Review: Love in a Pickle by L.B. Dunbar

Love in a Pickle by L.B. Dunbar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Scotia Simmons is a woman you love to hate.  She is the epitome of "mean girl", quick to spout her opinion and judge those around her.  On the other hand, she's built a successful small business all on her own, and she is not without her secrets.  There are reasons she is barb tongued, and in this installment we come to understand that there is more to Scotia than her judgemental comments and unlikable personality.  We also have Chester Chesterfield aka Chet aka Big Poppy, who depending on where he is and what he's doing he wears a different personality and moniker.  Chet is an enigma of a man, but he has a big heart and wants to see the good in people even when he knows he shouldn't.  He meets Scotia at a business event and doesn't know her reputation as Green Valley's resident mean girl.  He sees her as an available, beautiful woman, yet he also sees her in a vulnerable moment and can tell she might be a bit lonely.  He can relate to that and they get lost in each other for a few hours.  Fast forward a few months and Scotia finds herself face to face with his Big Poppy persona and he realizes that he doesn't like Scotia very much, or atleast the person she pretends to be.  As their paths continue to cross, Chet realizes that Scotia wears a mask much of the time to protect herself.  He sees some inherently good qualities about her, and is willing to coax out her secrets and get her to drop her walls and the mask she wears.

This was my favorite of the Winters Sister books!  It is also the spiciest of the three of them.  I really enjoyed getting to know more about Scotia.  You always knew there was more to her story and a reason she was so surly to everyone.  Both she and Chet come with baggage of their own that they have to work through.  It is their baggage that makes them so different yet so similar at the same time.  They take us on quite the emotional rollercoaster.  The character development in this was excellent as we get to know both characters and see the different personas they put on in different situations.  I also loved Gideon, Scotia's assistant.  He like Chet wasn't afraid to challenge her or tell her when she wasn't being nice.  I also really enjoyed the bit of suspense this story had.  It really added to the storyline and gave a nice edge to the plot.  It worked really well with the storyline and paired nicely with both of their character arcs.   While this is not a romantic suspense, there is a small plot thread that is a tiny bit suspenseful.  The guardianship/foster parent aspect was really interesting to learn about.  I admit I don't know much about that topic, but kudos to all the foster parents and guardians like Chet and Maura who are doing it right and for the right reasons.

I was provided an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

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