Nuts (Hudson Valley, #1) by Alice Clayton

Nuts (Hudson Valley, #1) Reviews

• 
  Christy

  5 ‘Sugar Snap’ stars!
  
  
  
  

  Spending the summer back home just got a little more interesting.

  
  Nuts by Alice Clayton is a refreshingly fun romantic comedy. Sometimes when I’m reading I’ll think ‘This would make a perfect movie.’ I could easily see this book on the big screen. It was sweet, funny, smart and sassy.
  
  Roxie is a chef to the stars in LA. She loves her job, it’s exactly what she wants to be doing. When her mom calls her with a request to run the family’s diner for the summer, Roxie does it, even though it’s the last thing she wants to do. Her first week there, she runs into a man who makes her look twice. Roxie knows there is something special about Leo, but the thing is, she doesn’t do love.
  
  
  
  
  Roxie is also not planning on staying in this small New York town forever. Leo is a farmer in her town, and isn’t planning on going anywhere. They have the summer together. When they’re together, sparks fly. Their chemistry is palpable. You can tell when their attraction starts to shift into something more. Something that scares Roxie. Her plan is and has always been to help her mom out, run the diner for the summer, then go back to California. Now things are changing. She’s got all kinds of small town ideas. She sees possibilities. Is this change in her life something she’s willing to risk? Or is going back to California the path she’ll take…
  
  
  
  
  Roxie is a character I think most of us can relate to. She struggles with doing what she wants to do with her life and following her dreams. When her dreams become something she least expected, it takes her a minute to embrace that change. Change can be scary, but it can also be a great thing. Leo is a great man. As much as I love both characters separately, together is where they really shine. Leo and Roxie together are a hoot. Clayton always writes the most naturally funny characters. No one is trying too hard, there is no slap stick humor, it’s just all around genuinely funny.
  
  Alice Clayton’s writing style is always fun and fantastic. After reading Wallbanger, I had such high expectations I felt as though nothing she's written since really lived up to that book… Until I read Nuts. This is my new favorite book by her. It made me laugh, it made me smile, and just left me in an all around good mood. If you’re looking for a fun book with a feisty heroine, great hero and a charming storyline, pick this one up!
  
  
  
• 
  Samantha Young

  Nuts was just what I needed. I haven’t laughed out loud at a book this much since I read Wallbanger. Clayton’s done it again!! Brimming over with clever, quirky, sexy, bawdy wit, Nuts is pure escapism with a heroine to love and laugh with and a hero to drool over. Oh and I have to mention the food! For the love of all that’s yummy and sweet in this world! I finished this book with a craving for cake.
  Lots of cake! I recommend having it or a bakery on hand while reading it.
  Hot, hilarious, and hearty… Nuts is the perfect start to the Hudson Valley Series and firmly on my favourites shelf!
  
• 
  Patty ~ Wrapped Up In Reading Book Blog

  *****4.5 Summer Lovin Stars*****
  {BR with my Beatiful Bestie Dee}
  (ARC Provided by Author in Exchange For An Honest Review)
  
  Another hit from Alice Clayton!!!
  
  
  Whenever you pick up an Alice Clayton book, there are a few things you are guaranteed - you will laugh your ass off, you'll have new characters to fall in love with, and you're in for some incredible STEAM!!! NUTS, delivered and them some!!! I found myself cracking up so hard throughout the book and then needing a couple of cold showers to boot!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Roxie Callahan has come back to her hometown of Bailey Falls, New York, in order to run the family diner while her mother goes off to be on the reality show, "The Amazing Race". She's not at all happy about being back home as she moved thousands of miles away to Los Angeles to escape the small town life and inevitable destiny of ending up like her hopeless romantic mother. But things aren't working out with her personal chef biz, so this visit back home couldn't have come at a better time.
  
  
  The day she arrives back home, she literally runs into the most gorgeous man in town. Leo Maxwell, is the owner of Maxwell Farms and heir to the Maxwell fortune. This guy oozes sex appeal but also has a very laid back attitude. He was a man of few words at first so I couldn't really get a read on the kind of person he was, but oh did I enjoy every bit of this sexy farmer. He definitely had poor Roxie panting and tongue tied.
  
  
  Since Roxie is only in town till the end of summer, she decides to have some summer lovin' with Leo, and she makes it clear to him that this thing they are starting is only a fling. She will be heading back to Los Angeles once her mom's back home. But as time goes on, Roxie begins to question whether she will be able to walk away from this amazing man.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I loved Roxie!! There were things about her quirky personality that I related to. I think this is why Alice is such an amazing writer. She always makes her heroines someone we can connect with. This woman has an extreme fear of bees. It seems they tend to seek her out and terrorize her. She loses all self control and starts running for her life whenever she comes in close contact to a bee. I totally share that fear of bees! Those suckers really are assholes!!
  
  
  
  The sexual chemistry between Leo and Roxie was off the charts and Alice doesn't make us wait too long for the steamy times to commence. Holy hotness was I panting while reading this one. Don't even get me started on the nickname Leo gave Roxie - Sugar Snap!! I was feeling a little faint just as Roxie was every time he uttered that name. And I was feeling oh so nostalgic when Roxie would use her nickname for Leo - Almonzo. Roxie was a huge "Little House On The Prairie" fan, as I was also. That Almonzo Wilder had a ton of young teenaged girls swooning, back in the day.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  There is a twist that you definitely will not see coming but I absolutely loved because it gives some characters more depth. It was also lovely to get to spend some time with some familiar faces. That really put a smile on my face.
  
  
  The Hudson Valley series is off to a great start!! Can't wait to read the next!!
  
  
  
  
• 
  Jennifer Kyle

  4 "Bees are assholes!" STARS
  
  ”Are those nuts in your pocket, or you just glad to see me?”
  
  
  
  Can you gain weight from reading a book? I’m assuming that Alice Clayton sure knows her way around the kitchen and/or a menu. This story had me up at 5 a.m. this morning making blueberry pancakes totally foodie dream inspired. This is an enjoyable read about a girl heading home to run her mother’s diner and falling for the sexy farmer in town. It’s funny, a bit wordy, has a smidge of drama and so many yummy food descriptions.
  
  ”Maybe this could be real.”
  
  
  
• 
  Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾

  4.5 Stars
  
  

  I'll see you around, I'm sure."
  "It's a small town. Maybe you'll show up at my backdoor with your nuts again."

  
  
  Adorably quirky, laugh out loud funny, and deliciously sexy, Nuts was the perfect escape read I've had in quite a while. Alice Clayton just gets better and better with each new book, but she simply outdid herself with this one. If the Nuts is anything to go by, we have quite a bit to look forward to in Alice's new Hudson Valley series.
  

  The eyes and the hair were a package deal, the hair was falling across his eyes in a careless way that said “Hey, girl. I’ve got peas on my shoes, but who cares, because I’ve got these eyes and this hair, and it’s pretty fucking great.”

  
  
  Roxie Callahan is a celbrity chef in hollywood catering to the rich, famous and the entitled. She loves to cook...dealing with some of her clients? Not so much. So when an unfortunate butter incident costs her almost most of her clients, suddenly her kooky mother's request for her to come back to the town she grew up in and run the restaurant while she's away doesn't sound so bad. Then a certain bearded farmer changes her outlook on the small town entirely...
  

  You didn’t really bring me beets, did you?”…
  “I did,” he murmured, his thumbs sliding underneath my T-shirt the tiniest bit. “I brought mad beets.”
  “Oh man...Did you bring me anything else?”
  He brought his face back to mine, tinged with the slightest of blush. “I hesitate to say it now.”
  “What did you bring?” I asked, shaking his shoulders.
  He buried his head once again into my neck. “A really big zucchini…”

  
  And you know what the best part is? The entire book is filled with witty humorous dialogue like that. I must have read the entire book with a goofy smile on my face. My cheeks hurt I was grinning so much. Leo and Roxie together was pure gold. There's enough sexual tension to truly make things sizzle. Alice Clayton definitely gives some good sexual tension. There's just enough sexy to appease even the biggest pervies like me, but without being so much that it takes away from the book. It was the perfect balance of romance and humor.
  
  It was also a refreshing change to get a heroine that's the commitment phobe instead. Roxie is a strong, career oriented woman that's not afraid to admit what she wants without any shame.
  

  Pin 1. Don't get involved.
  Pin 2. Enjoy the penis. Engage no other organ,
  Pin 3. Attachments are for suckers. See also Mom.
  Pin 4. Falling in love sucks.

  
  
  In addition to the fantastic secondary characters, the wit and the humor, the setting of the book is what really hooked me. The author did such a fabulous job truly engrossing the reader in this wonderful town. I couldn't help but be transported there myself as I was reading it.
  
  Roxie is probably one of my favorite heroines I've read in quite a while. And it has nothing to do with the fact that she shares my unreasonable fear of bees. They really are assholes. But everything to do with her quirky personality. All the characters in this book were so well developed that even the secondary characters jumped out at you in vivid clarity. The writing was simply luscious.
  
  In a shell, this book was fantastic! If you've loved any of this author's previous titles, you're pretty much guaranteed a win with this one. I can't wait for the next one in this series. Fingers crossed it'll be the grouchy Oscar.
  

  Are those nuts in your pocked, or you just glad to see me?"
  "Both."

  
  
  ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review
  
  For more reviews visit
  
  
• 
  Katerina

  Leave it to
  Alice Clayton to make you grin until your face hurts.
  
  
  
  Bailey Falls reminds me of my small town. It's more idyllic, that's for sure, and I haven't noticed any hot farmers around here (which is very disappointing), but the basics are the same. It's Sunday morning, you go to church and a bunch of old ladies scan your outfit for 5 minutes straight, reminiscing how many times you've worn it and under which circumstances. And when the mass ends, a middle-aged woman known as the Lady of the Caramels (because her bag is always full of caramels and candies for the kids) approaches your mother and asks if you're single, because her son is an eligible bachelor and she would love to have you as her daughter-in-law. No kidding. I can empathize with Roxie. Now bring me my hot farmer.
  

  “She knows her customers' orders, she's becoming famous for her sweet treats, she's emphatically not crushing on a farmer-what a summer Roxie Callahan's having!”

  
  Roxie is a successful private chef, until butter happens and she loses her clientele and is forced to return to her home town for the summer, attending the family diner while her mother participates in a reality show. Roxie hates Bailey Falls, because there she is defined as Trudy's daughter, the one who blushes a lot, instead of the strong, confident woman she has become. But summer in Bailey Falls is not that bad when she meets Leo, the hot farmer/billionaire, and their chemistry alone makes the charts explode. The question is, will she manage to spend three months with kind, caring and sexy Leo without getting attached? And if that happens (for the first time in her life I may add), what about her future?
  

  “Maybe you’ll show up at my back door with your nuts again.”

  
  I'll start with the only negative thing I found in
  Nuts: the descriptions could be really tedious at some points and I almost skipped them. But setting this aside, Nuts was exactly what I wanted and needed, a steamy, amusing, sweet romance that gave me butterflies!
  
  
  
  I really liked the homey atmosphere and the little town setting, I got a warm and fuzzy feeling and I could picture the landscapes and hear the gossip and smell the food. The food. My mouth watered on many occasions, and I was overwhelmed with an urge to bake cakes and stuff but thankfully I suppressed it before the presence of the Fire Department was required. Or I died of food poisoning. The only thing I liked more than the food porn was the romance. The sizzling, heart-warming and tingly romance that made me sigh and blush and drool and swoon.
  
  
  
  If you wonder when Old MacDonald became the new Hot Guy archetype, you need to meet Leo Maxwell. Aka sexy farmer. Aka Steamy McDreamy. Blond. Green eyes. Beard. Strong and wicked arms. Oh to the my, I need to fan myself. He's tender, and sweet, and way hotter than the peppers he grows! An easy-going guy who smiles a lot and does funny things to your stomach, who certainly has his baggage but that doesn't make him less than perfect. I'm trying to come up with a smart innuendo about what I'd want him to do to my vegetables but I can't, so I'll leave it to your imagination!
  
  
  
  His scenes with Roxie? An example of why calling the Fire Department is inevitable after all. Their encounters, their flirtations and the banters made me smile like a fool, they were hilarious and witty and oh so sexy! I loved witnessing Roxie falling head over heels for him, and even though she got scared and acted a little stupid sometimes (because let's be honest, every romance with self-respect out there scares you a little towards the end- I hate it but no one cares about my opinion. Dramatic sigh) she's a character I grew very fond of! I understood her need to get away from the town that seemed to smother her, and her determination to not become her irresponsible mother that fell in love every week, and I admired her for what she achieved and the way she let herself trust Leo and get re-acquainted with her town. And for her culinary skills.
  

  “Summer lovin', happened so fast...”

  
  
  Alice Clayton knows how to give you all the feels, and she's become an author I can rely on when I want a gripping and enjoyable romance! Please do check
  Arianna and
  Nissa's awesome reviews that made me wanna read
  Nuts so badly!
  
  Oh my, I just realized that this was my 200th review! Drinks all around!
  
  
• 
  Wendy'sThoughts

  4.5 Following the Recipe for Life Stars
  * * * * 1/2 Spoiler Free
  You know that saying... Be careful what you wish for..for you might just get it...Well, when wishing for a snappy, smart, fast moving, humorous and sexy read from Alice Clayton...I didn't need to "Be Careful" because I got everything and more in her new book, Nuts.
  
  Ms. Clayton wrote a very interesting Acknowledgements and placed it front and center. She talked about how she came up with this book... how it hit her at the Schlafly Farmers Market she went to with her hubby in St. Louis Missouri. There she saw her inspiration, a farmer who was everything a Leo should be... handsome, charming, fit with muscles and body only working with the land could accomplish. It is in this front piece shared by Ms. Clayton where you first taste the thrill she had in researching this book; learning about farm to table, farm shares and all the other methods and associations moving to a back to the clean eating and living movement.
  
  Clayton took that concept and ran with it. It was the underlying focus throughout the entire book. We learned so much about these ways of growing and marketing the food... many after reading this may look to their own local Farmers Markets to experience what they had read.
  
  Which leads me to another part of the story...the cooking and food...(don't worry... I promise to get to the romance soon) The way all of it is woven into the essence of these two characters is smart...in other hands it could have been too cute or over the top...But Clayton skated a very fine line and each time she used a food metaphor... it was something you would expect from the characters she created...there were all kinds of play on uses and words ...think Cucumbers, Lettuce...etc... all of them were integrated in sex play, conversations and swearing...After all both of them did work/live food.
  
  The food.... OMG... mental Food Porn...When Roxie makes something and then brings it to the table or counter...it is as if We are consuming it...we can see the pulling of the melted cheese when the "Roxie Special" is cut and separated...When a customer has their first bite of a Caramel Cake...the sense memory we have of tasting something so sweet yet crunchy comes to mind...Need I say more...All I can tell you about the impact of this continuing part of the tale was the shopping list and cravings I had while reading this book.
  
  And now to the other fantastically good stuff... Roxie, Leo and all the surrounding characters.
  
  Roxie is a person who experienced small town living from the worker's side of a Diner's Counter. From a very young age, she saw her mother work hard and run the town's only Diner. She also saw her mother look for love in all the wrong places...and experience the high of it, the lust of it and then the crash and burn of it... only to watch her mother do it over and over again. Her mom was a very free spirit during a time when the "hippy" movement was happening....so life organization wasn't always the first thing on the Mother's mind. There were missing sign up sheets, permission slips and forgotten appointments with teachers. There was the ever disorganization of day to day stuff except at the diner her mother ran.
  
  It was at the diner where Roxie felt what she loved... not a slew of rock and roll boys like others her age... no her heroes were chefs...ones who made a name for themselves and were at the pinnacle of their field. It was this love of cooking and wanting to be a top chef which drove Roxie and with the luck of only a woman like Roxie's mom...was she able to go to the Culinary Arts school in Santa Barbara, CA. It was there she honed the skills she already had... it was there she met her 2 best friends in the world and it was there she learned something very important about what she did not want to do...
  
  She did NOT want to be a fine dining Top Chef...
  She did not want to be tied down to paperwork, staffing conflicts and other high maintenance matters...Those things got in the way of the cooking...
  
  Instead... she decided she wanted to be a Personal Chef...cooking for those who would let her do her thing and cook to her way...Roxie worked hard and finally had a select clientele of very rich, carb conscious Beverly Hills trophy wives.
  
  It is in the kitchen of the top dog of these superficial women we first meet Roxie. She is performing her everyday magic of creating something amazing out of basically nothing for this witch. Naturally everything is timed to the Milli-Second. One false move and disaster could strike. Naturally, it is during this process Roxie's mom calls and drops a virtual bomb; she is going to be on the Amazing Race and is needing Roxie to run the Diner while she is on the adventure of her life.
  
  As Roxie flashes back in PSTD form to all of the "adventures and misfortunes" she has had to save her mother from....her perfectly timed whipped cream turns into butter...Our superficial witch waiting for her magically tasty meal is appalled and fires Roxie for this treasonous act. With the self righteousness of a snake, she calls all of her minions and now Roxie is on the DO Not Use List. Roxie still has a loyal Movie Star couple she takes care of and it is with her time with them, Roxie decides to go back home to run the Diner for the summer.
  
  When Roxie returns home, thoughts of her childhood and clumsiness hit her. She is afraid she is going to revert back into the lost kid she was before she left...Will she be able to hold onto the confident Los Angeles Roxie she has reinvented for herself...or with the force field known as her mom, the gossip mill and small town living suck her dry and lower her defenses...
  
  At the diner, life has gone on just the same as Roxie left it ... all the same regulars at the counter, all the same call-outs to the cook and even the same decor. The only thing which is different is a farmer coming in from the back and knocking Roxie on her ass with her landing face down on his lower body. As they both scurry to get up, Roxie looks into this farmer's eyes and is lost...the feel of him on her sparks and she has been zapped. The farmer delivering nuts...takes all of this in...a comment or two is said...and then he leaves. Oh, the mom and waitresses have a field day teasing Roxie. She will have none of it...well, maybe she would have some...if she knew who he was...for Roxie had no issues with fun sex... She liked and needed fun sex, tension sex.... oh, hell any type of sex...because it worked out the stress of the day and was there for the taking. What she did not do was LOVE sex... or relationships. She had a front row experience growing up of what that could do to a person...oh, no...fun summer sex yes- relationship No.
  
  Now that farmer she landed on... Leo... He was something else...he was of course, eye candy...but so much more...More than his back ground and privilege...more than the course of what his life was supposed to be... He had been groomed to carry on his family's career and position...But Leo saw another path and took it. He turned the family's farm from yester-year and made it a template of how humane farming can be. It was a work of art. For the last 7 years, he has devoted himself to the farm and what mattered most to him. Then his life is turned on his ear by the one encounter with Roxie.
  
  So this is how things get started... and you better buckle up and be prepared to grin, laugh and swoon. We have this couple which works on so many levels and it is silly fun to watch. The conflicts and discussion of what actually matters is at the heart of this... Roxie needs to come to terms with her memories of the good and bad of her life... By going through this summer with Leo... she has an opportunity to see a path clearly for herself... the trick will be whether she is brave enough to try...
  
  We also have secondary characters which move this whole story forward... they are solid and needed. The town plays a role as most small towns do and everything falls into place...even the conflicts.
  
  I will warn you, though... there is a lot of details about everything farming and sourcing of the crops etc. We are given knowledge and understanding about clean farms, farmers to table cooking and farm shares. It is interesting and important yet some may not be into it.
  
  But here is the deal... everything which is on the page comes with a sense of joy...of nurturing and warmth. It was all there while reading and the realization of how things were playing out for these people made me feel great.
  
  This is a first in a new series for Clayton and I think she has a huge winner on her hands... There was a tease in the back of this book and from what I read...I will be lining up to read it as soon as it comes to market...
  
  
  Nuts (Hudson Valley, #1)
  
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
  
  Cream of the Crop (Hudson Valley,#2)
  
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
  
  Buns (Hudson Valley, #3)
  
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
  
  b>~~~~ Before Reading ~~~~
  
  I have been reevaluating my diet...
  More Protein, less Carbs....
  
  But I will always gravitate to delicious....
  And Alice Clayton's Nuts seem to fit the bill...
  
  A hunky smart man...a talented beautiful chef...
  
  Seems like a perfect recipe to me....
  
  A gifted copy was provided by Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for an honest review.
  
  For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
  

  
  
  
• 
  Nissa | Of Pens and Pages Book Blog

  5 Sugar Snap Stars!
  
  
  
  If you need a pick-me-up, read an Alice Clayton book. Seriously. This book turned me into a mushy, laughing, happy piece of mess.
  
  Who knew dairy could ruin a career? Roxie Callahan sure didn’t. She also didn’t expect she’d ever go back to quaint Bailey Falls after moving to sunny Los Angeles.
  
  Now that her career as chef to the stars is over—all because of BUTTER—she has no other reason to refuse her mother’s request to take over the family diner while said mother jets off to join The Amazing Race.
  
  It's just three months. Just for the summer. Roxie will make the most of this setback; maybe even find someone to play with.
  
  Blue-blooded farmer Leo Maxwell—yes, those Maxwells—comes walking in at the diner with the most beautiful green eyes, a full beard, a basket of walnuts and sugar snap peas.
  
  After a run in with Roxie, the two end up on the floor, on top of each other, with sugar snap peas and walnuts splayed all over and around them. It was the first of many close encounters, and the most innocent.
  
  I love this book. Seriously. I love everything about this book.
  
  The food. It’s a good thing I ate before I started reading this book because the food. It made my mouth water and stomach growl maybe just a little. Imagine what noise my tummy would’ve made had it been empty. And I want/need the recipes!
  
  The nicknames! I am a sucker for endearments and inside jokes. It makes my heart and stomach feel tingly and mushy and ahhh.
  
  The food metaphors and innuendos. Man they cracked me up! Keep 'em coming!
  
  

  You didn’t really bring me beets, did you?”…
  “I did,” he murmured, his thumbs sliding underneath my T-shirt the tiniest bit. “I brought mad beets.”
  “Oh man...Did you bring me anything else?”
  He brought his face back to mine, tinged with the slightest of blush. “I hesitate to say it now.”
  “What did you bring?” I asked, shaking his shoulders.
  He buried his head once again into my neck. “A really big zucchini…”

  
  
  The voice and tone of the story. This is what I love the most about Alice Clayton's books. It's so effortlessly funny. It's not slapstick nor is it trying too hard. It's the kind of voice you hear from a naturally funny person.
  
  Roxie (and all her female leads, really). Boy. I think I rolled around the bed in secondhand embarrassment more times than I can remember. Her leads are confident, sexy, but awkward. And they’re great. They have a goal and a dream and flaws and strengths. I'm all about well-rounded characters.
  
  Roxie has struggled to step away from the shadow of being her mother's daughter and from being the shy girl in high school. Her mother, although kind, was flighty and easily swayed by "love". Roxie had to grow up early because of it, and it was then she promised herself she wouldn't let love take over her life the way it did her mother. Moving to California gave her that confidence she's always wanted, and it made her feel like a different person.
  
  Leo. He makes me giggle like a schoolgirl. There's a bit of mystery around Leo, but he's a well-liked person in the community, and I understand why. He’s great! Leo is adorable, kind, HOT with a capital H, and a damn good farmer . And oh my god. He's something else entirely after the plot twist. I may have swooned a little. I have a soft spot for his kind of male lead.
  
  

  But something happened that I wasn't expecting. It became more than just a summer fling—don't you think?

  
  
  Chad and Logan. Chad was Roxie's crush in high school. He was this handsome, unattainable jock at school who was basically everyone's secret crush. Roxie didn't expect to find a friend in Chad (and Logan), but it was great to have them in her life in Bailey Falls.
  
  The plot twist blindsided me. I knew Leo had a secret, but I didn't expect that. I was so relieved when it didn't go in the direction I expected it would.
  
  Last, but definitely not the least, the chemistry. I could place a frying pan with eggs near the two, and end up with close to burnt eggs. Heh. But seriously. They're comfortable in each other's company and their banter is great. They have this spark you'll root for. I want them to turn into fireworks. The big bang.
  
  
  
  Not only did I enjoy this book, I learned quite a bit, too. Who knew I’d learn about plants and vegetation from a romance novel? Life is full of surprises.
  
  Now, excuse me while I acquaint myself with Oscar Mendoza in Cream of the Crop.
  
  
  
  
  
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• 
  Dee Montoya

  ***** 5 Nuts about Nuts Stars*****
  
  
  (ARC kindly provided by author)
  
  (BR with Patty and Mel)
  
  
  (*Insert dreamy sigh) I love this book and absolutely every single thing about it. The small town setting, the complex and hilarious characters and the romance, OMG!!! At this point I can safely say that Alice Clayton can do no wrong in my eyes. I was so enthralled and enamored with this story that I even wanted to cast myself as Roxie when I was doing the casting collages. Leo is currently holding the #1 spot on my fictional boyfriend list. Be ready to swoon, laugh and even get a little hungry while reading Nuts. I was craving to make all the delicious cakes Roxie was baking. Nuts was such a delicious romance, make sure to read it my friends...
  
  
  
  
  
  Roxie Callahan is a private chef in LA, she prepares meals for the rich and famous. She's been living her dream of cooking and having a safe and strictly no-strings attached love life ever since she left her hometown of Hudson Valley. Back home she was always the shy girl, who thought nothing was special about her and who lived behind the shadow of her free-spirited mother.
  
  Roxie's mother's latest crazy adventure is forcing her to go back home to run the family's diner. Roxie is apprehensive at first because she's tired of having to bail her mother out after every crazy whim she gets, but the timing is right after Roxie has suddenly found herself fired from all her jobs after a silly butter incident. Who knew butter could be evil??? LOL!
  
  Roxie doesn't want to admit to herself how much she has actually missed the charm and familiarity of her home town, but after meeting the very sexy farmer Leo, she won't be able to hide her excitement any longer.
  
  
  
  
  Their mutual passion for food and her always present Bee fear will throw Leo and Roxie together, literally!! A sweet and delicious relationship is born between them but Roxie makes it very clear to Leo that after her mother gets back from her adventure, she's going to go back to LA and that they should keep just things light and fun for the summer.
  
  These two characters are waaaayyyyy too compatible and this makes it impossible to just have a summer fling but what will happen when after too many sweet kisses they both realize things are actually more serious?
  
  I gotta tell you; never have I ever wanted to reach inside a book and become the main character as much as I did with Nuts. I wanted to be Roxie so freaking bad!!! Not only because I fell madly in love with Leo but her attitude, her friends, her culinary talent, everything about Roxie was awesome.
  
  I loved this book because true to her style, Alice Clayton always brings us a good time. She's one of my favorite authors because her books always make me happy. Don't pass up this fabulous book! I've already decided that Nuts will be the book I'll gift to all my book-loving friends in this coming holiday season.
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  ✦❋Arianna✦❋

  4.5 Stars!!
  
  
  
  “Nuts” was the perfect fun romantic comedy in my opinion. I had so much fun reading this quirky, funny, sexy little gem. What made me enjoy so much this novel is the fact that it has a little bit of everything. Needless to say it made me smile, it made me swoon and fell in love with the characters and really with the entire small town.
  
  Roxie Callahan is a celebrity chef in Hollywood. She loves her job and she loves California. However, she can’t say she loves L.A. or that she likes all her clients. When her mother calls her telling her that she needs her help with her dinner for the summer, because she was selected to participate in the reality TV series “The Amazing Race”, Roxie agrees...eventually. Roxie doesn’t like too much Bailey Falls, the small town she grew up because everyone knows everything about everybody. She has fond memories about her mother's dinner, because after all that’s where she realized she wants to be a chef, but she never wanted to run it, not even for a short period of time.
  
  

  “I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”
  “It’s a small town,” I replied. “Maybe you’ll show up at my back door with your nuts again.”

  
  
  In her mother’s dinner she meets Leo, a deliciously sexy farmer who seems to be as smitten with her as much as she is with him. Sparks fly and Roxie doesn’t mind the idea to get involved, only for the summer with this very hot farmer boy, especially since she always had a farmer fantasy.
  
  
  
  As Roxie and Leo start a no strings attached relationship and they get to know each other, they also become friends and as the summer goes on Roxie realizes that maybe the small town and the sexy "nuts guy" is what she really wants and needs.
  
  

  “Are those nuts in your pocket, or you just glad to see me?
  Both.”

  
  
  I'm happy to say this turned out to be a very enjoyable read. Like I mentioned above, “Nuts” had a little bit of everything and I have to say I enjoyed very much how the romance was blend with the humor. I loved the witty humorous dialogue. It kept me glued to the pages, it was smart and it was perfectly done.
  
  Roxie was a fun, relatable character to read about. I loved her quirky personality and I can honestly say I really connected with her. She was sassy, smart-mouth and overall I adored her. Leo was this sexy farmer I fell for immediately. He was sweet, easy-going, funny and charmed the pants off me from the start. Roxie and Leo's chemistry was fantastically done. I loved all the sweet and sexy moments between these two. They were fun, they were sexy and they were perfect for each other in every way. The passion and sexual tension between them were sizzling, their interactions entertaining and their sexy moments so hot. I couldn’t get enough of them!
  
  

  “He was thick and hard and I was wet and warm and he kept his eyes on mine the entire time, not letting me look away, not letting me shrink away from this intimate contact. For an age he pushed inside, as he panted and I gasped, and holy hell, it felt like the world slowed down and then stopped spinning altogether, becoming only the feel of him, pulsing low and deep and I could feel my heart literally beating around him.”

  
  
  The supportive characters were as vividly portrayed as the main ones. I have to admit I fell in love with them as much as I fell in love with Roxie and Leo. They were enjoyable, relatable and I can’t wait to read more about them in the next books in the series. Alice Clayton painted the small town in such a great way. The descriptions were so great and yes, it was like I was there myself.
  
  If you need something sweet and sexy that will put a smile in your face you might need to pick this book up. Give it a try and maybe you will end up enjoying it as much as I did!
  
  
  
• 
  Pavlina Read more sleep less blog

  IT'S LIVE :
  http://amzn.to/1LHK7XK
  
  4,5 Sugar Snap STARS
  
  This was such a refreshing and lightning story! I don't know how this author does it every single time, whenever I read a book of hers it always manages to make me feel like I'm a part of her stories!! This is exactly what happened with this one!!I loved the pace that the story developed so much that I didn't want to finish the story!! It was an amazing,romantic,funny,emotional,hot and sweet story!
  
  
  
  How your life can change from one moment to another...This is exactly what happened to Roxie, she is a private chef for some famous people in Hollywood! Until the moment where an unfortunate incident will make her loose her job! Now her mother needs her help back in her home town to keep her mother's Diner. There she will meet a charming farmer, Leo. Instantly both feel the attraction between them but when these two are together you'll see how hilarious they can be!!
  Roxie isn't very happy that she is back but this is an opportunity to see again the beauty of her hometown and spent a nice time there! I can totally understand her because I was living in town but I have to go back to a smaller place and it wasn't easy for me at the beginning but then you fell in love again with the place and you don't want to leave!Because you can see that this is exactly the place you should be!!
  
  
  
  Roxie is such a lovable character her issues with bees are so funny and I like being in her mind and see what she is thinking!! Leo...this man you can't stop swooning every time he is near Roxie!! He is so charming with his hipster beard...OMG I can't stop talking about how much I fell in love with him!! I fell in love with Leo and Roxie immediately!! These two are hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing with them and especially the first two moments they met!! Together they are passionate,intense,hilarious and sweet!
  
  
  The concept is super yummy!! If you consider that they talk a lot about foods and recipes. I couldn't stop thinking the food! For one more time Alice Clayton proves that she is an amazing,smart and talented author!If you haven't read a book of her please guys you should definitely read it and check her other books! She knows how to write romantic stories with a lot funny moments!!
  
  
  
  
  ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Kelly (and the Book Boar)

  Find all of my reviews at:
  http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
  
  2.5 Stars
  
  I really enjoyed the two Alice Clayton books I’ve read and I was positive this would be a guaranteed win for me as well because it had something the others did not . . .
  
  
  
  
  Oh how I do love the beard trend. This had a fairly adorable premise to boot. Roxie left her small hometown in Hudson Valley as soon as was humanly possible in order to attend culinary school on the West coast. Since graduating, she has been trying to make a life for herself as a personal chef in Hollywood. After getting blacklisted by a client over butter (yep, butter), Roxie agrees to return home and run her family’s diner while her mother participates in a once-in-a-lifetime adventure (The Amazing Race). While there Roxie meets the local farmer and goes a little nuts for his . . . nuts ; )
  
  Nuts was seriously “meh” for me which sucked because I was super stoked to read it and had been on the wait list FOR.EV.ER. (and even suffered a bit of public humiliation when the damn thing failed to check out and I had the librarian hollering “NUTS – NUTS DIDN’T CHECK OUT PROPERLY!!!”). So here were the problems I had:
  
  # 1. The tired trope. All romance novels have them, but Nuts had one that didn't work well for me – the Summer Lovin’ . . . .
  
  
  
  
  The idea is a no strings attached fling that will only last for three months because one of the MCs will be moving away. Get real. A dime-a-dozen unemployed chef who has been blackballed by her clients has NOTHING to return to. Errrrybody knew she wasn't going anywhere.
  
  #2. The “he’s such a hot ticket but he never dates anyone.” There’s only one reason supa hot beardie farmer would NOT be banging all sorts of strange . . .
  
  
  
  
  (Spoiler Alert: This is a romance novel so dude is hung like Seabiscuit.)
  
  #3. Nicknames. I hate them and this was one of the worst! “Sugar Snap???????”
  
  
  
  
  #4. The soundtrack. I like when a book provides me with background music – but if the background music selected is such that it takes me on the wayback machine to early U2 it better be The Joshua Tree and not flippin’ Achtung Baby . . .
  
  
  
  
  #5. The food. Roxie is returning home to a greasy spoon. This is the ONE CHANCE I have to totally pork out using my imagination. Like Jim Gaffigan, I am an “eatie” NOT a foodie. I don’t want to hear about new hipster methods to make the perfect beet salad. I want Bs & Gs and chicken fried steak and my waitress to be hollering . . .
  
  
  
  
  #6. Which leads us to my final complaint. The sex. Normally I fail at romance novels because the sex makes me wanna vomit all over my shoes. Well, I wanted to vomit all over my shoes this time around too, but it was due to the LACK of sex. And so much kissing. Ugh. Are we 12? No one makes out like these people. All they ever talked about was kissing and swollen lips and licking her neck and FFS!!!!!
  
  
  
  
  I mean seriously. Even when they finally did the deed it was (I can’t believe I’m even about to write this) too vanilla for me. I appreciated the lack of “C” words (*shudder*), but the approach . . .
  
  
  
  
  NO, MOTHERF*CKER – HIT IT ALREADY AND HIT IT GOOD!
  
  My friend
  Eilonwy enjoyed this one more than I did, while still having some honest complaints. As for me, I think I need to leave this series outside of 10-foot pole range and finish up the Wallbanger books instead.
  
• 
  Rachel Reads Ravenously

  4.15 bee sting stars
  
  
  
  Alice Clayton is one of my favorite authors and I will read anything she writes. So when I heard about this book and saw this cover, I knew I had to read it! Alice Clayton brings her unique sense of humor to the table in another one of her books and I was smiling like an idiot through the whole thing.
  
  Roxie is a self-employed chef that caters to Los Angeles rich and elite. One night Roxie’s freestyle living mom calls with news that she has been selected to participate in the reality tv series The Amazing Race and asked Roxie to come home to the east coast to watch over her diner for the summer while she’s gone. Out of prospects, Roxie returns to her hometown with the intent of returning to Los Angeles to relaunch her career the second her mother gets back.
  
  It’s at her mother’s diner where Roxie meets Leo, the nuts guy. And the two find themselves entangled (literally) quite often in a very small town. The attraction is immediate, and the two of them embark on a sexual journey almost right away. Roxie has always kept men at an arm’s length away, and her summer fling with Leo starts out as just a fling. But as the summer goes on, the term “summer lovin” takes on a much more relevant meaning, emphasis on the word “love”, and Roxie must choose between life in a small town with a hot farmer or being a chef in the big city.
  
  
  
  
  Before I say anything else, do not start this book hungry! Oh my gosh how I want to make black walnut cake and eat it. I’ve never even had it and I’m craving it after reading this book. I always figured Clayton had a love for food based on it being a small recurring theme in her books, but man this book was the written equivalent of watching the movie Chef (which you also cannot watch hungry). Basically this book made me really want to bake, like all the time.
  
  Also true to Clayton trademarks, I was laughing throughout the entire book. I love this author’s sense of humor and she has a way of taking everyday situations and turning them into a realistic meet-cute. Lots and lots of food themed dirty jokes where present and it was hilarious reading all of the innuendos. I’m sure she had lots of fun thinking of different foods and how to make them sound sexual.
  
  I really liked Roxie and Leo as a couple. Sure there was a lot of instalust starting off the book, normally I prefer more getting to know you bits before the couple launches into something, but it fit with the feel of the book. Leo and Roxie started out as a summer fling and most flings don’t involve a lot of background information. But as the book went on we got the character development I was longing for. Leo at first was just a hot guy, but became so much more as the book went along. Proof that you don’t need an alpha male to have a strong, attractive male lead. Roxie is a heroine the reader can empathize with because her motivations for her choices were understandable: after a lifetime of her mother losing it over every guy, Roxie chose a career over love. The career had stability and love was way more unpredictable.
  
  So, if you need a laugh, a smile, or just something to brighten up your day this is the book for you. A sexy ride that I didn’t want to end it’s a book that I feel everyone could enjoy. Low angst for those of you allergic to it out there! I would personally have preferred a bit more angst but Clayton made up for it with feels.
  
  ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review
  
• 
  Eliza

  
  
  
  Title: NUTS
  Series: The Hudson Valley Series, #1
  Author: Alice Clayton
  Release date: 20th October, 2015
  Cliffhanger: No
  HEA: Yes
  
  
  
  
  
  Roxie Callahan is private chef extraordinaire to some of Hollywood's 'It list'. Hazards of the job include bored, calorie-counting housewives, but it affords Roxie the footloose, fancy-free lifestyle she loves. That is, until an unfortunate incident involving whipped cream brings it all to a screeching halt. Blacklisted by La La Land's skinny minnies and summoned by her mother, Roxie returns home to Bailey Falls to temporarily take the helm of her mother's Diner.
  
  When I graduated, I was determined to shed my wallflower persona and redefine who Roxie Callahan was.
  
  To say Roxie is reluctant to return is an understatement, her hilarious exchanges with her mother are testament to that. She's reluctant for a number of reasons, the primary one being: Bailey Falls Roxie isn't cool. She's redefined herself and almost sees going back home as taking a step back figuratively.
  
  
  
  Stepping into her mother's apron strings, she quickly realises there are some perks to being back. Namely one, Leo Maxwell. The gorgeous but aloof farmer supplies her mother's diner with produce from his farm, but our city girl Roxie is more interested in his produce, if you catch my drift.
  
  
  
  Slowly but surely, Roxie rediscovers the beauty of her hometown. The negative memories she has make way for precious new ones and the summer romance she embarks on with Leo looking as though it may take root, until an unearthed secret threatens it all.
  
  Whilst personally I know I wouldn't do well in the country, the imagery and charm of the scenes created are so alluring, it's almost tempting. And yes, if there was the possibility I'd get a hot farmer like Leo out of it, I'd be donning my Hunter wellies faster than you can say "tractor."
  
  There are some authors who can blend romance and comedy so wonderfully and it's clear Alice Clayton is one of them. Nuts is filled with innuendo aplenty. It's a light-hearted, steamy romance which consistently made me laugh... and hungry.
  
  
  
  
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• 
  Alba and Her Secrets..♥

  5 "Sugar Snap & Farmer Boy" Stars!
  
  
  
  
  I've been waiting for Nuts since our dear Alice Clayton announced her new series. I was so excited and I knew I would laugh a lot with this one! Wallbanger is one of my favourite books ever and Clayton did not disappoint with the first book in her Hudson Valley series! So good and, of course, so freaking funny!
  
  This novel tells the story of Roxie Callahan (a chef who is currently working in Los Angeles and suddendly finds herself without a job and decides to go back to her home and help in her mother's diner) amd Leo Maxwell (the most handsome, green-eyed farmer ever! and a misterious man with a very-private life that reaches to get Roxie's heart with his sweetness and hotness).
  
  My head tipped back a bit, seeming to float along, my body knowing what to do even if my mind didn’t quite understand exactly what I was feeling. The feeling underneath all the swimmy and silly and tipsy from the farmer, the feeling that something epic and unusual was happening.
  
  Obviously, Alice Clayton is known for her funny characters. And Roxie and Leo together.. OMG could not stop laughing! And, let me tell you, you will be hungry all the freaking time while reading this book. This is food porn right there, Ms Clayton! Nuts is full of comic situations, sweet and hot moments and lots of love, of course!
  
  “You drive me crazy, Sugar Snap,” he groaned.
  “Call me that again, and I’m canceling pickle class.” I ran my hands through his hair and kneaded his scalp, getting a satisfied moan in response.
  “Sugar Snap? That’s what brought this on?” he asked, and I tilted his head up toward mine.
  “That’s it. Class is canceled.”
  
  I love how she calls her Sugar Snap! LOL Leo and Roxie have fabulous chemistry, in and out of bed ;) They are so freaking sweet (especially Leo) and if you have read any other books by this author, I am quite sure you will enjoy the introduction of her new characters! Also, another thing to like is Alice's writing, it so easy to follow and her food descriptions.. OH MY GOD. Still, my favourite part of this book, of course, is the couple (and a surprise that I wasn't expecting!). So cute, seriously!
  
  “I love you—I love you so much! I want you, I want everything. I want small town and home grown. I want this—without the bees preferably, but if the bees come with this life, then I’ll take the fucking bees. I just want to be your Sugar Snap.”
  
  “I’m all in, Farmer Boy.”
  
  Therefore, my rating for Nuts is 5 STARS because I adored this funny couple, their story and the new characters (I am so looking foward to the other books!!). So, if you want to laugh, read a cute love story (with some hot moments) and fall in love with Alice's writing, this book is for you! I totally recommend :)
  
  CHECK OUT MY BLOG HERE:
  
  
• 
  MELISSA *Mel Reader*

  4.5 Stars!
  (ARC provided by author)
  
  
  
  
  Roxie Callahan is a private chef to Hollywood's elite. She is from a small town called Bailey Falls, New York. She left home for Los Angeles, California, & rarely returns home, until a cooking disaster causes her to lose her job. Her mom needs help at the family diner, & she agrees to return to her hometown for the summer and run things while her mom is away.
  
  
  
  
  Roxie figures she could use a break from LA, and she will do this for her mom & then head back to California. She is pleasantly surprised when a gorgeous local farmer stops by with a delivery. His name is Leo Maxwell, & his family owns Maxwell Farms. They sell produce to the local restaurants. Sparks fly and Roxie & Leo have instant chemistry. Roxie begins to think maybe the summer will be more fun than she thought.
  
  
  
  
  Living in the same small town Roxie & Leo run into one another quite a bit. The flirting escalates & they start spending some time together. Things are easy between them & they really enjoy each others company. Roxie likes her relationships uncomplicated with no strings or attachments. She likes to keep things simple with men. No use of the "L" word. Just fantastic hot sex with no expectations or demands. She's hoping Leo will be interested in a summer fling, & exploring their attraction physically, cause she wants this sexy farmer bad!!!
  
  
  
  
  -I longed to explore, to taste, to luxuriate in getting to know his body, and how it responded to mine.
  
  
  
  
  Things really heat up between them & Roxie is suddenly having unwanted real feelings for Leo. She doesn't want her heart invested & it scares her to death that she's falling for him. She begins to rethink her future & where she belongs.
  
  
  
  
  -Whichever way my heart told me to go, I usually ran in the opposite direction.
  
  
  
  
  This was such a fun, sexy book! I adored this delicious farmer & I was cracking up laughing at all the food innuendos with the nuts & cucumbers. Lol, it was hilarious! I can't wait to read more in this series & hope we get a book for Oscar next! :D
  
  
  
• 
  Brandi

  4.25 Stars
• 
  Katy Loves Romance ❤️

  4 Stars
  
  
  
  
  I love Alice Clayton books, Wallbanger being one of my top favourites and this was just the same. it's heartwarming, loving, sexy and funny in the best ways.
  
  So What's it about?
  This is about Roxie who has been the parent to her mum when growing up being that her mum is a hippy go happy kind of lover. Who goes from one man to the next making Roxie resent love and not really want that kind of relationship for herself, so she stays clear. Moving to the BIG City she is finding that life as a chef is hard work, and then she ends up in a predicament. Her mum needs Roxie's help to run the family café, so she can travel around the country. This is an opportunity for her mum and maybe just maybe this is perfect timing for Roxie to take a breather. So she goes home to help her mum, and therefore maybe just maybe its what she needs. We sometimes run away from the one place that is home so Roxie is happy to help over the summer but she is going back to her 'Stable' life in September, that's the deal so her mum agrees.
  
  Leo is the owner of the farm in town and Roxie and Leo stumble together on many funny occasions, but they have magnetic chemistry that has the ladies jealous. Roxie can't seem to walk away so is happy to have a summer fling then move on with her life. Yet as time goes by she see's possibilities of a future in her home town, she see's ways to have a career, a place to thrive and a place to enjoy her talents.
  
  Roxie loves to Bake, I loved reading about family recipes and cakes that made my mouth water. I also loved a book that was about home and finding a place that was full of building a future. I loved the romance of the town and the place that gave Roxie a meaning and a purpose but more importantly friends and family.
  
  Leo had one BIG heart and he was a lovable yet sexy Farmer that I assure you, you will fall for. He was sexy and their chemistry and banter was soooo funny to read, I was totally swept away by Leo.
  
  
  
  
  If your wanting a heartwarming yet sensual story about finding home, families, friendships, giving and FOOD for the heart then this will sure be your next read.
  
  ARC Gifted via the author in exchange for an honest review
  _________________________________________
  
  #ShowMeYourNuts
  
  
  
  For more reviews and blogposts
  
  
• 
  Jen

  4.25 Stars
  
  For me, the true test of how much I enjoy a light contemporary romance is how much time I spend smiling while reading. I’m happy to report I had a goofy grin on my face virtually the entire time I spent with Nuts.
  
  Unless it was illegal (mostly), dangerous (really), or had to do with butt sex (not going to happen), I rarely said no.
  
  A woman after my own heart.
  
  As usual, I’m late to the party when it comes to reading this delightful slice of fluff so I’ll skip the character backstories and say, simply, that I loved Roxie and Leo together.
  
  When Roxie first arrives back in the Hudson Valley hometown she’s done her best to avoid, her stress was an almost palpable thing. The more time Leo and Roxie spent together, the more centered she seemed to get and I loved experiencing that with her. On the other hand, Roxie bringing a little heat and flair to Leo’s life also managed to bring the humor.
  
  • Falling all over each other via nuts
  • The sugar snap pea moment
  • The farmers market lap stuff
  • Zombie pickle making
  • Asshole bees!
  
  *sigh* So much goodness packed into one little book.
  
  Moving on to the dirty stuff…food porn. Sweet baby jebus, the way Alice Clayton describes her food should be outlawed for anyone attempting to diet.
  
  Fontina, layered with mozzarella and English cheddar, topped with thin slices of Granny Smith apple, and the barest hint of fresh sage. The bread? Thickly sliced caraway rye, buttered on both sides and blackened with grill marks.
  
  That’s the first time I’ve ever gotten a lady boner over a grilled cheese sandwich. Don’t even get me started on the damn scallops.
  
  
  
  Like most of the Alice Clayton books I’ve read, I thoroughly enjoyed Nuts. I’m still kicking myself for not getting to this one sooner but at least I have Oscar and Natalie to look forward to next.
  
  
• 
  Allison ❤️Will Never Conquer Her TBR❤️

  4.5 "Bees Are Assholes" Stars!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Holy mother of hilarity, I loved this book! Alice Clayton has a niche with her writing that's like a balm to my jaded soul heart with her witty humor, endearing characters, and just simple, real-life plotlines that just feel like...coming home. Like-able secondary characters and realistic relationships just bring it all together. When I read a book by Alice Clayton, I feel as if I'm living happily within her pages, in this quaint little town of Bailey Falls in upstate New York where everybody knows your name.
  
  
  NUTS is chock full of the most adorable everything. A heroine that's dreading moving back to her hometown to once again, bail out her hippie mother by running her family-owned diner, as she joins some reality TV show. Moving back to a town full of gossip mongers, too smoking-hot-to-live though-now-gay high school heart throbs, rogue asshole bees, and hot farmers with massive walnuts and cucumbers. Wait...hot farmers? Yes, that would be none other than our hero Leo Maxwell.
  
  
  
  
  
  I found myself smiling like an idiot through this entire book and I may or may not have caught strange looks at the gym while laughing out loud while reading on the stepper. I don't read a ton of RomCom books and when I get to sample a sliver every now and then, it's like having a piece of Roxie's famous coconut cake- so stinking sweet, I ate it up. Okay, enough of the corny food puns. Obviously this book rubbed off on me (though I can't seem to pull it off the way our resident author can, obviously). Though Ms. Clayton is the Queen of food sexual innuendo here- I could've highlighted this entire book! I'll never look at walnuts and massive cucumbers again without flashbacks to a certain sandy-blonde hair, green-eyed farmer.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Speaking of food, it's everywhere in this book so don't go diving in on an empty stomach. You've been warned. The cakes! Gah! But I digress...Alice Clayton gifted us with the cutest slice of American pie country living here. Where, with each season, farmers markets prevail, sharing the fruits of their labors with the town residents. Where everyone knows everyone- so when the high-society big-city chef Roxie Callahan moves from LA back to her sleepy little hometown, it's quite abuzz with some serious asshole bees. Just for the summer was the plan until she sets eyes on the nicest set of nuts green eyes she'd ever seen.
  
  
  
  

  The eyes and the hair were a package deal, the hair was falling across his eyes in a careless way that said “Hey, girl. I’ve got peas on my shoes, but who cares, because I’ve got these eyes and this hair, and it’s pretty fucking great.

  
  
  
  Suddenly her home town didn't seem so bad and day by day, everything that used to annoy her she finds is what makes her want to tie roots here. Most importantly, this hot farmer tests her no-relationship rule.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And holy mother of ceremonial bong-toting hippie-mothers! Roxie and her mother cracked me the hell up. Not a whole lot in this book didn't make me laugh but I loved the mother/daughter banter we got here between two very different people who come together for a mutual love of their family diner...and food.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Anywho, Nuts was just an all-around enjoyable, light-hearted read that delivered a perfect recipe of ingredients- hilarity, endearing characters, quaint town setting, sweet love story, and a nice dose of steamy times. I'm anxiously looking forward to the next book, Cream that stars the town's almost-mute in his quietness- hot dairy farmer, Oscar!
  
  
  
  
  
  Advanced copy received by author in exchange for my honest, yet food-pun riddled, review.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Jacqueline's Reads

  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
  
  
  
  AMAZON
• 
  Beth Hudspeth

  I know it's titled Nuts but all I see are sugar snaps!
  
  me singing "Summer lovin' had me a blast, summer lovin' happened so fast" the whole time.
  
  I loved Alice Clayton's
  Wallbanger. It is one of my favorite books. The humor and the wit mixed with some steamy romance was awesome. I was hoping for the same going into this series and I wasn't disappointed. The first installment of Hudson Valley series, Nuts was a lot of the same!
  
  
  
  Roxie is a personal chef just fired for a butter/whipped cream mishap when she receives a call from her mother needing her to come home to look after the diner while she is out of town on the game show "The Amazing Race". Roxie reluctantly agrees, but couldn't be more surprised when she has engages in a summer romance with a local farmer, Leo Maxwell. Leo is a down to earth former prep school boy, turned country boy. He loves his land and the slow life of upstate New York. He has his hands full with the witty, clumsy, flirty Roxie Callahan.
  
  This story was just so freaking cute. I love the embarrassing moments Clayton puts in the story. Roxie is so clumsy, mostly around Leo however. ;) I loved the cooking, farming, natural aspect of it all. All the food she describes sounds positively delicious and you can tell she is passionate about food. The way Leo describes growing food is the same way she describes making it. They are totally made for each other!
  
  This was such a sweet positive read with almost no drama/angst. I will never look at a sugar snap the same again. ♥
  
  “You sure about this, Sugar Snap?”…
  “I’m all in, Farmer Boy.”
• 
  Aestas Book Blog

  NEW SERIES from the author of Wallbanger!!! :)
  "... telling the humorously sexy tale of Roxie, a private chef who gets a taste of love—but is it to stay, or to go?"
  
  
• 
  Beverly

  OMG, this story is absolutely hilarious and fun! I didn’t expect less from Alice Clayton, I think she kills these books, but Nuts is definitely one of my favorites.
  
  Roxie is a professional chef and currently working as a personal chef to Los Angeles's rich and famous when we meet her. I quickly liked Roxie she was funny and a little scattered brain, but it was endearing to me. A minor mistake leads to Roxie being fired and within hours her life in LA is ruined. Much to Roxie’s disappointment, it’s really perfect timing though because her mother needs her to come home and run the family diner so she can go on The Amazing Race.
  
  

  “You’re a bit of a train wreck, aren’t you? I puffed a bit of hair away from my face. “Choo choo?”

  
  
  Roxie’s an only child, but has really been living the role of parent since her mother is flighty and a little self-absorbed. Doing what she always does Roxie goes home, but only for the summer or until her mother returns from the show. Roxie doesn’t do love, she does do hook ups, but she isn’t looking for more. She doesn’t believe in HEA or prince charming.
  
  Leo Maxwell is a farmer, but not just any farmer, he operates one of the oldest farms in the area the Maxwell Farm. The farm has been in his family for multiple generations, but it was Leo who got it up and running and again and made it the success it is today. Leo is known for being handsome, charismatic and charming, but completely untouchable. He doesn’t date or if he does no one knows.
  
  Roxie and Leo meet in a hilariously embarrassing fashion filled with plenty of sexual innuendo and from there develop a flirtation. When they both realize neither is looking for more they decide to date/hangout/hookup, but just for the summer.
  
  
  
  Leo and Roxie together are hilarious, sexy and completely heart warming. I love how their real feelings developed between the two of them, slowly and thoughtful. I also loved how their work lives intermingled and provided this mutual appreciate and respect. This story was honestly written so perfectly. It was funny when it needed to be, romantic when I needed more depth and emotion, and sexy when I was ready for more heat. If you are a fan of Alice Clayton’s work you will love Nuts, I highly recommend it - one of my favorites!
  
  Side note: I love the setting for the story and the education we receive about local farming and supporting our community. I am definitely giving away what a complete dork I am, but I loved learning more and I can’t wait to explore my community’s resources.
  
  ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  NMmomof4

  Audiobook Review
  
  3.5 stars
  
  Overall Opinion: This was enjoyable as an audiobook, but tbh I think I might've liked reading it a little more. I didn't necessarily care for the narrator. I think she made some things seem OTT with humor when they would've just been funny if I had read them. I got a little irritated with the h towards the end, but it wasn't so much that it really effected my enjoyment. I'd give it 4 stars for the storyline and 3 stars for the audiobook delivery, so it'll average out at 3.5 stars. Overall it was a pretty low drama, sexy, funny book that I'd recommend when one needs to lighten things up :)
  
  Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Roxie and Leo's story. Roxie's mom got casted on the reality show, amazing race, and she needs to return to her home town to run the family diner. She had been working as a personal chef to people in LA, and she wasn't all that thrilled to return to the small town. She meets Leo, who runs a large farm and provides produce to the diner, and sparks fly instantly. They dance around each other for a little bit, but eventually start up a summer fling. Stronger feelings develop, and they soon find that he summer is not enough. There is a big secret revealed, some big life changes made, some hot sexy times, and some laugh out loud moments...and they get a HFN ending.
  
  POV: This was told in Roxie's POV (epilogue in Leo's).
  
  Instalove: No, they take a while in developing stronger feelings.
  
  H rating: 4 stars. Leo. I liked him. He was a great combination of sexy and sweet.
  
  h rating: 3 stars. Roxie. I liked her spunky attitude, but I had some issues with her attitude towards her mom (it might very well be the way the narrator read it too).
  
  Sadness level: Low. No tissues required.
  
  Push/Pull: Yes The h is adamant that she is leaving after the summer is over, so she kind of pushes the H away emotionally in keeping it "casual". They both pursue the relationship. The h pushes the H away towards the end, but comes around and asks for forgiveness pretty quickly when she realizes she messed up.
  
  Heat level/Descriptive sex: Moderate. They have some hot chemistry and scenes.
  
  OW/OM drama: No!
  
  Sex scene with OW or OM: No
  
  Cheating: No
  
  Separation: Yes, but really short They are separated when the h freaks out, and there is no suggestion or mention of other partners during the separation.
  
  Possible Triggers: Yes The H has a 7 year old daughter with OW (no contact with Mom who signed off her rights).
  
  Closure: This had ok closure. I'd call it a HFN ending. I wanted way more! I would have LOVED a jump ahead epilogue to see them happy and successful down the line.
  
  How I got it: It was an audiobook that was included with my scribed subscription.
  
  Safety: I'd say that this should be Safe for most readers.
  
  - Does Not have cheating
  - Does Not have a descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
  - Does have the h pushing the H away
  - Does have a very short separation between the h and H (few days)
  - Does Not have abuse
  - Does Not have OTT sad parts
  - Does Not have a HEA ending
  
  ** Please note that since it was an audiobook that I might have missed some information that might affect my review. I have found that I just don't retain as much information from audiobooks as I do in reading them. Forgive me if I have any wrong or missing information, and take this review with a grain of salt ;) **
• 
  Sharon ∞❥ is an emotional book junkie ❥∞

  4.5 ★'s
  
  Alice Clayton has done it again and even better IMO. If you're a fan of Simon, aka The Wallbanger, I guarantee that you will love Leo, aka Farmer Boy, even more!
  
  Leo...
  
  
  
  Roxie has moved away from her small hometown to the bright lights and healthy diets of LA. She's become a chef and is working her magic on some of her prestigious clients of Hollywood. That is, until her butter gets churned! ;)
  
  With a request to come home and help out her mother at the family diner, Roxie decides to take a break and head home for the summer. However, she's totally knocked off her nut by a handsome farmer!
  
  Desperately trying to keep things together, she keeps up her mantra that it's just for the summer and it's sex only. Now, if she could only convince her heart.
  
  
  
  The problem is that Leo's just as charmed with her but the good ol' boy has a good ol' secret. Thankfully, it's not a huge deal and things actually work out well.
  
  And that's not the only thing working out well. Roxie is enjoying working at her family's diner, switching up some recipes and adding a few of her own. Plus baking up a few cakes and teaching people how to pickle, preserve, and can.
  
  That all comes to a halt when her mom shows back up earlier than expected. Should Roxie pack up and go back to LA or should she stay and make a try at something real with Leo?
  
  
  
  This book had me smiling almost constantly! There's so many sexual innuendos and just outright sweetness that you won't be able to help yourself.
  
  And Leo and Roxie are super steamy...when they finally get a chance that is! That first scene was scorching...and that's just the tip of the iceberg!
  
  There's quite a few great secondary characters and you almost feel as if you're right there in the town with them. I really wanted to know more about the hot dairy farmer, Oscar, and I was thrilled to find out one of Roxie's best friends, Natalie, has a huge crush! Their book is next called Cream and will be out July 1, 2016. Too long to wait! :( But here's a little something to drool over till then! ;)
  
  Oscar...
  
  
  
  I enjoyed how everything came together and worked out and I loved that the epilogue was in Leo's POV!
  
  
  
  Favorite quote:
  
  ♥ "I’m outside.
  
  Oh.
  
  And I can hear you.
  
  Ohhh.
  
  You said my name.
  
  Oh. My. God.
  
  Let me in."
• 
  Catarina

  4 Nutty Stars.
  
  After a whipped cream incident that leave her without a job in LA, Roxie, chef to the stars, goes back to a little town just outside New York, to help her mother run her dinner during the summer. There she meets Leo, a farm owner and local producer that loves food almost as much as she does and soon their common interest begins to grow into something more. Roxie always dreamed big, she always wanted to be a great chef under the big city lights… but could be Leo and his simple way of living life that will make her change her mind?
  
  
  
  Despite this book have been a fun and steamy reading, full of heartwarming moments and that put me a smile in my face through a great deal of it, my favorite part of it was the food. Being a Chef myself, the food descriptions and their obvious love for it and its provenience (both Leo and Roxie) was one the aspects that made like this book so much.
  Amazingly written, this was a hilarious and sexy romance, with a flowy writing style that left me completely engaged in the story from the first paragraph. There was some drama and some angst, like its mandatory on romance books, but nothing frustrating and just the right amount to keep us entertained. Definitely, a series to keep reading.
  
  
  
  
  Rating: 4 Stars.
  Characters Development: Roxie was a nice girl, although sometimes her insecurities and doubts could be mistaken by stubbornness. Leo was a really nice a sweet guy and I (almost) liked him as much as Simon from Wallbanger. I didn’t like that he kept stuff for so long, but understanding his reasoning, I was able to forget it. A lot of nice supporting characters that I definitely want to read about.
  Steam: Hot.
  Sensible Subjects: No.
  Love Triangle: No.
  Cheating: No.
  HEA: Yes.
• 
  TheCrazyWorldOfABookLover

  1.5 Stars
  
  
  
  
  What a shame because I absolutely LOVED Wallbanger and thought I would love this for sure. But too many things starting really early on turned me off to this.
  
  What didn't work:
  
  The first 30% or so was rather dull. It was filled with paragraph after paragraph that depicted absolutely nothing of importance. And I could have done without the excessive detailed food descriptions too. I know Roxie's a chef and that is a big part of her character but it became too much and was distracting.
  
  An example:
  
  Each booth had the farm's name proudly displayed over it's table, which dispalyed whatever they were producing. Late spring greens everywhere, turnip and mustard greens the most prominent. Lettuce of all varieties. Carrots in a riot of colors, not just orange - ruby red, purple, and vibrant yellow carrots spilled over their baskets and into customer's waiting hands. One farmer had plates of sliced fresh radish set out, with piles of coarse salt and soft butter ready for dipping. Root vegetables, spring onion, garlic, and garlic scapes, that wonderful delectable that was only available in late spring. Asparagus stalks, thin and....
  
  OK, I can't type about freaking vegetables anymore. Was all that detail really necessary? I don't see how that added to the story at all. And that wasn't the only moment of excessive detail I had to skim over. It was happening repeatedly.
  
  The heroine seemed a little too pretentious and snotty for my liking. The humor really came off as forced to me and had too many instances of accidental / humiliating run-ins. Sure a few moments had me grinning, but not out right laughing like I was expecting.
  
  I was looking for a fun, easy read that would make me laugh, but instead I found myself skimming, rolling my eyes, and was tired of the overlong descriptions and not a whole lot else happening.
  
  I wanted more substance to the story and found it lacking. All in all this was a disappointing read for me. :(
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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• 
  FMABookReviews

  
  
   
  
  I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! Alice Clayton brought her A game when she wrote NUTS!
  
  There wasn't one thing I didn't like! Not. One. Thing! From the superb writing, to the details of the food that made me so hungry as I read, to the beautifully, perfectly scripted characters, Clayton had me laughing, left my heart full and a permasmile on my face!
  
  This is how Rom. Com. Is done! The comedy wasn't forced, it just was. It was natural, much like the dialogue. There were so many laugh out loud moments that I found I had tears streaming down my face.
  
  Roxie Callahan left her hometown after high school. Feeling closed in and needing to experience life outside of a small town, she heads off to culinary school in California. When we meet her, she is a personal chef to the rich and famous. Things aren't going as planned and when her mom calls her to come home and temporarily run the family diner, Roxie hesitantly agrees. But only for the summer, that's the deal, she insists on returning to her job and California, when the summer is over. Ever helpful, before her mom left on her trip around the world, she shared some advice:
  

  ❝Use mitts if you're baking; that old oven is testy.❞
  
  ❝Use citronella oil if you're in the woods.❞
  
  ❝Use sunscreen if you go swimming in the lake.❞
  
  ❝Use a condom if you have sex with a farmer.❞

  
  
  
  
  Leo Maxwell is one sexy, sweet-dirty talker. Did I confuse you? Well, see, his dirty talking is masked in sweetness and innuendo and you know what he's saying even when he's not saying it! This man has a history (all of which I am not going to share, because ya need to read it), mixed with both pain and happiness. Leo is the local farmer and brain child of Maxwell Farms. He provides fresh produce and meat (ha!) to the locals.
  
  
  
  
  Neither of these two are looking for more than a summer romance, she wants to head back home and he, well, he has other obligations that keep him from getting involved. When these two are together, the banter flies, as do the clothes, and bodies (literally, someone is always falling or tripping) producing sexual chemistry that is sure to make you swoon and fan yourself.
  

  ❝Did you know your eyes change color?❞ ❝Did you know they go full green? Right before you come?❞ ❝Look at that, they're turning even more green by the second.❞

  
  They are the yin to the other's yang, what she hates about the small town he loves, the thing she finds as negative he finds charming.
  

  ❝I'm not big on small towns❞ I replied. ❝Everyone knows each other's business. Everyone knows each other's history.❞
  
  ❝They watch out for each other,❞ he insisted.
  
  ❝They gossip about each other,❞ I corrected.

  
  Soon, Leo, and even the small town with its nosy people begin to grow on Roxie and she finds she has quite the following. Is it worth staying and risking your heart? Teaching cooking classes and baking cakes has made her quite happy. Can she leave that behind and go back to the uncertainty of California?
  
  
  
  
  One of the best things about this book, though was the side characters, the supporting cast! OMG y'all HAVE GOT TO MEET Natalie, seriously! She is among the funniest supporting characters I have ever read! I had to put down my Kindle because I was laughing so hard I could not read! She is Roxie's best friend, they met in Culinary school and she lives in Manhattan. She now works in advertising, she is a city girl at heart. She has one weakness - cheese! And when Natalie, Roxie and their friend Clara, visit the local farmers market in Manhattan, we learn that Natalie has a crush on a broody, hot, sexy dairy farmer! EEEEEEE. YOU GUESSED IT, Cream is the next book in the Hudson Valley series. I am not sure I won't be stalking Ms. Clayton until the release of this book. GIMME GIMME NOW!
  
  ARC graciously provided in exchange for review. Quotes were taken from unpublished edition.
  
  
  
• 
  Nadia

  DNF at 62%
  
  To that person who compared this book to Wallbanger, I wish the battery on your Kindle dies just as your long-ass trip started and you have no external battery or whatever the hell it's called the thing that charges your gadgets when you don't have any sockets near and I hope you'll be bored out of your mind, as was I while reading this book.