The Art of French Kissing

by Brianna R. Shrum

[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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