Taste by Tracy Ewens

Taste
by
Tracy Ewens

Rating:

Anyone will tell you that the restaurant business is tough, and food critics like Kara Malendar make it even tougher. Kara is known for her scathing reviews in the LA Times food section and the word is that her recent review of the Marco Polo was “the last nail in the coffin.” Kara loves the power of her job, but she feels a twinge of guilt when she sees the Marco Polo shutting down. What kind of career is being a food critic anyway? Kara’s not even sure she likes eating anymore.

As the daughter of U.S. Senator Patrick Malendar from California, Kara has spent most of her life in the public eye. And since she was a young girl, her mother Bindi has instructed Kara on all points of public life, what to wear, how to stand, where to look, how to smile. Kara’s just about fed up and somewhere deep inside her a change is beginning to take place.

Meanwhile, Logan Rye is putting all his energy into his new restaurant, The Yard, which is quickly becoming the hip place to eat. Logan and his friend, Travis are great cooks with high standards and they insist on using fresh meats and home grown produce from the Rye family’s farm. In addition to the best ingredients, Logan knows that hard work is the key to The Yard’s success. After all, hard work is all Logan knows. He’s been his family’s caretaker ever since he can remember.

Logan is working too hard to have a personal life, but no matter. He was stung before, by a certain LA Times food critic and there’s no way he’ll let that happen again with her or any woman. He’ll leave the womanizing to Travis. But when Kara is assigned to write a three-part feature on The Yard, it’s only a matter of time before these two worlds collide. Can Kara and Logan overcome past hurts and let love in?

In Taste, Tracy Ewens has set the stage for another hip, modern romance with plenty of good-looking characters, tantalizing dialogue, and a classy amount of spice and steam. But there are also realistic ups and downs, grounding moments of family conflict and consistent themes of friendship, family and love because in the end, that’s what it all comes down to, isn’t it?

Taste is the third in the series of love stories by Tracy Ewens, which was brought to life by her first romantic novel, Catalina Kiss. In each love story, Ewens focuses on one or two characters, but all her characters’ lives and histories overlap, making for a nice continuum. Each book stands alone and I believe the series can be read in any order.

Taste is full of references to mouthwatering foods, sharp dressing, with a good amount of humor. It’s a fun escape with a fantastic finish, confirming the author’s belief in love and romance.

I received an ARC to review Taste, which will be released on October 27, 2015.

If you like romance, click on the titles below to check out my reviews of Tracy Ewens’ earlier romances:

Catalina Kiss

Premiere

Candidate

And to learn more about Tracy Ewens, click on these Book Club Mom interviews and features:

Who’s That Indie Author? – Tracy Ewens

Interview: October 27, 2014

Interview: April 8, 2014

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