I Want to Eat at Rick Reed's House

Rick R. Reed is a man of many talents as far as writing goes.  Some of his books, like Raining Men for example, are hard-hitting and nearly painful to get through.  Others, like his latest, Dinner at Home, can nearly be compared to cozy mysteries.  Dinner at Home is a cozy gay romance, with its charming protagonist, spunky little girl, and well-meaning former drug addict who's trying desperately to stay clean.

If that isn't enough, Reed includes very tempting description of mouth-watering dishes throughout the story and then gives the recipes for them at the end of the book.  Who knew that a man whose writing seemed to reflect a dark spirit actually was a jovial Italian chef as well?

I noticed on some of the review sites that this book isn't gleaning the five-star reviews Reed's other work has gotten.  I think this is the stun factor.  His writing and this story aren't any less wonderful, but I don't think readers expect this of him and are rating their confusion rather than the quality of his work.

Here's an excerpt from my 5-star review that was posted on The Romance Reviews today:

Readers should be ready to grab their pots and pans and be ready to cook while savoring Rick R. Reed's latest gay romance.

Talk about a bad day. At breakfast, Seattle ad executive Ollie D'Angelo finds his boyfriend has had another lover for six months and now wants Ollie to move out, then when he gets to work, he finds his position has been eliminated.

A perpetually upbeat person and cook at heart, Ollie rallies to decide this is his chance of a lifetime to do something he's always wanted. With his savings, he starts Dinner at Home, a catering service for people who are too busy to cook dinner at night.

As he's unpacking after delivering a meal one evening, down-and-out Hank Mellinger sees Ollie's open car and enters it, bent on stealing something. When the bigger Ollie catches Hank and finds out the man needs money for rent and food for himself and his niece, instead of turning him over to the police, Ollie takes Hank and his niece home with him.

A former crack addict, Hank is now clean and trying desperately to stay that way. His twin sister is in prison on the East Coast and his mother refuses to take responsibility for four-year-old Addison, a swearing, too-old-for-her-age little girl.
Read the rest of the review at The Romance Reviews.