Taste (A Love Story, Book 3)

TRACY EWENS

Synopsis from Goodreads: In her twenties, Kara Malendar found herself at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris, thousands of miles away from the harsh media coverage of her political family. But Paris ended abruptly when she was summoned home to Los Angeles and expected to stand in again as the senator’s perfect daughter.

Now, thirty, Kara has made a different kind of life for herself. As a food critic for the Los Angeles Times, she casts a critical eye on other people. That is, until her past finds his way back into town and opens a new restaurant.

Logan Rye, the youngest son of the Ryeland Farms family, is a chef and knows exactly what he's doing with his life. After a few years spent getting his head and heart together, he's opened a new farm-to-table restaurant, The Yard, in Los Angeles. It’s his passion, but according to the LA Times, he’s a trend.

Kara and Logan haven't seen each other since she left him in the lobby of her Paris apartment building, but when she is asked to write a feature on him, it's not long before they are rediscovering the delicious parts of each other. As things heat up, all recipes are forgotten, and Kara and Logan realize nothing was what it seemed in Paris.

If Logan can only find a way to trust, he may be exactly what Kara needs . . if she's ever going to taste life again.

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, 2015.

How acquired: NetGalley for review.

First line: Kara Malendar was a bitch.

My thoughts: I read RESERVED last month, which is the fourth book in this series, after this one, and I loved it. Five stars loved it. So I was excited when I looked on NetGalley recently and discovered this one was also available.

I love the opening line: “Kara Malendar was a bitch.” Kara, a restaurant reviewer, is the heroine. She's a senator's daughter and has grown up in the spotlight of politics. She's spent her life conforming to what her parents, namely her mother, expects of her. The happiest time of her life was a brief period at a cooking school in Paris, where she used an assumed name and had a wild and hot affair with a fellow American student, Logan. And then her mother dragged her home and she never heard from or talked to Logan again. Until she's assigned a three part story about Logan's restaurant and farm.

Logan grew up taking care of his family, especially his younger sister, Kenna, after their mother walked out when they were kids. He still takes care of everyone and he doesn't do commitment. When Kara left Paris, he was hurt that she had lied about who she was, and he closed his heart off and told himself he didn't care.

Of course sparks fly when Logan and Kara meet again. But they both have a lot of issues to work through before they can even think about an HEA.

I liked Logan. He was a good guy, charming and funny. However, I struggled to connect with Kara. I could understand her issues, where she was coming from, but I found her a little blah. I loved the characters of Kenna and Travis in RESERVED. They were so incredibly vibrant and well written. Kara and, to a lesser extent, Logan, just didn't live up to my expectations. I laughed a lot less with Logan and Kara. But the ending was satisfying, and while overall the book just fell a little flat for me, I still want to read the rest of the books in the series.