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A Lighthearted Utensil Romance #1

Pinchada: Libro 1 de la serie Romance Ligero de Utensilios (Un Romance de Utensilios Alegre)

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¿Es un terremoto o es que tu tenedor se alegra de verte?

Imagínate que un supersoldado de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y su unidad fueron atrapados en cubiertos por el gobierno y que la única forma de volver a transformarse era siendo íntimos con una mujer...

Poco después de mudarse a una nueva ciudad, Mercedes compra un juego de cubertería antigua en una venta de bienes de una herencia y descubre que tiene preferencia por un tenedor en particular. ¿El hombre que aparece cuando el tenedor desaparece es real o una fantasía lasciva?

Si es real, ¿está loco o realmente podría ser lo que dice ser?

¿Tienes la mente lo suficientemente abierta para aceptarlo tal como es?

¿Y enamorarte de un tenedor?

Descubre hasta dónde está dispuesta a llegar Mercedes para salvarlo a él y a sus amigos en SPOONED y KNIFED.

Advertencia

Las escenas picantes de esta novela corta son puramente ficticias. Por favor, no intentes recrear ninguna de ellas en casa. No quiero saber que mis lectores se metieron en problemas por experimentar con tenedores. Los dientes pinchan. Mantengamos los tenedores en la mesa, donde deben estar.

149 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 20, 2025

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About the author

Ruth Cardello

105 books2,965 followers
Ruth Cardello hit the NYTs and USA Today for the first time back in 2012. Millions of sales are evidence that her books are akin to potato chips, addictive from the first one. She has created a multi-series billionaire world with a combination of escapism and realism that has gained her a faithful following of readers.

What Kindle Reviewers write about her:

"Wow hot at every page. Heart stoping, fear raging, mind blowing wonderful."

"I'm a true fan of Ms. Cardello. I ran on to her first book a few years back and have been hooked ever since. I could go on and on about the story like of this book, but I'm not. All of her books are total page turners, unique, heart wrenching, and I love them all. There isn't two alike in the bunch and I feel like i know the characters personally. I personally read 97 authors books. And I buy every book they put out. This author is in my top 10. Great job and keep them coming."

"Love this series. Got me to start reading again. I look forward to the next book. Thank you for giving me the love of reading back."

Ruth Cardello was born the youngest of 11 children in a small city in northern Rhode Island. She spent her young adult years moving as far away as she could from her large extended family. She lived in Boston, Paris, Orlando, New York--then came full circle and moved back to New England. She now happily lives one town over from the one she was born in. For her, family trumped the warmer weather and international scene.

She was an educator for 20 years, the last 11 as a kindergarten teacher. When her school district began cutting jobs, Ruth turned a serious eye toward her second love- writing and has never been happier. When she's not writing, you can find her chasing her children around her small farm or connecting with her readers online.

Email Notice of New Releases: www.RuthCardello.com/Signup

You can find her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/RuthCardello

Follow her at Twitter @RuthieCardello

If you'd like to email her directly, you may contact her via her website: www.ruthcardello.com

Lone Star Burn Series
Book 1: Taken, Not Spurred
Book 2: Tycoon Takedown
Book 3: Taken Home
Book 4: Taking Charge

Want to hear the song Charles proposed to Melanie with? https://youtu.be/SGZT5nVKfMs

The Legacy Collection
Book 1: Maid for the Billionaire (FREE on Amazon!)
Book 2: For Love or Legacy
Book 3: Bedding the Billionaire
Book 4: Saving the Sheikh
Book 5: Rise of the Billionaire
Book 6: Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea's Redemption
Book 7: (Novella) A Corisi Christmas

The Andrades:
Book 1: Come Away With Me (FREE on Amazon)
Book 2: Home to Me
Book 3: Maximum Risk
Book 4: Somewhere Along the Way
Book 5: Loving Gigi
Christmas Novella: A Recipe for Love (Maddy and Richard)

The Barrington Billionaires:
Book 1: Always Mine
Book 2: Stolen Kisses
Book 3: Trade It All
Book 3.5: A Billionaire for Lexi
Book 4: Let It Burn
Book 5: More than Love
Book 6: Forever Now
Book 7: Never Goodbye
Book 8: Reluctantly Alpha
Book 9: Reluctantly Rescued
Book 10: Reluctantly Romanced
Book 11: Loving a Landon
Book 12: Loathing a Landon


For a more complete list visit her website at www.ruthcardello.com

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Community Reviews

5 stars
655 (22%)
4 stars
794 (26%)
3 stars
955 (32%)
2 stars
368 (12%)
1 star
181 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 745 reviews
Profile Image for Emily Salls.
150 reviews
July 3, 2024
It was FOR FUN, don’t worry about my mental health
Profile Image for Lilyya ♡.
720 reviews3,879 followers
July 12, 2024
well, i guess im into fork erotica..

(big br with ma girls)
Profile Image for apolimia .
347 reviews3,631 followers
July 5, 2024
chicas esto es increíble el libro tiene plot Y ESTA BUENO
Profile Image for Stitching Ghost.
1,611 reviews425 followers
January 6, 2025
There were a couple of scenes in there that had me going "this is stupid" and it wasn't the fork action scenes, I'm not a "lighthearted" reader so you should probably take that with a grain of salt.
Profile Image for Karie.
200 reviews4 followers
July 13, 2024
Too much attempt at plot and not enough forking. I came for trash and I was not rewarded.
Profile Image for rae ✿.
356 reviews333 followers
Read
August 24, 2024
unforktunately i've read it🍴
Profile Image for Leo.
5,175 reviews669 followers
January 6, 2025
In one hand I enjoyed it, it was a fun premise with a few funny scenes and interesting relationship. But I had wished for more Fork action. It wasn't as much sentient fork moments as I wanted. Much more in human form but there where some of sentient forking to which was entertaining. I will definitely continue with the series as the plot and mystery was very intruiging. But not enough weirdness for me
Profile Image for Maria.
640 reviews29 followers
May 29, 2024
Firstly if you decide to read this book, try to keep an open mind. This is not the usual Ruth Cardello’s story, but a very unusual and hilarious story. I personally recognized myself in Mercedes. A heroine who is a little awkward and shy, whose mission is to change her lifestyle. Hugh is a very gorgeous and charming “fork” of a man. I loved their story and their unique encounter. I can absolutely guarantee that this book will leave the reader speechless and promptly ready for the second book.
Profile Image for Grapie Deltaco.
885 reviews2,788 followers
December 7, 2025
Girl what ?


CW: explicit sexual content, human experimentation, references to violence/murder/war
Profile Image for Milo (if lost, return to hot fictional character).
463 reviews348 followers
July 13, 2024
GUYS, if you want some captain america super soldier government secret agent world war 2 vibes from the cutlery you’ll be reading about, LOOK NO FURTHER!

not only are you getting a hunk of a man (who’s also a fork), you’ll also get a really well written plot that i need to know more about because wtf.

can’t wait to read spooned, Jack’s story.


guys i wish i were joking but i’m not. if you want smth fast and amusing, pick up this book. i had a forking good time (get it)

thank u to my friends here on gr who i buddy read this with (they know who they are)
can’t wait for spooned!


———————————



lets gooooo

big buddy read with my besties😭✋🏼
Profile Image for Lia Reads.
559 reviews479 followers
March 23, 2025
Unhinged Book Madness - Day 4

Okay but why did I like this book?? It was definitely super tame as far as a sentient romance goes, but I enjoyed the story! I honestly want to read more and figure out what happened. Loved the WW2/ Captain America MMC and the awkward FMC.

Rating
- Unhingedness: 2
- Story Structure: 7
- Spice Level: 3
- Would I recommend: Yes
Profile Image for pat.
441 reviews14 followers
December 17, 2024
i can excuse her fucking captain america in a fork form (which she didn’t), but i draw the line at military propaganda and praise for AI
Profile Image for Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels).
1,371 reviews1,873 followers
July 22, 2024
Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖 (I liked the second half a lot more but by 50% I wanted to set it down)
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit corny
Perspective: first person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: about 9% for human form
Cliffhanger: The plot, yes – the hero is still a fork and the mystery isn’t solved but is implied it continues in the next book. But the relationship is a happy for now.
Epilogue: Not really – the last chapter is a bit of a wrap up a few weeks later though
Format: read through Kindle Unlimited
(Descriptions found at end of my review)

Should I read in order?
This is book 1 of this series, might be best in order to give background.

Basic plot:
Mercedes finds herself very attached to a certain fork in her antique silverware set

Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary sentient romance
- Rhode Island setting (with WWII flashbacks)
- fork shifting hero / human heroine
- you’re okay with the mystery of fork shifting not being solved by the end of the book (it will be a series)
- lower steam – 1 full scene plus some kisses/implied scenes

Ages:
- hero is 25, heroine is 24

First line:
Today is the day.

My thoughts:
I know, I know – it’s a fork romance so did I really expect much?? Well, sadly I was hoping I would love this more! I have plenty of sentient romance under my belt now and some I have really, REALLY loved. This one just didn’t do it for me.

I think parts of it were that I just got a bit bored. We were getting flashbacks and backgrounds of the hero, but nothing is solved by the end of the book and that was a bummer to me. There were separations of the characters and I just wanted them together more and more romance. I was excited about a from the past hero, but something about him just felt really modern. He adjusted really well to modern world and maybe it’s because he has already aligned himself with the supernatural with being a super soldier...but being a fork and being in modern times just didn’t seem to phase him at all haha.

I loved some of steam here – the things he said, and the thoughts he said were definitely my jam – but it overall just felt really light here. The one scene you get is really great and thorough….

I didn’t hate it but I wanted to love it more!

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 1
Average rating: 3 stars
Favorite book: This is my only book by her so far, so this one!

Quotes/thoughts: (Any mistakes are my own)


Content warnings: (This should be taken as a minimum because I could have missed some!)



Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:


Extra stuff like what my review breakdowns mean, where to find me, and book clubs
Profile Image for ⋆˚°✩*˖ Gohnar23  (•˕ •マ.ᐟ ˚⟡˖ ࣪.
1,143 reviews54 followers
November 30, 2024
4 star for shockedd 🫥🫥🫥

I THOUGHT THIS WAS SOME BASIC, NO DEPTH, JUST PURE EROTICA ABOUT HER ugh 'forking' a fork (honestly the 'fork'joke was funny the first time but the book just repeats the same joke all over and over again so it gets kinda annoying)

This niche point idea was Reaally good and has pure potential but it got wasted and just used as a starter for some bland erotica.. (was expecting more u know plot?? Since the book really made me shock when it the time pov went from 2024 to like WW2????)

Lower points for the book being progressively getting more boring and more boring each next chapter. (And more fork jokes)


Fork🍴
Profile Image for Urtė Caspo.
432 reviews158 followers
November 6, 2024
Nu gal visai ir nieko 👍. Mergina turi šakutę, kuri – kario iš Antrojo pasaulinio reinkarnacija. Tiesa, taip ir nesužinojau, kodėl jis tapo šakute, bet užtikrinu, kad su ja buvo pasigvaltavota.
85 reviews
March 6, 2025
IM PEEING THIS IS THE WORST SHIT IVE EVER DONE TO MYSELF😭 absolutely hated it but I had to prove jeff wrong.
Profile Image for Davia Peresolak.
30 reviews3 followers
March 12, 2025
Rounded up from 3.5 stars. I’m not sure what I just read or why I want to keep going…but here we are.
Profile Image for Naemin.
190 reviews1 follower
October 23, 2024
JAJAJAJAJJA

Una porquería de libro, 0,5 estrellas.

Si hubiese seguido la línea de lo que me esperaba, pues igual hasta le hubiese puesto una estrella enterita.

A ver. La trama aquí se queda en un quiero y no puedo. La autora ha intentado crear una trama de la segunda guerra mundial que no le ha salido, más que nada porque se ha olvidado como a mitad del libro de continuar con la otra línea temporal que había presentado.

Vale, se supone que tenemos a nuestra protagonista, Mercedes, que es una chica que no está muy mentalmente estable que digamos y que no lleva demasiado bien las interacciones sociales humanas. Con lo único con lo que mantiene conversaciones es con su gato, porque prácticamente no sale de casa (teletrabaja). Y la única vez que se anima a hablarle a un hombre porque ha decidido por arte de magia dejar de ser virgen, lo único que se le ocurre es mentirle.

Entonces, por cuestiones de la trama, ella se encuentra casualmente en su casa, lamiendo su tenedor favorito de forma sensual (porque es algo que hacemos todas) y este empieza a vibrar como su fuese un teléfono con la alarma.

Ahí aparece un tío que dice ser un soldado americano de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y que le pide ayuda para salvar al resto de su escuadrón.

Hasta aquí todo bien.

Bueno, pues ese hombre es imbécil. A parte de ser un hombre blanco, heterosexual, hegemónico, militar y americano, es gilipollas. Y como tal, se comporta como si fuera un puberto de 14 años que se dedica a hacer berrinches por la vida.

Entonces, cuando ya iba por un 60% del libro y no estaba viendo ningún tipo de romance con ningún tenedor, tal y como prometía la portada, uno de esos berrinches de celos hacen que se vuelva a convertir en tenedor. (hasta este momento, no se han liado, porque él estaba todo el rato recordándole a ella que la podía matar con su enorme pinga)

Unos meses después, la tía se pone horny en su salón y se da autoamor con ese tenedor que empieza a vibrar de repente, y la escena termina con él volviendo a ser humano.

Yo tengo una pregunta aquí: ¿Por qué razón decide la autora hacerme 2 povs, la mayoría de los de él ocurridos en 1942, para que a mitad del libro, NO ME DIGAN NADA DE LO QUE HA PASADO PORQUE YA NO IMPORTA Y AHORA LO MÁS IMPORTANTE ES LO LARGA QUE LA TIENE???????

Bueno, al menos, el libro ha cumplido con lo que ha prometido, pero no de la forma en la que lo esperaba. Muy mal.

Ahora, si quiero saber por qué razón el gobierno estadounidense haría un plan secreto para convertir a 14 soldados en cubertería vintage, tengo que leerme los otros dos de la saga.

PD: UN SOLO CHISTE MÁS CON FORKED Y ME PEGO UN TIRO. GRACIAS.
Profile Image for Angie.
1,954 reviews22 followers
July 12, 2024
You know what? It’s not even the strangest book I’ve ever read and the writing was actually kinda alright…
Profile Image for Jana.
12 reviews8 followers
March 17, 2025
Я потрапила на темну сторону гудрідсу
Profile Image for Meagan Grauel.
792 reviews6 followers
July 7, 2024
In a weird mix of historical fiction (in the loosest sense of the term) and smut, this book manages to be a more complex and touching story than I was anticipating. In addition to some weird fork focused imagery, the author manages to create a captivating storyline that I was shockingly interested in. I was expecting to like this story as much as I did, but I am pleasantly surprised. If you can get over the fact that the FMC rubs one out (often) with her fork to get the MMC to come to life, it's not a bad book to read.

This book takes place in a post Covid world (2024), where the FMC, Mercedes, is doing her best to reconnect with the world and put herself out there. After an attempt at flirting with a neighbor in a bid to try and lose her virginity goes poorly, Mercedes goes back to her apartment to sulk and have dinner using her favorite fork. She got this fork at an estate sale as part of a set and are made of sterling silver. There is a long description of how this fork feels in her mouth and how much she enjoys it. Then, at some point, she licks the fork from bottom to top and it starts to vibrate. Who hasn't licked their fork because they're lowkey attracted to it? Jk .. it's weird.
Anywho ... the lick to the fork causes it to start vibrating and fall onto the floor. When she bends down to look for it, she hits her head on the table, but can't find the fork. However, what she does find is that there is now a man in her apartment, dressed in an old timey military uniform. She, rightfully so, believes that she's hallucinated this person into existence after hitting her head, but decides to just go with it.
The book then switches to the MMC's (Hugh) POV and we find out that during WWII (this is where the loose historical fiction part comes into play), he was part of a secret military organization, who were charged with stopping the atomic bomb from ever being built by kidnapping the nation's smartest minds. As it turns out, this secret military organization was up to some Captain America type shit and they took volunteers and essentially turned them into super soldiers. They have the capability to camouflage with their surroundings, stretch body parts at will, heal from any wound - some of which are nearly fatal, regrow limbs, have super strength, and super speed. He is from a group of about 11 men, and the last thing he remembers is going to a dinner at the end of WWII to celebrate their accomplishments. During that dinner, they all realized that they had been left alone all of a sudden and then everything turned to black.
However, Hugh is aware that he has been Mercedes' fork because he was unaware until he was. And what he remembers are a lot of "being inside" of Mercedes and her mouth. There is a long description of that as well. Apparently, this licking of his fork form has triggered him to become human again. And he is beyond attracted to her when he takes his human form again.
At this point, it being smut and all, you would assume that they jump each other's bones, and it's definitely what Mercedes wants. But, he's afraid of hurting her, and is lowkey hurt that Mercedes is willing to lose her virginity to what she thinks is a figment of her imagination. So he implores that she help him find his unit and what happened to them over 80 years ago and he'll help her socialize with the guy upstairs and get a date.
Mercedes agrees to help Hugh, who she's still convinced isn't real and at some point she'll either be committed or wake up from whatever hallucination she's currently having. She takes him shopping to buy some clothes to fit into this era, and they bond over their shopping trip with one another and they both realize that they're falling for the other. During this shopping trip, someone comments about Hugh and his outfit, so Mercedes is convinced that he's a real person, but isn't convinced of his story about being from the past and that he can transform into a fork. They do some research online and at the local library, but can't find any information regarding Project Inkwell.
When they get home from their shopping excursion, Hugh helps steal some of Greg's mail (the upstairs neighbor that Mercedes was trying to lose her virginity to) which helps Mercedes tell Greg that she's single when he comes to retrieve the mail. This leads to a whole lot of jealousy from Hugh, who didn't realize how deep his feelings for Mercedes went in such a short amount of time. Because he believes that Mercedes is more into Greg and he's insanely jealous, he leaves the apartment to better understand what he's feeling.
While out and about, Hugh manages to get himself involved in a fight ring where he makes himself a ton of money in a short amount of time - this was a hang up of his about being able to be with Mercedes, since he doesn't have any money to his name and he was relying on her to pay for things. He also does a lot of soul searching during this time, and finds that he doesn't like the type of person he became while doing his secret missions for the military. He did a lot of sketchy things without questioning it, and feels like he was losing a part of himself. After a lot of woe is me, he decides to head back to the apartment.
While he's out, and Mercedes is at home waiting for him, she decides that Greg just doesn't do it for her anymore after he stops by the apartment to bring Mercedes flowers to thank her for returning his mail. She lets him down gently, since she's decided that Hugh is who she wants to be with. After deciding that it's actually Hugh she wants to lose her virginity to, she leaves the apartment in a rush to go and get the necessary "supplies" to have sex with a fork man. Hugh and Mercedes just miss one another and he comes back, only to find the flowers from Greg and jumps to conclusions that she doesn't want him and left the apartment to go and sleep with Greg. He becomes so depressed about this notion, that he transforms back into a fork, and Mercedes cat kicks him under the fridge. Mercedes returns to the apartment, but they've missed one another again, and doesn't see the fork under the fridge.

The book jumps to several months from that, where the reader sees that Mercedes, despite missing Hugh, is living her best life. She has friends now (one of whom is Greg - despite being rejected, they were able to be friends), goes jogging, and is doing well at work. But while feeling better overall about her life, she does miss Hugh and wishes they could be a part of a team.
In a bit of luck when her jogging partner is over, she finds her favorite missing fork under the fridge. And while Mercedes still doesn't believe that Hugh is the fork, she's glad to have her fork back, and even holds it while going on her jog that day. Which her friend doesn't judge her for. She is a better friend than I would have been in that situation.
Later that afternoon, while eating her salad for lunch, the fork starts vibrating again. While having a fantasy about Hugh, she uses said vibrating fork to rub one out and BAM! Hugh is back again and they immediately get freaky in a multi chapter sex scene. Weird - she can't find her fork again. Still doesn't believe he's the fork, even though he appeared between her legs right where the fork had been. Mercedes is able to explain what actually happened while he was out at the fight ring and that she had actually wanted to lose her virginity to him and be with him.
After they do the deed, Hugh tells Mercedes that if he ever becomes a fork again, all she has to do is be intimate with him and he'll transform back into himself. Mercedes, still a skeptic, tells him she doesn't care if he's batshit, she'll be with him anyways. So, Hugh pops back into being a fork in front of her so she finally believes what has been happening. After seeing it happen for herself, Mercedes is a believer, and is down with continuing to masterbate with the fork to make Hugh come back.

The rest of the story is a cute synopsis of Mercedes and Hugh as a couple and how they utilize Hugh's super soldier capabilities for all things sex related. As a couple, they are striving to make sure the other one knows how important the other one is. The two of them are still working on finding out what happened to all those involved in Project Inkwell, and Mercedes has now been convinced that the set of silverware she purchased at the estate sale contains Hugh's fellow soldiers. Not being willing to masterbate with all the silverware in the set to being them back to life, they set out to find a way another way to make it happen. This ends up being a clear segue into the next book, Spooned, and I honestly can't wait to read that book when it comes out.

So, this was a weird concept. But I didn't think it was as weird as I initially assumed it was going to be. As far as off the rails smut goes, this wasn't too bad, and I will be reading the next in the series, so that probably says a lot more about me than it does about the content of the story. Read on and stay weird!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 745 reviews