Hi guys, we have Jaime Samms and her new release How the Cookie Crumbles, we have a great excerpt, a brilliant giveaway and Prime’s review, so enjoy the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
How the Cookie Crumbles
Jaime Samms
After losing a rigged cooking show competition—and a potential lover—to another baker, Frederic Jackson packs up his considerable baggage and moves to Bluewater Bay. He uses the network’s hush money to buy a new bakery where he hopes the small town’s revitalized economy will let him start anew.
Blaire Caruthers never wanted to work for his father at Caruthers Industries. He should have known that fixing the company’s show results was a mistake, and that choosing another man over kind, generous Frederic was an even bigger one. But the damage is done. To escape the fallout, he’s gone to Bluewater Bay to oversee the company’s interest in Wolf’s Landing merchandise.
Stuck in a small, nowhere town doing a job he hates, Blaire wants nothing more than to prove to Frederic he’s changed. However, Frederic struggles to trust the man who betrayed him once already. As Blaire loses ground with his father, and Frederic starts falling back into self-destructive habits, they both have to find the balance and control that’s been missing from their lives.
Excerpt
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Alicia rarely sounded shrill. Blaire brought it out in her.
Frederic winced, and the little snatch of memory disintegrated like so much pulled-sugar sculpture. Crystal shards of it dug into him as Alicia rose, both hands clenched, eyes bright with anger.
Frederic hurried around the counter.
“Alicia, calm down.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Take your coffee.” He handed it to her, and then shoved the remains of her pastry in her other hand. “Go on. I’ve got this.”
“Oh no. I am not leaving you alone with him.”
“I’m a big boy, sweetie. Off you go. I don’t need blood on my floor on top of everything else.” He guided her to the door, around the object of her fury, ignoring the static charge that jumped from Blaire’s suited arm right down through Frederic’s toes as he brushed it with his own.
“Out,” he told Alicia. “Now. I’ll call you. Maybe even promise to sleep this weekend if you just don’t murder anyone in my place, okay? Please?”
“You shouldn’t let him in, Freddie.”
“Alicia.” He had her out in the street, resisting him more and more the farther they went. “I’ve got this. Please. Just go home.”
She snarled at him, turned suddenly, and shouted back into the bakery. “You’re a scumbag, Blaire Caruthers!” She swung a fist, pastry crushed in her grip. “You are a—”
“Alicia!” Frederic shook her. “Not here, hon. Just. Go. Home.”
“He’ll only fuck things up again, Freddie. You’ll see.” She went, no grace in her concession.
Frederic scrubbed at the buzzed hair on the side of his head as she stalked off. It was going to take some heavy bribery to get her to forgive him for not letting her eviscerate the man on his doorstep. The man he’d left alone in his shop, so he didn’t really have time to linger over Alicia’s bent-out-of-shape feelings.
“I don’t have the energy for this,” he grumbled, even as he turned, drew in a breath, and shoved through the door back inside. Might as well get it over with.
“Well.” Blaire quirked his lips in an unhappy smile that vanished almost before it had formed. “Guess she’s still pissed at me.”
Frederic hurried back around the counter, wanting it between himself and the much bigger man. “Would seem so. Can I get you something?”
“Got anything not burnt?” Blaire asked, offering what Frederic refused to think of as an endearing smile.
“Was that a joke?” Frederic stared at him, not smiling back. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Technically I don’t open for five more minutes. But if it will make you go away faster, I’ll serve you anyway.”
Blaire put the teasing tone and smile away and straightened his tie. “You’re still mad too?”
“I was never mad.” Hurt? Devastated? Betrayed? Frederic continued to stare, lips cramping with the tightness of his frown.
“Do you have any Danishes?”
Frederic shook his head. “Don’t make Danishes.”
“Ah. I thought maybe . . .”
“I don’t make Danishes. If that’s all, maybe you’d like to try across the street. The diner has some thawed-from-frozen junk you’ll probably like.”
“Actually, I came to see you, Freddie.”
Frederic tightened his jaw. “Well. Here I am. And the name is Frederic, thank you.”
“Right. Frederic. I’d forgotten that. I just wanted to let you know I’d be in town. Moved here a while back. Thought you should have a heads-up.”
“Don’t care what you do. If you’re not here for baked goods, then we’ve no business.”
“I made a mistake, Frederic, I admit—”
“You made many mistakes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. Some of us have to actually earn what we have, because our daddies aren’t rich and we didn’t want to fuck to get our way.” His face heated, and he cringed because only this man could make him forget himself and swear.
Blaire’s swarthy face paled. “It wasn’t like that.”
“I’m pretty sure it was. He fucked you, he got the cash. Now I bake for people who actually appreciate my food because it wins awards I’ve earned because I can bake and not because I can fuck.”
Oh God that word kept coming out of his mouth and it was ugly and vulgar and not who he was.
“Fred—”
“Get. Out.”
With a heavy sigh, Blaire dropped the hand he’d lifted and fled the building.
“I was so over this!” Frederic muttered, swiping at the counter with a damp cloth. “So over it. I do not need this crap in this town. You would think a little backwater like Bluewater Bay would be free of dill-holes, but no—” He slammed the cloth down on the counter and ground his teeth. That flush of electricity at the mere accidental brush of Blaire’s arm with his shoulder had made a thin sweat break out over his back. Made him forget himself. Made him fall back into bad habits.
“I am not doing this again!”
“Morning.” The sunny greeting snapped Frederic out of his griping, and he looked up to see Buck Ellis saunter in. “You got Ari’s very expensive sugar high ready, Frederic?”
Frederic smiled. “I surely do. How is Ari? You look good today. How’s your brother? Keeping out of trouble, I hope. Tori keeping you busy?”
Buck smiled and took a seat at the counter. “Which did you want me to answer first?”
Frederic flushed, but Buck only chuckled and chatted while Frederic packed up his order.
– Read more at: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/how-the-cookie-crumbles (Just click the excerpt tab)
About Jaime
Jaime has been writing for various publishers since the fall of 2008, although she’s been writing for herself far longer. Often asked, “Why men? What’s so fascinating about writing stories about men falling in love?”, she’s never come up with a clear answer. Just that these are the stories that she loves to read, so it seemed to make sense if she was going to write, they would also be the stories she wrote.
These days, you can find plenty of free reading on her website. She also writes for Freya’s Bower, Jupiter Gardens, and Total E-Bound, Dreamspinner Press, MLR Press, and Riptide Publishing.
Spare time, when it can be found rolled into a ball at the back of the dryer or cavorting with the dust bunnies in the corners, she’s probably spending crocheting, drawing, gardening (weather permitting, of course, since she is Canadian!), or watching movies. She has a day job, as well, which she loves, and two kids, but thankfully, also a wonderful husband who shoulders more than his fair share of household and child-care responsibilities.
She graduated some time ago from college with a fine arts diploma, and a major in textile arts, which basically qualifies her to draw pictures and create things with string and fabric. One always needs an official slip of paper to fall back on after all. . .
Connect with Jamie:
- Website: jaime-samms.com
- Blog: jaime-samms.com/blog
- Twitter: com/JaimeSamms
- Amazon Author Page: com/author/jaimesamms
- Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/2631049.Jaime_Samms
Giveaway!
Win a $20 in Riptide credit!
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Review
Title: How the Cookie Crumbles
Series: Bluewater Bay 12
Author: Jaime Samms
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (345 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-62649-389-6
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (15 Feb 2016)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ – 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Prime
Blurb: After losing a rigged cooking show competition—and a potential lover—to another baker, Frederic Jackson packs up his considerable baggage and moves to Bluewater Bay. He uses the network’s hush money to buy a new bakery where he hopes the small town’s revitalized economy will let him start anew.
Blaire Caruthers never wanted to work for his father at Caruthers Industries. He should have known that fixing the company’s show results was a mistake, and that choosing another man over kind, generous Frederic was an even bigger one. But the damage is done. To escape the fallout, he’s gone to Bluewater Bay to oversee the company’s interest in Wolf’s Landingmerchandise.
Stuck in a small, nowhere town doing a job he hates, Blaire wants nothing more than to prove to Frederic he’s changed. However, Frederic struggles to trust the man who betrayed him once already. As Blaire loses ground with his father, and Frederic starts falling back into self-destructive habits, they both have to find the balance and control that’s been missing from their lives.
Product Link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/how-the-cookie-crumbles
Review: How the Cookie Crumbles is book 12 in Riptide Publishing’s Bluewater Bay series. Each book is a standalone story by a different author. This one is written by Jaime Samms, an author I’m familiar with though I’ve only read one other book.
I’ve rated this 3.5 when I think really hard about the actual plot but in all I am more than happy to see this rounded up to 4.
Onto the actual story, I found this one both interesting and engaging. I have to admit that I felt that it started off a little slow and the first half of the book is full of angst – great for those that are into that type of thing. Personally I find angst a tad tedious, I’m just glad things moved on around the half way point.
The story is about baker Frederick Jackson. He’s moved across the country to the small Washington town to open a bakery using hush money he was given by the production company which had made the baking competition/TV show which had been rigged in what had been an ultimate betrayal. The betrayal had been by Blaire Caruthers – he comes from a rich family which runs said production company. He just happens to arrive in Bluewater Bay for work on another series. After the series of events that had led to bitter regrets, Blaire has decided he would do anything to get back in to the heart and bed of Frederick.
Frederick has a lot going on in his life – he has a father of questionable morals and questionable health which takes up a lot of his private life. He also has a few skeletons in his past which only crop up suddenly, with no clue, in the second half. In fact, I wish that there was more said on that particular point.
The second half of the book is all about Frederick and his private life. I feel that all the character development that didn’t really happen in the first half happened and because of that it all felt rushed. I really wanted more details, which I strongly feel could have been introduced earlier to give room and so that the first half wasn’t just Freddie and Blaire arguing. Additionally, as for the epilogue, which was all about Blaire, I wish there had been more there.
I liked the ending but to me it felt like it ended all too soon because the characters really only just started to feel like they made sense. For example, Blaire knew he was in the wrong when he had betrayed Freddie but it seemed that he was all too ready to blame his father throughout the story and only started coming to terms with what he did later in the book.
Despite my feelings about the development of the story, I really did enjoy this book. It’s about mistakes and redemption. The Freddie and Blaire are strong characters, though the sparks between them could have been stronger, they are perfect for each other. This was a fun read and relatively an easy and quick one for something that is 300+ pages.
About to start this book can’t wait.
Thanks for the review!
vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com
I love the Bluewater Bay series and this sounds like a great addition! I can’t wait to check it out!
jenndonald00(at)gmail(dot)com
Love this whole series! Can’t wait to read this one.
Thank you for the excerpt and review!
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Thanks for sharing the excerpt and for the review! violet817(at)aol(dot)com
Thank you for the post and the giveaway!
ree.dee.2014 (at) gmail (dot) com
sounds like a really nice book. Thank you for the chance at the giveaway!
susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks for the excerpt! I’ve enjoyed all the Bluewater books I’ve read so far & I look forward to reading this one as well. legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com
12 in this series already? I have a lot of catching up to do.
hojurose(at)gmail(dot)com