Never Hollowed By The Stare

A Full Plate – Kim Fielding

Opposites come together for a spicy surprise.

Bradford “Tully” Tolliver has everything—money, a great car, a beautiful condo, and a promising career as one of Portland’s hottest young lawyers. Sure, he puts in long hours and has no social life to speak of, but who needs romance when corporations pay top dollar for his expertise? He hesitates when a colleague asks if her cousin can live with him, but the arrangement will last less than a year, and then the cousin—Sage Filling—will return to his tiny hometown.

But Sage is handsome and intriguing, and his cooking makes Tully swoon. Sage has obligations back home, though, and Tully has offers he might not refuse from a persistent—and very wealthy—ex. Since Tully and Sage each have a full plate, can they make room for a side of love?

This is not the book to read if you are on a diet. This book is full of sumptuous, mouth-watering food and men moaning in culinary ecstasy. You have been warned.

Bradford “Tully” Tolliver never expected how good a deal he got when he agreed to house Sage Filling as a favor to his co-worker and friend, Carrie who was Sage’s cousin. Sage turned out to be a genius in the kitchen and soon Tully, who probably couldn’t boil an egg to save his life, was eating the best meals of his life (hence the moans). Major bonus is the fact that Sage was really nice and handsome. Tully found himself intensely attracted to Sage but as Sage declared that “he had his plate full”, Tully kept his hands off.

I really liked Tully because when he says he will keep his distance, he really kept his distance and when that annoying Eddy Harrington tried to go beyond the lawyer-client relationship, he was really adamant in keeping things professional to the point of socking his client when Eddy kissed him. And even though he was a hotshot corporate lawyer, he is such a decent human being. He generously bought Sage all the fancy kitchen gadgets he could play with and he always treated Sage like an equal even though Sage was poor.

Sage would probably win the grand slam titles of best dad, best cook and best boyfriend. He is also one of the hardest working book people I know, slaving in the kitchen all night and still have enough energy to cook some food for Tully, and drive 200 miles every week to see his daughter. I very much prefer this Sage to the other Sage found in K. Sterling’s In the Kill as this Sage can make his own mozzarella, cook a variety of international dishes from Thai, Filipino. Italian to Croatian and has encyclopedic knowledge of all things culinary.

The book is from Tully’s POV and I think the story worked really well from his perspective. This is like a Cinderella tale in reverse where the prince found his love in the guise of a pauper. The book had that characteristic Kim Fielding brand of magic, full of those fluffy, endearing moments that trigger warm fuzzy feelings. Tully and Sage had great chemistry together and I am beyond happy that there were no big misunderstandings. In keeping with the fairy tale theme, both men knew that their relationship had a deadline because Sage needed to go back to his hometown and they tried to make the most of the time left. In the end the prince gave up his castle to live in an old house in a boring rural town full of nosy relatives with the love of his life. And they couldn’t be happier.

P.S.

I am so glad Paul put Eddy Harrington out of his misery. The man was a giant pest.

Rating
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

Soundtrack: Fruits & Vegetables
Artist: Shonen Knife
Album: Brand New Knife

(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36258643-a-full-plate)