I generally love food writing, fiction or nonfiction, so I was pumped to receive an eGalley of A Taste of Sage, which infuses food writing with romance. The book includes recipes at the end of most chapters, that directly correlate with the food discussed in that chapter. Despite the fact that I rarely actually end up making these recipes, I love it when books do that!

A Taste of Sage follows Lumi Santana as she signs on to be the sous chef for arrogant and easily angered Julien Dax. His explosive personality, and rigid, uncreative approach to his restaurant’s menu grate on Lumi’s nerves, but from the get-go, it was clear they were going to get together. One aspect of Lumi’s character that was very intriguing was her relationship to food and taste. Santos chose to give Lumi the gift of being able to taste the emotions individual’s had when cooking the food she eats. This clever and unexpected twist added a lot to the story.

Unfortunately, the on-and-off relationship between Lumi and Julien felt very jerky to me and I couldn’t understand how explosive each of their fights got or what they were upset about most of the time. The unrealistic nature of the romance that was at the core of the story made it hard for me to get into it.

Review posted on May 13 to:
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The moment I saw this fabulous cover, I knew I had to add it to my to read list. I loved the premise and adored the splash of magical realism. Lumi had such potential as a character, and I was so ready to root for her and her dreams, but I ended up having hard time finishing this book. U I felt that all the characters felt a bit flat. I kept forgetting who the side characters were, and Julien in particular felt like I never really could understand him; his jerk turned softy transition was rapid and unrealistic in the time span allowed.. I also found the boss/employee relationship uncomfortable, and while I think it can be done well in novels, I never could get past it. Although this one fell flat, I do look forward to whatever Santos has next, since I think her sensory and descriptive writing and creative instincts are there. I still would purchase this title for the representation alone, and since I think many will gravitate towards its stunning cover and interesting premise.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A Taste of Sage has an intriguing concept, comparable to a rom-com version of Like Water for Chocolate. And in that regard, it delivers, with sumptuous food descriptions and recipes throughout, and inclusion of Lumi’s unique ability in a fun way in the plot (even if it does take an absurd turn later for the sake of plot convenience).

Lumi herself is relatable, pursuing her dream until she loses everything, and finding herself working as a sous chef under an inflexible head chef.

But I expected there to be some growth on Julien’s part in terms of rediscovering his love of food, and it’s there to an extent, but it just didn’t materialize in a way that made sense or had as big an impact on the plot.

Also, while there is major unspoken chemistry between the two prior to them getting together, especially when they were butting heads, the payoff of them being together wasn’t there, and I just didn’t root for their relationship, even in the crisis point where the break up.

This is a book that has some great ideas, but could have used more work fine tuning some of them to make a more convincing and cohesive romance. If you like foodie romance, I think this might be worth trying, just for the unique aspects.

I had to "DNF" this book at 50%. The first 35% of this book was sooo slow! I get that you have to set up the background for the story, but a lot of it felt unnecessary. It did get a little bit better after that, but not enough for me to want to continue. I wanted more romance and less cooking from this book. Don't get me wrong, I loved the chef aspect of it, but I wish that was secondary to the romance. I did think the recipes thrown in at the end of each chapter was a cute touch.

I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

This was boring to me and when in thought it would get better it didn't. This story had Spanish words which helped me sharpen up my spanish vocabulary so I enjoyed that. I hardly know anything about cooking so I was wondering what the dishes would look like. In all I give this a 3 star rating for its efforts.

I love Julien so much and I think that's what made/saved this book for me! It was a bit slow but I love most books set in the kitchen. This had an interesting dynamic with them both being Chefs and I would call it a bit of magical realism but something was missing. I enjoyed this but I just wish there was something more.

A Taste of Sage comes out later this month on May 19, 2020, and you can purchase HERE. If you want a fun rom-com involving the kitchen or loved Simply Irresistible, this one is for you!

He felt himself, but not himself. He felt more alive, but also more anxious. And he couldn't deny for much longer that he felt like his blood was boiling every time that woman was around him. Letting logic prevail wasn't working out that well after all.

Unfortunately I decided to DNF this at 22%.

I know I didn't make it very far in, but so far it's not even mentioned that Lumi can taste people's feelings in their food. That was a huge part of the description that drew me in, but it's nowhere to be found.

These characters are insufferable. Lumi and Julien both are so full of themselves that they can't even take criticism. She had someone try to help her with her restaurant, but would rather see it close than listen to good advice. I just couldn't take it!

On top of that, this writing felt so forced and stilted that it was incredibly boring. I had high hopes, but this fell flat.

This was an amazing book.I loved the food aspect, especially the amazing description of various prepared meals. The special gift that Lumi adds an amazing element to the story. This book has amazing representation, with Lumi being Dominican and that being her cuisine of choice. Even though the romance in this book was hard to get with at first, I really enjoyed the couple afterward. This book was a slow burn when it came to the romance but that is what made it more believable and helped the reader get used to the characters being together.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions of my own.

Lumi Santana is a chef with a special gift - she feels the person's emotions by tasting their cooking. After her restaurant fails, she takes a position as a sous chef at Julien Dax's French restaurant. Julien is known for his cranky personality despite being a celebrated chef. Despite their clashes in the Kitchen, he can't help but be drawn by her and once she tasted his cooking, she couldn't get enough of it.

What I enjoyed:
- The recipes - The book is filled with interesting recipes that I think I'd be interested to try! They aren't exactly the author's original recipes but they do sound really good. Much of the book is focused on the food which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I think the story could have been developed better.
- Dual perspective - I liked that it was told from both Julien and Lumi's perspective. I always love that more than just getting one side.

What did not work for me:
- The writing - it feels forced. There's no depth to their relationship or even the individual characters. There's steam but even the execution around that was not very good.

Overall, has potential but fell flat for me.

This had a lot of potential. I like a lot of the concepts and there should be more chef romances. But, ultimately, it was lacking. I'm going to be as positive as I can because I'm sure someone will love this.

Let's start with characters. Lumi and Julien could be compelling, but come across as shells. Julien is especially underdeveloped. There were attempts at backstory, but it was never fully realized. Lumi felt the most real when she was cooking. They were also pretty bland.

The romance. There was no chemistry or attraction between them. I have no idea why these two fell in love other than they were supposed to for the plot. That doesn't create a romance.

I think part of the problem with the romance comes from the pacing. I was constantly confused about how much time had passed. And sometimes it was written like months had passed which I'm supposed to interpret as time for character development, but it was like one day. I swear there were continuity issues, but don't have the desire to re-read to confirm.

There's also a magical realism element to this story. Or at least that's what I'm going to call it. Now, I don't read a lot of magical realism so maybe there are genre norms I'm unaware of. It felt forced. It was an interesting concept, but I don't understand Lumi's "gift". It seemed like a convenient plot point for drama, but like the characters was poorly developed,

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It was a solid "meh" for me.

Though the addition of recipes is cute, and the idea of a character who can taste the emotions of others in their food is novel, this book doesn't work. The characters don't feel super solid, the chemistry is asserted more than developed, and some of the dialog is very weird. At one point the hero feels an emotion and wonders when he got to be such a "pantywaist" which... stopped me cold. There's also no discussion around protection when the characters are intimate, something which always pulls me out of a book.

I didn't feel a single spark while reading this. :(

That said, I would try another book from this author to see how their writing develops, since the bones are there.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for review.

I loved the writing style of this and the diversity. I love own voices stories. This book made me want to eat everything. I laughed out loud at some parts and teared up at others. The relationship felt rushed at times and not completely believable, but I did love both characters separately. I wish there was just more to the characters. I do think this was a solid and enjoyable book and I hope to see more from Yaffa S. Santos in the future.

The descriptions of food and culture in this book were lovely, and the recipes throughout the book are a great addition. Overall, the romance felt a bit rushed and forced. I would recommend to lovers of the romance genre, but not to anyone new to the genre.

I was really looking forward o his book and I was so good! I loved the characters! I love food so this was a great combo for a book!

This debut immediately jumped out to me not only because of the cooking element, but also because it's an enemies to lovers trope! Unfortunately a lot didn't work for me in this book, namely the romance. In the blurb, there is an intriguing element mentioned where Lumi can "taste a person's emotions" by eating their food. This wasn't really established in the beginning though we spend a lot of time cooking with her. The food is definitely center stage here. Since it's supposed to be a reason why she changes her tune when it comes to arrogant chef, Dax, I think it needed to be more developed. Now Dax...where do I begin? He wasn't a likeable character at all. He's rude, abrasive, snobby, and generally terrible human. Not at all what I want in my heroes. Their first meeting (which felt a little too convenient) left a bad taste in my mouth and it didn't improve at all throughout the book. Think Bradley Cooper's character in Burnt. There wasn't a believable moment where I thought Lumi could actually be attracted to him. They just magically start liking each other. Minor nit-pick: I wish the recipes were included at the back instead of interrupting the flow of the story. It's a more convenient way for me to have the recipes all in one place as well.

I wanted to love this, but it didn't quite land for me. The writing is a bit stilted and heavy on adjectives—even the descriptions of food (which I typically adore) fell flat for me. Julien was such a deeply unpleasant character that I found myself unable to root for the central relationship.

I made it to 51% in this book and that was really pushing past the time when I should have DNF'd it. But I wanted to make sure I gave this book a fair shot, in part because I requested it from Netgalley and in part because I really liked Yaffa S. Santos on a panel she did for the Social Distance Book Fest. The problem is this: the writing of this book did not work for me in any way shape or form. So hopefully this is a case of YMMV, but I would definitely recommend you download a sample before committing to the book. I'm not normally a person who has a serious issue with writing style so it was a surprise to realize I could not lose myself in this book like normal.

I also didn't really love Julien and just before I DNF'd there was this random fight scene that was wildly unnecessary. The best part of this book is definitely the fact that there are recipes so it's not all bad, it's just very much not a book for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book early.

I have tried a few times and I just havent been able to get into the flow of this book. I made it to about 40% before I just gave up. The premise is good but the characters are just unlikable.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this for an honest review.

A cute love story but it fell flat. Lumi was a very interesting character and parts of this book reminded me of A Taste of Coconut Cake. But the dialogue was not believable or realistic and their seemed to be a lot of errors in this book.

I had high hopes for this one, but I was sadly disappointed! I think it had a lot of potential but fell flat. The writing and the characters didn't really speak to me. I wanted it to be a light, little read that helped me out of my reading slump but it didn't fulfill its purpose!