Kitchen Heat

A Restaurantland Romance (Book 1)

by Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays

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Pub Date Nov 02 2023 | Archive Date Dec 03 2023

Pumpjack Press | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles

General Fiction (Adult) | New Adult | Romance

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Description

Welcome to the Rose and Thorn restaurant where steamy romance is always on the menu.

Kassi is ever the optimist. She uprooted her life and moved across the country with her young daughter to give her damaged marriage one last shot. Now she's broke, stuck in Portland and feeling like an idiot. Worse, her degree in filmmaking won’t pay the bills.

When Kassi lands a waitress job at the infamous Rose and Thorn restaurant, she thinks her luck may finally be changing, especially after meeting Clay—head chef and the most beautiful man she’s ever seen. Their white-hot attraction is instant and undeniable. But after her marriage disaster, Kassi has sworn off relationships or even dating, maybe forever.

So, what's a girl to do? Put him in a sexy screenplay, of course.

Kassi is writing a movie script for a contest. It’s a long shot, an impossible shot, but it could be her ticket to Hollywood. She comes up with a new plot about a hot chef and a waitress falling madly in love (and bed).

It doesn’t take long before Kassi's imaginary relationship and reality collide in unpredictable ways but as things steam up in the restaurant kitchen, not everyone may be able to stand the heat, including hunky Clay. Turns out he’s dealing with a heartbreak of his own that he may never get over, not even for Kassi.

Kitchen Heat is the first in the Restaurantland Romance series, a slow burn friends-to-lovers story crackling with off-beat humor and featuring a flirtatious cast of waiters, customers and cooks, set in the pre-internet 1990s before cells, social media and streaming.

Welcome to the Rose and Thorn restaurant where steamy romance is always on the menu.

Kassi is ever the optimist. She uprooted her life and moved across the country with her young daughter to give her...

A Note From the Publisher

eBook: 9798988297406 ($5.99)

eBook: 9798988297406 ($5.99)

Advance Praise

Take one single mom, add one devastatingly handsome but broken man, stir in an eclectic mix of misfits from the weirdest city in the U.S., jack up the temperature, and you have “Kitchen Heat: A Restaurantland Romance.” Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays of "The Halo Trilogy" and "The Cowboy and the Vampire" fame have flexed their writing muscles again in a whole new direction, and it’s their steamiest yet.

“Kitchen Heat” is a love story at its core, but it’s also a study of relationships: the how, why, and who of interactions, what drives us, the mistakes we inevitably make, and the concessions necessary to make it all work. It’s not just about sex (spoiler alert: you won’t be disappointed there) — it’s about how regular people with complicated lives and personal tragedies go about finding their place in a chaotic and mixed-up world.

Renee Struthers, Go! EastOregon Magazine

“Kitchen Heat" follows Kassi to Portland, Oregon, in a last-ditch effort to save her marriage and create a stable family for her young daughter. Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays paint a passionate portrait of a young woman on the cusp of change who redefines the nature of real romance in her life … a story that delves into influences and undercurrents, making "Kitchen Heat" as thought-provoking as it is attractive … a colorful tale that follows the evolution of a relationship's promise and opportunity.

D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

A fun and flirty romance, left my heart full of hope for the new love blooming in Rose City ... and my stomach yearning for a Chef Clay brunch special!

Nancy Miller, Educator

Take one single mom, add one devastatingly handsome but broken man, stir in an eclectic mix of misfits from the weirdest city in the U.S., jack up the temperature, and you have “Kitchen Heat: A...