Tacos for Two

GIVEAWAY

ST. AMANT, BETSY

TACOS FOR TWO

Rory Perez, a food truck owner who can't cook, is struggling to keep the business she inherited from her aunt out of the red -- and an upcoming contest during Modest's annual food truck festival seems the best way to do it. The prize money could finally give her a solid financial footing and keep her cousin with special needs paid up at her beloved assisted living home. Then maybe Rory will have enough time to meet the man she's been talking to via an anonymous online dating site.

Jude Strong is tired of being a puppet at his manipulative father's law firm, and the food truck festival seems like the perfect opportunity to drive into his passion for cooking and finally call his life his own. But if he loses the contest, he's back at the law firm for good. Failure is not an option.

Complications arise when Rory's chef gets mono and she realizes she has to cook after all. Then Jude discovers that his stiffest competition is the same woman he's been falling for online the past month.

Will these unlikely chefs sacrifice it all for the sake of love? Or will there only ever be tacos for one?

My Review:

So...I was both excited and anxious over this new release. Excited because...Betsy St. Amant and that cute cover!!!! Anxious because I'd been hearing all the buzz about the You've Got Mail influences and I am so not a fan of that movie. Yes, I realize I'm likely a party of one but I can't get behind a romance between a couple already in committed relationships with other people and, more importantly, the bookstore dies. 'Nuf side. :-)

Rest assured this novel contains neither emotional cheating or the demise of a bookstore -- phew!!!! It does, however, contain humour and drama and quirky characters I loved and a few not-so-quirky that I loved to hate. 

The dialogue keeps the story moving, whether it's in the form of pithy text messages or heated arguments or soul-baring candour. Impeccably paced and just when I thought the plot was going in one direction, it veered off in another. So, classic rom/com elements but enough surprising twists to keep a reader on her toes. 

I felt both protagonists' struggles, though I have to admit to being a Jude fan way before I became a Rory fan. She was so quick to leap to wrong conclusions, and even quicker to snap out in anger. She's all prickly and fiery and...confused. I became more drawn to her as bits of her back story were revealed and I began to understand the reasons behind her distrust of Jude. 

He has his own history to overcome as well, and a truly deplorable family, but somehow, Jude managed to be more optimistic and not allow his past experiences to encroach on the new life he's making for himself, especially when it comes to his interactions with Rory. Loved the way the whole identity mix-up plays out and brings a lovely push-pull between comedy and angst to the already emotionally layered story.

The only thing missing was a solid faith thread -- and this surprised me because it is published by Revell which is a Christian Publishing house. Forgiveness , loving your enemies and the importance of family relationships are a major focus of the conflict, just not fleshed out in the inspirational way I was expecting.

All in all a captivating rom/com that's sure to please readers who are fans (or not!) of You've Got Mail.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Tacos for Two leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT AND DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday December 4 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck