A Recipe for Love Series by Lane Martin, Wendi Temporado, Micheal Velasquez

Emily Barnes likes things measured and timed, just like any baker. When she loses the apartment that she needs to run her home-based muffin business, she's faced with a choice: couch surfing at her very loud best friends' separated by thin walls or house sitting an otherwise empty Upper East Side luxury apartment overlooking Central Park. Obviously it’s a no-brainer for this smart cookie. Declan Hayes is used to people asking things of him and saying no... moreEmily Barnes likes things measured and timed, just like any baker. When she loses the apartment that she needs to run her home-based muffin business, she's faced with a choice: couch surfing at her very loud best friends' separated by thin walls or house sitting an otherwise empty Upper East Side luxury apartment overlooking Central Park. Obviously it’s a no-brainer for this smart cookie. Declan Hayes is used to people asking things of him and saying no. However, for Maggie, his parents’ cook and housekeeper, he would do just about anything, including going over to his parent’s apartment to check on her pseudo niece who is staying there. His plan was to get in and get out, but the second he saw her, something changed. Something about her sparked the normally cold and dismal place to life; she made it warm and inviting. He finally understood the phrase “there’s no place like home.” Can Emily and Declan trust the timing of their lives or adjust the lens from which they see them? Hope, faith, trust and... love? Will these things be enough for Emily and Declan to get the one thing they both never thought they needed in life? It’s a good thing they are “Floured” because life is about to get sticky. less

Sifted is book #2 in the A Recipe for Love series, and is the conclusion of Emily and Declan's story. It is told from Declan's point of view. I asked her to have hope, faith, and trust in us, and then I did the unthinkable: I left. Now, it's time for me to return and to sift through the pieces that I left behind. I guess my nickname of the Irish Car Bomb is fitting because I went off and left bits of shrapnel behind. I just hope it's not too late to clean up the mess I made... moreSifted is book #2 in the A Recipe for Love series, and is the conclusion of Emily and Declan's story. It is told from Declan's point of view. I asked her to have hope, faith, and trust in us, and then I did the unthinkable: I left. Now, it's time for me to return and to sift through the pieces that I left behind. I guess my nickname of the Irish Car Bomb is fitting because I went off and left bits of shrapnel behind. I just hope it's not too late to clean up the mess I made. We only regret the chances we don't take, and honestly, my leaving had nothing to do with Emily—my lovely Lemon Drop. When I left, I thought I no longer knew who I was. What I know now is that I'm nothing without her by my side. She is the biggest piece of me. She loved me when I was unlovable. No, she never said the words out loud, either, but her love for me is something I've never doubted. I felt it, I know I did. I promised to be worthy of that love when I returned to her. I'm still not sure that I am, but I need it, and if she'll have me, I'll have her until death do us part. I meant every word when I told her that my heart would always bring me back to her. She is my home. She is my everything. My yesterday, my today, and my tomorrow. less

Mixed is a full-length standalone novel in the Recipe for Love series. What happens when you “mix” together sexy chef, Logan Wheeler, and bartender, Libby Barnes? I read one of those cute decorative signs at a truck stop gift shop on my way from Nashville to New York. It took everything in me not to laugh my ass off right next to the beef jerky and air fresheners. I was also tempted to buy both for two reasons. Number one, I’m pregnant, and number two, I’m pregnant... moreMixed is a full-length standalone novel in the Recipe for Love series. What happens when you “mix” together sexy chef, Logan Wheeler, and bartender, Libby Barnes? I read one of those cute decorative signs at a truck stop gift shop on my way from Nashville to New York. It took everything in me not to laugh my ass off right next to the beef jerky and air fresheners. I was also tempted to buy both for two reasons. Number one, I’m pregnant, and number two, I’m pregnant. Every once in a while, in the middle of an ordinary life, Love gives you a Fairytale. What a crock. There are no such things as fairytales. Besides, what’s ordinary anyway? I’d be happy with a roof over my head, a steady paycheck, helping my sister mend her broken heart, and not screwing up as a parent. Anything after that would just be frosting. Yum, frosting. Damn cravings. OK, OK, maybe I should have re-read the first line. Every once in a while, Because my ordinary life became extraordinary, the second Logan Wheeler crashed my doctor’s appointment and held my hand when I heard my baby’s heartbeat for the first time. I wasn’t looking for a baby daddy. I guess that’s when you usually find things. Now I’m just hoping for Happily Ever After. less