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lezreadalot's review against another edition
4.0
She just couldn’t afford to care. Then, an intern trips into her with faltering grace, patient eyes and a zeal for everything, especially a future in the kitchen, and God help her, she cared too much.
4.5 stars. Sometimes you read a book and you just become besotted with the characters and their romance, and this was that for me. I loved this!
This was a pretty short, simple f/f romance about a young chef who lands her dream job, kind of an internship, with a renowned chef who she's always admired. Valentina is a great mix of focused and relaxed and eager and super kind, and she's determined to make the best impression at the restaurant and with her new boss. Jenn is a bit older, divorced with a teenage son, not much of a people person, with an attitude that makes her seem cold/standoffish. But she and Valentina, after a bit of a rough start, end up cultivating the sweetest, sexist romance and I fell head over heels for them.
“I would show you everything about me, if you just asked.”
I loved every part of this story: Valentina's relationship with her parents and her best friend; Jenn's relationships with her ex-wife (I LOVE seeing relationships with exes in books that aren't all about jealousy and toxicity; they both handled themselves like mature adults who loved their kid, and it was so refreshing); seeing the ins and outs of life in a restaurant. Even though this is on the short side, it felt fully realised, and not really rushed at all. None of the conflict felt outsized or inappropriate for the book. I can't stress how much I adored these two women: Jenn isn't quite grumpy, but broody in a way that masks her awkwardness, and I LOVED how Valentina could make her flustered. Valentina herself is a new book crush for sure. And I also loved how this touched on being women of colour in a field that's dominated by white men.
I did feel like the author could have done more to really integrate the B-plot (which I really liked and appreciated) into the book as a whole, and I kinda wish we got more restaurant scenes, because the ones that we did get were so interesting! Otherwise, this was a complete winner for me, and I'm very glad to have found this author. I'll be checking out more of her work soon, hopefully!
Content warnings:
Spoiler
discussion of cancer, parental abandonment, teen homelessness, abuse, parental death“Who even are you?”
She held Jenn closer, tighter, lips against Jenn’s ear when she whispered, “Yours.”
ladysmartypants's review
I wanted to like this so badly, but it’s just not working for me. I don’t feel the chemistry between the MCs.
rachelslacey's review
5.0
I loved everything about this book! Valentina and Jenn are both such well-rounded characters, I was rooting for them right from the start, and Jenn has just enough ice queen vibes to have me swooning. Wonderful!
thescariestmary's review
5.0
this was my first stephanie shea read and TRUST i will be back for another one. this book threw me for so many fucking loops, i loved it- did i think rachel was going to be vindictive and horrible? yeah. am i glad she wasn't? yeah. there was also a shit ton of diversity in this book which is so refreshing- it wasn't that weird try-hard "inclusionary" bullshit either, there was just a good, diverse cast of characters who were just... regular. LOVE. also, we know i love a sex scene. stephanie shea... knows how to write one, let's leave it at that
tessisreading2's review
4.0
Over the course of the pandemic I got waaaaay too addicted to food TV shows and, of course, happily judgmental of chefs, food culture, and manufactured TV drama. So I’ll say straight out I don’t know anything about how any of it actually works; I just know what they show you on Bravo and the Food Network. That said, this feels like a realistic depiction of hard-driving, ambitious, food-loving chefs, and the romance feels plausible and engaging and hot, although at times watching Jenn beat her head against a wall in an effort to maintain control over her life and emotions got to be A Lot. Shea’s version of San Francisco feels real and lived-in and thankfully diverse. Content warning for
Spoiler
extensive discussions of breast cancerSpoiler
.misthios_pat's review against another edition
5.0
Really, really good reading.
Loved every bit of this story, it was sweet, funny and with a very low level of (unnecessary) angst. I love a light reading. I just wish we got to see more of Zoe though, she was a very good support character and was missed by the end. And I definitely would love a follow up on everyone, above all, the MCs who I personally didn't have enough of heheh. Who doesn't love an extra epilogue?
Loved every bit of this story, it was sweet, funny and with a very low level of (unnecessary) angst. I love a light reading. I just wish we got to see more of Zoe though, she was a very good support character and was missed by the end. And I definitely would love a follow up on everyone, above all, the MCs who I personally didn't have enough of heheh. Who doesn't love an extra epilogue?
jennabeebs79's review against another edition
4.0
This was a cute little romance with a lot of delicious food and likable main characters. Val and Jenn were entertaining together with low drama and angst. I did feel that there were some loose ends left hanging with the Joey subplot and Jenn’s ex and son but overall this was a good read. Look forward to reading more from this author.