REVIEW: Just One Taste by Kimberly Kincaid

Just One Taste (Pine Mountain #4.5) by Kimberly Kincaid is a sweet little novella taking us back to the friends that we have made in the town of Pine Mountain. This time it is Jesse’s turn to find love, healing and home.

Jesse Oliver is a retired Army Medic turned Soue Chef. He keeps to himself, trying to find his footing after the experiences that he has witnessed. When the water main in his apartment building breaks leaving his homeless his buddy Gabe steps in and offers him a place to stay. Little does he realize that just on the other side of the duplex is the hot, sexy, quiky neighbor that lived in the apartment above him.

Kat McMarrin is a Army brat. Always moving, never having a home. When the water main breaks and she knows that she will be homeless she decides to move out the beach house duplex and try to fix it up a little. She gets more then she bargained for when she finds her brother and Jesse in one half of the duplex.

Determained to make a go of it, Jesse and Kat decide to work together to fix up the old beach house. But when their feelings for each other, the feelings that they can no longer deny take over, Jesse and Kat may have just found the home they have both been so desperately looking for in the safety of each others arms.

I loved Jesse when we met him in Fire Me Up. I was so happy to see that he got his own story. Jesse has feeling of unworthiness because of the way that he grew up. Always feeling like he was a disappointment, a screw up, never quite enough. He cannot understand how somone like Kat could actually want to be with someone like him. I tryly enjoyed the relationship between Gabe and Jesse. They understood each other because of shared experiences, and it was Gabe and Adrian that helped Jesse see that he was not undeserving, that indeed, he was honest, trustworth, and loyal.

I have loved the Pine Mountain series since book 1. Any yes, this novella like all of the other books in the series can be read stand alone. I would highly recommend this series to anyone that loves a great foodie book, sweet HEA, and characters that you come to know so well that they truly feel like family.

Book Info:

Published: May 26th 2015 by Zebra

A little home improvement can go a long way…

Jesse Oliver was a medic in Afghanistan, but back home in Pine Mountain he’s happy to switch gears as the Double Shot bar’s new sous chef. When his apartment floods and his old Army buddy offers the family’s dilapidated lake house as temporary quarters, Jesse thinks a little remodeling on the creaky duplex sounds like a fair return favor. That’s before he sets eyes on the gorgeous woman moving into the other side of the cabin—and discovers she’s his buddy’s kid sister, a.k.a totally off limits.

Kat McMarrin has fought hard for her space, and she’s not too interested in sharing it. Of course, her job as a physical therapist means she won’t see much of Jesse, even if he’s a few thin floorboards away—unless she seeks him out. And with his sculpted body and slow-burn gaze, she might be tempted. Maybe the fixer-upper projects she has planned for the cabin will keep her mind off him. Or maybe her instincts to strip the place down will get out of hand…