Thank you to NetGalley, Gigi Templeton & Montlake for the opportunity to read this ARC of "Spiced Right." This is my honest and unpaid review of the book.
First I'd like to start with my compliment's to the author for the title of this book and the gorgeous man on it's cover. The title is perfect and the photo looks just like the character described. This book was entertaining to read, made me crave BBQ and want to book a flight to Texas ASAP. I definitely learned more about what it takes to have your own company, social media presence and about peppers! This book is sweet, spicy and saucy making it the perfect recipe for a Texan romance, and for its BBQ! One very small complaint (if I can call it that) is that the story seemed rushed at the end and ended too quickly. But otherwise I loved it!
I'll keep an eye out for more books by this author as it seems the other characters in this book might have their own stories to tell as well.

Jillian was beautifully written. I enjoyed her journey from free-spirited college girl to social recluse. I loved the steam Jack brought and it included barbeque. Win-Win romance!

Insta love. Traumatic past. He falls first.
3 spice scenes

Things I liked: complex feelings brought on by past experiences, family role fulfillment
Jack's family- they were all so supportive of each other and open, very accepting of Jillian and treating her feelings as real but not judging them
Jack's openness with his feelings
Jack!
The cooking fun and banter.

Things I didn't love: the insta love, they rekindled a college friendship with a night of romance and in a week were in love and making life choices
A little less times he says darlin' and honey. He could have had a more intimate nickname with Jillian

Just a note- I know Jack was all uplifting, understanding, and sweet, but I felt like he could have had a little more in the bedroom

**Spoiler alert**


I also don't know that Jillian would have ended up trying more new things or going back to Jack if it weren't for the baby



**End spoiler alert**

Overall a sweet, mid spice, story about second chances and over coming past traumas and expectations.

This is a cute little romance. I enjoyed the chemistry between the couple and could appreciate the spice not being overly done (ironically!). I will say, even to someone who is British, the Texas side of things felt unauthentic/exaggerated and took me out of the story every so often especially at the beginning. Very much a personal preference but I didn’t enjoy the cooking scenes, they went into a bit too much details and I ended up skimming these. However, if I knew someone who loved the Cooking Channel and romance, I would recommend them this book.

Very sweet, emotional, cute second chance romance. The banter was funny and entertaining and the secondary characters were all fun. I will say, as if you’re from Texas, like myself, the dialogue at the beginning feels more Gone With the Wind than anyone from east or south texas but it does ease up a bit as the story progresses. I’d definitely recommend if you want a very sweet and feel good read that breaks your heart a little bit over and over again before giving you your HEA.


Also, the nittiest of nitpicks but some of the anachronisms can sometimes take you out of it if you’re from Texas. If you’re driving 3 hours past austin, there are no hills. It’s the flattest of flatlands that ever did flat. Additionally, no way in hell that you would leave in the afternoon to be in Odessa by 7am unless you wanted to be dead on your feet. The drive alone without traffic is 8 hours. It something most people won’t even think twice about but kept ruining my immersion in the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

If you are looking for a dreamy cowboy who also moonlights as a grill master, you are going to eat this book right on up. (Pun intended.) Spiced Right's third protagonist is the food, and man, is it meaty. (Pun intended.)

Author Gigi Templeton paints a vivid picture in her text, and creates one heck of a conflict between the female and male protagonists. Their connection and chemistry are palpable, but the reason(s) why they can’t be together seem truly insurmountable. The story lost me a bit in the back third, and (without spoiling the plot) there is a particular narrative choice the author makes that I just didn’t agree with. Sure, it tied up the story, but it felt sort of like a cop out to me. But I think that readers who like this kind of plot element will enjoy the conclusion.

Overall, there’s a swoon-worthy hero and a heroine who has been through IT and fights to reclaim her life, and that’s pretty interesting to read.

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Yes yes yes!! I love me a good cowboy romance and this book was everything i needed. I loved how the author went into detail about the cooking and recipes within the storyline and it all sounded to delicious i was hungry reading the entire time

This book was a fun read. The characters bounced off each other and the story keeps the reader interested.

Thank you to Gigi Templeton and NetGalley for the ARC i n exchange for an honest review.

I loved Jack and Jillian's banter. I truly appreciate the chemistry building between two characters, as opposed to finding the protagonists together and thinking, how the hell did that happen?
It was a really cute and interesting story and it had me hooked from the first few pages, so that's a plus!
The spice was not super intense, which is good for this kind of story (although you would expect otherwise), but it just made the story more heartfelt and sweet.
I'm reaaaally impressed.

🍳🍖🤠🍴🩷

Thank you Montlake & netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

All the cooking in this book made me hungry LOL. This book had me craving BBQ at midnight 😂 This was a good read. I enjoyed Jack and Jillian's dynamic, their history, how they so comfortably fell back into each others lives. I just wish there was less cooking! I wanted more tension, more spice. This book is very plot focused and the detail the cooking went into was a bit too much for me at times. However, i'd still recommend this book for anyone who would like to give it a try!

Spiced Right: ★★★☆☆ (3)

Pub date: Jan 23, 2024 - preorder your copy now!

I tried for this on a whim and was left pleasantly surprised. I liked the writing style and everything flowed quite well.

This one is a tearjerker! It's in a good way. Jillian is smart and driven and working on her issues that stem from a horrible incident in her .past. I love her strength and her self knowledge. I love seeing her triumph and get her happy. I love her career and how she copes with inventing herself and reinventing herself and making her life work for her. I love Jack. I love his sense of family and how he takes care.of everyone and how he is able to have something for himself as well. I love his protective nature and his nurturing heart. I love seeing that he will get his happy. The writing is well thought and executed exceptionally well. Each character is drawn in three dimensions and is likeable and shows strength ls and flaws. I love the ranch and the people who live there. I love the banter between Jack and Jilly. I love their insights and their depth.

"You sure about this?" - Jack
"I'm sure about you." - Jillian

I was literally shouting when I read that line above, haha.
Feels so right! Spiced Right!
The banter between Jack and Jillian is so natural, I love their chemistry.
The smut and the plot are so balanced and I love it. The story flows well and I totally enjoyed reading this.

“Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.”

I found this book really hard to get through. The main problem was the writing style. I found it very difficult stay in the story. While there were some parts that I liked, overall it didn’t compensate for the parts I disliked.

This was a cute read with some not so cute topics. I think the novel, overall, was a pretty standard romcom. I will not lie though: I wanted more from it regarding her trauma. It almost seemed like there was effort into developing the trauma and then a little less attention to it in favor of the insta love. Yes I know the characters had history, but I wanted more build up. It was almost like her fears were staged feeling to me.

I did really enjoy the writing style and the spice though. I thought it was well-balanced in that sense. I would also like one Jack Reed, please. For me lol. I do think some of the cooking parts dragged for me but that is likely because it felt really in depth and I just wanted the characters and their history. However, those parts were essential. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

This was a really enjoyable second-chance romance, with the right amount of heart and spice. There was great banter between the main characters, and a lot of chemistry. I also enjoyed the mutual love of food and cooking bringing them back together.

Thank you to Gigi Templeton, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book.

Jillian Parks doesn’t need her hybrid scorpion pepper to set her pulse racing. Wildly charismatic rancher Jack Reed does that all on his own in this scorcher from Gigi Templeton.

Don’t ever think I didn’t want more time with you, darlin’.

Those were her college boyfriend’s last words to her after a phone call summoned him home to Texas. In the ten years since, Jack Reed has taken over his family’s ranch, and Jillian Parks has experienced devastating losses with traumatic repercussions.

Now a reclusive insomniac, she podcasts about the specialty hybrid chili peppers she grows in her Seattle greenhouse, keeping a closed door between her and the past. But when Jillian’s producer coaxes her to make a surprise call in to Jack’s YouTube BBQ channel, their chemistry still sizzles!

An invite to the ranch for a follow-up collab is a scary proposal for Jillian. But forward movement is key to her recovery, and it’s time to take the bull by the horns. With Jack’s commanding yet soothing presence, maybe this charismatic cowboy is just the right ingredient to help her heal—while adding a different kind of spice to her life

I love the characters, the chemistry, the banter, and the plot. I love everything in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I instantly requested this arc and was so excited to read it, I give it 4 stars based solely for the fact that I am not a personal fan of 3rd person writing and was unable to finish it. For those who don’t mind it they will absolutely love it.

The banter!! Slay my heart was the banter ever the best part of this book! I loved the characters, their chemistry with one another, and how well the author did the banter aspect of this story. It was fun, interesting and had me absolutely hooked on the characters and their story.

I found the spice wasn't as prevelant as I expected it to be, which was a nice surprise because I really got into the story and the character growth throughout the entire book. The plot was so much fun and had me hooked from start to finish. I absolutely loved this book!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a pretty good second chance romance. Jillian has some obstacles to work through and I really liked that part of the book. Jack is a solid hero and a likable guy. I agree with one of the other reviewers that the "southern" accent & phrases are over done. I'm a native Texas and we don't talk like that, sorry to burst your bubble! I also felt there was a lot of repetition in this book and the chapters seemed to go on and on and on and on. Best parts of this book are when they are on camera together. Really cute scenes. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.