Happy New Year! Welcome to the first Book Hooks hop of 2026. I hope you’re ready to discover some fabulous new romance reads, because that’s what this weekly event is all about. Members of the Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW) community come out to share their favorite snippets from the new books or their back lists. Just follow the links at the end of this post to visit each of the participants.
As for me, I’m sharing an exclusive excerpt from my latest erotic romance, a contemporary rom-com entitled Her Secret Ingredient. Hope you like it!
Blurb
Stir in a pinch to stir up his passion.
When the Tastes of France food channel offers Mei Lee “Emily” Wong a series of guest spots, she jumps at the opportunity to take her culinary career to a whole new level. Ultimately, she wants a show of her own, but first she has to prove herself to Michelin-starred network founder and effective dictator, Etienne Duvalier. A legend in the world of classic French cuisine as well as a domineering perfectionist, Etienne is skeptical about the culinary abilities of a woman from Hong Kong. To make things more difficult, the master chef is also so gorgeous that Emily can’t help being attracted to him.
Emily tries to solve both problems by spiking her luscious profiteroles with an ancient Oriental aphrodisiac. Unfortunately, Harry Sanborne, the low-key, bespectacled producer for Emily’s show, samples the delicacies she intends for Etienne’s consumption. His powerful reaction to her secret ingredient comes as a pleasant surprise to them both. Harry turns out to be far more impressive in bed than on the set. However, he can’t do nearly as much to advance her ambitions as Etienne. Emily tries once more to tempt the exacting Monsieur Duvalier with her special cooking as well as her feminine charms. The outrageous results threaten to end her TV career forever—until Harry steps in to save her reputation and claim her heart.
The Hook
“And how am I supposed to cook in this?” I’d been working on my recipes for the show that morning when Roth had appeared with an ankle-length, scarlet silk brocade cheongsam and announced that this was the costume Etienne had chosen for my first appearance on Tastes of France. It fit perfectly—meaning that it felt like it was spray-painted onto my body and hugged every curve. A slit climbed to mid-thigh, allowing me to walk without difficulty, but I was worried that one overly energetic twist might split the seams. That would be some television debut!
“It really suits you.”
“Honestly, though. I’m a chef, not a courtesan!”
Lisa had styled my hair too, plastering my chin-length locks to my skull with a gallon of mousse and adding a fake knot at the back, decorated with frangipani. I’ll admit that the woman facing me in the mirror was voluptuous, glamorous and elegant, but she certainly didn’t look like me.
“Etienne said he wanted to emphasize your cultural differences. You know—French cuisine as a universal standard, around the globe.”
I sighed and shook my head, careful not to dislodge the hairpiece. The gold dangles I’d gotten from wardrobe brushed against my neck. Did I really want a guy like him in my life—and in my bed? He had a lot to learn about the Chinese. We’d been civilized, rulers of a vast empire, when France had been the domain of hairy barbarians.
Then again, it might be fun to teach him…
A knock on the dressing room door interrupted my musing. The object of those meditations entered, looking devastating in a royal blue shirt and tight leather trousers, with a ruby-hued cravat knotted at his throat. My critical thoughts scattered like a flock of cranes rising from a marsh. He favored me with one of his twenty-carat smiles. The birds seemed to take residence in my chest, fluttering and making it difficult for me to breathe.
With a dramatic flourish that would have come across as silly for most men—but not for him—Etienne raised my hand and pressed his lips to the bare skin just below my wrist. A tingling sensation lingered at the spot after he’d released me. My nipples tightened within their silk casing.
“Emily, you’re magnificent. Exactly what I’d planned.”
“Um—thanks. You don’t think this is too much?”
“Not at all. Remember, this is show business. You’re not behind the kitchen doors anymore. We have to give the audience something to look at.”
He, at least, certainly fulfilled that objective. At that moment, I would have sworn he was the most handsome man on the planet. His makeup was subtler than mine. Somehow it accentuated his high cheekbones and strengthened the line of his already firm jaw. A hint of shadow brought out the blue in his eyes, making them warmer and more welcoming. His lush mouth, so often pressed into a narrow line of disapproval, was relaxed and full today, quick to quirk into a smile.
Overall, he appeared to be in a far better mood than the previous day. I understood suddenly that this was because he was about to perform. Etienne Duvalier loved being in the spotlight.
Find the buy links (and another excerpt) at my website: https://www.lisabetsarai.com/hersecretingredientbook.html
Don’t forget to visit the other authors joining today’s Book Hooks!
3 comments:
This is great! Can't wait to see what happens next!
It's going to be hard to cook in that outfit! Great excerpt, Lisabet.
Loved the analogy with the birds. Immediately got the point, and the feeling.
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