Turn Up the Heat

Kincaid’s debut novel, which shares a setting with the anthology The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, features competent writing but a pedestrian story. Jilted “city girl” Bellamy Blake’s car breaks down en route to her weekend getaway in Pine Mountain, a little town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Shane Griffin, a Mozart-loving mechanic with a dislike of city folk, is behind in loan payments, and fixing Bellamy’s car may stave off the sale of his beloved Mustang. Bellamy is a career-driven banker with a secret talent for cooking, and after her annoying boss tries to get her to work while she’s on vacation, she quits her job and uses her time in Pine Mountain to consider pursuing her foodie dreams. The big secret that Shane hides from Bellamy for most of the book casts a pall over their sweet and sexy romance, and makes him less sympathetic, and the plot less cohesive, once all is revealed. Agent: Maureen Walters, Curtis Brown Ltd. (Mar.)