Loved it. Entertaining and enjoyable tale. Family issues. Interesting characters. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. I look forward to reading more by this author. I appreciate finding this story.

This is a brilliantly written contemporary romance with likable characters and a constant undercurrent of humor. Rory Perez inherits a food truck from her aunt, but she has no clue how to actually cook Mexican food. Nevertheless, she tries to make it a success for the sake of Grady and Nicole, the real chef and her best friend. Having the money she needs to keep the food truck running is Rory’s priority, so she is more than a little incensed when one of the town’s wealthiest residents asks for cooking lessons and then becomes her rival in the cooking contest. Jude Worthington is a lawyer but wants to be a cook and own his own food truck. There are some really funny scenes between these two as Rory who is clueless tries to teach Jude how to cook. The text messages between the two are priceless and chuckle-worthy. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this story of two stubborn people who have to find themselves before they can find each other. With themes of self-acceptance, forgiveness and trust, this is a book not to be missed by those who enjoy clean contemporary romance, with a dash of cilantro, a few tears and a whole lot of smiles.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell via Netgalley since I am a member of the Revell Reads Blogger Tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Rory Perez is struggling to keep her late aunt’s legendary food truck afloat. An opportunity presents itself in the form of a festival contest for best food truck with a huge money prize that could just be the answer to all of Rory’s problems. Jude is miserable working at his family owned law firm and wants to follow his passion which is cooking. With the festival quickly approaching, Jude reaches a compromise with his father: if he wins the competition he is free to leave the firm and pursue his dream. When Rory and Jude clash as competitors things only complicate even more when they both discover that the other is actually the person they have been talking to online for months via an anonymous dating app. Only time will tell if these two chefs can put aside their differences and give love a chance in the enemies to lovers romance.


I was VERY torn with this one because I really wanted to love it. The first thing that caught my eye was this gorgeous cover and adorable name. I love a good foodie romance and when that food is tacos, I am SOLD. Lets start off with the thing’s I enjoyed: , the story was very cute and I enjoyed the DM’s between Rory and Jude, Hannah was the most precious character and I adored her and I did enjoy reading about all of the yummy Mexican food. Rory and Jude’s romance just seemed underdeveloped to me given that they don’t really interact that much, as this is a romance novel I was really expecting Jude and Rory’s relationship to be front and center where it really wasn’t which ultimately just made it really hard for me to connect to this story and the characters. I wish there was more focus on their budding romance instead of the sibling rivalry and family drama on Jude’s side. I also Jude’s approach to Rory in the beginning really rubbed me the wrong way and I do thing he used her even if he claims otherwise. I really enjoyed the epilogue which brought full focus on their relationship in the end but it ultimately came off as too little too late for me. There was also some major miscommunication involved which is personally one of my pet peeves while reading a romance, where the drama could be avoided if the characters just communicate. Also, I am a big fan of some STEAM in my romance read where as this book was more clean and did not really contain any steam. If you are a foodie and a big fan of You’ve Got Mail I feel like you will really enjoy this one, unfortunately it just missed the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Amant
Published: October 12, 2021
Revell
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Betsy St. Amant is the author of more than fifteen inspirational romances, including The Key to Love, and a frequent contributor to iBelieve.com. She lives in north Louisiana with her husband, two daughters, a collection of Austen novels, and an impressive stash of pickle-flavored Pringles. When she's not composing her next book or trying to prove unicorns are real, Betsy can usually be found somewhere in the vicinity of a white chocolate mocha--no whip.

“I have a feeling it will be worth it.”

Rory has a lot on her plate. Upholding her family honor takes up the largest portion. As the stress and weight become more and more intense, Rory realizes something has to give. This is where her maybe dating app boyfriend comes in. He gets it. Gets her. They have an easy conversation. Flirt shamelessly. This has the potential to be a forever type of deal. Jude is expected to follow in his father's footsteps. Be a lawyer in the family firm. Continue the intimidating legacy that comes with the name. But Jude’s heart is in the kitchen.

Oh goodness. This was such a charming, sweet, original, beyond lovely love story. I enjoyed the way the story played out. The pacing was perfect, and I love how connected, but chaotic everything was.

The characters were so lovely. Rory is such a beautiful character. She is so realistic. She has so many real emotions and feelings, and her struggles are so natural. Her heart and compassion were so vivid throughout the book.

Jude was the perfect leading man. He is so motivated and a dreamer, but a complete romantic. There is so much integrity in his character, and his honesty was refreshing.

The side characters were the perfect compliments to the storyline. I loved the way some classics were woven throughout the novel as well.

Some epic one-liners will make you laugh out loud. This story is engaging, fun, sweet, infuriating, and impossible to put down—a whole new meaning to taco Tuesday. Get ready to swoon!

I was drawn to this book because of the adorable illustrated cover and food truck competition subplot. Tacos for Two starts out strong, with flirty banter between the hero and heroine as they interact via an online dating app. The references to You've Got Mail are plentiful and entertaining. There are several interactions between the heroine and secondary characters that made me smile. Hannah steals the show, in my opinion. She's my favorite character. Her wisdom is shared with grace, and her loyalty to her family is so refreshing.
To be honest, I struggled to stay engaged with the story as it progressed. While the characters do eventually demonstrate growth, their motivations become a bit convoluted. Miscommunication is not my favorite plot device, either. The heroine relies on her false assumptions and her complicated relationship with her father to justify her lousy attitude toward the hero, instead of sitting down and having a meaningful conversation.
Tacos for Two is categorized as a Christian romance. I'd describe it as more of a wholesome romance, since the faith element is subtle to non-existent. Fans of small-town romances with strong You've Got Mail energy will enjoy this story. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions shared here are my own.

Tacos for Two is a story about Rory, a conflicted food truck owner, and Jude, a lawyer eager to enter the world of food trucks in Texas. The great descriptions of the food left me searching for snacks as I was reading - I couldn't stop thinking about Nachos and Oreos. It's a cute interpretation of the "You've Got Mail" plot (or the "Shop Around the Corner" for classic movie fans), a fact that they call out in the book. I enjoyed that they worked in the family dynamics for both of the lead characters, it managed to add some depth to the characters.

While I applaud the diversity in the book, I'm not sure how i feel about Jude (a white man) deciding he wants to have a taco truck because of the influence of his Mexican housekeeper when he was a child. This felt a little weird to me, but the story is set in Texas, so maybe it's a function of the setting?

Overall, a fun, easy to read Rom Com.

It was easy to like Rory. You could see right from the start that she had some baggage from past hurts and that she genuinely cared about the people she felt responsible for.

She continued to work at making her family’s food truck a viable business though it was not what she wanted as a career. 

Jude was also stuck in a job he hated with family who were manipulative and underhanded but I respect him for trying to stand up for himself.
There were so many times when I hoped they could have been friends but Rory was so quick to jump to conclusions that sometimes I just wanted to smack her. I get why she had relationship phobia, I really do, but she was so determined to think the worst of Jude that it was downright annoying.

A lot of their misunderstandings could have been avoided if she had asked some pointed questions instead of jumping to conclusions. Because of this, the in-person romance was light but the online romance was sweet. I would have liked to see more of them being real with each other on the page, but overall Tacos for Two was a good read.

The reader will be reminded that regardless of how horribly a person behaves towards you, they're not the enemy. And even if they were, God calls us to love our enemies and to forgive those who have trespassed against us.

I received an advanced reader's copy from the publisher through NetGalley and the Revell Reads program; a positive review was not required.

Tacos, romance, the hidden identity trope, You’ve Got Mail, what more could you want from a book. It was actually the cover of this book that first drew me to it. Then I read the synopsis and knew I wanted to read it. And I was not disappointed.

This was such a fun book. I loved the way Betsy St. Amant included the online conversations and the fact that both Rory and Jude’s perspectives were shown. I also really loved all the You’ve Got Mail references.

I’ve spoken about what I loved now for what I didn’t like. And the biggest part I didn’t like was Warner and Hollis. Yes, Warner did get slightly better throughout the book.

This is an enemies-to-lovers story. I am starting to enjoy enemies-to-lovers stories, but the thing I didn’t like about this book was that at times I felt like I couldn’t understand why Rory hated Jude so much. I could understand a little bit, but it also felt too much at times.

Despite that, I still really enjoyed this book. It was a unique concept and I really enjoyed Betsy’s writing. I have read some of Betsy’s books before but I will definitely be checking more out soon.

This was such a cute modern day retelling of You’ve Got Mail. I love all of the references to the movies and looking back You’ve Got Mail was a bit ahead of its time. I did have a really hard time forgiving what Jude did to Rory. It happens fairly early in the book so I had a hard time seeing Jude as a good guy for Rory for the majority of the book. I honestly think it was really shady and unforgivable what he did to her. If you’re able to look past that though it’s a cute food truck love story. The exploration of do what you love vs do what you’re expected to do kept me interested to see where they would both end up. Both Jude and Rory have family obligations to continue with the jobs they’re currently in and for different reasons. If you love You’ve Got Mail, this is definitely a read for you!

Thank you to NetGalley, Betsy St. Amant and Revell for allowing me to read and review an ARC of Tacos for Two.

An enemies to lovers clean romance about two wanna be chefs in a small town food truck competition who are also unknowingly flirting on an anonymous dating app. Rory's running her Aunt's food truck after her death, but couldn't be the least interested in food. Jude is stuck in a family law firm with a puppeteering father and all he wants to do is cook his "mother figures" recipes and sharing them with the world. Both need the prize money to succeed, but both have been deceived by some lies they each have told.

Don't read while hungry! This was cute and sweet. Jude was swoon-worthy and you wanted to root for Rory. I didnt get why they kept comparing her to some girl. Did that ever get resolved or did I miss it? It is heavily based off "You've Got Mail." If you like sweet stories tied up in a nice bow this books is for you! I enjoyed it, but wasn't overly in love with this book. It was a bit predictable and too perfect. Overall 3.5

Tacos for Two is a fun romance told from Rory and Jude's perspectives, two rival food truck owners who also happen to have anonymously connected through an online dating service.

I liked the food aspect of the book and the cast of characters. In particular, Grady, Nicole and Hannah were all charming and supportive of Rory. I may have liked them even more than the main characters! I found it hard to connect with Rory in the beginning, but her character did have some great development throughout the book. Same for Jude, who was also at a career crossroads like Rory.

However, the one thing missing from Tacos for Two for me was more development and depth to the relationship between Rory and Jude. I loved their chat room conversations and all the You've Got Mail references, but in person, I didn't feel the chemistry or connection they had behind the screens. This is also a clean romance.

Overall, if you enjoy sweet romances centred around food (specifically tacos), check out Tacos for Two.

Thank you to Revell and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Tacos for Two is a delightful tale with a You've Got Mail vibe. I love that texts and messages between Rory and Jude quoted the movie. Rory is a spitfire who loves her family dearly. Jude is a disgruntled member of his family. The two of them show a very different side to their online counterparts than in person. Of course they don't know who the other really is and that's where the fun begins. If you want a light-hearted story with family insights and yummy food talk, you'll love Tacos for Two. Not to give anything away, but the heart of the story lies in a sweet Hannah. Read to find out who she is and why she's a blessing. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a fun, food-filled romance between two rival food truck owners who unbeknownst to them are also falling in love anonymously through a dating app. I loved the banter and the delicious food descriptions, this was an easy to read, feel good love story recommended for fans of Simmer down. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!

I was really looking forward to reading Tacos for Two, and it hooked me straight away with the dating app chat between Jude and Rory. This was a great feature of the storyline!

And then it became more about this odd dramatic storyline of sibling rivalry where the motives never made sense and plot line questions you weren’t ever asking yourself about were all wrapped up at the end.

The characters didn’t really have personalities other than loving the colour turquoise and drinking lavender tea (both mentioned multiple times, never to advance the storyline) and it wasn’t a feel good romance at all. I wasn’t cheering any of the characters on at any point.
The cover is super cute though, and it was a relatively easy read!

This started off cute but then quickly went downhill to the point where I could not wait to reach the end of this book.

Firstly, this book is way too long. There is so much unnecessary scenes that could be cut out because the story dragged at times.

Secondly, Rory annoyed me the more I read. She kept making assumptions and jumping to conclusions based on her figments of imagination. None of her assumptions of Jude were based on anything concrete. It was a cause for a frustrating read because Jude wouldn't know why she behaved the way she did and honestly neither did I.

Thirdly, I hope this was worked on for the final copy of the book but most of the text messages did not indicate whose message it was so trying to figure out who was saying what took more brain power than what I was willing to expend on this story.

The chemistry between Jude and Rory was minimal mainly because they didn't actually spend a lot of time together in the story. The most time they spent was with the cooking lesson and even that was average, nothing to indicate the spark.

This is the "You've Got Mail" Trope- two people meet and basically fall in love online but in real life, they are competing for something only to fall in love in person as well. Add in food trucks, food truck festival, and high stakes to a big cash prize. This has a little bit of everything in it, I love the food truck theme, with our H, Jude, wanting to win to break free from his father's law firm job, and our h, Rory, who just wants financial stability and to help pay for her cousin's special needs assisted living. It's funny, witty, hot and awesome!

This book was such a fun, sweet read! Betsy St. Amant did a masterful job of giving us two wounded characters and letting us watch them on their journeys to healing and wholeness. This book checked all my boxes: sweet romance, witty dialogue, high stakes, and, of course, tacos! I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys satisfying, happily ever after romance with lively characters. My teenage daughter already can't wait for it to come out so she can read it!!

Thank you NetGalley and Revell for the ARC of this book for an honest review.

This book has major You've Got Mail vibes written all over it!

This was a light hearted rom-com novel that had lots of potential. I thought it was good but I did not love it. I enjoyed the storyline but was a little annoyed by the main characters. I think they lacked a bit of chemistry between the two. Overall, I would not reread this book but it was a fun read.

This book was fine, just not for me. It was a light fluffy read, but there are certainly better options out there.

Thanks to Revell and NetGalley for an e-arc of Tacos for Two! I love You've Got Mail, so I was immediately attracted to the premise of this book: two strangers get to know (and start to fall for) each other online, while they unknowingly compete against each other in real life. It's a good set up, but this time it just fell flat for me. I did not care for Rory at all. I understand people have trust issues, but she jumped to the wrong conclusion about 50 times too many for me. I did like Jude for the most part, but SPOILER WARNING I couldn't get past him clearly using Rory and her cooking expertise to open his own food truck. I mean, what else would you call it? But the author sort of brushed in under the rug of "misunderstanding" and "Rory not trusting". That kind of irked me the whole time. Also, the first half of the book had almost no mention of faith or religion, but the second half was littered with it all of the sudden and it didn't feel authentic. It just felt weird. Overall, it was just ok. I finished it, but it's nothing to write home about (or bookstagram about lol).