DELICIOUS – by Sherry Thomas
Bantam Books
ISBN: 978-0-440-24432-5
August 2008
Historical Romance

Yorkshire and London, England – 1892

DELICIOUS is the sophomore effort from newcomer Sherry Thomas whose debut novel, PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS, garnered numerous rave reviews earlier this year. Like PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS, DELICIOUS features a strong-willed, passionate couple who, after sharing a brief and unforgettable love affair, are separated for years before reuniting at long last.

In 1882, Madame Verity Durant, with her aristocratic English syllables and rough Provençal French accent, does not fit in with the household servants at Fairleigh Park, the Yorkshire country estate where she works. Verity is scandalously involved in a love affair with her employer, Bertie Somerset. When Bertie abruptly ends the affair, a humiliated Verity travels to London to plot revenge on Bertie for his callous treatment of her. One evening in London, Verity is attacked in the street and nearly raped before being rescued by Stuart Somerset, the gentleman who was to have been the instrument of Verity’s revenge. Verity finds she cannot complete her revenge and returns to her post in Fairleigh Park’s spacious kitchens. For the next ten years, Verity quietly hones her culinary skills, trying not to yearn for that one incredible evening of love and connection that she shared with Stuart in London.

Stuart Somerset is Bertie’s legitimized half-brother, and one of England’s rising political stars. For Stuart, a lifetime of hard work and driving ambition is starting to bear fruit. Stuart believes he has no time in his schedule for sensual pleasures, but the truth is that Stuart’s emotions and sensual nature have been closed off since that hot, dangerous July evening ten years ago when Stuart rescued a shabby genteel young lady from street hoodlums, and found the love of his life. Stuart experienced a single evening of passion, tenderness, and almost unbearable intimacy with that lovely stranger who spoke English in clipped aristocratic accents, identified herself only as “Cinderella”, and disappeared after that evening.

When Bertie unexpectedly dies, Stuart returns to Fairleigh Park to claim his inheritance. Stuart expects to quickly settle Bertie’s affairs and then return to London and Parliament. Stuart’s plans are dashed, however, when he takes one bite of Verity’s sensual culinary creations, and a decade’s worth of pent-up passions come flooding out.

DELICIOUS is an entertaining and thoroughly absorbing read. Ms. Thomas shows off her fine historical research, weaving in details of nineteenth-century French haute cuisine and English politics among evocative descriptions of the kitchens of nineteenth-century English country houses and town houses, and the daily work that occurs in the various strata of English society. The characterizations of Verity and Stuart are finely and carefully drawn and are backed by a solid, multi-faceted supporting cast, including an interesting secondary romance featuring Miss Bessler, Stuart’s fiancée, and her reluctant attraction to Mr. Marsden, Stuart’s capable young secretary.

DELICIOUS is hampered by a lengthy and unnecessary interlude wherein Verity, reluctant to reveal her true identity to Stuart after Bertie’s death, engages in a series of furtive sexual and voyeuristic encounters with Stuart in darkened hallways and candlelit bathrooms, including one particularly ridiculous scene involving Verity wearing a black mask. This interlude did nothing to further the story and cheapened the characters. Another flaw that prevents DELICIOUS from receiving a Perfect 10 is that, although Stuart makes several transformations in the course of the story, Verity remains largely an unsympathetic protagonist. Verity does not appear to evolve or grow in her character, although we can see that she is a strong woman who has become a skilled and talented chef. Verity’s motivations are sketched only in bare outlines. I think Ms. Thomas would have done better to shorten the sexual interludes and write out a more detailed backstory that portrays Verity’s fall from grace in detail, how she came to work as a cook and chef, and how these changes and experiences shaped Verity’s character.

Despite these flaws, DELICIOUS is one of the most memorable historical romances of 2008. Sherry Thomas has already developed a distinctive and masterful prose style that is a pleasure to read. I look forward with great anticipation to her next book.

Elaine, Guest Reviewer