Angie
I really wanted to love Love's Recipe, but sadly, it just wasn't my jam. It all starts when Rosalie moves back to her childhood home after a divorce. She has pennies to her name and a five-year-old to take care of, so she pops into a restaurant that has seen better days and applies for a job. She's hired on the spot, but isn't sure how long she'll even have a job if business doesn't turn around. Nick's been struggling to keep the business going after his mother's death, but he agrees to let Rosalie fix up the place. She winds up fixing more than just his business.
Love's Recipe has a great premise. I love food, so foodie romances tend to work really well for me. It was fun watching Nicholas teach Rosalie how to cook, and find his joy in cooking again through the process. Rosalie is a smart woman, but this is the first time she's gotten to put those smarts to use after running away at seventeen to get married. It was nice to see her confidence build over the course of the book.
However, Love's Recipe completely lost me when Rosalie and Nick have the inevitable fight. They were fighting over literally nothing. There was zero to fight about, and yet they still had to fight. It was a whole lot of, "You should have told me!" When there was nothing to tell. And then some, "You're keeping secrets from me!" When there were literally no secrets. Then they apologize with the whole, "You're right, I should have told you." Told what?! There was nothing to tell, from either side!
If you wanna talk secrets, let's talk about where Nick's daughter came from. Did the stork drop her off? Did he dig her up from the cabbage patch? We know all about Rosalie's failed marriage and parenting drama, but all we know from Nick is that he's never been married. With the way this town gossips, there's no way his past relationships and daughter's parentage wouldn't be discussed. Especially, since everyone is talking about him and Rosalie.
Love's Recipe was fine. I enjoyed it in places, but it was nothing to get excited about. In fact, I put it down a lot to do other things, because I just didn't care about these people at all.