Review: The Saucy Minx by Manda Olie

Reviewed by SinChan
The Saucy Minx by Manda Olie
Dreamspinner Press
Short Story: 60pgs
3 Pants Off

Blurb:
With a touch of the magic that gives his recipes a culinary kick, Jack Killian has been running his restaurant, the Saucy Minx, for nearly a decade—almost as long as there’s been a spell out there promising to knock him off his feet should he ever meet the other half of his whole. Each day Jack delights his clientele by magically imbuing his food with taste and emotion, even as he slowly loses hope that the man of his dreams even exists.

But when he hires a new dessert manager, his whole life turns upside-down, because his dream man does exist—and he just strolled into the restaurant on someone else’s arm. While conducting business as usual, Jack struggles through what it means when destiny hands you the perfect man on a platter you’re not allowed to touch.

Review
Andrew runs a restaurant, the Saucy Minx, and Jack is the chef who specializes in magic dishes. Ten years ago, Andrew and Jack cast a spell to find their soul mates but haven't found them yet. They hired a new dessert specialist, Nick, who can revitalize food to their freshness. Nick's boyfriend, Richard, brings his friends, Grant and Chris, from overseas. At first glance, Grant is meant to be with Andrew and Chris is Jack's soul mate, but Grant and Chris are dating each other. Andrew and Jack are crashed but all hope is not lost for them.

It is difficult for me to focus on the main couple (Jack and Chris) when there's a total of three in this story. In general, I think the pace is too fast. I don't have enough time to develop a connection to each main character and fully digest what struggles they went through. There's not enough back story for the main characters for them to be fully developed and to leave a deeper impression. The romance is very much love at first sight.

Having said that, the romance part of the story is very cute, I love the interesting idea of modern witches using magic in food. It's a way to continue their practice, be subtle, avoid detection, and charge people thousands for a "special dish." I especially love the food descriptions (although there weren't many) and the use of a little magic to make the meals one-of-a-kind. Yummy.

Overall, this is a very cute story that leaves a fluffy feeling afterwards. I would recommend this for paranormal fans that want a fluff story.

3 Pants Off