This started out super cute and then had a strange tonal shift halfway through that it can't recover from.

This was not my favorite romance read. The romance between the characters falls flat because they don't have much chemistry which can make or break a romance book. The character building is also something I wasn't a fan of. Overall, it was okay but definitely can skip.

This sounded like such a fun premise and I loved the energy on the cover, but the hero being pretentious and having harmful behaviors just doesn’t appeal to me.

A food based rom com! Lumi has lost her restaurant and now she's working for Julian who might be a great chef but he's not a great guy. Or is he? They both tell this story of opposites who attract and while yes, it's trope-y, it's also fun. I liked the representation (and the recipes). Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc. A good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I know a lot of people don't really like this book and I understand why. I know the book can get a bit confusing and sometimes you just want to punch the main hero in the face for being an ass about 40% of the time. But I do like Lumi as a main character. She is Dominican and a chef and for a brief moment she had her dreams come true by owning her own restaurant, but then the money was not coming in so she starts to work for Julien and pompous ass who is a chef and owns a modern French Style restaurant and does not like things to change. I liked how the story went and by the end I was rooting for Lumi and Julien.

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one. I felt that the romance was rushed and I wasn’t buying into the chemistry between the characters. The love scenes felt robotic and not romantic at all. Throughout the story I just didn’t really care about the characters. The recipes were also very distracting and took me out of the story consistently.

This is the second book I read by Yaffa S. Santos and I feel like her writing style is not for me. The recipes in the book are great which does add to the story. However, the food overshadows the characters, leaving a lack of character development. I did enjoy the dual POV, I think this adds dimension to any story. Unfortunately, the things I enjoyed were eclipsed by the forced writing and the lack of depth to Lumi’s and relationship with Julien. The story had so much potential, but fell flat for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my e-copy! All opinions are my own.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

While I was initially very excited for this book, the more I heard, the more I realized I would be unable to read this book. I am unable to rate this fairly.

I really appreciated getting the chance to review a review copy of this story, but ultimately, I struggled to make it past the first few pages. I didn't find the writing engaging and have struggled to try and get back into it, to no avail. This may just be a case of the book not being for me, but being something else others would find engaging and valuable.

While this was an interesting concept, the book just wasn't what I was hoping it would be. I didn't see the chemistry between the characters.

Meet Lumi Santana, who has an extraordinary gift. She can read a person's emotions by tasting what they've cooked. Always believing fairy tales and happy endings, she puts all of her heart, soul and life savings into opening a restaurant.

Sadly, this doesn't pan out so she starts working as a sous chef at a restaurant downtown. The problem is that she doesn't get along at all with the sharp tongued Julien Dax.

After a while she reluctantly tastes Julien's food and is shocked by everything she feels. This complicates things and she has to decide if eating his food is worth it at all. Not only can her stomach not handle it, but her heart is in danger too.

A Taste of Sage 🍝

Thank you to @harpercollins for a gifted copy #partner of this adorable book and for making me gain 10 pounds after finishing reading it.

This book was SO YUMMY!!!!!
Between the budding romance and the abundance of meals being cooked, this book both filled my belly and my heart.
I loved their competitive nature, the way the MC didn’t want to give up on her own dreams, and the descriptive language that they used to describe every meal and had me salivating.
This was a quick read and a perfect palate cleanser!

This book was really amazing and I really enjoyed it! I love any story having to do with food or romance, and a book that combines them is even better.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

This had a promising start, but then just got bizarre. The romance was meh and characters were not well-developed. There were also many minor incidents that were dropped in to move the plot along, but most were irrelevant and absurd, leaving too man6 loose ends: the relationship with the ex, Julien’s father, esp. the brief phone call that led to Esme helping with pastry, lack of closure with Esme, Richard and Rafe reuniting, etc.

It was a trial to get through and I gave it 2 * only because I managed to finish it. Where the heck was the editor on this one? I can’t believe Harper published what felt like a first draft.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Harper Collin through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I desperately wanted to love this book. It's so rare to see Dominican culture represented in any way, so that made me extra excited to read this. And it was cute for the first part... the relationship between the two leads was a little forced but overall cute. But then this book got weird. It has some fantastical elements that seemingly came out of nowhere, and the characters would often say things or act in ways that made zero sense to the kind of character they had been for the rest of the book. Ultimately, I finished reading it because it was so bizarre that I just needed to know how it ended. I would read this author again but I do think this book could have used a more thorough developmental edit. There's some good stuff in there but it's buried by incomprehensible character choices and implausible events.

Unfortunately this book just didn't work for me. It started out really strong and I love the professional kitchen setting of it. But I just didn't buy the chemistry between the main characters, and they both seemed to flip flop on emotions without a bridge or reasoning. I just didn't buy the romance and the resolution felt misogynistic.

Every time I open this book it makes me hungry as hell. I love how there are recipes infused within the chapters, but readers beware -- don't read this on an empty stomach!

This was a fun, light-hearted romance with lots of delicious recipes entwined within the story.
Lumi and Julien were really beautiful characters with flaws and emotions that drive both of their actions. I really enjoyed their blossoming romance and steamy scenes for sure.
Thank you to Netgalley for my advanced readers copy!