With thanks to netgalley and the author for allowing me to review this book.

I really enjoyed this book. A good read overall

Cute, surface-level read that I somewhat enjoyed but ultimately felt a little too young for me. Perhaps if I was a bit younger than I would have enjoyed it more.

I requested this book years ago, and am no longer interested in reading. Thank you for the opportunity.

I loved this book! I did not review this book on my blog as I had to stop blogging due to time constraints.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

All Carter Lane has wanted was to be accepted to a summer school at a culinary college in Savannah, with the hope of winning, and being awarded a scholarship for college. She thought being accepted was the difficult part, but in reality, it was simple. Arriving in Savannah, she accidentally makes an enemy of another student, Reid Yamada, and it soon turns into a full blown battle to the end. It doesn't help, either, that Reid is cute, and her feelings for him might not be all negative. will Carter be able to survive in the competition, or will she be chopped from the running?

This was such a cute and enjoyable read. Really quick, and kept me hooked from the get go. I loved Carter, and how invested she was in cooking. When she was younger, she used to cook all the time with her grandpa, and after his death, she sort of took over the responsibility of cooking at home, partially because her parents were rubbish cooks, and also because money was tight, and it was a way for her to help out while her parents were working. She knows that the only hope she has of going to a culinary college like the one in Savannah is to win the competition and gain a scholarship, so she puts everything into it. Meeting Reid, the chemistry was clear straight away, but they start as enemies, with him hiding ingredients from her, and she causing him to drop food, and so on. It nearly results in them being kicked out of the competition, but at night, when they can't sleep, they meet up in the common room, and a friendship soon forms, which later becomes a true relationship. I also loved the interactions between them, and between the other competitions. Some were rude, and annoying, but others, like Riya and Will, were funny, and loyal, and really helped to make the book as good as it was. A great YA Contemporary story, perfect to read on a Sunday morning.

Hell's Kitchen meets teenage romance novel. Carter Lane wants to leave Montana and go to the Savannah Culinary School but she can't afford it. Lucky for her there's a scholarship competition at the school and she made the cut. A series of cooking competitions that let the students showcase their skill and creativity is all that stands between Carter and her dream school well that and Reid Yamada. Carter's nemesis turned love interest is her biggest competition and he doesn't let her forget it.

I find it hard to believe a grilled cheese with provolone is good enough to get into a scholarship program for a highly competitive school. I wasn't really a fan of Carter she just seemed really immature even for a high school student. She never practices between competitions and during the competitions she sits around half the time waiting on everything. It's frustrating to see because you can only assume there were dozens of kids who would have loved the opportunity and it's like she doesn't care. Even though Reid sabotages Carter in the first challenge it's such a minor sabotage that her retaliation is just extreme. Even when Reid doesn't do anything to her she is constantly plotting what she's going to do next to get back at him. For someone who so desperately wants and needs this scholarship she's constantly putting it at risk over this feud that started in her head because she wasn't confident in her cooking ability. Even at the end when it came down to the final elimination I found myself mad that Carter couldn't just be happy with where she was at in the competition that she needed Reid to make her feel better when really he should have been the one getting the reassurance. Whiny selfish teenage brat is all I could think. I would have been happy with them going their separate ways at the end. Unfortunately it's like Carter gets away with treating him like complete garbage the whole time and he crawls back to her.

I would recommend this book to everyone who is looking for a contemporary romance that will guarantee you a ride on a great emotional roller coaster! And those who are looking for a book to escape from their reading slumps as well!

Take my favorite cooking show (Chopped) and my favorite book age category (YA) and out them together, and you get The Art of French Kissing. The mother daughter relationship in this novel was really similar to the relationship that my mom and I share, and it was a fun read.

The only positive of this book was the food descriptions. The main character was an asshole and to be honest, so were all the other characters. I did not care what was happening to anyone and I just wanted it to be over. All the 'drama' was just so petty and childish and made me roll my eyes. And the writing was nothing special; just your average YA writing and plot.
Disclaimer: probably didn't help that I am in a reading slump which is why I didn't give it 1 star.

Although this one had so many things I typically love--boarding school, a hate-to-love romance, food descriptions, and a competition, it was only okay for me.

I didn't know what to expect from this book at first, but I really enjoyed it! It was super cute and swoony and I'd definitely reccomend it!

Un MasterChef versione Young Adult …

Carter e Reid sono due avversari che si contendono una borsa di studio per la scuola di cucina dei loro sogni. Si incontrano e scontrano durante l’estate. Una sfida dopo l’altra i sentimenti però che hanno l’uno verso l’altro si amplificano e diventano intensi. Talmente tanto che i dubbi sulle vincite e perdite diventano un problema. Tra amicizie, amori e litigi i due concorrenti si sfidano a suon di padelle.

Storia abbastanza banale, dialoghi forzati molte volte. Ma non mi aspettavo un romanzo best-seller di sicuro dalle varie recensioni che ho letto. Reid è un giovane ragazzo che vuole vincere e Carter pure. I colpi bassi sono all’ordine di ogni giorno di gara. Ma nasce qualcosa e tutto finisce su un banale epilogo.
Ripeto molto banale vero? Lo è. I punti forti di questo libro sono le sfide di cucina, ma non si basa tutto su quelle per mia sfortuna. Una storia romance c’è ma è inespressiva. Piatta. Qualche bacio, una notte di sesso e poi finale.

Non so che altro dire per questo libro. Sono state le tre ore più lunghe di lettura che abbia mai fatto. Non ho sentito battere il mio cuore per qualcosa di WOW. Guardare l’ora per controllare quando si finisce è indice che qualcosa non va. E qui devo dire che tutto il libro è una gran pecca.

Mi dispiace.

Let me start by saying that I was super excited for this book when I first heard about it. I’m a sucker for cute fluffy romances, and this seemed to be a book I’d be sure to enjoy. It promised a cooking competition, a hate-to-love romance, and the cover promised macarons, which only helped to increase my excitement.

And while the synopsis was entirely accurate, there were 2 factors that completely destroyed my enjoyment of this book. The first was the lesser of the two evils. The writing in this book was very simplistic, and very conversational. When I blog, many times I use a conversational tone, but I am aware that there are times where my writing needs to be a bit more professional. The writing in this book didn’t feel polished to me. There were many sentences that would…. well, that would look something like…. like this, actually. Lots of ellipses, lots of repetition, and not much complexity to the writing. There also were way too many mentions of raised or arched eyebrows for such a short (256 page) book. Of course, I read an ARC, so it’s possible there were some changes before the book was published, but the copy I read had writing that frustrated me at times.

The second factor that ruined the book for me was the main character. I didn’t like her, and I certainly didn’t root for her. In fact, I had to put this book down for 2 months when I first started reading this book because of how stupid she was. She initiates and perpetuates a rivalry into eternity, and never once takes responsibility for her actions or admits she was to blame. Instead she plays the victim card over and over again, when in reality she caused 99% of her problems.

Because the main character was so unlikable, I had a very hard time enjoying the romance aspect, which was very sparse indeed. The main character refuses to admit that she likes him for most of the book, and continues to fight with him and make both their lives miserable even after they get together. She’s selfish and makes a terrible romantic interest. I honestly don’t know what Reid, the love interest, saw in her to love.

With that being said, these are issues that are subjective. If you’re ever in the mood of a book that features cooking and sabotage all day long, you need to look no further. But if you’re looking for a cute culinary romance, I’d suggest you look elsewhere.

I was smiling like I was on sugar rush throughout the whole book. I love YA contemporaries for its cute romance and I’m so glad that this book had that.

The story is set around for food, which immediately gets a billion brownie points for me. I was drooling since the very first line and it had me rummaging through the fridge even though I just had dinner a few hours earlier. Carter Lane doesn’t come from a well off family and she applies for a scholarship competition by winning which she can enter into the school of her dreams. But she meets another contestant Reid Yamada and both become instant rivals, trying to sabotage each other’s chances. And on top of that, there is a spark between them that they both can’t deny.

The book is basically a dramatised version of Masterchef where we get to experience the whole thing through the contestants eyes. We get to see the nerves, the tension cutting through them and all the rivalry.

Carter is easily likeable although she can be very immature at times. I loved how confident she was of her cooking and how she felt at home in the kitchen. But there was little to none character development and there was something distant about her that made me not fall in love with her.

If I read this book a year earlier, I probably would’ve rated Reid 5 stars just for his looks and his smirk. And I still find Reid cute but I don’t see any reason for him being such an a**hole in the first part. His actions weren’t justified and he too doesn’t go through much character development. Also he was not given much of a background to connect with.

Overall, loved the romance and the little competition but the characters need a little more work. Read this if you’re looking for a light fluffy read to make you smile a bit. Also if you’re hungry and looking for visual images to satisfy the hunger.

God, I sound like a judge from one of the cooking shows. Fitting for this book, isn’t it? 😉

This was Carter's shot at her future. If she won the competition, she would have a full ride to culinary school, which was an important step towards achieving her dream. The only problem came in the form of an extremely handsome teen chef, who was bent on challenging her every step of the way.

I am a fan of hate-to-love romances, and the pranks were sort of funny. However, I will admit that the story really picked up for me when Reid and Carter were forced to work together, and the angst was turned down a notch.

I actually loved Reid and Carter together. They shared a great dynamic, and I enjoyed the way they played off each other. There was one moment in the book, which stood out to me. It was depicting a sexual encounter, and there were so many things done well. We are starting to see more and more explicit consent in books, and I was glad to see it here, however, there was also this point, where the character checked herself, and made sure she wasn't getting caught up in the moment. There was something about the way it was done, which made a real impression upon me, and I think it's great for teens to see examples like this.

Now let's talk about Reid. He kept winning me over again and again. He would do these little things to show Carter that he cared, and I may have swooned or let out an audible "awww" here and there. He didn't just shower her with affection though, he supported her, and built her up, when she really needed it. Carter wasn't the most confident about her skills, and felt like she didn't belong in the competition, but Reid reminded her, that she earned her spot and deserved to be there. This helped her with her self-growth, and who wouldn't want a guy who not only makes you swoon, but also builds you up?

This was a pretty intense competition, and Shrum threw in a mix of challenges along with all the signature drama commonly found on any cooking reality show. That's why I loved the group of friends she assembled for Carter. Her core group was quite diverse, and they formed a bond over their love for food, never letting the competition sully their friendship.

It was great that Carter was able to find her "people" at school, but she was also lucky to have such an awesome family waiting for her at home. We only get bits and pieces of her family via phone calls, memories, and messages, but they are definitely a good bunch of people, who I would have liked to get to know better.

Oh! It was so hard reading the food scenes, because I just wanted to taste it all. Shrum paints a rich picture, and describes each dish in such detail, that my saliva glands were working overtime. I don't even like to cook, and I was sort of inspired to go make something.

And the ending! It left me in a really elated state. I mean, with an ending like that, it doesn't even matter what happened at any other point in the book. But seriously, this was a fun teen Top Chef, which made me hungry and left me with a smile.

I enjoyed this one, but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I had heard other readers who loved it, so I had to try it, but it was just a so-so read for me.

The Art of French Kissing contains all the ingredients that I enjoy in a book (romance + food) but I am sad to say that the end result was a total let down. The book did not correctly follow the recipe to making a delicious story, so instead it had bad dialogue, a not well developed storyline, generic writing and a childlike character with a behavior that was borderline annoying. In other words, I did not enjoy this book as much as I wanted to.

Carter Lane has loved cooking since she was a child, and her greatest aspiration is to become a famous chef. When she is accepted to her dream college and their summer scholarship cooking competition, Carter is nervous and excited about the possibilities. When a boy named Reid messes up the first competition for Carter, they begin a hate filled relationship full of sabotage and tricks. As the competition progresses, Carter finds herself questioning her abilities and being attracted to Reid. Can they overcome their competitive natures and be together, or will the competition get the best of their relationship?
This book definitely made me want to watch cooking competitions and make food myself. The writing was so descriptive that this book made me hungry each time the competitors made their dishes. The romance between Carter and Reid crackled across the pages, and even though they were both jerks to each other, I was rooting for their relationship to succeed. I liked Riya's supportive and kind attitude towards Carter, and I was glad that all of the characters weren't unkind jerks like Andrew. I didn't care for the abundant profanity (so many f-bombs), and I didn't like the sexual content either, though it wasn't very graphic. There was a part in the beginning of the book that was especially blasphemous, and that made me so sick to my stomach that I almost didn't read the book. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cooking and romance (as long as you don't mind the things I just mentioned).
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This was a short, quick, and fun read, This is obviously meant as a lighthearted novel and I enjoyed it as such. The characters were all cute and quirky. The plot dragged at times, but for the most part was interesting. Of course, the romance was adorable and enjoyable. Overall, this is a fun book to read at the airport or at the park.

As much as I love historical fiction and dystopian adventures, this was a nice break from the heavy stuff. No one dies, for one thing. What starts with a grilled cheese sandwich ends with lasting relationships. Maybe not the type of book I would typically hunt for, but the title and premise of the book are eye catching and didn't disappoint.