Cream of the Crop (The Hudson Valley Series Book 2)
Publication Date: July 12, 2016
Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Gallery Books

Reviewed by Kini

Blurb

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?

This is the second in the most recent series by Alice Clayton. This book reads just fine as a stand alone. I have not read the first book and did not feel like I missed out on anything. This author is probably one of the best out there right now writing a romantic comedy.

Natalie is a very important advertising executive. She is plus sized, but pretty confident with her body and sexuality. It isn’t that uncommon in romancelandia for a heroine to be sexually confident, but much less common when she is plus sized. I am not a fan of the plus sized gal finds love and needs her man to put in front of a mirror to show her how beautiful she is trope, so thankfully that is not the case here.

“Size-eighteen women were supposed to be timid… Fuck all that noise. I took the best-looking guy home with me whenever and however I pleased. Confidence went a long way. You walk into a room armed with the knowledge that you can have anyone you want? You can literally have anyone you want.”

One thing grated on me about Natalie and the descriptions of her body. Oscar, the hero, frequently referred to her “great comma big ass” but it was in a good way, yet….

“Your ass is big, And it’s great.”

This started to grate on me. There were several instances of this. I just wanted her ass to be great, regardless of big or not.

Oscar is a dairy farmer and cheesemaker on a farm in update New York. Natalie sees him weekly at a farmer’s market and she freezes up when she is around him. She can only respond yes when he asks if she is getting her usual brie. Oscar also lives on the farm next to her bff Roxie’s boyfriend. Roxie is the heroine from book one. Even though this book mentions Roxie, I promise it can be read as a stand alone. Anyway, the town that Oscar lives in, Bailey Falls, contracts Natalie’s ad agency to help build a campaign in order to increase tourism. Natalie takes the account and starts spending time in Bailey Falls.

As Natalie spends time in Bailey Falls trying to learn about it for the ad campaign, she falls in love with the beautiful small town and all it has to offer. I loved the community feel of Bailey Falls. I have always enjoyed small town romances. There is a great cast of secondary characters that all play a part in the town and lots of things going on. A large cast is pretty common in Clayton’s books. I believe that the next book in the series will feature Natalie’s friend Clara and there was some build up toward that book that I was not interested in and felt a little heavy-handed. I prefer a subtle lead in to the next book. But overall the secondary characters did not distract from the main story.

Natalie and Oscar spend a lot of time on and off the farm. There is some hilarity that involves the his cows. Natalie learns to make cheese and even accompanies Oscar to the farmer’s market on several occasions. Oscar is not a super talker and with this book being solely from Natalie’s perspective, it was hard to get a read on Oscar. I had a hard time figuring out what exactly Natalie liked about Oscar other than the physical. He took a long time to open up to her. He also was oddly attached to his ex-wife. Oscar’s ex is a lingerer and I found it a little odd that Oscar didn’t find it weird. Although he gave a good explanation, they had been part of each others lives for a long time and he still cared for her, it came across as one sided from the ex and that perhaps Oscar could cut her off some more.

Natalie and Oscar made for a funny story, there are definitely some laugh out loud moments, including a slapsticky moment with cows. They have plenty of sexy times. I liked the setting and secondary characters. I just wish that I understood Oscar a little better and felt like they had a deeper connection than just physical.

Grade: C+
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