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A review by hayleybeale
All Stirred Up by Brianne Moore
4.0
So I read a lot of romances in my teens and the ones I really loved were written by Jilly Cooper which, I guess, would be considered romantic comedies in today’s genres. No matter which, they all have the same basic and familiar plot and characters, and the author’s job is to dress those up and make them as appealing as possible. Now, many decades on, I find myself drawn back to this genre and, while the tropes have not changed one jot, the novels do get a whole lot steamier. In the pie of romances, my preference is for the contemporary romantic comedy slice and All Stirred Up is an excellent serving.
Set in Edinburgh, and honestly the tourist board couldn’t have done a better job of making me want to visit, the novel centers on romance in the restaurant world. This means we get many mouthwatering descriptions of desserts and cakes (Susan is a baker and is trying to save her family’s flagship restaurant) and Scottish fusion cuisine (Chris is a TV star chef who opens a much-buzzed about new restaurant). As is often the way of modern romances, they had a relationship in the past which ended badly. We all know where it’s going, and the author takes us on a very entertaining route to get there.
The ride to get us to the end point is where the author gets to play, with subplots and secondary characters. Susan’s family is fairly monstrous, but also sad. Susan has a fling that doesn’t work out with a charming but manipulative movie star. Chris’s backstory is tragic and he has a salt of the earth sister. The staff of the restaurants are a mix of villainous and supportive. There is a dog - there is always a dog and, as a dog owner, I find myself wondering about the welfare of dogs in romantic comedies as they mostly seem to be a prop and never get enough exercise or attention.
The audiobook is nicely done and made for several pleasant hours of listening. The reader does an excellent variety of Scottish and English accents and even manages the tricky transition between the Scottish chef and his Irish sous chef without missing a beat.
Of course All Stirred Up isn’t going to make you smarter or a better person. But it might take the edges off a rough pandemic week and inspire you (as it did me) to make lemon meringue pie and encourage your child to apply to Edinburgh University.
Note: I just read that this is an updated version of Jane Austen’s Persuasion - completely passed me by.
Thanks to Alcove Press and Netgalley for the audiobook review copy.
Set in Edinburgh, and honestly the tourist board couldn’t have done a better job of making me want to visit, the novel centers on romance in the restaurant world. This means we get many mouthwatering descriptions of desserts and cakes (Susan is a baker and is trying to save her family’s flagship restaurant) and Scottish fusion cuisine (Chris is a TV star chef who opens a much-buzzed about new restaurant). As is often the way of modern romances, they had a relationship in the past which ended badly. We all know where it’s going, and the author takes us on a very entertaining route to get there.
The ride to get us to the end point is where the author gets to play, with subplots and secondary characters. Susan’s family is fairly monstrous, but also sad. Susan has a fling that doesn’t work out with a charming but manipulative movie star. Chris’s backstory is tragic and he has a salt of the earth sister. The staff of the restaurants are a mix of villainous and supportive. There is a dog - there is always a dog and, as a dog owner, I find myself wondering about the welfare of dogs in romantic comedies as they mostly seem to be a prop and never get enough exercise or attention.
The audiobook is nicely done and made for several pleasant hours of listening. The reader does an excellent variety of Scottish and English accents and even manages the tricky transition between the Scottish chef and his Irish sous chef without missing a beat.
Of course All Stirred Up isn’t going to make you smarter or a better person. But it might take the edges off a rough pandemic week and inspire you (as it did me) to make lemon meringue pie and encourage your child to apply to Edinburgh University.
Note: I just read that this is an updated version of Jane Austen’s Persuasion - completely passed me by.
Thanks to Alcove Press and Netgalley for the audiobook review copy.