The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off

BOOK INFORMATION (Goodreads)

In small-town Cadillac, Texas, Carlene Lovelle and her cousins' fancy panty business, Bless My Bloomers, is booming. But irony strikes when Carlene discovers another woman's silk bikini underwear in her husband's briefcase. Lenny Joe hasn't just crossed the line, he's left it in his dust, so Carlene's taking her revenge to the kitchen.

For ten years, Lenny Joe's team has dominated Cadillac's Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off. But with Carlene's Bless My Bloomers team now in the ring, it's anyone's game—and when there's pride and food involved, things are bound to get messy.

Genres: Romance, Adult Fiction

Formats: Kindle, Ebook, Paperback

Number of pages: 320 pages

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Publishing Date: April 1, 2014

Language: English

ISBN: 1402287038 

My Rating:

Ok, to be fair..this is not a book that I would see and immediately think "I HAVE TO HAVE THIS!" In all actuality, I probably wouldn't look twice at this book.  However, I am in a book club and the reason for that is to expand my horizons.  Even if it makes me nervous! 

But I kind of enjoyed this book.  My family is from the south, not Texas, but far enough south that I TOTALLY understood the small town, every body knows every body, mentality.  That made this book quite funny.  There were many times that I laughed out loud and could put my own family's faces to each of the characters.  Yes, even the one's you didn't like...like Kitty Lovelle.

So the story takes place in the small town of Cadillac, Texas.  Carlene Lovelle has just found a bright red corset in her husband's briefcase that she custom made for a particular client whom said that her sugar daddy was taking her on vacation.  So what was it doing in her husband's briefcase?!   As you might well imagine, she gets fighting mad and causes up a stir at her husband, Lenny's, work.  The whole scene makes you just want to sit back with a bowl of popcorn like it was a movie! 

Carlene leaves Lenny, which begins the biggest gossip this town has seen in a long time.  Carlene doesn't want anything but her shop "Bless My Bloomers" and her Grandma Fannin's candlesticks.  Each character that we meet has a different opinion on what Carlene should do.  Reconcile her relationship, forget about him, take him out......

Lenny does something completely unforgivable, aside from the cheating fact and that makes Carlene and her family decide to take something from him that he adores.  The first ever female group to enter into the Red Hot Chili Cook Off.  She just know's she'll win this thing with the help of all of her friends and family and really stick it to him and his precious trophies.  

The book was funny, frustrating, cute and of course has it's "oh no he/she didn't!" moments that really kept the pages turning.  All of the characters were quirky, fun and very entertaining.  The bonds were deep between the characters making you root for the Red Hot Bloomers in the quest to win the trophy fair and square!

If you like quirky, southern ladies duking it out with the whole town, this book will surely keep you laughing! Happy Reading!