Taste the Love by Karelia Stetz-Waters

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Okay, I finished listening to the audiobook last night but was too tired to do the review. So here are my thoughts, the morning after. But first, the blurb:

Six years ago, eco-chef Alice Sullivan and her culinary-school rival almost gave into the burning tension between them. But those kisses? Just the heat of competition boiling over. Sullivan never expected to see Kia after graduation . . . until Kia crashes back into her life with a plan to buy Sullivan’s beloved Portland greenspace.

Kia has worked hard building her social media empire as the big-hearted glitter-bomb queen of the food-truck scene. Now she’s one step away from opening a foodie utopia for underrepresented culinary talents. But Kia’s plans catch the attention of a bulldozer-happy food conglomerate, and now both Kia and Sullivan’s dreams are on the line. When a legal loophole turns out to be the only way to save what they each love most, they’re left with one pull off a very public fake marriage to obtain the deed to the land and keep their old rivalry under control.

As the line between fake and real love blurs, can Kia and Sullivan set aside their differences and find the perfect recipe for happily ever after?

I liked the story, characters, and how it wrapped up. It was fine. There were a couple of things that stood in the way of enjoying it more. First is the narrator for Kia. Her voices for characters were very good but the way she did the narrative was, well, too… too… peppy? Her inflections didn’t fit this book, for me.

The second thing was the non-communication. One in particular toward the end of the book. Without spoiling that part of the story, I’ll just say that when something potentially happens – because no one thinks to make a single phone call to verify anything – a couple of our characters flip out and make some bizarre choices. Seriously, I was yelling at my phone during the whole thing. And even went to Goodreads to mark my progress and type a few words about the ridiculousness of not even thinking about getting more info before flying off the handle.

So, I guess besides those two things, I did enjoy the book. If I were going to read it again, I’d stick to the ebook though. The funky music during the intro and outro of the audiobook was cool but I think I’d enjoy it more with the voices in my head. You know what I mean.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to listen.



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