Scotland, cooking, and Jane Austen! This was a fun retelling of Persuasion set in the Edinburgh restaurant scene. Will appeal to readers looking for a light escape and second chance romance.

First off, I love a good romance set in the UK, and so I was instantly interested in this book with its Scottish setting. It features descriptive language that draws you as the reader in and it stars two equally intriguing perspectives of Susan and Chris. However, the exposition is super slow and takes nearly half the book for anything to actually happen. It almost feels like there's too much backstory, and you are just waiting and waiting for some action and intrigue. Then, some side characters aren't fully fleshed out and introduced, which is confusing at first to figure out who they are and how they relate to the main characters. I wanted to love this book, however, nothing truly excites me about this slow, slow, slow-burn romance. Susan and Chris have a smidge of chemistry but nothing goes further than that and I just wanted something more than just a family-friendly romance with no heat or sparks. There are some sweet or funny moments, but those are few in number.

Great summer read, Jane Austen feel to this page turner. Gives you a warm fuzzy feeling without the sickly sweetness of a typical romance novel. This one is truly a rose with thorns!

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

I'm a sucker for anything Jane Austen inspired and this one did not disappoint!

So apparently this is a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, but having never read it, I jumped into All Stirred Up without any knowledge of how things would go. Well, it's a contemporary romance, so there's obviously some knowledge of how things will turn out, but it's always the ride there that makes the ending worthwhile, and this book has a fun one. All Stirred Up is a story of family, forgiveness, and food that made me smile and made my stomach grumble!

Susan Napier is a wonderful leading lady. She's determined, caring, and talented, and what's more, she's not afraid to do what needs to be done in order to save her grandfather's restaurant business. I loved Susan's knack for getting the right people in the right positions to optimize the restaurant, even if that meant stepping on some toes. Of course, those toes deserved to be stepped on, and it was Susan's honesty that really made me like her. However, honesty wasn't always her strong suit, and that's part of what lead to her break-up with Chris Baker so many years before.

Chris himself has a complicated story, but he also had some issues with honesty before his determination and skills in the kitchen earned him celebrity status. When Chris and Susan end up back in the same city fighting for the futures of their respective restaurants, sparks fly once again, and the pair are forced to reevaluate what they think to be true and decide whether their busy schedules will ever give them a second chance.

Although the romance is probably meant to be the main aspect of this story, the main thing that stood out to me--and what made me interested in the story in the first place--was the food. I've been on a major kick with food fiction, and this book took a deep dive into the kitchen and all its related chaos. Susan is a pastry chef while Chris is a more general cook, and it was very interesting to read about the different techniques that go into the different types of food preparation. I especially liked the mentor-trainee relationship between Chris and Rab and later between Susan and Rab as a way to show that the world of the kitchen is a family unto itself and that talent can come from all sorts of unexpected places and people.

I will say that aside from Rab and a few others, the secondary characters really didn't do much for me. I found Susan's family in particular to be quite irritating most of the time, but I'm sure if I had read and loved Persuasion that I might have a different opinion of them. Then again, Lydia is annoying in every adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that I've read or watched, so maybe it's just that Austen liked to write annoying families to make the main character that much more likable. Nonetheless, they play an important role in the story, so I just rolled my eyes at their antics and moved on.

Overall, All Stirred Up is a fun read. It's not perfect, but I loved the food/restaurant aspect, and the second-chance romance made me smile.

A book especially for foodies! Enjoyed the fun in the novel too! A fun light hearted read for all to enjoy and lose themselves

Sweet, escapist, and fun. All Stirred Up is a great addition to collections where foodie romances are popular.

A nice enjoyable read with a second chance romance and a lot of great food talk. I mean, I wanted to put the book down and start cooking or baking something really 😅
I can’t say I got close to live any character but I enjoyed their banter and how each one was trying to give the best of them to earn that place.
It’s funny at times and a light read that many people will enjoy.

I was really looking forward to reading this but it just fell a bit flat with me. I don't know why, there was nothing I could put my finger on but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.

I won't let it put me off this author, I'd definitely be willing to try another of her books, I just don't think this is the one.

DNF @ 25%

All Stirred Up by Brianne Moore is a modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion set in the world of high end restaurants. Susan Napier has returned to Edinburgh to help out the flagship restaurant her family has been running hers her late grandfather founded it. But her past love, Chris Baker, is also in town and the old hurts and lingering feelings continue to simmer. Will everything boil over or will Susan and Chris find a happily ever after?

This is my first book by Brianne Moore and I have to admit I was mostly drawn in by the cover blurb. I'm a huge sucker for a Scottish accent and will read anything that has a grumpy chef as a character. I found the characters of Susan and Chris to be well developed and engaging even if I am not usually a fan of the second chance romance trope. Moore's descriptions of the food were excellent and definitely should not be read on an empty stomach. I couldn't help but imagine Gordon Ramsay's voice for Chris which only furthered my enjoyment.

This book was pretty light and fluffy compared to my usual reads which is probably why I found myself struggling through completing it. I think if you're the type of reader that enjoys lighter fare you'll fall in love with this story. You don't have to be a fan of Austen to enjoy this novel. but die hards will enjoy the parallels. For some readers of romance this may seem a bit slow, or too close to the rom-com end of the spectrum which is s why I'm giving this a 3 star review. I prefer a bit more meat on the bones of my romances, but overall found no major qualms with the book.

ARC received from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

When I read the description for this book I was really excited.
However as I started reading I found I was bored.
The story takes forever to get started and it felt like it was going at a snails pace honestly.
I powered through and finished this book hoping with every chapter that the story would pick up but it totally fell flat for me.
Overall I was really disappointed with this book and can only give it 1 star.

A very sweet, fun retelling of Persuasion taking place in the last remaining family-owned restaurant of a former chain.

Susan, the owner of the restaurant, has recently returned to Edinburgh after the London restaurant closed. Chris, a celebrity chef, has returned to Edinburgh to open a restaurant of his own. He and Susan have a history - he formerly worked in her family's restaurant, and they had a relationship that came to a screeching halt. They both hold grudges which, over the course of the book, are worked through.

I very much enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more of this author's work in the future!

This is the first time I have read this author and I really loved the story of Susan and Chris. This story has a surprise in it that Susan didn't know. Sometimes family who love you can do more to hurt you than help you. As with everything in life nothing is prefect. A GOOD READ.

Restaurants, renovations and romance fill All Stirred Up by Brianne Moore. Set in beautiful Edinburgh Moore conjures up a charming town and lovable characters. Susan’s family sold off their restaurants after her grandfather and mother’s passing and father’s poor management except for the original one. So she and her family return to Edinburgh so she can take over running the remaining one. Once she arrives she learns her old boyfriend Chris, now a celebrity chef, is opening his own place there. The two keep running into each other and their interactions add the will they or won’t they that kept me reading late into the night. It was great seeing Susan work to keep her family’s legacy alive and to turn around a struggling business. I loved seeing Chris mentor a kid from his rough neighborhood. After this Scottish escape I would definitely want to see these charters that Moore has created again.

This is the most delightful retelling of Persuasion I have ever read! If you love Austen and food, you're in for a treat. By stating true to some the best eccentric details form the source material, Moore manages to combine the familiar with the new in delicious ways. Readers get an inside look at the world of restaurant ownership alongside a walking tour of Edinburgh, Scotland that will have you longing to jump on a plane and explore the city. Don't miss this one!

Everything about this novel is so darn lovely; Moore's "All Stirred Up" is the cuttest retelling of Jane Austen's "Persuasion", an ideal, light and quick read to get your mind off of things.

This book was lighthearted and fun.
Synopsis: Susan Napier is set to save the dying line of her grandfather's renowned restaurants, Elliot's, by returning to her hometown set in Edinburgh. She quickly discovers that her ex, Chris Baker, a former chef who came up under her grandfather's tutelage is opening his own super trendy up and coming restaurant in the same down. Chris has just returned from American television fame and everyone has their eyes set on his new place. Susan must overcome her heartache, guilt for the way she ended the relationship, and the stress of rebuilding and rebranding a dying restaurant.

My thoughts:
I enjoyed this book very much. Moore wove a cute romance amidst the backdrop of the restaurant industry. Her insights into the kitchens and "chef-politics" was spot on and I really appreciated her raw revelations. I happen to love her explanation of baking. I know the book was based on Persuasion- and I have to admit it - I haven't read it- so I can't speak to that theme, but I enjoyed this book and thought it was lighthearted and fun and would recommend it to anyone who ever worked in the restaurant industry, relieves stress by baking, or likes a fun romance novel. I gave it 3.5 stars.

This book was great! I really enjoyed the plot and the characters, and I even forgot it was loosely based on Persuasion until almost the very end. Great read that I'll definitely recommend to others!

What a cute book! I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the cooking & baking aspect too. Fun read!

This was a cute read, both the main characters, Chris and Susan were a likeable and engaging.
I enjoyed their story of finding their way back to each other, especially because food was involved. The additional cast of supporting characters added to the charm of the story.