Chase me by Laura Florand
This author is new to me and I enjoyed this read because of the careers of Chase and Vi. Interesting combination. Love the location.
Easy to keep track of the characters as there are just a handful. Chase is there for intel-he's to protect the president and his family who will dine at the restaurant-that's the story he tells he owner-Vi who stops him in his place late one night.
She's intrigued by this story and I love how she handles her knives. Lots of action, mystery and sex. Although this was part of a series I did not feel like I was left in the dark.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device). ( )

I received an ARC for an honest review of this novel.

Chase is on a covert op when he is discovered in Chef Violette's kitchen. As a woman thriving in a notoriously man's profession, Vi has had to put up with a lot to get where she is and she's not about to back down when faced with an unknown man in her kitchen late at night, not when she has access to knives and knows how to use them--to cut and to throw. However, before blood can be shed, flirtation evolves and Chase and Vi are on.

While this has much of what one would expect from a Laura Florand novel (the charm, the setting, cuisine, sensuality), it is missing part of the lyrical dreaminess that has defined Florand's previous work for this reader. The writing throughout much of the novel, except for perhaps the last three chapters, is sparser, grittier, darker. As I was reading, I recognized that this was Florand's reaction to the bombing in Paris and that the dreaminess had been displaced by reality.

In a way the darkness was disappointing because I have an expectation of Florand's novels: to be whisked away from the everyday by language and charm and sensuality. This novel didn't do that for me. But since that is a thwarting of my own expectation, I will not critique the novel from that viewpoint. Rather, Florand delivers a novel that entertains. She never fails her reader by just rehashing characters and language and providing us with the same-ole, same-ole.

For me the last three chapters of the book demonstrate Florand's talent of charm, showing the characters at their sweetest, dialogue that shows a spark and playfulness and connection between Chase and Vi. ( )