Author: EM Lynley
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages/Word Count: 220 Pages
Rating: 4 Stars
Blurb: A Novel in the Delectable Series
Cordon-Blue trained pastry chef Riley Emerson arrives in Aspen, Colorado for a summer season at the best restaurant in town, only to discover his jerk of a boyfriend has dumped him, leaving his heart and his summer plans in tatters. Doubting himself and longing for a change of pace, he takes a low-paying position as chef at a guest ranch, the Rocking Z. The scenery is gorgeous, but he expects that nature up close and personal can’t hold a candle to his exciting Paris lifestyle.
When born-and-bred cattle rancher Colby Zane spots a newcomer letting himself be pawed at by a passel of horny cowboys at Aspen’s Club Rawhide, he doesn’t think twice before rushing in, throwing the guy over his shoulder, and rescuing him from the volatile situation. Sober, Riley Emerson turns out to be sweet and sexy, but not interested in more than a one-night stand with Colby. Initially disdainful of the guest ranch side of the business, Colby’s over the moon when Riley late arrives as the new cook on his family’s ranch
But all’s not well at the Rocking Z. Unsurmountable financial problems force them to rely on a cash infusion from an outside investor, Fitz Wellington. Only Fitz is hot for Colby, and he won’t sign on the dotted line without some very personal incentives. The future of the ranch is at stake, and Colby’s just desperate enough to go along, but saving the Z might mean losing Riley.
**This book also contains recipes mentioned in the story**
Review: I’m not sure the title Spaghetti Western fits my idea of a Spaghetti Western—the low budget Italian flicks depicting the Old West. ~smiles~ But it does involve some Italian food, and it does have cowboys!
Riley decides to surprise his boyfriend Denny by coming up to Aspen a week early, before starting his new job working at the Antelope Inn. And, boy, was Denny ever surprised… Then the dirty rotten, sneaky snake a-hole had the nerve to get defensive! Riley was waaay too nice about that situation, but, then again, Denny’s loss was another’s gain.
Riley decides that working with Denny at the Antelope Inn is out of the question, so he looks for work at other restaurants. Unfortunately, Riley is not having much luck in finding another summer job. A kind person soon informs him that there’s a job fair, where the local people are looking for summer help during the tourist season, so the night before the job fair, Riley, feeling a bit down over his breakup, decides to visit the local bar.
Colby, said cowboy, happens to come across Riley at the bar while hoping to find some action for the night. When Colby notices that Riley is more than slightly intoxicated and about to be part of a game with a bunch overzealous, horny men, well, Colby comes to the rescue by hefting Riley over his shoulder as he dashes out of the bar.
Although Riley is, understandably, a bit gun shy about relationships, he has no problem thanking the sexy stranger; then, after sobering up enough, quietly sneaking out on his one night stand. But, where would that leave the story if that were all that happened? No, fate does a little maneuvering, and Riley ends up being hired by Colby’s aunt as the main cook at the Rocking Z.
Now, what starts off as a summer fling between Colby and Riley becomes something entirely else as the two men get to know each other. Love just creeps up on the two of them, Fitz just made it a more interesting story, and there were a couple of times I partook in the fantasy of drop kicking this obnoxious dude’s butt over a goal post. Yay, 3 points!
What I really liked about Spaghetti Western, though, is towards the end when Colby realizes something that was quite profound when it came to saving the ranch. So, I’m giving Spaghetti Western a 4 Star rating and am going to love trying the recipes in the back of the book, especially the Sourdough starter recipe!
You can buy Spaghetti Western here:
