Jacqueline's Reads: Nuts (Hudson Valley, #1) by Alice Clayton [Review]

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?

5 Famer Boy Stars

Nuts is a standalone and is part of the Hudson Valley series. I haven’t read an Alice Clayton book in a long time. I thought the Wallbanger series was a fun and witty series, but I honestly was looking for something different from that series. AND I got it.

I noticed some mixed reviews on Nuts. A lot of people loved it and some thought it was just okay. I honestly don’t understand. I usually can understand mix reviews, but Nuts was a hit for me. It was witty, funny, cute, like super adorable cute and it made me think about life.

What really worked for me was how passionate the main characters were towards their careers. I know you are probably scratching your head, but seriously it really worked for me. Let me explain.

Roxie is a private chef in LA. She makes yummy meals for the rich, but gets fired. Her mom lands a spot on the Amazing Race (I know totally funny) and Roxie needs to go back home to run her mom’s diner. That diner is in a small town. YES, I totally love this plot.

Don’t get me started on small town books. I gobble them up like mad. It reminds of Gilmore Girls and I can’t get over how everyone in your business and how close everyone and everything is. I LOVE that stuff. Roxie has no intentions in moving back home, but for the summer she decides to stay.

I love the cover and the title because it works so perfectly for the story. Leo is the town farmer guy, but he’s not simply just the farmer. His family is well known and is very rich. He brings a shipment to Roxie’s diner weekly on what he grows on his farm.

There are some parts where Alice Clayton gets into Roxie and Leo’s profession. Like when Roxie cooks and how she adds ingredients and what dishes she makes. I really enjoyed those parts. I’m a complete foodie and it really inspired me to cook more! I also loved reading Leo talk about farming and what kind of plants he grows and what Roxie can make out of them. I’m also a fan of organic and wholesome foods, so this interested me completely. I know it’s totally make-believe, but it added another dimension to the story for me.

Every time Leo and Roxie meet, it’s completely funny, off-the-charts sweet and I just loved it. When they first meet, Roxie falls and causes Leo to fall in her lap, yeah so cute right?!

The beginning is a bit slow because Alice Clayton works hard in developing the relationship. I really loved that. It’s not just hit and insta-lust. Oh no, there’s a nice little banter and a slow friendship forms. I was addicted to the relationship and I was on pins and needles waiting for the action. It was just really good.

As the story progresses, you get to know more about Leo and his past and I liked his history was kind of mysterious. Overall, I was surprised on how much I loved this book, but I shouldn’t because Alice Clayton is a fantastic writer. I will admit, Nuts a bit different from her Wallbanger series. It’s less steamy and more cute, then knock your socks off funny, but to me, it was perfect.

An ARC was provided