Always Room for Cupcakes

This was my first time reading this writers work, I can say it won't be my last! It was fast-pace, unexpected and sexy! I recommend it.

Action packed plot, intelligent and family oriented heroine, who earns a living working for a PI and at her friend's bakery while healing from a divorce and raising twins. Could it get any more complicated? YES and well worth the ride.

Delilah "Lila" Horton is an investigative photographer who works for Moose. She started on this path not by choice but definitely by chance. A cheating ex-husband and the instinct of having photo proof started it all. As Lila dives into her new work, she meets Cade during one of her outings. Cade Wilkes is a mysterious biker/observer who always seems where Lila finds herself in a "bind." He would help or bail her out of such a predicament. During one of those "rescues," he confesses his feelings towards Lila that took her by surprise. Lila could not wrap her head around his attraction towards her, but she does feel the same. The problem now is how: 1) to accept that things are complicated with her new line of work, 2) to have a serious relationship with a man who does not do relationship, and 3) to keep her family safe when she stumbled on new evidence that can break Greenswood's biggest case as of date. The story was well written and told from Lila's POV only. I enjoyed the mystery side of the book and appreciated the author's focus on solving the case. The conflict in Lila's personal life came second, and that is why I got the book. Who knew that the small sleepy town of Greenswood would have such exciting things happening from intrigue, deceit, drugs, guns, and goons. I enjoy seeing Lila learning to reinvent herself after a traumatic discovery with two kids and twelve years into her marriage. In Always Room for Cupcakes, Lila learns how to accept what happened to her marriage, how she needed to focus on herself, her kids, and getting the photograph proof needed for her clients. The healing and forgiveness moments were memorable, mainly when she spoke to her ex-husband about why they couldn't make it work. That moment signals to readers that Lila is finally ready to start moving on by closing that "dark part." There is a lot of "taking risks" for Lila, and it pushed her to open up her options at the end when everything blew over. I like how Cade and Lila, two broken main characters, knew that they needed each other from the start. They seem to understand each other and understand what they wanted from the other, maybe due to their maturity and experience throughout the years. Cade was fantastic and patient, with Lila still adjusting to her divorcee status. He was caring, thoughtful, but still rough and rugged on the side to fit him. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and it is an excellent start to the series. I recommend it to readers who love bada$$ female protagonist, healing and redemption, suspense/mystery with a side of a steamy alpha male in Cade. The story is entertaining at one point, then serious when Lila goes on assignment. Her duality of trying to "blend" under the guise of a housewife versus an investigative photographer is genius! I cannot wait to start on this exciting and intriguing heroine's journey and from this author.