Creme Brulee Upset

by Laurel Bradley

When Mike Tucker dumps cr me br l e down chef Patrice Wilson's dress whites, she knows it's time to forget her life-long crush and move on. It isn't until she's no longer speaking to him that Mike realizes he's loved her all along. His just-before-Christmas campaign to win her back involves four nosey parents, three scoops of ice cream, two other suitors and a Don Quixote singing troubadour.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1601541724
• ISBN13: 9781601541727
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Wild Rose Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL!!!

This book is about full-bodied, lovable characters that could be living right next door. The plot did not need any murder or mystery to move it along, just life and choices. I cringed, laughed, sighed, and sympathized to my heart's content. Once I started reading, I did not put it down and missed eating dinner and several phone calls. And I love a feel good ending. Wish I had Dr. Delicious around to the corner to serve me up some ice cream.

Creme Brulee Upset

When Mike Tucker dumps crème brûlée down Chef Patrice Wilson's dress whites, she knows it's time to forget her life-long crush and move on. It isn't until she's no longer speaking to him that Mike realizes he's loved her all along. His just-before-Christmas campaign to win her back involves four nosy parents, three scoops of ice cream, two other suitors, and a Don Quixote singing troubadour. Patrice has known what she wants for years, and both her and Mike's families are behind her. But the problem is that Mike thinks there is too much of an age difference between them and does everything he can to distance himself. What he doesn't realize is that all this time, he has come to count on Patrice's love and patience. Now that he has publicly humiliated her, destroyed a wonderful creation, and she is no longer speaking or writing to him, he is suddenly faced with what is really important. Of course, now he is going to have to fight for what he could have had easily all along. He is on a full-out campaign to win her back. But can he keep his mouth shut and his jealousy in check while she dates others and helps out friends? Or will he blow all his hard work and the potential for the "brass ring"? Ms. Bradley's character Patrice deserves a Nobel prize for patience, at least from the way she was portrayed in Crème Brûlée Upset. Personally, I would have walked away a lot sooner, but Ms. Bradley does a wonderful job in setting the stage for why Patrice doesn't. But enough is enough and when she does, the author does a wonderful job of making Mike see what he is doing and what he is giving up. They way he goes about getting her back (if he can) and all of the jealous side stories, as well as the secrets she keeps and the friends she helps, will make you root for her all the more. I was thoroughly entertained by Crème Brûlée Upset and think you will be also. Okay, so I also am now craving crème brûlée, but such is the price to pay. Tanya reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Just Desserts

The first two reviews have covered this book and its strengths very well. I can only add my agreement of their assessment. This is a marvelous book with characters that truly shine, and a plot that keeps you turning pages. I almost felt sorry for Mike after the "creme brulee incident." Everyone was angry with him and treated him as badly as he treated Patrice for years. But he took it like a man, cleaned up his act and pursued her as passionatley and tenaciously as she'd pursued him before. I'd like to add two things that haven't been mentioned yet. Bubba's sisters and mother were great! And I love David's "ice cream therapy." I definitely want a prescription from "Dr. Delicious."

Delicious

This delicious book is completely different from Ms. Bradley's first novel, A Wish in Time. Wish was a unique time travel involving two women, one pregnant and one wishing to be pregnant, exchanging places in time. How they and their husbands coped was amazingly and beautifully written. But this review isn't about A Wish in Time, it's about Crème Brule Upset. When I said delicious, I meant it literally. The book should have come with an Appendix of Recipes. I'm still salivating over the roast beef with sweet onion relish, and I can't even eat onions. This story of Patrice Wilson's life-long love and Mike Tucker's taking that love for granted is completely character driven. At three years old, Patrice staked her claim to a seven year older Mike, her brother Randy's best friend. Her crush carried her all through her school years, through high school and four years at the famous Cordon Bleu in Paris. Now all grown up and back in Chicago working as a chef in a gourmet restaurant, Patrice has prepared a spectacular buffet and a special Crème Brule dessert for Mike's surprise party. He's been made partner at his law firm and did not know that Patrice was at the party and had made all the treats especially for him. Mike has spent a lifetime being both flattered and dismayed by Patrice's obvious affection for him. She is his friend Randy's baby sister and seven years younger, and because of that, completely off limits to him. Ignoring and denying his interest in her is buried so deeply in his heart and mind that always calling her "Pest" seemed natural. Patrice has been a constant in Mike's life, sending him weekly letters and food packages. Every Friday, he delighted in her letters, but his mind wouldn't accept why he felt the connection with her. He just couldn't get over the seven year age difference. Patrice couldn't stop sending those letters even knowing that he didn't return her love. They both fell into their accustomed roles and spun their wheels, getting nowhere with each other or with anyone else of the opposite sex. That is until Mike's spectacular surprise party where he stunned Patrice and the partygoers by spurning her special creation for him and ended up knocking the Crème Brule all over her and the floor. Ms. Bradley has created wonderfully real characters. Patrice's best friend, David, is a former professional football player who is living with a current player, and they just happen to be a couple. The subplot of their gay relationship, one that they have to keep secret since the professional football world isn't at all tolerant, is sensitively written with affection and humor. Add that to the fact that David and Bubba are an interracial couple, and you have an unlikely, but satisfying mix. Mike's housemates are Patrice's brother Randy and another long-time friend, Alex. Randy acts protectively of Patrice and conflicts with Mike over his treatment of her. Alex is romantically interested in Patrice and doesn't