But I’m hungry all the damn time! It’s ruining my diet.

Verity is 33, Stuart is 37.

I liked this much better that PA. I agree with the person who said the flashbacks were heavy-handed in PA. They were much more organic to the plot and flow of the story in this novel. I LOVED the part with the galoshes.

It was a lovely change of pace from all my current paranormal and romantic suspense reads and I thought the writing absolutely wonderful even when it leaned a little toward violet. I love finding a new author.

An Aside: I think I gained 5 pounds by osmosis…

thanks so much for this recommendation.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

I just didn’t really believe in the resolution. I’m trying not to give anything major away, but the actions of Verity’s nemesis didn’t really ring true to me at the end. After all those years, all that suffering, all those judgements made about Verity, suddenly everything is happy-happy-happy? And she thinks that she is actually going to be able to present Verity at court? And make all those years of cooking, etc., etc. go away so that Stuart’s career isn’t ruined? I so did not buy it. I totally bought in to the HEA between the characters, but because I believed in the strength of Verity and Stuart’s relationship, not because I think everything else was going to be neatly fixed up by the Dowager. In that sense, the ending was a bit of a let-down, I would have preferred something a tiny bit more realistic, but because of the strength of the rest of the book, the ending wasn’t a deal-breaker.

I enjoyed her non-linear writing in PA, so I won’t have a problem with it here. I think it makes the scenes more memorable because we see the characters in the present and a bit jaded. Then we see how they’ve changed by watching them interact at a younger age.

I’ll have to re-read the beginning, but I believe Stuart is 37. He’s younger than Bertie. Stuart made 37 seem positively ancient.

I, too, enjoyed Private Arrangements a lot and your review just whetted my appetite for Delicious (pun intended!).

Just bought the ebook from Fictionwise…( Am also a fan of their Buywise rebate…)

(Sorry, couldn’t resist).

Macintosh: it’s not the enemy!

And I was so excited when Fictionwise bought eReader. *sigh*

Do we know from the beginning what the ages are of Verity and Stuart?

Not that it makes a difference, it was just from your review, it sounds that they may be of an older generation, instead of the usual just out of the schoolroom, into the ballroom, into the marriage bed kind of historical, It sounds like a refreshing change.

Hmm, I know I worked it out when I read the book, and again just a week ago when I was rereading parts for the review. Damn memory. I *think* Verity is 33. She refers to herself several times as “middle-aged”, which I suppose is both due to the fact that people were older at a younger age then (if you know what I mean), and I think she just feels older – she’s a little world-weary. So when she first meets Stuart, she’s 23.

Stuart…I want to say he’s 39, but I’m not sure where I get that from. I think he’s a few years older than Verity, and I apparently managed to remember Bertie’s age long enough to put it in the review (he was 38); I got the sense that Bertie and Stuart were quite close in age, though I don’t remember which one was older; somehow I thought it was Bertie…

What a reviewer I am! In fairness to Ms. Thomas, my inability to remember such details is no reflection on her lovely, lovely book; it’s just that my memory now suuuuucccks! (And apparently I’m right at the age for a coronary, if Bertie is anything to judge by.)

I bet there will be copies at RWA, though. :(

I loved Private Arrangements, and the excerpt in the back from Delicious made me eager for that, too. I promised myself that I would get it as soon as it came out, but I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been in a bookstore in weeks. So I’m heading to Borders to buy it for myself — a present for all the work (labor of love, naturally) involved in putting together my son’s wedding (Friday — eeek!).

Excellent review — it says a lot about why you liked the book without giving too much away.

Great book. Definitely an author to add to my autobuy list.

I’m so happy to read a review of a love story — a real romance without mistaken identitys or Dukes & Spys or innocent virgins looking for lessons in love (authors: Please give that last one a rest!).

Delicious has gone on my to-buy list, thank you.