A good romance story overall, Lexie and Seb, with plenty of banter and such. Not sure why though, but at times felt a bit disjointed, so skimmed a bit. Would still recommend, but liked others by this author more.

Love love love this series. I reread these books as much as I can. I love the concept and how these books are interwoven.

Teaser:

Typically, whenever Seb was around, women just dropped whatever they were doing to cater to him. It was a bit unsettling to realize that this woman didn't and wouldn't put him first.

It was also odd to find a woman in the business who didn't worship him because of his celebrity.

Unsettling, but attractive.

Reviewed By: Bea
Bea's Thoughts:
I confess. For a book about Sebastian, I was much more interested in Theo, his twin. He's quiet, reads a lot, is a writer, and seems to lack Seb's arrogance and overbearing behavior. I had a hard time warming up to Sebastian: he's not only arrogant and overbearing, cocky, rude, aggressive and thinks he's God's gift to women. Every time he said or did something nice, he ruined it by being obnoxious: on two separate occasions, he ambushed and publicly embarrassed Lexie in her diner, in front of customers and employees, he bullied his way into hanging around the diner while Lexie was working, even when she didn't want him there, and so on. Yet at other times, he respected her work as a chef and deferred to her in her kitchen, helped her when she was attacked (though he then was obnoxious about insisting he take her home, though she preferred to be alone).

Lexie starts out as strong, determined, skilled, loyal, a bit stand-offish, private, and ambitious. She relocated across country to escape an abusive relationship, threw herself into opening and running her diner, and makes little time for a personal life. She really does need a nudge in that area of her life, but Sebastian doesn't nudge, he harasses and pesters until he gets what he wants. Towards the end of the story, when Seb has actually gotten serious about her, and when her ex shows back up, Lexie's backbone gets a little wavery. While I understand her reluctance to take a chance on Seb, she also treats him poorly, then gets mad because he doesn't call. Huh? She wants her coconut cake and to eat it too? Then when her life is threatened, she gets all "oh help! All I can do is stand here and scream!" before getting her nerve back and standing up for herself.
One other problem I had with "Deep Autumn Heat" is the excessive number of mysteries/crimes happening in the story: 1) Lexie is receiving threatening letters demanding to know her coconut cake recipe, 2) Someone is sabotaging the equipment at the diner, 3) Lexie is attacked by an unknown person 4) the diner's fresh produce deliveries are also being sabotaged 5) there's a drug ring in town 6) there's a mysterious missing pirate treasure. All that in a book billed and marketed as a romance, and not as a romantic suspense or a mystery. Lexie's mysteries get resolved in the story, some in a predictable fashion, some less so. The drug ring and the pirate treasure will be back in future books; they have to be because one Grayson brother is the local sheriff and another is a DEA agent. It was a little disconcerting to have all of thus happening in what I thought was a romance. I enjoy mysteries and also romantic suspense, but I like to know what I'm getting. If I think it's one genre, only to read and find it's a different one than promised, it annoys me and also makes me scramble to re-arrange my expectations.

So, by now you may be wondering if I liked ANYTHING about the book. Why yes, yes, I did. I liked Lexie, came to like Seb somewhat, have a crush on Theo, enjoyed the other secondary characters, appreciated that Barrett resisted the impulse to make all of the small town people cutely quirky, enjoyed the Massachusetts setting, the sex scenes, there's humor and my attention was engaged the entire time. Barrett's style was easy and relaxed, and the story's flow was smooth. Despite my rantings and ravings at times as I read, I did enjoy the book as a whole and will read more in the series. If only to see who Theo ends up with!

So, now that you know what you're getting, stop back after you read and tell me what you thought of the book. I'm curious as to other people's reactions to this book.

I received an eGalley from the publisher for review.

Having read more than my share of romance novels I always enjoy discovering a new to me author. When the author delivers an exceptionally great product, I’m ecstatic! Deep Autumn Heat by Elisabeth Barrett is an emotionally charged, well developed, superb story.

Sebastian Grayson (Seb) is in Star Harbor to reconnect with his brothers as they always do on the anniversary of their father’s death. Seb now resides in New York, in addition to being a well known chef, he owns his own highly acclaimed restaurant, and is getting read to launch a cooking show. He’s pretty arrogant, but deep down he’s really a kind and caring guy. At first I thought I’d have trouble liking his character but no, he really is a very likable guy.

Lexie Meyers is the chef/owner of LM Kitchen, a local eatery, is Star Harbor. She’s only been in town about 3 years but the people have welcomed and embraced her. Known especially for her sweet treats (most notably her coconut cake), Lexie is a smart businesswoman. She’s straight and to the point but she runs her business with a calm efficiency that speaks of her nature. She’s fairly private and other than her employees pretty much keeps to herself.

When Sebastian and Lexie meet the sparks immediately fly. What I love is that rather than just jumping in with both feet, these two let their attraction simmer and boil. At first Sebastian really runs hot and cold with Lexie. This is mainly due to his older brothers, who live in town, warning him not to hurt Lexie and also because he knows Lexie will be a distraction to his budding empire. On top of that, he realizes since he lives in New York that he really isn’t a good match for her. He really does try to be the good guy. Lexie is still recovering from a previous relationship that was riddled with mental and physical abuse. She really doesn’t trust Seb and she knows of his reputation both in the kitchen and beyond. It startles her that he affects her the way he does, something she hasn’t felt in a long time. She’s wary and so they dance back and forth.

On top of the romance between these two there are many outside factors that influence their budding relationship. Seb is scouting a location for another restaurant, Lexie is expanding into catering and she’s been receiving threatening notes at the back door of her diner. When Lexie is attacked, Seb’s brother, Cole, who is a policeman in town fears she’s being stalked. Lexie is forced to bring up her ex-boyfriend and her past. The book is filled with these ongoing and ever changing plots. While one might think this distracts from the romance aspect of this book, it really adds interest and it’s entertaining.

I loved that throughout this book we learned more and more about both Lexie and Sebastian. They each reveal themselves very slowly as their relationship changes and grows. In addition, the other characters in the book were well written and I enjoyed the quirky residents along with Seb’s brothers and staff. Rarely in a romance novel do you get the type of character development that Ms. Barrett managed to give us in spades.

I thoroughly enjoyed Deep Autumn Heat. I felt a real connection to the hero and heroine as well as the town of Star Harbor. I love when I feel so immersed in a story and that’s exactly how I felt reading this book. As I was preparing to review this book, I hopped on the publisher’s website and am happy that Theo’s book (Seb’s twin) is due out in September. As a series lover, this is one that is destined to become a favorite of mine. Well done Ms. Barrett!

I liked this book a lot. It had great food porn with a hero who was a famous NY chef, Seb, who comes back to his home town outside of Boston, and meets a restaurant owner, Lexie, who fled an abusive relationship and wants to open a catering service. Seb was a bit of an arrogant jerk, but actually realistic because of that, and for whatever reason I kind of liked it. I guess I was just in the mood for that type of hero when I read it. I didn't like that Lexie had a few TSTL moments in that she has been getting threatening letters but didn't take them seriously (thinking it was just her competition sending them), Then her ex shows up and she still goes out alone. Still, it was an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to continuing the series. I received this book free from NetGalley.