The Art of French Kissing

by Brianna R. Shrum

Seventeen-year-old Carter Lane has wanted to be a chef since she was old enough to ignore her mom’s warnings to stay away from the hot stove. And now she has the chance of a lifetime: a prestigious scholarship competition in Savannah, where students compete all summer in Chopped style challenges for a full-ride to one of the best culinary schools in the country. The only impossible challenge ingredient in her basket: Reid Yamada.

After Reid, her cute but unbearably cocky opponent, goes out of his way to screw her over on day one, Carter vows revenge, and soon they’re involved in a full-fledged culinary war. Just as the tension between them reaches its boiling point, Carter and Reid are forced to work together if they want to win, and Carter begins to wonder if Reid’s constant presence in her brain is about more than rivalry. And if maybe her desire to smack his mouth doesn’t necessarily cancel out her desire to kiss it.

• ISBN10: 1510732055
• ISBN13: 9781510732056
• Publish Date: 21 June 2018 (first published 5 June 2018)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
• Imprint: Sky Pony Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

This was Carter's shot at her future. If she won the competition, she would have a full ride to culinary school, which was an important step towards achieving her dream. The only problem came in the form of an extremely handsome teen chef, who was bent on challenging her every step of the way.

I am a fan of hate-to-love romances, and the pranks were sort of funny. However, I will admit that the story really picked up for me when Reid and Carter were forced to work together, and the angst was turned down a notch.

I actually loved Reid and Carter together. They shared a great dynamic, and I enjoyed the way they played off each other. There was one moment in the book, which stood out to me. It was depicting a sexual encounter, and there were so many things done well. We are starting to see more and more explicit consent in books, and I was glad to see it here, however, there was also this point, where the character checked herself, and made sure she wasn't getting caught up in the moment. There was something about the way it was done, which made a real impression upon me, and I think it's great for teens to see examples like this.

Now let's talk about Reid. He kept winning me over again and again. He would do these little things to show Carter that he cared, and I may have swooned or let out an audible "awww" here and there. He didn't just shower her with affection though, he supported her, and built her up, when she really needed it. Carter wasn't the most confident about her skills, and felt like she didn't belong in the competition, but Reid reminded her, that she earned her spot and deserved to be there. This helped her with her self-growth, and who wouldn't want a guy who not only makes you swoon, but also builds you up?

This was a pretty intense competition, and Shrum threw in a mix of challenges along with all the signature drama commonly found on any cooking reality show. That's why I loved the group of friends she assembled for Carter. Her core group was quite diverse, and they formed a bond over their love for food, never letting the competition sully their friendship.

It was great that Carter was able to find her "people" at school, but she was also lucky to have such an awesome family waiting for her at home. We only get bits and pieces of her family via phone calls, memories, and messages, but they are definitely a good bunch of people, who I would have liked to get to know better.

Oh! It was so hard reading the food scenes, because I just wanted to taste it all. Shrum paints a rich picture, and describes each dish in such detail, that my saliva glands were working overtime. I don't even like to cook, and I was sort of inspired to go make something.

And the ending! It left me in a really elated state. I mean, with an ending like that, it doesn't even matter what happened at any other point in the book. But seriously, this was a fun teen Top Chef, which made me hungry and left me with a smile.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[girlinthepages]

*A huge thank you to NetGalley and Sky Pony Press for providing an ARC free of charge in exchange for an honest review!*

I am a HUGE fan of any sort of competition cooking show out there- Chopped, Master Chef, Holiday Baking Championship, you name it, I watch it. So my interest was definitely peaked when I came across The Art of French Kissing, which combines two of my favorite things: YA novels and cooking competitions. I'd never read a book that actually focused on a cooking competition (though I'm always on the lookout for food-centered novels) so I was extremely excited to see how this popular topic would play out in a YA contemporary romance setting.

There was a lot about The Art of French Kissing that I really enjoyed. The culinary school setting, the unique challenges the students are tasked with (some familiar like mystery box ingredients, some more creative such as only having damaged cookware to use), and the utterly mouthwatering descriptions of food. I could have read about what each of the characters was making in detail for pages upon pages, and I loved the challenges where they had to collaborate on teams and choose a menu that played to everyone's strengths. I also appreciated the reality of what the scholarship money at the end meant- how it would really make pursuing a culinary education possible for some of them that they could never realistically pursue otherwise. It added a depth to a book covered in sweet, innocent, pastel macarons.

However, as a reader a hurdle for me while reading the novel was the protagonist, Carter. I found her incredibly hard to empathize with, as her behavior was incredibly selfish and she was constantly on edge. While I know the story was trying to pull off a hate-to-love sabotage-like romance, I found her behavior at times inexcusable given the severity of it and the risk and danger it posed to others, both physically and to their future in the culinary program. She didn't seem to grow much emotionally by the end of the novel, and I was disappointed at her lack of grace when good fortune befell her, and don't think she reaped realistic consequences for her actions. However the love interest, Reid, was a much more nuanced character and he seemed to grow and become more likeable as the book went on.

Overall: The Art of French Kissing was a quick, fun read that definitely kick started my appetite any time I picked it up. I loved the premise and hope to see this author continue to write food-driven YA. While the main character hindered my overall enjoyment while reading, I still loved the competition premise and seeing some of my favorite cooking competition challenges come to life on the page.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages