ARC Review: “A Taste of Sage” by Yaffa S. Santos

“A Taste of Sage” by Yaffa S. Santos

Publishing Date: May 19, 2020

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance

Page Length: 320 page (electronic review edition)

Synopsis:

Lumi Santana is a chef with the gift of synesthesia—she can perceive a person’s emotions just by tasting their cooking. Despite being raised by a single mother who taught her that dreams and true love were silly fairy tales, she decides to take a chance and puts her heart and savings into opening a fusion restaurant in Inwood, Manhattan. The restaurant offers a mix of the Dominican cuisine she grew up with and other world cuisines that have been a source of culinary inspiration to her.

When Lumi’s eclectic venture fails, she is forced to take a position as a sous chef at a staid, traditional French restaurant in midtown owned by Julien Dax, a celebrated chef known for his acid tongue as well as his brilliant smile. Lumi and Julien don’t get along in the kitchen–to say Lumi is irritated by Julien’s smug attitude is an understatement, and she secretly vows never to taste his cooking. Little does she know that her resolve doesn’t stand a chance against Julien’s culinary prowess.

As Julien produces one delectable dish after another, each one tempting Lumi with its overwhelming aromas and gorgeous presentations, she can no longer resist and samples one of his creations. She isn’t prepared for the feelings that follow as she’s overcome with intense emotions. She begins to crave his cooking throughout the day, which throws a curveball in her plan to save up enough money and move on as soon as possible. Plus, there’s also the matter of Esme, Julien’s receptionist who seems to always be near and watching. As the attraction between Lumi and Julien simmers, Lumi experiences a tragedy that not only complicates her professional plans, but her love life as well…(description from Goodreads)

Review:

A Taste of Sage is a spicy novel in which two feisty cooks go head to head in the kitchen. Told in alternating povs, our main characters, Lumi and Julian, give us glimpses into their life as a chef. Coming from different food backgrounds and having strong personalities, they tend to butt heads when it comes to cooking. Lumi’s background is In Dominican food and Julian cooks primarily French food. After Lumi’s restaurant folds she takes a job at Julian’s restaurant.

As Lumi works he way through navigating DAX’s kitchen she finds it hard to adjust. Lumi is a cook that likes to experiment with a lot of flavors and Julien comes off as a chef that prefers to cook by the book. Because of their differences, they butt heads at first, but once Julien sees how talented of a cook that she is then he loosens up the reins. As readers would expect things heat up in the kitchen quickly between the two chefs. Their fiery personalities ended up meshing together well once they let their guards down. The two try to deny their feelings but its hard for them to ignore each other when they work in such close proximity.

Those this book was a bit flat in the first half, the second half made up for it. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there is something about this novel where it loses some of its zest. Other than that I enjoyed this novel. I liked the aspect of Lumi’s synthesia when it came to eating others cooking. It gave the story a a somewhat magical feel and added a personal touch to the plot. Another aspect I enjoyed about the food in this novel is the fusion of cultures into each dish. It was interesting to see a new twist on traditional recipes and I found a couple of recipes I’d like to try myself. Reading this novel made me hungry with all the vivid descriptions of food.

This novel was rich with aspects of Dominican culture and I love how Lumi was not only proud of her heritage but also wanted to share it with others through her cooking. The romance was sweet and it was interesting to see how it developed further, even after they faced so many obstacles in their own lives and together as a couple. This was a fun read with a enemies-to-lovers romance trope but more importantly its about the power of food and its healing powers to mend relationships and how it makes you reminisce about the good times.

Final Verdict:

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.