This story can be read as a standalone, I haven’t read the other books in the series. This book is great for small town romance readers and those love the grumpy and sunshine trope and culinary romances. It was a sweet and easy to read story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Tawni and Owen. Tawni is a psychologist at a school. Owen is chef and owner of a restaurant. Tawni’s aunt wins a trip to Summer Creek. She gives it to Tawni, because her job is hard emotionally. One of the perks of the trip is she is given a couple of hours training with a chef, Owen. They rub each other the wrong way. Tawni goes back home but not before someone offers her a job in Summer Creek for the summer. She returns to Summer Creek. There is an instant attraction. They start dating. They fall in love.

A story set in a small town that has a once big-time and big-city chef Owen Thorpe agreeing to the fundraiser for the local community, though it is really against everything in him. He does not like anybody in his kitchen and can barely tolerate his staff some days. Twani Young is gifted the prize when her Aunt and uncle win so she is looking forward to time away from her job and relaxing at Summer Creek. All goes well until she meets the chef she had always hoped to meet and he turns out to be a jerk thinking that she does not know how to cook but actually does and then the next day he has to apologize. They work together and from there, the story takes off. Turns out to be a good story.

This was a very sweet love story with a bit of silliness mixed in. I loved every moment of this book and look forward to reading Hatfield's other stories.

Owen used to be a famous chef who relocated to the small town of Summer Creek after inheriting his uncle’s house and land. Owen is not looking forward to tutoring anyone in his kitchen. And when Tawni arrives and is much more attractive than he anticipated, he does his best to discourage her in various ways, hoping she’ll quit the cooking course. Tawni is actually very good at cooking and used to look up to Owen, knowing him from his days as a celebrity chef on TV.
I had a bit of trouble with Owen being a cranky jerk to Tawni because he didn’t like her ‘invading his kitchen’ after he himself agreed to give her a four day cooking workshop. If you agree, you know someone will be in your kitchen and then you should do as you promised. So he was a total jerk but after meeting her again when she’s staying in town for the summer, he suddenly invited to teach her on his day off, at his house? That I would consider someone in your personal space, and all that on a rare day off? That is O.K. but having her in his restaurant is not?! I found that a bit weird. And Owen being “tense, on edge, short-tempered, and cranky” (Tawni’s words) was a bit of a turn-off for me. But after that first encounter Owen showed Tawni that he really is a nice guy. Tawni is also very sweet and the Summer Creek community is a very loving, tight-knit community. You get to know all the secondary characters and it is clear some of them starred in previous books. The way the story is written makes you want to read about them, too.
The pace is very easygoing, a bit slow maybe, but you do get a feel about country life, where the pace is slower than in a big city. The writing often paints a beautiful picture of what is happening:
<i>Since it was nearing noon, Owen seared a handful of scallops in butter, topped them with the sauce he’d created, and added a generous serving of risotto to his plate. After pouring a cup of coffee, he sat down at the table and ate his meal, critiquing flavors and textures with each bite. Not bad for out-of-season produce and scallops that had been in the freezer. It was nearly impossible to get fresh seafood in Summer Creek right now. He made a mental note to add more lemon to the sauce and less asparagus to the risotto and to serve the meal with a hearty whole-wheat dinner roll on the side. Perhaps he’d check with Gabe Gatlin and see if he’d bring back fresh scallops the next time he was on a coastal trip. Owen leaned back and glanced out the small window by the table, another reason he liked to work there.</i>
Big pro: a clean story. Better to invest in the emotional relationship IMO.
Con: hearing ‘dead people’. Weird and fake, it has no place in a book.
I loved the new mailbox!
And last but not least: I love the brookies recipe at the end of the book!
Great idea by the way to use a toy to put dino tracks into sugar cookies.
All in all a light and easy read, a sweet and feel-good story!
Thank you Netgalley, Shanna Hatfield and Wholesome Hearts Publishing for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a nice, clean romance set in a small town. The characters were all good, this is apparently part of a series but I did not read the previous books and pickup up quickly. The secondary characters were quirky (a princess, a goofy goat...) and added to the small town feel. An easy, sweet read.

Challenging the Chef by Shanna Hatfield is a heartwarming culinary romance set in the charming town of Summer Creek. Chef Owen Thorpe's peaceful life is disrupted when he's forced to participate in a fundraising auction package that includes cooking with him in his restaurant, and the last thing he expects is an amateur chef invading his domain. The story beautifully blends city sophistication with small-town charm, creating an endearing clash and palpable tension between the characters. The incorporation of a cooking competition and vivid culinary descriptions make the story mouthwatering for food enthusiasts. Tawni Young, the relatable leading lady, adds depth to the romance with her intelligence, independence, and passion for cooking. The supporting characters and tight-knit community of Summer Creek add warmth to the story. Shanna Hatfield's storytelling brings the characters and setting to life, making this book a delightful treat for romance and food lovers alike.

I was delighted to read another book by Shanna Hatfield after quite some time, and I am grateful for finding this little gem on Netgalley. The book had me craving for the delicious food described throughout the story.

The story follows a wholesome romance between a city girl and the small-town charm she falls in love with, except for Chef Owen Thorpe, whom she finds rude and disappointing. Owen and Tawni have a rough start with each other, but the plot thickens when Owen's nephew Austin comes to live with him for three weeks during the summer while Tawni returns to Summer Creek to work in the nursery. Tawni discovers a new side of Owen that he keeps to himself.

The story flows well and is enjoyable to read. The characters are relatable, and the plot has real-life drama thrown in along the way.

This is a sweet, wholesome romance about a city girl that gets drawn in to small-town charms and falls in love with everything about the town *except* the Chef, who she finds to be rude and disappointing.

Of course, the story gets good when they keep getting thrown together and sparks fly regardless of how much neither of them want that to happen.

I love how they tied in a cooking competition to the small town theme. And included fantastic descriptions for us foodies…I was hungry and inspired to bake after reading this 😅😋

My favorite character was definitely Tawni, because she was so relatable. She was smart and independent so she didn’t come off as a pushover, yet she was overall very much a Suzy homemaker and super tender…which I don’t feel like I see very much in romance novels anymore.

There are also very lovable side characters who we get to see quite a bit of as the town comes together time after time to help each other. I love that whole vibe, so now I definitely want to read about the rest of the town in the other books in the series.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Wholesome Hearts Publishing for allowing me the privilege of reading a complementary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Challenging the Chef is a super sweet clean romance by Shanna Hatfield that is simply super wonderful too. Chef Owen Thorpe is more than a little CO about his restaurant kitchen, but that may be the way many top chefs behave. I so enjoyed seeing Tawni Young mess with that. For if anyone needed shaking up it was Owen.

This is a slow burn and building romance especially since Owen has trouble for quite a while being in the same space as Tawni. It is a remarkable fate that she ever gave him a chance at friendship let alone romance. For a patient, kind female lead, and a grumpy uncommunicating male who makes a habit out of sabotaging his chance at true love, this is one to read. You will cheer Owen on when he finally opens his heart to Tawni.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a complimentary digital copy. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, my personal opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

It may have been family that brought him to Summer Creek, but Owen has found he prefers the slower pace that the town offers over the life he has left behind. Under duress he finds himself agreeing to auction off the opportunity to work in his kitchen for one week however the feelings he is developing for Tawni, the winner, were not part of the package.

When her aunt wins the auction Tawni is happy to not only escape her life for a little while but to have the opportunity to learn from a chef she has always admired. She didn’t expect him to be so irritable and infuriating but when they find themselves spending the summer together, she realizes that there is a lot she doesn’t know about him.

This is an enchanting romance as Tawni and Owen find love where they least expect it with the help of the town and the people who live there.

Tawni is given a trip to summer creek and to meet the chef that she has had a crush on for a long time .when she does meet him they do not get along. but she comes back to help poppy in the nursery. and Owen takes time off to watch his nephew when his mother has to go out of town. this is a wonderful story and the way Cricket takes to Austin is great, this is a heart warming story if you like animals kids ,and cowboys you will love this story. Shanna writes wonderful stories i was given a copy of the book but this is an honest review