2018 Book #31 – Savor You by Kristen Proby

51eU3ZY3U5LTitle: Savor You
Author: Kristen Proby
Date finished: 4/20/18
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
Pages in book: 291
Stand alone or series: #5 in the Fusion series
Where I got the book from: Edelweiss NOTE: I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

In the next sizzling romance in Kristen Proby’s New York Times bestselling Fusion series, two celebrity chefs compete in a culinary competition, but resisting each other will prove to be the greater challenge.

Cooking isn’t what Mia Palazzo does, it’s who she is. Food is her passion . . . her pride . . . her true love. She’s built a stellar menu full of delicious and sexy meals for her restaurant, Seduction. Now, after being open for only a few short years, Mia’s restaurant is being featured on Best Bites TV. To say Seduction is a wild success is an understatement. All the blood, sweat, tears, and endless hours of work Mia has put into the restaurant has finally paid off.

Then Camden Sawyer, the biggest mistake of her life, walks into her kitchen . . .

Camden’s celebrity chef status is world-renowned. He’s the best there is, and the kitchen is where he’s most at home. He can’t resist the invitation to Portland for a showdown against Mia for a new television show. Mia was in his life years ago, and just like before, he’s met his match in the beautiful Italian spitfire. The way she commands the kitchen is mesmerizing, and her recipes are clever and delicious. He’s never had qualms about competition, and this is no different. He can’t wait to go head to head with Mia. But can he convince her the chemistry they share in the kitchen would be just as great in the bedroom as well?

As Mia and Camden face off, neither realizes how high the stakes are as their reputations are put on the line and their hearts are put to the ultimate test.

My rating:  3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

30085150_233856684017722_7691934596300013568_nMy review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This didn’t end up being exactly what I expected but it still turned out ok. When I read “celebrity chef competition” I thought it was going to be more like that show Chopped, which maybe is an unrealistic expectation but it didn’t end up being quite that way. It was still a good book! It was a cute story and I liked it. There were also some things about it that I didn’t necessarily care for. There was one part where Mia is a b*tch to Camden in her kitchen at work and he had to apologize to her afterwards for an under the breath comment that he made, but I thought he was kind of justified in what he said. I mean was it rude yes but she was being a b*tch to him and taking out her aggression on him for no reason at all. I thought that there should have been a little more apologizing from her and a little less from him. Other than that though, the story was a sweet story about a second chance at your first love.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Cook Books Galore!!

So I have some cookbooks that I was approved to review through NetGalley recently. I don’t really count these as “books read” since when I read a cookbook I don’t read every single page. But I thought I would still share these books with you guys in case something snags your interest!

Butter & Scotch by Allison Kave and Keavy Landreth – 4.0 stars

51vSBjGqjLL._SX420_BO1,204,203,200_

 

I really liked this book, the recipes in it were great. This book was written by the owners of a dessert and drinks bar in NYC. Recipes consisted of: cupcakes, cocktails, brunch food and drinks, pies, cookies, boozy shakes, etc. I liked a lot of the recipes, I was especially intrigued by the Lemon Lavender cupcakes, which I would love to make sometime. Dessert and drinks are two of my favorite things so this one was right up my ally!

 

 

Everything I Want to Eat by Jessica Koslow – 3.25 stars

51Sl6f8N3+L._SX405_BO1,204,203,200_

Most of the recipes in this book I don’t think I would try. They seemed complicated. I mean they all looked delicious and very healthy but I prefer quick and easy recipes. There were a couple items that caught my interest including the Raspberry cardamom jam and the Rhubarb lemonade. I also really liked that the book had pictures from actual farms showing production/growing of the ingredients. If I had a personal chef, I would want them to use only this book because the recipes all seem so fresh and healthy.

The Good Fork Cookbook by Sohui Kim and Burcu Avsar – 4.25 stars

61KTuLgoNpL._SX417_BO1,204,203,200_

Manchego Cheese Fritters? Freaking yes please. I loved a bunch of the recipes in this cookbook. Many of the recipes had a Korean flair/were Korean recipes (the author of the book and owner of the restaurant is Korean) but these recipes will appeal to all readers, regardless of their ethnicity. I especially like the recipe for gnocchi with sauteed mushrooms and spring vegetables, I thought that sounded delicious! I think this would be a great cookbook for trying something new and fresh and delicious, I would like to purchase this one for myself and family members!

The Short Stack Cookbook by Nick Fauchald and Kaitlyn Goalen – 4.25 stars

516rlCoGkRL._SX400_BO1,204,203,200_

This book is set up like a series of “short stack” cookbooks, each section features an ingredient, like apples, shrimp, yogurt, etc. I thought that was a interesting approach and I like the convenience of it. Like the apple section contains breakfast, dinner, dessert and drink recipes all within that one section.The pictures in this book were great too and I loved how colorful it was. There were a lot of great recipes, this is a book that you need to work through slowly though since there are just so many delicious items to make. I would love to purchase this one for myself and family members!