Poetic Justice
Restaurantland Romance, #2
by
Kathleen McFall & Clark Hays
A deeply satisfying 1990s return to love at the Rose &Thorn Restaurant.
Poetic Justice is the second book in authors Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays’s Restaurantland Romance series and features Rosalyn “Roz” Anders, a prominent secondary character from the series’s debut novel, Kitchen Heat. Once again, readers are treated to multi-faceted characters dealing with serious, realistic struggles as they navigate their way to true love.
Roz Anders is fighting for her sobriety, and it’s a day-by-day battle to control her addiction to alcohol. But when head chef Clay hires new line cook Hudson Destry, there’s an immediate attraction that gives her an added incentive to stay on course. However, her previous failed relationships and her debacle of a play for Clay the prior year have made her gun-shy and cautious of moving too fast, wanting to give whatever is growing between them a proper chance to flourish. She pours her heart and soul and struggles into writing poetry and is finding some surprising success when she shares her work at local readings.
Hudson, newly released from prison where he was incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, is keeping the details of his past under wraps for now. Through a justice project, his wrongful conviction is under review, and he is slowly getting closer and closer to being exonerated for the crime. Hudson wants to share everything about his past with Roz, and while he can be open about being an ex-con, his lawyer has advised against discussing any other aspects of his case until the court makes its final decision. Little does he know a messy twist of fate is about to complicate his relationship with her.
I loved how the authors told this story from both the woman’s and the man’s point of view and portrayed the physical, emotional, and practical struggles these two characters faced, one as an alcoholic (the aching need for a drink) and the other as an ex-con (the difficulties finding a job and how people judge and forever relate to them.) But between these two damaged individuals, the chemistry is absolute FIRE when they are falling in love and gut-wrenching when they are falling apart.
The story is set in early through the mid-1990s in a turbulent and environmentally-conscious Oregon. Hudson and Roz’s younger sister are both committed eco-activists. Still, while Hudson favors a non-violent approach to saving Mother Earth, Camille is not averse to using more hard-core methods. The plot unfolds along multiple timelines, moving back and forth through Roz’s and Hudson’s pasts to highlight how the characters came to be working at the Rose & Thorn Restaurant in their present psychological states and the nexus of the tragic lie that put Hudson in prison. I did have a little difficulty keeping the shifts in timelines straight, requiring one to pay strict attention to the chapter headings with dates that progressed days, weeks, or months. However, I did enjoy this method of revealing the backstories of the characters.
The staff at the Rose & Thorn is still the quirky collection of characters they were when introduced in book one, though it took me going back to my review of that one to refresh my memory as to who everyone was; there are quite a few people to keep straight. As the story progressed, dropped clues to each person’s backstory also helped bring me back up to speed. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember why sweet Meredith was involved with Rob until the mention of her dissertation.
The plot is compelling, interesting, and, at times, suspenseful regarding the eco-terroristic activities, Hudson’s exoneration, and the couple’s rocky journey to a forever romance. The diverse secondary characters entertain and tease more stories to come. I recommend POETIC JUSTICE as a definite must-read for romance readers who enjoy a not-too-distant-past setting, the Pacific Northwest, or a culinary theme in their stories.
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