can’t do what she was ordered.
But she has to. Or else.
Pale, shaken, and scared to death, Elle confides in Spence, and his protective instincts take over. Together, Elle and Spencer have to uncover a sinister plot and stop it before someone ends up dead.
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• Someone is threatening the life of the Heroine and her son
• Near death situations
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does Not have a separation between the Heroine and Hero
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 3.25/5 stars
*Each novel in the series is Standalone
Finally, the release of Hebert’s next Take It Off novel, Taste! I was super excited for this book to be released because, hello! Secret Service and cookies, who wouldn’t love it? Much like most of Hebert’s novels, she dives into mystery, intrigue, and crime. But where other books got a build-up, this was like the first chapter, BAM! Bad Guy right there. This captivated me as a reader, and right from the beginning, I was holding onto the edge of my seat, wondering who this guy was.
To be clear, I’ve never been a fan of books where you jump right into the relationship without any build-up available for the reader. I find it hard to connect with the characters this way since they’ve already done the meet and greet, and the tension has already developed … without the reader. Now, just saying that it’s different if it’s just a friends/enemies to lovers thing. But this was like BAM, mystery, and BAM, Spencer is there, and BAM, Elle and Spencer are already on such familiar terms–she calls him Spence.
Okay, um, when did this happen?
So, safe to say that although the chemistry between the two characters was there, and I did I like both of them, I just found it really, really, really hard to connect to them as a couple.
The part of Taste that saved this was the mystery and crime. Honestly, I’ve always considered Hebert’s work to be a romance and a suspense book, but Taste was all suspense. The sex and the falling in love were there, but I strongly feel that it took place in the shadows when you compare it to the suspenseful crimes. Much of it was so realistic, and Hebert did an excellent job of describing Elle’s realistic reactions. I was impressed, and since she’s written seven other romantic suspense books to choose from, that’s saying a lot.
Honestly, the three-star rating is because of the lack of connection between the characters and me. I was hugely disappointed since I usually love Hebert’s characters, but something wasn’t there, and it sometimes felt too rushed.
Other Books I’ve Reviewed by Cambria Hebert
Preview Taste on Amazon Kindle
Discover more from Talk Nerdy Book Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
