California Thyme by Casey Dawes

California Thyme by Casey Dawes
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (174 pgs)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Hawthorn

Mandy Parker doesn’t want to turn out like her mother, an aging actress desperate for the love of the crowd. Avoiding anything Hollywood related is vital for Mandy’s sanity; however, a bad economy forces her to take a job catering to a movie crew.

Since the woman he’d loved married his best friend, James Lubbock has put women far behind his career in the movie business. The assistant caterer is attractive, but he’s more focused on figuring out who’s sabotaging his set.

Sparks fly between Mandy and James, but can they overcome their painful pasts to risk a chance on love?

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The most important message in California Thyme, for me at least, is that a loving family can give us a firm basis for a happy life, and when we don’t get to experience that as children, the hurt follows us long into adulthood. It takes a special sort of love to help us overcome the barriers that we set up. This is exactly what James does for Mandy in Dawes’s romance.

I think how Lola and Dana’s shadows follow Mandy everywhere is something that the novel really excels in showing. Perhaps even too much, as Mandy’s indecision towards the end gets slightly cumbersome. She is hurting and insecure, but maybe obsessing a little bit too much about her parents and the way they failed her. James brings his own share of baggage to the first meeting with Mandy at Costanoa Grill. His portrayal seems more and more convincing as we get to glimpse details from his past.

I wished for more immediacy in the descriptions of the fast paced film world. I feel there was a lot of talk about how intense and wild Hollywood was, but I got to see little of that in the descriptions of the film shootings. Even with the sabotage subplot there was no real suspense or mystery, and the discovery of the perpetrator was no real surprise to me.

While the scenes between James and Mandy were sweet and told us much about them as individual characters, I never really felt any chemistry between them. Despite the ‘should they or shouldn’t they’ atmosphere throughout their romance, I didn’t feel any tension nor any physical attraction. Perhaps they should’ve both been a bit more active in the budding relationship and not take everything so passively; I think that would have helped make them seem more involved and ‘passionate’.

This is a sweet romance that puts a lot of emphasis on family values, honesty and loyalty. It makes true love sound like something everyone can gain, if only they’re willing to take that risk.