A review by bluebeereads
Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins

5.0

Istyria book blog ~ B's world of enchanted books

Ooooh my god I love this book! It gave me so many feels and one moment my heart was pounding really fast and then it skipped a beat and then it started pounding so hard I’m afraid of having a heart attack or something. People have compared it to books of Katie McGarry and Tammara Webber and I can see why. Sabrina Elkins is now one of my new favorite authors!

Stir Me Up is about Camille, daughter of a French Chef. She has been working at his restaurant for years and she’s planning on doing that for a long time to come. She loves cooking. And she loves her boyfriend Luke too. But then Julian comes along. He’s the nephew of her stepmother and a marine who’s wounded badly in a war. He’s grumpy, angry, mean and oh so hot. He makes Cami question everything she thought she knew about her future.

"I rest my head against him when our mouths break apart, and breathe him in. I love the smell of him, that mysterious, perfect, warm, delicious taste that is him."

As I said, I loved this book. A lot. The writing was great. I was so invested in the story and the characters that at some points I was almost with my nose up on the screen of my e-reader. It made me laugh, giggle, swoon, sigh, cry a bit and giggle some more. It’s no surprise that Sabrina is being compared to great authors like Katie McGarry and Tammara Webber. She’s really talented and I can’t wait to read more from her.

The romance in this book is awesome. I loved Julian and Cami together. In the beginning they were more like cat and dog. Always fighting and mean to each other. Yeah I get why they were doing that. Julian has been through a lot, he has a reason to be grumpy and mean. And Cami, well… I would be mean too if a guy is that to me. But their relationship grows and it’s sooooo sweet. They really are cute together. And I rooted for them. And while they’re conversations in the beginning of the book were hilarious sometimes, the ones in the second half are swoon-worthy. My heart often skipped a beat. Love it!

Cami was such a fun character. Obviously she isn’t perfect. She’s stubborn like only a French chef-in-training can be. She’s pretty insecure too. But she’s so passionate about cooking and she’s so sweet when she wants to be. And because she’s stubborn and a bit of a workaholic, she’s not like the other girls. When she’s still with Luke, she’s worried that having sex will make him want to move in together and marry and stuff. While other girls would be worried for the fact that the boy won’t want anything else anymore. But I loved her. And Julian makes her see things from a different perspective. Makes her question if the path she planned out for herself is the right one. And yeah I get why he’s so grumpy in the beginning. He lost half a leg and everyone is so careful around him. It would piss me off too! But Cami opens him up. Well, you know what they say… the love of a man goes through the stomach. But he definitely is book-boyfriend material.

"I'm all yours and have been ever since you threw that muffin at me."

Then there are the other characters. I adored Taryn, Cami’s best friend. She’s a talented actress and she’s really fun! And Estella, Cami’s stepmom, is really sweet and caring for Julian even though he’s not really his son. Brandon, Estella’s son, is a good brother to Julian (well yeah, not in theory but hey…). But I loved Cami’s dad, Chris. He’s a real French Chef and he’s soooo funny. When Estella cooks a meal, he always hates it. Because when food is not made from scratch (even the salad dressing of mayonnaise), it’s no good. And that causes some really funny moments. No ordinary American food for him. He’s awesome. And a great dad too. I didn’t like Luke that much. He wasn’t right for Cami and yeah… I just didn’t care for him.

This is a great book about becoming an adult and making a choice for your future. And love. Of course. It’s not really Young Adult, but not really New Adult either. More a Young-to-New-Adult book. It has some scenes that are not suited for people under 17. It’s a genre on its own!

An awesome book with a thrilling and heartpounding romance, some great humor and fun characters. Recommended to fans of contemporary romance. Whether it’s YA or NA, doesn’t matter. Read this book!