Dinner for Two

By Arlene Evans

Gene Haynes is biding his time, and Dinner for Two is his best shot at meeting his expenses while building his delicatessen business. Determined to make it work, he maintains his manly image while... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590804368
• ISBN13: 9781590804360
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Echelon Pr
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.6" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Class in a romantic comedy

Reviewed by Shaila Abdullah for Reader Views (3/06) Floral artist Misty Jones comes through for delicatessen business owner Gene Haynes in this charming romantic comedy. Like pepper and lemon thrown together in an exotic dish for an enduring flavor, Evans captures the emotional turmoil of the two main characters brilliantly. Gene is a delicatessen owner who takes pride in his work, but feels emasculated by his color blindness, and Misty, a young florist, is looking for a new direction in life when she stumbles upon a temporary job at Gene's restaurant, which she takes on to make ends meet. She tries to jazz up Gene's restaurant with her floral creations, adding some warmth and color to his business while enjoying his culinary endeavors. Gene's two catering events end in disaster because of Misty and surprisingly results in a stronger bond between the two. They constantly hedge around intense feelings for each other and fight to keep a professional front until the food poisoning episode threatens Gene's business. In a dramatic portrayal of bravado, Misty helps in restoring the good name of the restaurant and in the process finds true love. Evans attempts to capture the sights and sounds associated with the surroundings. In one case, she describes the western sky blushing with a lavish show of color. Such little pieces of imagery are interspersed throughout and add value to the novel. Evans keeps up the pace with fun filled repartee between the characters and conflicts and events that leave not a dull moment in the book. The other characters lack the complexity and depth that was put into developing the main characters but add a flavor to the story nonetheless. It's an enjoyable debut novel by Evans that brings class to romantic comedy even as it touches upon the sensitive subject of color vision deficiency.

It was a great read!!!

I really enjoyed the book. Thanks so much for sharing this romantic, fun and exciting story. If you are looking for an enjoyable read you will have a hard time putting this book down!

Delicious!

Dinner for Two is a little addictive. It's like a candy, not easy to put down. It's funny, surprising, and fun to read. Each character stands out with his or her quirks like a real person. I liked that Gene is color-blind because I never thought before about how someone who is color-blind might perceive the world differently.

A Treat

What a fun book! I liked reading the bantering between the two main characters (Misty and Gene), as well as between them and their friends. At times the dialogue is like those fun, fast-paced 1940's romantic comedies. I also enjoyed reading about a caterer, getting an inside vision of what it might be like to run such a company. About two-thirds of the way through, the novel takes a surprising and exciting turn, as Misty and Gene get into some trouble that goes beyond (and enhances!) their sexual tension. I thought the ending was funny and moving. For those who are from, or know, Northern California, another pleasure of the book is identifying the Sacramento-area and Sierra Nevada foothills locales. If you like romantic comedy with a bit of a mystery/action twist, you'll enjoy this book.

More than just a love story....

I really appreciate how the love story between Gene and Misty is portrayed inspite of his vision handicap. I think that this underlying story is significant for many people who are affected by colorblindness or people who are indifferent to those that might have such a condition. This is a fun story and I look forward to more by this author.