Lucy Kendall returns from a tour of the Continent, her luggage filled with the latest fashions and a mind fired by inspiration. After tasting Europe’s best confections, she’s sure she’ll come up with a recipe that will save her father’s struggling candy business and reverse their fortunes. But she soon discovers that their biggest competitor, the cheat who swindled her father out of his prize recipe, has now hired a promotions manager-a cocky, handsome out-of-towner who gets under Lucy’s skin.
Charlie Clarke’s new role at Standard Manufacturing is the chance of a lifetime. He can put some rough times behind him and reconnect with the father he’s never known. The one thing he never counted on, however, was tenacious Lucy Kendall. She’s making his work life miserable…and making herself impossible for him to forget.
I loved the premise of this book. A young debutante determined to save her family by creating a luscious new candy – yum! The reality didn’t live up to my expectations, however. It took a really long time for me to get into this story – and I don’t know why. It’s well-written, flows smoothly, and has interesting characters, but there are few surprises in the plot. While not every twist and turn is known, you won’t be gasping in surprise, either.
By the middle of the book, I felt firmly connected to Lucy and Charlie and didn’t want to put Unrivaled down. By that point the actions on the part of each main character were frustratingly unsmart, and I could’ve shaken them both! It was at that point, however, that I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to them.
Ultimately, Mitchell wrote a great spiritual lesson into this story: it doesn’t matter if you’ve always been perceived as the “good” one or have been dancing in darkness, we all need God’s redemptive love. The way that Mitchell used Lucy’s antics in this book is very wise and teaches a lesson that should be heeded by us all.
Siri Mitchell is the author of nearly a dozen novels, among them the critically acclaimed Christy Award finalists “Chateau of Echoes” and “The Cubicle Next Door”. A graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in business, she has worked in many different levels of government. As military spouse, she has lived in places as varied as Tokyo and Paris. Siri currently lives in the DC-metro area.
Visit www.sirimitchell.com
I received a free copy of Unrivaled from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.
