As a newcomer to Amy Hutton's literary realm, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the sheer brilliance of her storytelling. I didn’t realise this was the second book in the series about hunky Ethan James but it is not necessary to read it as this could serve as a “stand alone” and you can still admire the masterpiece! However - if you want a better background and understanding of the charming main character and his down to earth and slightly complex backstory, it might make reading this book even better if you start there!

The writing style was a feast for the senses, the characters rich and multifaceted, and the chemistry between them crackled with an electricity that kept me eagerly turning each page. I adore a book with sheer good banter and this had the perfect amount!

The book's delightful concoction of reverse grumpiness and sunshine, expertly mixed by the author, gave it a unique flavour

Within its pages, I discovered a tale woven with the threads of resilience, as both Ethan and Hazel grapple with their pasts, seeking solace in each other's company as they bravely confront their demons and chase after their aspirations.i loved the originality of both characters- they were not stereotypical and each had their own quirks and not just a chef and movie star but personality with a punch!

Not to mention the adorable element of pets to appeal to dog or cat lovers- it caters to both!
An added bonus of being an Australian reader was of course appreciating the local mentions and being able to picture exactly the landscape of where this was taking place on the beautiful Sunshine Coast.

A heartfelt thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for granting me the privilege of delving into this enchanting world ahead of its release!

Well that was the most purrfectly cute romcom I have read in a while! The two main characters give literally black cat and golden retriever ( or in this case loveable jack Russell) energy.

What do you get when you combine a heartbroken actor and a down on her luck chef turned dog sitter? You get a lot of sassy banter, charming behaviour, animal antics and just a bit of soul searching and maybe even love? Some of the highlights of the story for me were:

- Kevin the cat, he ishis own vibe and I'm here for it!
- He falls first and hardest
- Reverse Grumpy x Sunshine
- Great Spice 🔥
- Fun banter
- Absolutely loved the little bits of Aussie slang I spotted throughout.

2.5 ⭐️

This book follows movie star Ethan and pet sitter Hazel in a sweet Aussie romance.

♥️ The good:

I liked the Aussie setting being an Aussie myself, I want to read more books where I recognise the place names and culture.
Kevin (the cat) and Harry (the dog) were the stars of the book. I too get personally offended when my cat likes someone more than me 👀

😞 The bad:

I don't think this book was for me.
I never really cared about either Ethan or Hazel, I didn't find either to be likeable so I was never invested in their romance. I'm also not a fan of instalove, they were both so into each other so quickly and I've never been able to relate to that. I thought Hazel came across as quite rude and Ethan lacked depth.

If you like a book with a cute and silly plot and funny pets as side characters this one may be for you!! It was just not for me unfortunately 😭

Thanks to NetGalley and Amy Hutton for providing the arc ♥️

First off the bat, if you haven't read Sit, Stay Love than you might want to do yourself a favour and give it a read and it has mentions through this book about some things from the other book. But could also read this as a standalone.

Thank you Simon and Schuster and netgalley for giving me a chance to read an ereader arc of this book.

This romcom was so cute, I was cheering on Hazel and Ethan's relationship the whole time, the banter that they both had in this book was great and I loved how they're pets knew that they would like each other. Hazel's grumpy to Ethan's sunshine was definitely the right amount and the nicknames were spot on.

Firstly I love that this book is set in Australia. I love that there is a cheeky cat that is the exact description of what a cat should be. I love opposites attract. I am a new fan of Amy Hutton and I am adding her to my must read along side Christina Lauran and Paige Toon.

This book is quirky, cute and funny. You will laugh out loud wherever you are. a great follow up to Sit, Stay, Love. Ethan and Hazel are hard not to love.

The Perfect rom com that ticks all the boxes in the best possible way. It has a naughty little dog that you can't help but love and a feline too. The romance is swooning as the Tv series kicks off so does the plot.

I enjoyed this light, funny and entertaining story!

The characters were unique in their own way, especially Hazel who is a chef turned dog minder due to her past experience.

I love that it is set in Australia being an Australian. I love the integration of Australian culture in the book.

Though I would’ve preferred more conflict across the book, the books was entertaining enough to keep me engaged all throughout

I can’t wait for more new things from Amy!

⭐⭐⭐⭐½

What a beautiful book! Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the Advanced Reader Copy.

I loved this book. I didn't know Love from Scratch was the second in a series, but thankfully it could be read as a stand alone. The romance was swoony, the characters flawed but loveable and the story was great. There was a small section in the middle where the story did slow down a little for me, but it picked up again quickly.

I loved the grumpy vs sunshine dynamic between Hazel and Ethan, and I really enjoyed that both characters were equally ambitious, and equally unapologetic about that fact.

As a fellow cat mum, I also loved the anguish that Kevin the cat put Hazel through. I've included the quote below to demonstrate what I mean 🤣

' 'You're really sweet, aren't you, Kev?' Ethan said.
'No, he's not sweet at all,' Hazel countered.
Who did this guy think he was, marching in and declaring that her cat was sweet? Her cat was an arsehole.'

Such a fun book, and I need to get my hands on the first book in the series now!

I only found out after reading it that this book is actually a sequel, but I feel like it made complete sense as a standalone novel!

The characters in this one just did not do it for me, I was annoyed by both of them and struggled to root for their romance. And as much as I do love a ridiculous premise and unrealistic plot, I need to love the characters to make it work and unfortunately I just didn't get that here.

The writing style makes it easy to read, and I did get through it quite quickly! But I was never particularly enjoying the experience as I was too busy hating on both of the protagonists.

This was an entertaining book. It’s a light, easy read that keeps the pages turning as we see what will happen between the heart throb actor and the chef turned dog minder.
I didn’t realise this was a sequel until after I started reading it, but it stands alone easily. It has plenty of humorous moments, and its fair share of romance too. The characters are likable and any book that includes a dog and a cat has to be good, right? For a light hearted read, this is the one to pick.

Almost wanted to bail when I started reading and found it was third pov, so glad I didn't!
I really fell in love with this story and the characters.
I love it when you get to read about the friendship and bond that characters build before moving to *sealing the deal* 🤣
The additions of Kevin and Harry were to die for!
The only thing that did get me with this read was I got stumped, more than once, was the little scene jumps from one sentence to the next. Might just be cause I'm not used to reading third pov style.
But I really loved this happy read!

Thank you once again for the opportunity to read this ARC via NetGalley and the author Amy Hutton.

This book offers a cute and refreshing read, that will leave you feeling happy once closing the book. Ethan, a movie star, finds himself in need of someone to care for his dog as he embarks on a new film project. Enter Hazel, a talented chef, who steps in to assist.

Set in Australia, the story involves the inclusion of adorable animal companions, aka Harry and Kevin. Their presence adds a bonus to the already sweet story.

Blending humour, animals and romance this book is a perfect choice for those seeking a light-hearted rom-com.

Scheduled for release on June 5th, it's definitely worth adding to your TBR.

This was my first book by Amy Hutton and it certainly won't be the last!
The blurb about a cat called Kevin sucked me in as my Dad's name is Kevin!
I also own a black cat so this was the perfect story for me.

I absolutely fell in love with Hazel and could totally relate to Kevin and his antics.
What a little cutie Harry sounds and his owner Ethan sounds just divine!

I loved every bit of this story and could actually visualise the Sunshine Coast settings as I live in Brisbane and frequent that area often.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

I’ve been looking forward to this book after reading Sit,Stay,Love and wanted to see where things go with Ethan this time.

Thankfully Ethan wasn’t a douche anymore! I loved how smitten he was with Hazel, and really enjoyed Hazel being a chef and having a crazy cat called Kevin that warmed to Ethan. Harry (Ethan’s dog) also plays a regular part in the book, but I personally think Kevin steals the show!

This was a nice, easy, fun rom com as we watch Ethan and Hazel getting to know each other and spending more time together.

It can be read as a stand along but I loved Sit, Stay, Love so recommend reading that first and getting a feel for Ethan’s character.

I wanted to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early.

Ethan and Hazel couldn't be further in career paths. He's a budding movie star and she's a down on her luck chef. While Ethan is preparing to film his next movie, a sequel to the hit romcom 'Sit, Stay, Love', he requests some professional pet minding assistance for his dog Harry. While interviewing potential candidates, he is introduced to Hazel, and from then on their lives become acquaintances to friends to head over heels for each other.

When going into this, I didn't realise this novel was a sequel, and even if I hadn't known, it reads perfectly as a stand alone. I loved Ethan's character, I loved Hazel's character and together I loved their banter. They sounded like a genuinely fun couple to write and it made me very happy to see Ethan find love after his supposed shafting for another man in the first instalment.

There were some issues towards the beginning of the book with how choppy I felt the writing to be. It didn't seem to flow very well and was quite robotic in tone. However, as the novel progressed, I noticed this less over time as more dialogue was introduced into the book. Amy has a great way with writing characters conversing and I found myself laughing with all of her characters witty comments.

I would also really like to personally thank Amy for giving her characters a pet name and NOT OVERUSING IT! It's a huge peeve of mine and the nicknames felt really sweet, deliberate and personal. As they should!

I did at times think the editing might have chopped off bits of the story haphazardly. We would be reading about one scene and immediately the following paragraph could be hours or even the next day later. It was quite jarring and took me out of the book. This book is split POV, but not per chapter, so both characters perspectives and described events are concurrent.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and I would totally recommend it to anyone who loves a cosy and light-hearted romance.

Hazel has moved to the Gold Coast to recover from a traumatic incident that caused her to lose her chef’s job in Sydney and to search for another suitable job to get here career back on track. She takes on short term work as a dog minder to Ethan, a star, while his latest movie is being filmed on the Gold Coast.

Hazel is disdainful of Ethan, regarding him as superficial like many famous people. He is pleased to find someone who is not fawning over him and is not impressed by his fame. Soon they discover that there is more to each other than they first realise.

The standard of writing and the characterisation is very good. Unlike many novels where the heroine is petite, Hazel is six foot tall which gives rise to some amusing exchanges such as Ethan’s comment that he can look at her from his six foot four without getting a crick in his neck and when Hazel rescues him from a gaggle of teenage fans one of whom asks if she is his body guard.

On the whole the book is readable and entertaining. My only criticism is that it is a shade too long. It is cut above the usual romance novel.

I really enjoyed this book! If you like light-hearted, easy to read rom-coms, this may be for you. I enjoyed the characters (including Harry the dog and Kevin the cat, whose attitudes are spot on) and had a few laugh out loud moments that I wasn’t expecting. I’ll definitely be reading this one again!

All I knew about this book before reading was that there was a cat. That’s all I needed. But I really enjoyed reading the book, I loved the characters (the animals the most too. Kevin is the best).

I love reading books set in Australia and I’m glad this is another one I’ve come across.

The MMC sounded soooo dreamy and I think I want one.

I love that the FMC is a tall goddess with amazing kitchen skills and it made me so hungry reading this book. I also learnt a fact about heritage tomatoes which was cool.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this!

Holy wow!!! “Love from Scratch” is a delightful rom-com that seamlessly weaves together humor, charm, and heart. At its core, the story revolves around Ethan James, a charismatic actor on the brink of a career-defining movie shoot, a cute dog named Harry who I have fallen in love with, and Hazel, a recently unemployed sous chef with a sarcastic wit and a grumpy cat named Kevin.

The premise is simple yet captivating: Ethan needs someone to care for his anxious dog, Harry, during filming, and Hazel, in desperate need of employment, reluctantly takes on the task. From the moment they meet, sparks fly between Ethan’s flashy charm and Hazel’s no-nonsense attitude, setting the stage for a series of hilarious misunderstandings and witty exchanges.

But perhaps the true scene-stealer is Kevin the cat, whose inexplicable fondness for Ethan adds an extra layer of intrigue to the plot. As Kevin’s affection for Ethan grows, so too does Hazel’s curiosity, leading her to question whether there’s more to Ethan than meets the eye.

As the story unfolds, readers are treated to a rollercoaster of emotions, from laugh-out-loud moments of hilarity to heartwarming scenes of connection and romance. With its witty dialogue, engaging plot, and memorable characters, “Love from Scratch” is a must-read for fans of romantic comedies and anyone in need of a feel-good escape.

Well, this was fun!
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an eARC of Love from Scratch.
Ethan James is an Aussie actor and heartthrob. Hazel Conor is a down on her luck chef.
When Hazel is employed as a dog sitter for Ethans dog, Harry, sparks fly, partly due to Hazel's cat, Kevin, falling for the movie star.
It was great to see that Hazel is no pushover and treats her career with serious consideration.
Will they get the happy ending they deserve? Read it yourself to find out.