Forbidden Rose (Wildflowers #2) by Vivian Winslow-Review and Book Tour
Forbidden Rose
Wildflowers #2
by Vivian Winslow
Release Date: February 29, 2016
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance
99¢ ebook: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk /
Rosa Cruz, the fiery and ultra-sexy heiress of the Mama Linda Latin foods empire, is determined to create something on her own and not rely solely on her family’s name and legacy. For her new upscale restaurant in the trendy Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, she enlists the help of her childhood friend, the hot, young Cuban-American chef, Eliseo Perez, who’s already made a name for himself on the New York culinary scene. Despite Rosa’s reservations about a forbidden workplace romance with her new employee, not to mention longtime friend, the chemistry between them is undeniable. When the cooking starts, things quickly heat up in the kitchen and the bedroom. But with Eliseo’s troubled past coming back to haunt him, can Rosa and Eliseo hold onto love and keep the restaurant from going up in flames?
REVIEW
4.5 out of 5 for this reader folks!
OOHH nothing like a good book that brings some Cuban heat inside the kitchen, bedroom and ultimately life. Forbidden Rose by Vivian Winslow, is the second book in her Wild Flowers series (this is also a spin off of two other series she has written .. be sure to check them out as well) and focuses on Rosa Cruz and Eliseo Perez. I remember meeting Rosa in previous books, as she is the sister of the Cruz brothers who had parts in the previous series, and I have to say she is a character that you won’t forget.
Rosa is from a wealthy Cuban family that thinks because she is the youngest, a woman and taken care of, all she needs to do in her life is marry, make babies and bask in her privilege. HA! Rosa is the furthest thing from all that. She is so smart, independent, has a mind for business, beautiful, and ultimately the whole gosh darn spitfire package. She is going to open her restaurant, live and embrace her life the way she wants to, and all without using her family name.
Eliseo is a hot passionate chef that Rosa decides to hire in her restaurant. He is also a childhood friend, a chef that creates some serious amazing food, is sexy as all that, and has one massive secret past that can hurt him badly. He also can’t seem to fight this pull that he has to his boss and before we know it, sparks are flying and heat ignites into fire!
I am not going to get into the details of the plot as you will have to read the book to appreciate that yourself, but I will discuss the characters. Vivian is known to write some angst filled in depth characters. In this book, while yes, there was angst, I just really felt the power of a determined couple. These two complimented each other perfectly. I LOVE that Rosa decided to walk a path all on her own and without having to use her families name and money. There is a sense of respectability in that. I usually fall head over heals for a smexy book boyfriend, but this book introduced me to a new book lady crush. Rosa really made this book as far as I am concerned!
My only complaint was that it was a little dry in the beginning, but in saying that, when it took off, I felt bad for anyone who dared to interrupt my reading time! LOL I suppose you do not HAVE to read the other books in this series, but if you don’t, you do miss out on some back story and a few really great books to read! I strongly recommend this book to all but especially to readers who have a taste for Cuban characters with lots of heat! WINK!
HAPPY READING! 🙂
Click HERE for Rachel’s review of BLOSSOMING FLOWER -book one in Vivian’s WILDFLOWERS series.
Copy supplied by the author
Reviewed by Rachel T
Rosa can hardly mask her surprise. “Who told you?”
“Your face,” Lily chuckles into her glass. “You look like some lovesick schoolgirl when you look in that direction.”
Rosa shakes her head and in a low voice says, “You are sworn to secrecy.”
Lily makes an X over her heart. “Absolutely.”
“I’m in love.” Rosa immediately purses her lips, hoping to swallow up the words that just fell out of her mouth.
Her sister-in-law hugs her. “I’m so thrilled for you. You deserve to find someone who makes you happy.”
“Yeah, except it won’t work.”
“Why not?”
“He works for me.”
“And? If you’re really in love, there has to be more a deal breaker than that,” Lily insists.
“It’s just . . . it’s complicated. In any case, it’s over.”
Lily snaps her fingers. “1, 2, 3. Like that?”
Rosa nods.
“I don’t believe you. If you really love him, then you have to find a way to make it work. Like I did with your brother.”
“But you two didn’t have so much baggage or family drama.”
Lily tilts her head at Rosa, as if to say, “Look at who you’re talking to.” Between a double-crossing Brazilian ex-lover who nearly ruined their wedding, and an interfering mother, she’d brought plenty of baggage to the relationship.
“But you made it work.”
“Real relationships based on real love always require work. There’s no getting around it.”
“Yeah, but . . . .”
“You’re finding excuses, Rosa, because you’re scared. I turned down your brother at first because I was scared. Consider your life, not as a series of moments, but in a larger context. If you can see yourself with him, experiencing something profoundly satisfying in the long term, I’d say it’s worth the risk. Whatever problems you have in the moment will always resolve themselves in time.”
Rosa leans against the stone pillar, taking a real cocktail off the tray of a passing waiter. She knows Lily’s right. But how to make it work without compromising the restaurant? That’s the question she can’t answer.
Lily kisses her sister-in-law’s cheek. “Unfortunately, I have to go talk to that couple over there.” She nods in the direction of an older gentleman and woman looking admiringly at the sculpture. “Just remember what I said. And keep in mind, a man who could do what he did to your neck may be worth keeping in your life.”
She winks as she walks away. Alejandro separates himself from a conversation as soon as he notices his wife heading toward him. Rosa can’t help but smile at the gesture. That’s commitment.
“If I remember correctly we met somewhere around here,” Juan says approaching Rosa. In his hands are two freshly made doughnuts. The idea that he may break his daily calorie intake by eating one of them makes her grin.
Rosa looks out toward the water and nods. “I think you’re right.” She takes one of the doughnuts out of his hands and takes a bite. The scent and taste of the pastry reminds her of the morning she spent with Eliseo. What she wouldn’t give to relive that time. Maybe when he asks, “Are we?” She’d respond with, “No, we’re not finished.”
“You have a bit of . . . ,” Juan runs a finger over her lip to gather a bit of the guava jelly. He licks his finger.
It’s like a scene from a predictable romantic comedy. The hot leading man standing with a gorgeous woman, who doesn’t realize just how beautiful she is to him, reminiscing over their first flirtation over a warm doughnut. Of course a kiss is expected to follow, maybe a laugh at the memory of how that night was the first of many nights together that led to them falling in love without realizing it—your typical romance trope. It’s all fantasy, Rosa realizes. A very beautiful one, but a fantasy nevertheless.
Vivian Winslow was born and raised in Southern California. Before becoming a writer, she made a career out of moving around the world every couple of years thanks to her husband’s job and her incurable wanderlust. She currently lives in New York City with her husband and two elementary school age children, and is grateful to finally have a place to call home for more than two years.
New York is the perfect city to indulge her love of fashion, the arts and especially food. If she’s not at home writing or running around the city with her kids, you’ll most likely find her eating at the newest restaurant in her beloved Lower East Side or having a cocktail at her favorite bar in Alphabet City. That said, she’s still a California girl at heart and would gladly trade in her heels for a pair of flip-flops to catch a sunset on the beach.
Website: http://www.vivianwinslow.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8183361.Vivian_Winslow
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vivianwinslowauthor?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VivWinslow
Blog: http://www.vivianwinslow.com/blog
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