New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton brings her trademark blend of funny and sexy to this second contemporary romance in the brand-new Hudson Valley series!
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?
~SCROLL DOWN FOR OUR Q&A WITH ALICE~
*arc provided by the publisher for an honest review*
I don't know what it was about this book in the Hudson Valley series, but it had so much more of a sweet, romantic feel to the plotline as a whole. I'm not saying that as a bad thing, is a great thing in fact. and Alice really add the right amount of quirky humor whenever possible. You put those two together and it was a great combination - the true definition of a romantic comedy.
These two characters. Gahhhh! I loved that Natalie was a plus size woman. Add to that her confidence in herself, and Alice may have delivered my favorite female character this hear. And even more , I loved how infatuated Oscar was with it. every. single. inch.
You know how I ended that last paragraph,that this book was hot. I mean steam up your Kindle hot. From barns to walls, everything was scorching hot. Pure sexiness oozing off the pages.
I think this may be my newest favorite Alice Clayton book.
This is a 4.5 star read for me
Any future projects in the works?
I’m working now on the third book in the Hudson Valley series which will be out in May 2017. Beyond that, I’ve got several irons in the fire.
What do you love most about writing?
Storytelling. I love a good story. And the idea that I can tell one and people want to hear it? That’s the best.
Do you get down time to read?
I read every night before bed. Sometimes for 20 minutes, sometimes for well over an hour. Every now and then I’ll read something I literally can’t put down and I stay up all night just to see what happens…those are the best nights.
What's been your most challenging book to write since you began this adventure?
MAI TAI’D UP was probably the hardest. I was on what my agent calls the Publishing Treadmill and we were cranking out books left and right. When I sat down to write MTU I thought I knew what it was going to be about, but it kept wanting to take these twists and turns. But I was forcing it to stay with the outline, stay with the program. That’s the first time I realized I was what they call a Pantser, a fly by the seat of your pants writer. Once I let go of what it was supposed to be, it became what it is. And it’s one of my all time faves.
If you could spend a day with one of your favorite authors, who would it be?
Stephen King, riding around in his car, all over the state of Maine. But only during the daylight. Because duh.
Who inspires you?
My circle of writer friends. Nina Bocci and Christina and Lo of Christina Lauren and I have a text thread that goes all day, all night, 365 days of the year. We literally know everything there is to know about each other, including what everyone is having for dinner and who is mad at their husband and who’s dog just pooped in the kitchen. And when one of us gets down, gets in a rut, gets in trouble, or just needs a kick in the ass, we are there for each other. It’s a very unique friendship, and it inspires me exactly when I need it to.
If you could go on a date with any book boyfriend, who would you pick and what would you do?
Edward Cullen. And what we’d be doing is none of your damn business…
Where did the idea for Nuts and Cream of the Crop stem from?
Our local farmers market. That’s the truth! I write about it in at the beginning of NUTS, the entire series came from one trip to the farmers market where there just happened to be a new stall with a super cute farmer and bam…once I stopped grinning I started outlining.
Do you have a ritual or method when you write?
I have a notebook I keep next to me, especially when I’m on a deadline, and I always have a word count in mind. Sometimes I write in 500 word blocks, sometimes it’s how many words can I get down in an hour, sometimes it’s a 1000 word sprint. Whatever I can do to get those words down each day. And I tally them up each time to see when I’ve hit my goal, and then I usually try and get another 100 just because.
Is the humor you write into your books inspired by real life events?
Sometimes. I worked retail for a thousand years, and there’s nothing funnier than the American consumer. It also help that I surround myself with ridiculous people.
Do you see any part of your own personality in any of your characters? Or any of your friends/family personality?
Oh 1000%. Each character ever created has a little thread woven through that’s a friend or an ex or my sister or my father…it’s all in there.
If you could sum up Cream of the Crop in one word, what would it be?
Luscious.
Do you have a favorite character that you have or are writing?
I’ve loved Jack Hamilton from the Redhead Series from the very beginning, that guy owns me.
What has been your favorite scene you’ve written so far?
I think the scene where Caroline and Simon watch The Exorcist. Everyone has watched a scary movie, and everyone has wanted to literally crawl inside the couch while watching it. And hiding under an afghan is the best part of all.
If you could provide advice for an aspiring author, what would it be?
Trust your voice. No one can tell your story better than you can. Take criticism, take direction, but ultimately trust your voice.
NUTS
From New York Times bestselling author Alice Clayton, the first in a brand-new romance series telling the humorously sexy tale of Roxie, a private chef who gets a taste of love—but is it to stay, or to go?After losing almost all of her clients in one fell swoop following an accident involving whipped cream, private chef to Hollywood’s elite Roxie Callahan gets a call from her flighty mother, saying she’s needed home in upstate New York to run the family diner. Once she's back in the Hudson Valley, local organic farmer Leo delivers Roxie a lovely bunch of walnuts, and soon sparks—and clothing—begin to fly. Leo believes that everything worth doing is worth doing slowly... and how! But will Roxie stay upstate, or will the lure of West Coast redemption tempt her back to Tinseltown?
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