Taste the Love
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Two rival chefs must enter a marriage of convenience to secure a land deal in this deliciously charming romcom, perfect for fans of Meryl Wilsner and Ashley Herring Blake.
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 option: 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?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wives Karelia and Fay Stetz-Waters (who previously collaborated on Second Night Stand) underwhelm in this busy contemporary. Six years after graduation, culinary school rivals Kia and Sullivan are thrust back into each other's lives at a neighborhood association meeting. Sullivan now runs a highbrow restaurant on her family's land in a communal green space called the Bois. Meanwhile, foodie influencer Kia is looking to settle down after years traveling with her food truck. Her plan is to buy the Bois and create a food truck pod where trucks can set up for longer periods of time. Sullivan wants to stop her and has the right to buy the land as a legacy owner, but can't come up with the money. Meanwhile, the attention Kia has brought to her project attracts fast food giant Mega Eats, who are happy to outbid her. To stop them from taking over the Bois, Kia and Sullivan hatch a scheme to get married so that Kia can use Sullivan's legacy status to buy the land. The authors put a lot of legwork into setting up this marriage of convenience plot, and all the legal drama distracts from the romance itself, leaving the emotions somewhat underdeveloped. Readers will be frustrated.
