REVIEW: If You Can’t Take the Heat by Melissa Brown

If You Can’t Take the Heat by Melissa Brown brings the heat out of the kitchen and into the bedroom.

This book took me awhile to read. I usually start a book and finish it in the same sitting, but this book didn’t capture my attention as I hoped and I ended up putting it down quite a bit. It took days to finish when in reality it should have only taken a couple hours. Whitney really got on my nerves a lot and she was constantly making bad decisions. Bad decisions that just didn’t affect her. When Whitney’s on/off again movie star boyfriend doesn’t support her decisions, she kicks him to the curb. This is a good thing, but she has a habit of taking him back, even after numerous times of him cheating on her.

Once Whitney breaks it off with him, she goes on the prowl and meets Charlie. Charlie is fun, full of life, and is also a contestant. The whole situation doesn’t end well. He ends up to be a user just like Nolan, but Whitney doesn’t see it until the end. While “hanging out” with Charlie, Whitney finds herself attracted to Wes, who is another contestant and starts something with him. He’s the only saving grace. Throughout the whole book, you have Nolan trying to get her back, Charlie sabotaging the kitchen and trying to make Whitney look bad, and Whitney not being upfront with Wes. I felt like I was in a soap opera throughout the whole book.

What did work for me was the writing. The author clearly knows how to write as the book was well-written. The cover of the book is definitely a keeper. It’s one of those covers that if you see at the store, you would immediately grab it and read the blurb. I also loved the premise of the book. I’m a big fan of cooking competitions and frequently watch food network, so had the heroine been different and there weren’t any love triangles, I could have really enjoyed this book. The heroine wasn’t all bad though. The love she had for mom was very sweet and at the very end, Whitney has to make a choice and I saw real maturity from her character when she chooses Wes over the show. For me, the best part of this book was Wes. Wes is hero material, but he wasn’t the main focal point of the story until the end and I wanted more Wes!

If you love reality television or cooking competitions, this might be a good book for you to try.

Book Info:

Publication: February 16th, 2016 | Montlake Romance |

Whitney Bartolina gets what she wants. At just thirty-four, she’s worked her way up from mailroom coordinator to casting director at a major Los Angeles television network and had a string of steamy flings, most recently with movie star Nolan Rivera. But when two of the contestants she casts on a new reality cooking show turn out to be as talented in the bedroom as they are in the kitchen, Whitney may have finally bitten off more than she can chew.

Conducting auditions across the country and looking for a bit of fun after Nolan, Whitney finds it in Chicago with Charlie Hutchins, a deliciously handsome British rugby-player-turned-chef whose spicy Szechuan beef is only the start of his sizzle. Then, in Montana, close encounters with sexy but mild-mannered cowboy and restaurateur Wes Rancourt leave her mouth watering for more.

Back in LA for filming, Whitney soon finds herself caught in a love square with Charlie, Wes, and Nolan, who’s stopping at nothing to win her back. Will she jeopardize her career by mixing business with pleasure, or can she turn up the heat without getting burned?