I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Knives, Seasoning and a Dash of Love by Katrina Kwan is a third person dual-POV interracial workplace romance novel. Alexander Chen is a well-respected young chef in the French haute cuisine scene and struggling to find his spark for cooking again. Eden Monroe needs a job as a sous chef to help fund her search for her missing parents. When Alexander hires Eden, sparks fly as her bubbly nature sands down his edges and he gives her the positive attention she’s been missing.

The novel is more Alexander’s story and I was really happy about that because I haven’t read a romance genre novel that had more of a focus on the man’s POV in a while. I love exploring the rich inner world of both characters and seeing how characters from different backgrounds might deal with stress. Alexander’s vice is the occasional cigarette and a friends-with-benefits situation with another chef in the area. Beyond his job, Alexander has also been dealing with racism in the haute cuisine community, including from his boss and mentor who convinced him to take a stage name instead of using his given name, Shang.

Eden’s inner world is also explored through her love of fusion cuisine, her shared past with Alexander, and her friendship with several coworkers. In culinary school, Alexander and Eden were in the same class, but Eden had to drop out, completely stalling her career and her mission to find her parents. Despite all of that, Eden tries to keep things positive and is incredibly kind to the people around her until they push her too hard.

I am always a sucker for female characters being attracted to the large hands of their male love interests and that did indeed show up. So did a large size difference between Alexander and Eden and very spicy talk between them. This is probably a 3.5 or 4 on the spiciness level and will appeal to readers who enjoy those tropes in their romances.

Content warning for depictions of racism and sexism
I would recommend this to readers of romance looking for an exploration of racism and sexism, fans of spicier workplace romances, and those looking for a romance with an interracial couple that calls out racism.

This book is perfect for fans of The Bear!

Alexander Chen is a moody and mysterious celebrity chef that can have a bit of a temper at times. Eden Monroe has a passion for cooking, but an embellished resumé that helped her land a job at La Rouge. However, Eden would stop at nothing to make enough money to save up for the private detective she so desperately needs to hire even if it means telling a few little lies. Her and Alex’s clashing personalities find them butting heads a lot in the kitchen. Is that just the name of the game, or is it something more?

I think we got touches of the grumpy x sunshine trope with Alexander and Eden’s relationship, especially in the kitchen. Eden was able to balance out Alexander’s outbursts with compassion and encouragement to keep the staff going. I think the both of them do share that desire to reconnect with their family, but Eden was the first (and most willing) to open up about it. However, once Alexander/Shang did it was really great to see him rekindle his relationships. I love Eden’s dedication and willingness to work hard!

I requested this book because I knew it was a reylo fanfiction first, and if you know me you know that I LOVE reylo. However, I found that it was sort of very obvious that this was reylo. The side characters all had the same first letters as the original characters from the movies, and basically the same personality traits. I’m not saying that’s necessarily bad! It just had me thinking of the Star Wars movies the whole time and of all the similarities hahaha.

The third act conflict seemed sort of forced and rushed in my opinion. It kind of came out of nowhere and resolved super quickly.

Overall, I thought this was a fun easy read! If you love cooking, shows like The Bear, and cute romances, you’ll love this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC!!

A mixture of The Bear and your favorite romantic comedy, this book had it all. I loved the characters, especially the sarcastic humor of Eden. It was well-written and a ton of fun to read. I devoured it in 2 days.

Wow! Wow!! Wow!!!
Heaven knows I am a sucker for sweet romance.
Head chef, Alexander Chen is a perfectionist and a control freak in the kitchen, everything must be in its place and one step out of line? All hell breaks loose.
Haven won three Michelin stars for La Rounge, he is a king in the kitchen and he knows it. But right now he is in a tight spot and needs a sous chef desperately so in comes Eden Munroe, a total opposite of his personality and the sparks are flying.
Both have their personal demon though, which they need to confront, Alexander has been estranged from his family for good ten years and Eden has been saving every penny to be able to hire a private investigator to find her parents who had not showed up to pick her up from school when she was five.
Will they get the answers they seek? Grab a copy to find out!

Knives, seasoning and a dash of love had my toes curling and my heart racing the entire time.
I simply loved it.

Eden puede replicar cualquier platillo después de verlo 2 veces y ademas tiene un paladar excelente. No terminó sus estudios como chef por lo que miente en su currículum y cuando entra a trabajar al restaurante de un viejo compañero de la escuela culinaria, piensa que la despedirán, pero la suerte está de su lado y Xan no la recuerda.

Alexander es un famoso chef que ha perdido su pasión y amor por la comida, cuando Eden es contratada, empieza a sentir de nuevo esa chispa que pensaba estaba estaba perdida.




Ambos tienen actitud inmaduras, sin embargo, se dan cuenta, piden disculpas y aprenden de sus actos.






Spoilers ⚠️ ⚠️
Él está con otra persona o mejor dicho tiene un acuerdo para satisfacer sus necesidades y hay una escena en donde tiene sexo con ella, pero cuando se da cuenta que le gusta Eden inmediatamente termina la relación y la chica le desea que todo le salga bien.



Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Knives, Seasoning, and a Dash of Love by Katrina Kwan will satisfy any need for a grumpy/sunshine chef romance. If you’re like me then you’ve been always binging shows like Top Chef and the Bear. This book really hits the spot for those vibes with me. We have Alexander and Eden as our MMC and FMC, both of whom are chefs. Alexander is a celebrity Michelin star chef who was in need of a new sous chef, and in comes Eden.

Throughout this book we see Eden thaw from of Alexander’s grumpiness and coldness. Alexander is kind of the stereotypical mean chef boss, but by working with Eden in the kitchen, a new sense of sunlight is brought in. Alexander’s character shows a lot of vulnerability in the story, which is a nice shift from a stereotypical male chef character. Watching Eden learn to trust was really great to see in the story as well. Both characters have their own traumas to work through and I really enjoyed how the author brought us the readers through that.

I’d say anyone who is looking for a Chef romance should give Knives, Seasoning, and a Dash of Love a try!

The author cooked with this one!!!
First of all I loved the setting I never read a book that takes place mostly in a restaurant and between two chefs so that was fun.
I really liked how strong willed eden was and how she didn't let people walk all over her and how she always spoke up for herself and how caring and thoughtful and Shang was,like when he took care of her when she was on her period🥹and also reading this while I was on my period and had no one to take care of me :(((.
I wish we explored our characters more tho I felt like they were kind of fleshed out and that made it kind of hard to connect to them but overall this was such a fun and easy romance I think I read it in like two settings and also please please please I needed a book about Peter he is so funny I love him!!!
Thank you netgalley,the author and the publisher for a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!!

What a great story! I loved meeting Eden and Shang, along with their friends Freddie, Peter, and Rina. The characters were very well described and drawn out. The scenes were very vivid. I enjoyed learning about their lives and how Eden and Shang got along.

This was a great read with an awesome ending!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Canada for allowing me to read this story. This is my honest review.

Alexander and Eden wrap you up in a big comfort food infused love sandwich. The characters go through their personal and professional challenges to finally land up with their happy ending. If you have ever watched any cooking shows and know how spicy and passionate things can get in a hurry mix that up with a love story and you have a perfect balance of delectable delight. Always happy to see my Reylo, rats succeed (IYKYK). Totally recommend this for anyone who enjoys love stories, and good food. Thank you Netgallery, Random House Canada, and Katrina Kwan for choosing me to be an arc reader for this book.

This was such a great story! I throughly enjoyed reading it!

At first, I thought it was more of a Princess Tiana situation but I was wrong! I also LOVED that this author went through the easy process of making sure you are having safe sex and getting tested before any canoodling. I don’t think romance novels normalize it enough and it should be!!! Why would you want to spread things around or catch something yourself??? ESPECIALLY, something you can’t get rid of?!? Anywho, I thought it was interesting how the author revealed more and more about Alex and Eden’s backstory. I felt like they were well rounded characters and loved reading how their love story unfolded. It was a little angsty but in the best way possible. I loved it. Read it.

wish I would’ve knew about this before she got picked up before a trad publisher! I’d love to see the changes she made! But I smiled & laughed, almost cried! Fell in love with Eden & Andrew /shang and his family. Absolutely despised some other people, a must read! 🔥🔥🔥

DNF @ 20%

I absolutely loved the premise but unfortunately the execution just wasn't for me. Enemies to lovers is really fun but Alexander was being really unkind to his staff and our heroine and the dynamic really wasn't my cup of tea. I've read quite a few books with this type of premise that are well-loved (like The Spanish Love Deception or Love on the Brain) so I'm sure others will have a better time with this book than I did.

This was a new author to me so it took me some time to adjust to the writing style. The blurb seemed so intriguing but the actual story was kind of boring tbh. And some plot points were kind of nonsensical. I was very excited to read this but the dialogues and the constant mentioning of the word sweetheart and how tiny the h was, felt annoying. Also, because of the insta-love, I skimmed through most of the parts. Overall, this was such a disappointment because the book had potential, only if it was executed better.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

~Workplace-romance, GrumpyxSunshine, Chefs, and more!~

Knives, Seasoning, and a Dash of Love by Katrina Kwan follows Eden Monroe, an aspringing chef. After some unfortunate events that lead Eden to drop out of culinary school, she is forced to work dead-end jobs to survive and hopefully save enough money to hire a private detective to track someone down. That is until she falsely enhances her resume and ends up working as a sous-chef under famous Chef Alexander, or as she used to know him, Shang. Will he recognize her? Will her secret be found out? And will their workplace romance lead to more?

4| This was a sweet, captivating romance read that had me excited to keep reading. I loved Eden's character and her outlook on life despite her hardships. Alexander is initially closed off and mysterious but quickly becomes caring and concerned. I loved the perspective and seeing what both characters are thinking and feeling. It gave lots of insight into their fears and actions. Their dynamic works well, and I loved the contrast between the technicality-trained Alexander versus the raw-talented Eden. I felt like I learned more about their personality throughout the book. The romance progressed nicely, a tad fast, but nothing unreasonable. They have chemistry, and it's contrasted well. I enjoyed seeing the friends Eden makes at the restaurant and how they quickly become her found family.

I would have liked to see a little more of Eden's struggle, from working at a dingy restaurant to a fancy gourmet one. I also would have liked a little more description of where the book was taking place. While it is mentioned a little, I never got a good sense of where it was, which would have helped add to the book. A lot was going on in the story, and at times, I felt like some things were being talked about too much and other things not enough. I loved seeing Alexander, aka Shangs family. It was heartwarming to see and helped me understand how he grew up, which helped me better understand him. One scene I did not like was the one between Bea and Alexander. While I understand why it was included and what it helped get across, I didn't enjoy reading it. I also wish I saw more of a resolution between Alexander and his uncle. It is briefly mentioned but not enough for closure. The ending seemed fast, especially compared to the beginning of the book. I enjoyed the two epilogues and the bonus content. They were a fun edition that helped me envision the future after the story ends.

Overall, this book was genuinely captivating. I loved the characters and how much personityally they had. The side characters were great; they weren't shown enough to overshadow the story but just enough where I got to know them. While there are some things I could have done without, this was a great book and one I would definitely reread.

I will first like to start this review thanking netgalley and the publishers for this opportunity to read this novel.

Listen I wanted to like this book guys, but it just didn't do it for me. This book was marketed as enemies-to-lovers but it is not. They are basically in love by chapter 5. This book suffered greatly with the insta-love. There was no tension ever, and very little bickering (before they released they were in love). The plot moved very quickly and at times I was shocked to learn how many weeks have passed since the previous paragraph. Many of the problems came quickly and were solved even quicker. I would have dnfed this book if not it being an arc.

This book was just what I needed right now. It was such a cute story but at the same time talked about some serious subjects and I just loved it.

se fui triste eu não lembro, eu só sei que desfrutei cada segundo desse livro

nesse livro temos uma querida sem mãe com trust issues e impostora educacional, um homem alto sarado e gostoso que se vendeu pra industria, uma mulher empoderada, um casal de gays felizes e dois vilões fio da mãe, tudo isso enquanto eles cozinham e podem jogar agua fervendo (ou óleo) um no outro.

mas resumo da ópera ou da receita, Alexander parou de ser feliz em cozinhar já que o La Rouge suga toda a vida dele até aparecer a querida da Eden, ele finalemente sente que pode confiar a cozinha a alguem. como se ela devolvesse leveza pra vida dele. oq começa como um "eu sei que você não fez no passado" terminar em um workplace romance e depois eu "vamos jogar tudo pro alto e fazer a nossa vida" e eu ameeeeeeeeei!

1000/10 >> opiniao sincera para o NetGalley em troca de um cópia avançada,

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Canada for this arc!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Enjoyed the concept of the story. Two chefs with immense talent and difficult pasts coming together to not only be a great team at work but also as real life partners.

My dislikes were the dialogue did not feel natural. It felt like too charactery as opposed to feeling like natural conversations. What was meant as cute banter fell very flat. I also feel that the main two characters did things that felt out of character? Their actions didn’t line up to what we the reader knew about them. The whole time we are led to believe how important this job is to our FMC but when she gets fired/quits she’s so flippant about it. The resolution of her missing parents was given one chapter even though we are told how important this is to her. Our MMC is supposed to be a disciplined renowned top chef but when he discovers our FMC lied about finishing culinary school he covers for her even though on the previous chapter he fired another employee for the exact same thing! Make it make sense?

Now clearly I still finished the book, and gave it 3 stars. There were some cute moments! I love the found family with the other restaurant employees (humor was strong with the side characters) and the spice scenes were good (now some of the pillow talk could’ve been better here too). The story felt strongest during the MMC reunion with his family. I felt the connection and I really cared about the outcome. It didn’t feel forced and you felt the love from his parents in those scenes. Overall this was a strong debut and with just a few tweaks I could see this author putting out even better work!

I had mixed emotions about this book. It started off really strong. Loved the strong characters and the bit of mystery but I think it needed a longer burn. The characters resolved their issues far too soon and it lead to some boredom in the middle of the book. The end was ok, not necessarily the resolution I was looking for with Eden’s family cut nice wrap up with Shangs family. Overall a decent read.

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

An adorably cute book that I had trouble putting down. Perfect when not feeling good.