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Delicious (The Marsdens) Mass Market Paperback – July 29, 2008

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 497 ratings

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Famous in Paris, infamous in London, Verity Durant is as well-known for her mouthwatering cuisine as for her scandalous love life. But that’s the least of the surprises awaiting her new employer when he arrives at the estate of Fairleigh Park following the unexpected death of his brother.

To rising political star Stuart Somerset, Verity Durant is just a name and food is just food, until her first dish touches his lips. Only one other time had he felt such pure arousal–a dangerous night of passion with a stranger, who disappeared at dawn. Ten years is a long time to wait for the main course, but when Verity Durant arrives at his table, there’s only one thing that will satisfy Stuart’s appetite for more. But is his hunger for lust, revenge–or that rarest of delicacies, love? For Verity’s past has a secret that could devour them both even as they reach for the most delicious fruit of all.…
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Cinderella story with a compelling culinary twist, Thomas's scrumptious Victorian confection (after Private Arrangements) proves impossible to resist. Madame Verity Durant works for Bertram Bertie Somerset at his estate, Fairleigh Park—after serving as the mistress he failed to marry (due to a questionable background that includes an illegitimate child). When Bertie dies unexpectedly at 38, Verity worries as Bertie's bastard-born brother, Stuart—now London's foremost barrister —takes over the estate. Verity had shared a secret, mouthwatering affair with Stuart 10 years earlier, and she doesn't expect him to keep her on, especially since he's affianced to the very proper Miss Lizzy Bessler. What ensues, however, is happiness on a plate, as Thomas shows that hunger for passion, and madeleines, never dies. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

~ Best Romance of the Year (Library Journal)

"Sherry Thomas is the most powerfully original historical romance author writing today.
"–Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author

“This seductive, magical historical rewards readers with exquisite language, nearly erotic culinary descriptions, and a fairy-tale ending. A delectable treat.”—
Library Journal
 
“A Cinderella story with a compelling culinary twist, Thomas's scrumptious Victorian confection proves impossible to resist.”—
Publishers Weekly
 
“Packed with engaging characters, gripping dialogue, a devious plot, steamy sex and smart writing. This is definitely an author on the rise. Another keeper! Get it!”–Reader to Reader 
 
“Delicious, delectable and a mouthwatering blend of
Cinderella, Top Chef and Like Water for Chocolate, not to mention Chocolat. [Sherry Thomas] dazzles with her intelligent, compelling story and memorable characters. This well-crafted romance places her among the very finest of the next generation of authors.”—Romantic Times, Top Pick!
 
“Entertaining and thoroughly absorbing.”—Romance Reviews Today
 
Delicious just about says it all: Sherry Thomas's second novel is a multi-course banquet of delectable story-telling, scrumptious characters, and delightful verbal treats.”—The Romance Reader

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bantam (July 29, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0440244323
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0440244325
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.2 x 1.12 x 6.7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 497 ratings

About the author

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Sherry Thomas
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Sherry Thomas writes both historical romance and young adult fantasy.

On the romance side, she is one of the most acclaimed authors working in the genre today, her books regularly receiving starred reviews and best-of-the-year honors from trade publications. She is also a two-time winner of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® Award.

On the young adult fantasy side, there isn’t much to report yet, her debut book, THE BURNING SKY, book 1 of the Elemental Trilogy, has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and been named to the Autumn ’13 Kids’ Indie Next List.

Sherry writes in her second language. She learned English by reading romance and science fiction—every word Isaac Asimov ever wrote, in fact. She is proud to say that her son is her biggest fanboy—for the YA fantasy, not the romances. At least, not yet…

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
497 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book has an engaging pacing and well-written prose. They describe the food as delicious and extraordinary. Many find the story heartwarming and touching, making them smile and swoon. However, some readers feel the character development is inconsistent and the plot twists are confusing. Opinions differ on the premise, with some finding it intriguing and keeping them interested, while others consider it disappointing and twisted.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

18 customers mention "Pacing"16 positive2 negative

Customers enjoy the book's pacing. They find the characters complex and engaging, with entertaining dialogue that builds tension and feelings between them. The author writes stories with evocative prose that evoke emotions that move the reader. The characters are described as human and believable.

"...I did - and I do. The book reminds me somehow of the magic realism (I think they`re called) books that were so popular back in the early..." Read more

"Sherry Thomas cleverly handles the flashback, in what is proving to be a typical device for her stories...." Read more

"...The characters are so wonderfully relatable. Even the secondary romance is fantastic. I laughed and squirmed in embarrassment at times...." Read more

"3 & 1/2 stars Delicious is a tantalizing story about food and love. The heroine, Verity, had a child at 16 or 17...." Read more

14 customers mention "Writing quality"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and lyrical. They praise the author's skill and eloquence.

"...this book as much as her other two, it remains much smarter and more well-written than most other romance novels on the market...." Read more

"...Ms. Thomas' writing was absolutely decadent. The pacing of the romance was perhaps a slower burn, but no less thrilling...." Read more

"Once again this author is out of the ordinary, and worth thinking about." Read more

"...I liked his reasons and was a little surprised by them. Well done author. CAUTION SPOILERS:..." Read more

7 customers mention "Taste"7 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's taste. They find it delicious for food and say the cook is extraordinary.

"...The cook has quite a reputation. She is an extraordinary cook, but everyone still gossips that she was Bertie's mistress...." Read more

"...In addition I quite liked the male characters, who are very yummy, and distinctly human...." Read more

"Delicious, daring, and divine! Sherry Thomas's writing is GORGEOUS, and once again she proves herself mistress of the art of historical romance...." Read more

"...Suspense, sex, history and food! Incorporated the history and lifestyle of England in the late 1800's which added such authenticity...." Read more

3 customers mention "Heartwarming"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They say it makes them smile and swoon at the end.

"...The book made me cry three times. And, at the very end, it made me smile so big. It deserves all the luscious stars I could give it." Read more

"...Swoon!" Read more

"No joke, it feels like Sherry Thomas reaches into your chest and squeezes your heart...." Read more

15 customers mention "Plot"9 positive6 negative

Customers have different views on the plot. Some find the premise intriguing and thought-provoking, while others feel it's predictable and absurd. The twists are also considered predictable.

"...The pacing of the romance was perhaps a slower burn, but no less thrilling. The characters are so wonderfully relatable...." Read more

"...Interesting idea for a story but....I don't really get how her cooking could create such sensual desire and/or inspiration and joy...." Read more

"...The whole book was kind of like that. A mix of absurd, lust, and melodrama. It just confused me and wore me out...." Read more

"Once again this author is out of the ordinary, and worth thinking about." Read more

3 customers mention "Character development"0 positive3 negative

Customers find the character development disappointing. They mention the unbelievable dowager duchess character, a twisted tale, and head-spinning changes of characters. The heroine is also not well-received.

"Not so great heroine. And no explanation for the heroine's two (?)..." Read more

"...resolution on the question mistress or wife and the unbelievable dowager duchess character just added to the disappointment...." Read more

"A twisted tale and head spending change of characters Verity or Lissie..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2012
    I had to wait a few days after I`d read this book and until I wrote the review because I wanted to distance myself from the immediate infatuation with it to see if I truly loved it. I did - and I do.

    The book reminds me somehow of the magic realism (I think they`re called) books that were so popular back in the early 90s. You know, the ones where the love between two characters was almost something predestined and not just an emotion between two people.

    In this book we have a heroine who has a past and who looks up the hero in a fit of rage - or maybe insulted pride. Not with him but with his half-brother. They fall instantly in lust and love and the hero proposes marriage even though he doesn`t know who she is. She knows who she is and why marriage between them is impossible so she leaves him in the early morning. They later meet again because she`s stayed with the half-brother who insulted her pride. She was his cook extraordinaire and when her employer dies, she starts cooking for the man she fell in love with that night so long ago.

    He does not know that the woman he`s pined for for so long is now his cook but he now manages to push that love aside because of his new-found fascination and attraction of his new cook. This is what I mean by magic realism because he falls in love with her again without knowing anything about her apart from her cooking skills.

    This is not a love story about a couple who get to know each other and find they have a lot in common and then fall in love. No, they fall in love like a lightning struck them and they stay in love in spite of everything. Normally I dislike those "magically in love" books but here it worked perfectly. It`s probably because of Sherry Thomas` magical writing skills that made even me buy a concept I would have thought I would never buy. But, as I wrote in the beginning, I truly loved this book. I suppose I was struck by this lightning too.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2010
    Sherry Thomas cleverly handles the flashback, in what is proving to be a typical device for her stories. While I didn't love this book as much as her other two, it remains much smarter and more well-written than most other romance novels on the market. In retrospect, some aspects are contrived, and I felt the balance between the two parallel love stories is off, but while I was reading it I still liked the style and sensuality of the writing. I look forward to everything Thomas writes, and enjoyed the introduction to the Marsden brothers in this book, though it is a sidenote to the main story of Verity.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2015
    I absolutely loved this novel. I won't rehash the plot; there are any number of reviews here that have done just that. What I will say is that Delicious strays completely from the cliche and well worn path of romance novels past. Don't get me wrong, I love that well worn path, if you're a fan of romance, particularly historicals, you'd have to be. But in the case of Delicious, I found myself flying through 400 pages, nearly in one sitting. It was only when I was about 40 pages out from the end that I put it down, not wanting to leave Stuart and Verity's story just yet.

    Ms. Thomas' writing was absolutely decadent. The pacing of the romance was perhaps a slower burn, but no less thrilling. The characters are so wonderfully relatable. Even the secondary romance is fantastic. I laughed and squirmed in embarrassment at times.

    Yes, I can see how this novel may not be for everyone. Is it unrealistic? *shrugs* One can argue that most romance is just that. I doubt there are so many hot, well endowed, wealthy, well adjusted men out there as romance would have us believe! But I don't care, I love the fantasy.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2015
    3 & 1/2 stars
    Delicious is a tantalizing story about food and love. The heroine, Verity, had a child at 16 or 17. For this she was ostracized by her English titled family. She gave her child to an older couple to adopt because she had no resources to live on. A great opportunity arose and she was able to apprentice under a renown cook. Verity excels at cooking and is offered a post by Bertie Somerset, a gourmand and heir of Fairleigh Park. She jumps at the chance because her son's adoptive parents work as Fairleigh Park's groundskeeper. She falls in love with Bertie who promises to marry her but after she gives herself to him, he changes his mind. She continues to cook for him but will no longer be his mistress.

    SPOILER ALERT!

    Verity plans her revenge on Bertie. She will seduce Bertie's half- brother, Stuart, and then cook for him. "It would be a blow to his (Bertie's) gastronomic aspiration were she to defect to his greatest nemesis (Stuart) —and make his brother’s table the most celebrated in all of England." Verity arrived at Stuart's home in London but Stuart was not home and has no servants to receive her. Verity tries several times throughout the day to gain entry to no avail. In the evening as she makes another attempt, she is set upon by ruffians. Stuart happens by and rescues her. They both fall in love instantly. She discovers that unlike Bertie, Stuart had no interest in food; and she realizes her plan for revenge will not work. She does not tell him her name and only gives hints of who she is. Stuart likens her to Cinderella. He doesn't know her name but he wants her passionately and they become intimate. Afterwards she realizes his great worth and honor. She doesn't want to ruin him by association with the notorious cook, the French Madame Durant.Thus she leaves him after one night.

    Fast forward 10 or so years and the hero still holds the memory of Cinderella in his heart but now wants to move forward rather than hoping someday he will find her. Stuart gets engaged to a close friend. Stuart inherits the Fairleigh property after his brothers early demise; and he inherits his brothers cook. The cook has quite a reputation. She is an extraordinary cook, but everyone still gossips that she was Bertie's mistress.

    Stuart falls in love with the Madam Durant sight unseen, when her food seduces him. She avoids letting him see her face since she doesn't want him to connect her with Cinderella.

    Interesting idea for a story but....I don't really get how her cooking could create such sensual desire and/or inspiration and joy. I found it extremely ridiculous that he is in lust with a phantom cook. She allows intimacies but only when her face is covered. The conclusion to the story has a rather complicated ending. At first, a significant person in the story takes away the expected HEA but within moments, the same person has a an change of heart that is so unrealistic by the character's portrayal.

    I did like the separate romance that involved Stuart's fiancé and his male secretary.
    8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Susan D
    5.0 out of 5 stars ❤️
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 7, 2023
    This is the first book in The Marsdens series and is a deliciously captivating book offering two wonderfully passionate love stories, the first between Verity and Stuart and also that between Lizzie and Will.

    Both relationships are well written with fully rounded characters who are far from perfect. The book has a unique time line moving between their past (ten year’s before) and their present - as well as a plot that overlaps the relationships of both couples.

    There is a sensuality in the descriptions of taste, smell, touch, sight, sounds - not only around the wonderful food prepared and the differing dishes but of skin, hair, hands, clothes, ribbons, mud, the landscape etc. Her prose is evocative and compelling, drawing the reader in to that world and engaging the reader’s emotions.

    This is the first Sherry Thomas book I have read and I’m awed by her emotional insight, her grasp of the nuances that make up relationships and her ability to present sympathetic characters with evident flaws. I am looking forward to reading the second and final book in this series Not Quite a Husband.
  • Lisa Clements
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!!
    Reviewed in Canada on April 13, 2017
    I truly love Sherry Thomas's writting. My heart was fluttering through the whole book...I couldn't stay seated and I was sad when it ended. Even the secondary romance was great...I wish the book had been longer 💙
  • Booklover130
    3.0 out of 5 stars Confusing plot, and verging on magical realism in parts which was weird
    Reviewed in Australia on October 26, 2017
    This is the Sherry Thomas book I've enjoyed the least, even though I know others have loved it. I found the plot a little 'muddy' and hard to follow, until the full, very long and wordy reveal late in the book. I didn't like Verity very much, and found some of her behaviours jarred with me. The book was veering towards kinda magical realism as well, which didn't sit well with me in a HR. The whole thing about the cooking - Verity's food being SO SUBLIMELY WONDERFUL, life-changing etc etc was just too OTT for me - it started to feel a bit ridiculous.

    The thread about Stuart never seeing Verity's face, yet still falling in love with her (again) also started to get pretty ridiculous. Alright already. Just turn on the lights and have a look, Stuart!

    I also really disliked the Duchess who had interfered in Verity's life so harshly and robbed her of so much. The explanations at the end seemed too facile after all of the drama and angst. I think Verity would have been a lot more bitter towards her.

    So, yeah, not my favourite by this author. But I have enjoyed some of her other books and will keep reading.
  • Rosewood
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not one of Sherry's best
    Reviewed in Canada on August 17, 2014
    Great romance but I didn't like all the politics in the novel - that part was a bit of a bore for me
  • gimmielinda
    3.0 out of 5 stars On a par with her other novels.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2015
    This novel did what I wanted - it entertained me over the course of a few days. A nicely told romance with several hot love scenes.