Thursday, August 25, 2016

Cream of the Crop (The Hudson Valley Series Book 2) by Alice Clayton



Manhattan’s It Girl, Natalie Grayson, has it all: she’s a hot exec at a leading advertising firm, known industry-wide for her challenging and edgy campaigns. She’s got a large circle of friends, a family that loves her dearly, and her dance card is always full with handsome eligible bachelors. What else could a modern gal-about-town wish for? The answer, of course, is...cheese.

Natalie’s favorite part of each week is spending Saturday morning at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, where she indulges her love of all things triple cream. Her favorite booth also indulges her love of all things handsome. Oscar Mendoza, owner of the Bailey Falls Creamery and purveyor of the finest artisanal cheeses the Hudson Valley has to offer, is tall, dark, mysterious, and a bit oblivious. Or so she thinks. But that doesn’t stop Natalie from fantasizing about the size of his, ahem, milk can.

Romance is churning, passion is burning, and something incredible is rising to the top. Could it be...love?



REVIEW BY CA BORGFORD ~  4 stars

Alice Clayton has a unique brand of humor. Cream of the Crop delivers the laughs and awkward moments I’ve come to love and expect from Clayton.

I enjoyed life on the farm. I more than enjoyed OSCAR. Actually, if I’m being completely honest, Oscar stole the show for me. He has moves that would have the lactose intolerant standing in line for a block of his cheese. My heavens, milk does the body good. Loved him, absolutely loved him.

Something I looked forward to in Cream of the Crop was that Natalie isn’t a size 0 or even squeezing into single digits. I thought I’d be able to rejoice that someone eating more than a salad could entice and hold the interest of a healthy, hot man. And I did rejoice ~ for a short while ~ until it became obvious that Natalie was obsessed with or perhaps defined by her size. Oscar didn’t care and I didn’t want to, but she just kept bringing it up. I could identify with her insecurities and low self-esteem in the beginning, but it went well past what I felt was necessary. No different than if I a read a story about a skinny girl. I don’t need to have a physical description over and over again. Sadly, the very factor I thought would make me love Natalie ended up being what had me somewhat questioning whether or not she deserved Oscar’s love and affection.


Fortunately, I love the male POV and the descriptive setting of Bailey Falls was a breath of fresh air. If you love humor, a stand-up hero and quirky secondary characters, I recommend Cream of the Crop.


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