Gingerbread Palace

Firemen, gingerbread and turtles... Oh my!

This was a quick read with lots of action and characters which I love. I was impressed with how much I learned about firefighters; the research was great. I just wished it was longer. It seems unfinished.

If you want to learn where the turtles come into the story, you have to read and find out :)

3.5 Stars ~'Gingerbread Palace' is book four in EM Lynley's 'Delectable' series, but this is a series of books which can very easily be read as stand alones. I was attracted to this particular book because, well, I definitely have a fireman kink. Who doesn't? Four years in a row, my blessed mother bought me the WA Fireman calendar, and went and met them to get it signed. That's motherly love, I tell you. So that was part of my interest, and the other part involved baking. I love to bake, it's where I get the most creative.
Alex, aka Dumbass Bakery Guy, according to Kevin, rushed back into his burning building to get his dog, wouldn't listen to Kevin, and now, Kevin is stuck doing desk duty until his captain clears him. Kevin is a little, wait, make that a lot, pissed. This is his third assignment in two years, and if he can't make it here, there may not be a fourth one. He is a third generation firefighter in the city, and his dad is deputy chief. No wonder Kevin is as far in the closet as he is. Don't Ask, Don't Tell is alive and well at Kevin's parents’ home. Whereas Alex has never hidden who he is, or whom he loves, even when he probably should've, at times. Alex, and his bakery, are a neighborhood fixture, known for his generous donations and charity work. Even though these two very different men shoot off a few sparks after meeting, they definitely despise each other, which, of course, makes it all the more entertaining.
With his kitchen and all of the stock destroyed, Alex won't be able to make his annual gingerbread house which is donated for the Home Sweet Home charity auction. Home Sweet Home helps match foster kids with prospective adoptive parents, a service which is very near and dear to Alex's heart. Alex is stunned when the guys at Station 7 tell him he can use their industrial kitchen to get the gingerbread house done. Now all he has to do is stay out of Kevin's way. Turns out, that's a lot harder to do than he thought.
I've got to be honest and admit that I didn't much like Kevin, and pretty much everything Alex accused him of being, I completely agreed with. He came around, obviously, in the end, but I still didn't connect as well with him. Alex, however, I simply adored. He was a wonderful character, and personally I think way too good for Kevin. *grins* This was most definitely, another cute and fun novella, which I can easily recommend.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

This is the first story I have read by this author so I was able to go in without expectations, except hoping for a good time, of course. I was not let down in the least. In fact, this is a fine representation of a feel good story for the season.
Ms. Lynley's characterizations are honestly descriptive without distracting from the smooth flow of the tale, allowing the reader to experience the perceptions of being a participant as well as an observer. I found myself immediately disliking one character, but that changed as the character developed; and on the flip end I instantly fell in love with another character which only deepened as the story unfolded.
I genuinely look forward to reading more of EM Lynley's tales and from pulling her up here on Dreamspinner Press, I have a few to choose from.

This was a very nice enemies to lovers story. I wish it had been a bit longer or have an update in the next book in the series. SPOILERS--I had a minor \"take me out of the story\" moment with the wrong broken arm. Maybe that can be fixed without too much trouble and also what happened to the dog? What was up with Kevin's parents? Overall, it was a very good read and look forward to the next Delectables book.

Honestly, I shouldn't have bought this book. (Before you recoil in horror from that comment, allow me to explain....)
It's two weeks until Christmas, and I'm firmly in what my family refers to as my No-Buy zone, where I'm not supposed to buy anything for myself. Also, I'm on a fairly strict book budget... so, I wasn't supposed to buy the book. That being said, I managed to pull in some extra cash to my paypal account, and this was the first thing I bought with it.
So, enough about me;
the Book.
First off, I love firemen. My grandfather, my uncle, and two of my cousins are firemen, and I am both pleased at having them represented and impressed with the amount of research that went into the story.
Second, I'm a big fan of cooking and baking, so we have two of my favorite professions in the same story... also awesome.
And then there's the enemy to lover trope which is one of my favorite things, too...
Well done back stories. Enough details to keep us sympathetic without the rubbing-it-in-your-face sort of descriptions that seem a little too present in a lot of \"abused kids\" stories...
The writing was elegant and provocative, sweeping me into the story right away and continued to live up to an excellent start. If you're an easy crier (I am) prep a tissue ready for the last two chapters...