REVIEW: Skinny Bitch Gets Hitched by Kim Barnouin

In Skinny Bitch Gets Hitched (Skinny Bitch #2) by Kim Barnouin, Skinny Bitch and vegan chef extraordinaire Clementine Cooper finally has a restaurant to call her own. Clementine’s No Crap Cafe is doing well thanks to her meticulous attention to detail, talented staff, and the vegan trend in L.A. She and her millionaire boyfriend Zach Jeffries seem to be content with the direction they’re moving in both professionally and personally. Then Zach surprises Clem with something she never thought she’d want in a million years: a marriage proposal.

‘…I could handle anything. Running two restaurants. Getting married. Hanging with Sara. And whatever came next. It was the Skinny Bitch way.’

Non-traditional Clem finds herself over the moon to be getting married to the love of her life. But then she meets Zach’s mother Dominique and suddenly it’s not so fun anymore. His mom is controlling to say the least and asserts herself as the official wedding planner. Clem has a lot on her plate (pun intended) with the restaurant, an upcoming review by the New York Times which can make or break her career, and plans for a new farm-to-table restaurant. Amongst all the chaos, Zach turns distant and downplays it as issues at work. Clem isn’t sure if he has cold feet now that he’s proposed or what the issue is, but she wants to again be able to count on the one person who’s always been on her side.

“So everything’s okay between us? I mistook a sun-dried tomato for a sweet pepper today because of you.”
He smiled and kissed me again. “Sorry. Everything is fine between us. Always will be, Clem; no matter how busy I get or how distant I seem. I love you.” He held my gaze. “More than anything.”

Skinny Bitch Gets Hitched was a fun, no nonsense romance with attitude and style. And some seriously yummy sounding food, too!!

Clementine was such a lively character to get to know. I adored her straightforward ways and the fact that she ran her kitchen as an almost Zen-like area. Admittedly, I didn’t read book one so I didn’t get to see Clem’s metamorphosis into who she is now, but Kim Barnouin did a stellar job of bringing in bits of the past to help us out. I really dug her sense of humor, her loyalty to family & friends, and how she turned to cooking to work out her problems. I have to agree there is something about getting in the kitchen and creating to put life into perspective for me, too.

There was a lot going on here for Clem and her co-horts, just like there would be in real life, which was great. From Zach’s issues at work, to Sara’s relationship with Joe, Alexander’s interest in Clem, and all the craziness surrounding the staff of the No Crap Cafe, there was no shortage of drama. I have to mention that I thought Charlie the beagle was so darn cute! I loved that Clem fell for him as much as she did Zach and made him an important part of their lives. I thought Ms. Barnouin’s writing style fit really well with the storyline. It was contemporary, kind of loose and flirty, but still had a lot of emotional depth. After reading this and being so impressed, I’m definitely going to have to go back and read book one now.

You don’t have to be a foodie to enjoy Skinny Bitch Gets Hitched. I think Clem’s sassy persona, compassionate nature and quirky friends will be quite enough to get you hooked.

Book Info:

Published May 6th 2014 by Gallery Books

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING VEGAN, SOMETHING BLUE . . .
For the second time in just a few short months, Clementine Cooper’s professional reputation hinges on one restaurant review. Clementine’s No Crap Café is poised to score the Holy Grail of publicity—a mention in the New York Times Sunday travel section—if Clem’s veggietastic lasagna can bowl over the food critic.

Clem has no time for distractions. Or surprises. But when her meat-eating millionaire boyfriend Zach Jeffries shocks her with a sweet and romantic marriage proposal, of course she says yes! Now she has to plan the most important menu of her life while fending off her domineering future mother-in-law’s extravagant plans for the wedding.

As if there wasn’t enough on her plate, Clem decides to open a second restaurant on her parents’ farm—Clem’s No Crap Outpost— against Zach’s advice. Just when she needs his support the most, Zach grows distant. The only person who really seems to understand is Clem’s friend and biggest competition, the cute vegan chef Alexander Orr. Putting out fires in the kitchen is easy—but in her relationship? Suddenly, her time with Alexander feels . . . hotter . . . than usual, and Clem starts to wonder if the charming carnivore she’s engaged to is really the man she should spend her life with.