i like this author, it's trad pub so it's steamy for trad(indie pub fits my steamy mind more) but I liked this romance!

Fun, hot, sexy and hot. As usual Zuri Day tells a good story that can be enjoyed with a nice dash of heat on the side.

I'm glad I requested this book because I now I have a new author to follow. I definitely need more Zuri Day in the future.

As a New Orleans native, I was so excited to see author Zuri Day set her new novel, French Quarter Kisses, in my hometown. Day handles the love story and trauma of celebrity chef Pierre LeBlanc and journalist Rosalyn Arnaud with a delicate tenderness that romance fans will appreciate. Pierre is the owner of the hottest restaurant in New Orleans and New Orleans Beat reporter Rosalyn is tasked with covering his story. While covering Pierre's journey, he also steals her heart. Can their love survive betrayal and loss? Check out French Quarter Kisses to find out how it ends.

My favorite part of the novel is how Day covers Hurricane Katrina from the perspective of the characters demonstrating the plethora of emotions that many of us who experienced the storm went through and how we persevered. My only pet peeve with the novel is the overuse of the term "crayfish." No one originally from New Orleans would use this term. It made the characters slightly less believable as native New Orleanians. This is something that will only bother Nola citizens, though.

It is never a bad thing to read a book set in New Orleans, a city that most find it difficult not to love. Zuri Day’s French Quarter Kisses brings a man “home” to New Orleans over a decade after being displaced following Hurricane Katrina. Intriguing, fresh, and satisfying made this book an entertaining read.

Pierre LeBlanc has never forgotten the city of his heart and returning to New Orleans over a decade after he left, he is excited about opening his own restaurant. Losing his grandmother and for all he knows his mother to Katrina, Pierre is ready to be back home and bring his love of Creole cooking to the French Quarter. And while he’d rather forget everything he lost in the storm, he is taken with reporter Rosalyn “Roz” Arnaud and agrees to be part of her series on Katrina survivors.

I loved the set up of this book and the fact that if showed despite Katrina being over a decade ago the city has never forgotten. Pierre’s success was the kind of story that gives people hope and while there was more to his story, Roz worked hard to help him and his younger sister with closure.

Ms. Day’s descriptions made me feel I was in the city which was a plus and Pierre’s background and life kept me engaged. I was a bit disappointed in some of Pierre’s decisions, but I also understood that he was deeply affected by the incidents that shaped his life and it was a touchy subject for him.

One thing that was very easy to feel was the intense heat between Pierre and Roz, but that grew into so much more as this book progressed.

Zuri Day offers up a satisfying romance set in a much beloved city making French Quarter Kisses not to be missed.

Why oh why is Kimani romance going away?! Zuri Day is a wonderful romance author and I'm hoping for more of her titles outside of this imprint. A great choice for public libraries hoping to showcase romances for all of their patrons.

The world witnessed the devastating effects of hurricane Katrina to the city of New Orleans. But it was life threatening and complete devastation to the ones who were actually in the middle of it. Chef and food network star Pierre LeBlanc was a teenager during this devastation along with his young sister. Journalist Rosalyn Armand was not in New Orleans at the time of the hurricane but she did lose a close family friend in the devastation. As a journalist she makes it a point to honor New Orleans each year by doing a feature article about the survivors and where they are now. This year she reluctantly gets the assignment of doing a feature article on Chef LeBlanc who she views as a playboy.

After meeting Pierre and getting to know him she changes her opinion of him. As the relationship between the two grows a secret is revealed that could put an end to their relationship. A great story about trust, forgiveness and reconciliation!

French Quarter Kisses is a foodie romance set in one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. With this being the case, It moved to the top of my TBR pile. A little love in the Big Easy never hurt anyone.
The novel had a lot of good things going for it; great food, a complex hero and a great city as the backdrop. Celebrity chef, Pierre LeBlanc is back in New Orleans to open his highly anticipated restaurant. He hasn’t lived in New Orleans since Katrina in 2005 when he and his sister fled to Houston. Pierre’s past is a very important piece of this story, especially when he meets Rosalyn Arnaud; a journalist known for her research and great human interest stories.

There was just enough tension and slight mystery as we dug deeper into Pierre’s past that kept me interested. While I felt he was the more developed character, I liked seeing Rosalyn at work. Though these two can’t be considered a slow burn, as they got involved pretty quickly in the novel, it took a little while for me to start to root for them. It may because I became more invested in Pierre before Rosalyn or them as a couple. By the end though, I believed they would be a good couple.

French Quarter Kisses was a solid, quick read about a chef who’d prefer to keep his past hidden and a journalist who makes him face the skeletons once they fall in love.

I usually don't read Harlequin romance stories. Often they come across as too cheesy with the men and the women having similar descriptions. She's always the strong-willed good girl while he's the playboy who deep down is a very sensitive soul. Somehow she's got the right stuff to break through his hardened exterior. So at first when I started reading and those familiar tropes presented themselves I thought this story would end up being a chore to get through. The Hurricane Katrina angle surprised me and added alot of heart and realism into the story as well as a little mystery. In the end I was pleasantly surprised. The only other aspect I object to is that the story was so much about Pierre we learned very little about Roz. He even admitted himself he knew so little about her life.