Review - Room for Dessert by Dann Hazel

Room for Dessert

by Dann Hazel

My rating:

Heat level:

Volume 1 of Some Like it Haute

Tags: Contemporary

Posted in Book Reviews on 23 August, 2026

Sebastian had his heart broken when the man he was planning to marry cheated on him. Years later, he still hasn’t quite gotten over it when he meets Aladdin. Yes, that’s the name his parents gave him. Aladdin has his own baggage but can’t deny the attraction he feels for Sebastian. When Sebastian’s ex surfaces, it throws cold water on the couple’s infant relationship. Sebastian has to decide if he should give his ex a second chance, and Aladdin has to decide if he can trust Sebastian.

“Room for Dessert” is a starkly contemporary romance set in central Florida, with explicit references to the charged politics of the state. If you’re looking for an escapist romance, this definitely isn’t it. While I can agree with the politic stances, it felt like the story was woven around them rather than using them as background. On top of that, I wasn’t a fan of the story-telling style. It feels more “telling” than “showing”, to use an old writing cliché.

The narration is a somewhat unusual-for-these-days sort of third person, where we get the viewpoint and thoughts of both main characters mixed together. Sebastian seems like a very capable, level-headed person. The situation he ends up in with his ex is understandable, although it’s hard to be sympathetic to his prevarication regarding what to do about it.

Aladdin is a bit of a blank slate at first, but his story all comes out eventually, then turns quite melodramatic. I often joke about the “big dramatic events” often used in romance books to move the story along. This plot amps the concept up quite a bit, using soap opera level shocking events that don’t really add much to the story. There’s a good story here, but it feels overwhelmed by rhetoric and melodrama.

“Room for Dessert” is available from Smashwords or from independent booksellers through Bookshop.org.