e-Audio, 08:48:52
Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens & Natalie Naudus
Release Date: July 12, 2022
Published by: Harlequin Audio
Read from: July 26-27, 2022
Hot Copy, #2
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Cursing, smoking, off-page harassment, past death of a parent, break-up, biphobia, sex, sex in public, coming out, misogyny, alcohol, bar, drinking, blood, injury
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary, Romance, Adult, Foodie Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Family Diversity, Realistic Fiction, Sparkly CoversA fiery restaurant owner falls for her enigmatic head chef in this charming, emotional romance
Amy Chambers: restaurant owner, micromanager, control freak.
Amy will do anything to revive her ailing restaurant, including hiring a former reality-show finalist with good connections and a lot to prove. But her hopes that Sophie’s skills and celebrity status would bring her restaurant back from the brink of failure are beginning to wane…
Sophie Brunet: grump in the kitchen/sunshine in the streets, took thirty years to figure out she was queer.
Sophie just wants to cook. She doesn’t want to constantly post on social media for her dead-in-the-water reality TV career, she doesn’t want to deal with Amy’s take-charge personality and she doesn’t want to think about what her attraction to her boss might mean…
Then, an opportunity: a new foodie TV show might provide the exposure they need. An uneasy truce is fine for starters, but making their dreams come true means making some personal and painful sacrifices and soon, there’s more than just the restaurant at stake.
Carina Adores is home to romantic love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I remember adding this to my TBR because of the amazing cover. I didn’t even do any research on it so I had no idea that it was a sequel. This is when I said “I will never judge a book by it’s cover again!” (Which was another lie because duh I’m me)
As y’all know I’m a super fan of foodie fiction. (Whenever there is a food centered book) So it was no surprise that when I read this title that I immediately decided I needed to read it. So I did. And let me tell you, the food wasn’t the only thing that was hot lol (Yeah that’s corny but whatever) This book definitely has some spicy scenes. Like there’s smex in the kitchen, squirt… well you know. And more. And I hate how this makes me sound, but I was here for every minute of it. (As if you couldn’t tell by the fact that this is the first thing I chose to talk about in my review lol)
The romance itself felt really natural, but I hated the way they treated each other before they actually got it together. It made me feel weird about them. (Butttt that could also be because of how I am with enemies to lovers. ) But I knew it was because Amy was stressed about the state of her failing restaurant and Sophie was stressed about the fact that she had just walked away from her now ex-finance. But throughout the story it wasn’t bad.
The only thing I didn’t like about this was the plot. In some places it was rushed. And then it dragged. And then at the end it was like just DONE. It was weird. The times I wanted to slow down was when it felt rushed. I don’t know how to explain it, other than the fact that the pacing was off. But again, it didn’t make it bad.
Just from looking at the cover I knew this was going to be a book I enjoyed. A spicy romance, amazing sounding food, and so much more. Definitely do not regret reading this before the first one. I’ll get to it eventually lol
Overall, I give this
