e-Audio, 09:39:22
Narrated by: Joshua David Scarlett
Release Date: December 6, 2022
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: December 5-7, 2022
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio (I received a copy of this book from the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Scene that depicts Homophobia
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ+ (Bisexual), Hot Single Dad, Meet Cutes, Foodie Fiction, AdultSometimes two cooks in the kitchen are better than one in this swoony romantic comedy from the author of I’m So (Not) Over You.
Xavier Gorman is doing less than stellar. He just got dumped, was passed over for a prestigious fellowship, and to top it all off he’s right back home in Harpers Cove, Maine (population: 9,000). The last thing he wants to do is to work as a sous chef in the kitchen of the hip new restaurant in town, The Wharf. Especially since the hot, single-father chef who owns it can’t delegate to save his life.
Logan O’Hare doesn’t understand Xavier or why every word out of his mouth is dipped in sarcasm. Unfortunately, he has no choice but to hire him—he needs more help in the kitchen and his twin daughter, Anne, can only mince so many onions. It might be a recipe for disaster, but Logan doesn’t have many options besides Xavier.
Stuck between a stove and a hot place, Logan and Xavier discover an unexpected connection. But when the heat between them threatens to top the Scoville scale, they’ll have to decide if they can make their relationship work or if life has seasoned them too differently.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Just when Xavier’s life was looking up, things went bad quickly. He seemed to have lost everything all at once. But just when he thinks things can’t get worse, an unexpected surprise waltzes in his house. And I mean that quite literally. And I’m happy it did because I really enjoyed this story!
Ok first things first. I was a little hesitant about this one because it ticked so many of my “Nikki” boxes. It was written by a Black author, it was an LGBTQ+ book, and it is foodie fiction. I guess I was just intimidated. But I shouldn’t have been. I liked this as much as I knew I would. Xavier is hilarious! And Logan, the hot single dad was so cute! He was my favorite part of this story.
So Xavier I felt was a little basic. He was very serious and was mostly just looking to further himself in the business world. So much so he only took the job at Logan’s restaurant because he was trying to pay for something to help him pay for an internship kind of thing. I was glad for Logan. He helped to melt him some. Logan was sweet and I enjoyed seeing him fall for Xavier. It did feel a little weird because it seemed like he was being critical of him, but then came out and was like Ohhh I like you lol I do wish it had been dual POV tho.
The romance between them was super cute. They complimented each other and seemed like the perfect match to each other. I didn’t care for their Third Act Break-Up tho. That was the dumbest fight ever. I hated the miscommunication. I hated it even more when he started to doubt himself after their fight. I hate when people do that. It just seemed cruel to put him through that. I also thought they were hella cute together too. The car scene?! YASSSSS! But I do wish they were together more. They spent a lot of time mad at each other and then the third act happened. Idk, I just wanted more cute moments without Xavier making it a joke because he was scared.
The last thing I wanted to talk about was the pacing. Maybe it’s just because I listened to it, but I was hella confused. I think it would have benefitted from something more than just a description on how the seasons were changing. Especially since I listen to books on 2.0x. It seemed like it jumped around a lot. I realize that maybe the experience could be different if I were reading it physically or as an e-book.
The foodie fiction part was just ok tho. I wanted more descriptions of food, and more descriptions of them in the kitchen. I think I would also have liked to see them together in the kitchen. But I did like the mention of the restaurant and the people that work there. The salmon burger did sound amazing tho. But I think the food critic thing was a bit cliche. But the reasoning behind it did make sense. So, it wasn’t exactly the descriptions of food that I craved, but it was still good.
This book was so much fun. All the things I was hella excited for made this book a definite win for me. I can’t wait until more people get their hands on this one!
Overall, I give this
