Blog Tour Series Review & Giveaway: The Winemaker’s Dinner: Entree –

Recently named executive chef at one of Miami Beach’s hottest restaurants, Jaden Thorne is determined to make her culinary mark and fulfill her professional dreams. When Jaden is given highly coveted tickets to the ultra-exclusive Winemaker’s Dinner, she jumps at the opportunity to meet South Florida’s wealthiest and most influential food and wine enthusiasts.
Jaden’s eyes are drawn to the VIP section even before the appetizers appear, but she soon finds herself thinking less about networking and more about the intriguingly sexy stranger eying her from across the room. After dinner, what begins as a light-hearted flirtation unexpectedly catapults into a night of explosive passion. But when morning dawns, Jaden leaves her sleeping Mr. Oh So Sexy behind, sure they’ll never see each other again.
Dr. Ivan Rusilko, a handsome, young physician, boasts an extensive resume’ and a well-established position on Miami Beach’s social scene. But despite his success and glamour, he’s routinely had to suffer uninspiring dates and doomed relationships. With a romantic heart, Ivan’s not the love-‘em-and-leave-‘em type. But when he awakens to find that the girl in the red dress has done exactly that, he resolves to find her–only if it’s just to ask why she left without even a kiss goodbye.

The Winemaker’s Dinner is a fictionalized erotic memoir inspired by the romantic triumphs and tragedies of Dr. Ivan Rusilko’s real life. Weaving fact with fantasy, authors Everly Drummond and Dr. Ivan Rusilko have gifted readers with a swoon-worthy flesh and blood romantic hero and the intoxicating bouquet only a heartfelt tale of passionate love can create.

Series:  The Winemaker’s Dinner #1
Release Date:  July 31, 2012
Publisher:  Omnific Publishing
Source:  AToMR Tours
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

Beautifully written, this book had me from the start.  The writing style of the authors flowed wonderfully, and the unique plot perfected it.  The story being told through both of the main characters POVs kept the pace of the story moving, and made it all the more entertaining and interesting.  

The book centers on the two main characters, Ivan and Jaden.  Ivan, a carbon copy of one of the authors, is flawlessly chiseled, a bit arrogant, and apparently irresistible to women.  Jaden is a chef.  She is independent, strong willed, and beautiful.  When the two of them lay eyes on one another, their attraction is immediate.  Their intimate encounters throughout the book are very steamy and erotic, and their romance is sweet and very touching.  

I really enjoyed this book.  The romance that fills the pages made me swoon.  I laughed, I cried, and I even got angry and frustrated with certain moments.  I did have a couple of issues, however.  In the middle of the book, there are several pages where Ivan calls Jaden “baby girl” WAY TOO MUCH.  At one point, I skipped over him talking because it became somewhat annoying.   I also had a little bit of an issue with the author’s descriptions of himself as the character of Ivan.  Kudos to him for having the self-confidence enough to write a character after himself, but some of the descriptions were dripping with so much arrogance and narcissism that I had a hard time really liking Ivan.  That was when I had to take a step back and view him as just a fictional character, and not a real person.  (By the way… Google the author… he is GORGEOUS!)

Overall, the romance in the story wins out for me.  If you’re a fan of contemporary romance and enjoy passionately erotic love scenes, then this is the book for you.  I know I’m eager to read more.

Guest Reviewed by:

Dr. Ivan Rusilko has got it bad. He’s in love—with life, his work, and his baby girl, Jaden Thorne. The nearly 3000 miles between Miami and L.A. that once threatened their happily-ever-after now seem nothing more than a mere geographical challenge—nothing a few hours on a plane and a sexy weekend rendezvous can’t trump. No time apart is too long to keep him from wanting her in his arms and in his bed. He’s absolutely sure Jaden is his dream come true.
Jaden Thorne is living the life she’s always wanted. She’s got her one-in-a-million job on a TV cooking show, she’s achieved celebrity chef status, and she’s in a committed relationship with her perfect guy… Then the network’s surprise decision to add a co-host to her show takes a bite out of her perfectly balanced life and career. With a new man in the mix, living the dream gets a whole lot more complicated both personally and professionally.
When the emotional, mental, and physical paths of true love’s course collide with frustration, secrets, and assumptions, will Ivan and Jaden pay the price? Does their dream-come-true cost something neither can afford?
The Winemaker’s Dinner: Entrée is a decadent meal of passion, sex, and secrets, inspired by the real romantic life of Dr. Ivan Rusilko. Authors Everly Drummond and Dr. Ivan Rusilko have turned up the heat in this emotional follow up to The Winemaker’s Dinner: Appetizers, expertly executing their unique recipe for blending fact and fantasy, with more than a dash of passion and sex.

Series:  The Winemaker’s Dinner #2
Release Date:  December 18, 2012
Publisher:  Omnific Publishing
Source:  AToMR Tours
Buy the book at:
  

Reviewer’s Thoughts:

I love it when authors throw in a little bit of drama, and boy, this story gets a big dose of it!  Jaden and Ivan are living a dream of a relationship with one another.  They’re making their long distance relationship work, and loving their life together.  That is, until the producers of Jaden’s show hire a co-host.  And not just any co-host – a GORGEOUS co-host in the form of Damian.

Damian is hot.  He has a perfect jaw line, beautiful eyes, and a killer smile.  Women fall all over themselves in his presence.  So, why would Jaden be any different?  She spends a good chunk of the book between a rock and a hard place as she tries to juggle the difficulties of her long distance relationship and the enticing new co-host who has his sights set on her.

This book was fantastic!  I loved the drama, loved the new character, loved the super steamy love scenes and loved that the story kept me going.  I couldn’t put it down.  The author wrote a gem of a story with this one, and as I’ve read that this is only the second book in what is promised to be a trilogy, I CANNOT WAIT for the third book.  Do yourselves a favor and read this series.  It definitely won’t disappoint!

Guest Reviewed by:

For our review stop on the tour, we’re giving away (1) eBook copy of TWD: Appetizer (book #1) and TWD: Entree (book #2).   To enter, complete the Rafflecopter below.  The winner will be chosen, at random, on December 21, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(1) Kindle Fire Pre-loaded with APPETIZERS, ENTRÉE, RSVP, and NO RESERVATION
(2) Signed Print copies of APPETIZERS and ENTRÉE