October 28, 2024
Friends become lovers in Lorini’s steamy and hilarious second Love & Other Recipes romance (after Dessert for Stressed People). Chef Amelie Preston has her wedding to her high school sweetheart, Frank, planned to the last detail, never mind the fact that he hasn’t proposed yet. Then she meets sexy, opinionated Ian Roberts at a friend’s wedding and the pair spends all night talking, with Ian making her question her carefully organized life—before she realizes he comes from her family’s long-standing rivals. Still, they agree to keep in touch via text. A year later, Amelie’s life is in shambles: she’s unemployed, her fairy tale ending with Frank will never happen, and her relationship with her best friend is at a breaking point. When she unexpectedly meets Ian again at the weeklong International Cooking and Culture Expo in Ian’s hometown, old feelings come rushing back—but family business secrets threaten to wreck the happy reunion. Lorini toggles between past and present to slowly untangle how Amelie’s life fell apart and tease the slow build of emotion between her leads. The characters are easy to love, and readers will have no trouble rooting for them to find their happily ever after.
November 1, 2024
In this non-linear, dual-timeline, friends-to-lovers romance, Amelie is a chef whose life has fallen apart. She has lost her long-time boyfriend and fianc�, her job, her new restaurant, and her best friend, all in a matter of months. She has even lost Ian, a man she met a year before she now realizes is the son of her father's biggest rival. Told in two timelines--one from when they met and she still had it all, and the second, starting a year later, after the fallout--Lorini's novel weaves the story of a people-pleaser realizing she needs to look out for herself. While Ian can sometimes seem generic as a character meant to be a romantic hero, he serves as a push for Amelie to really examine her life. Readers may find the time jumps difficult to follow, but overall, readers will find the Romeo and Juliet angst compelling, while fans of Julie Soto and Abby Jiminez will enjoy this look into the world of cutthroat restaurant rivalries and chefs' egos.
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