It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

At the end of the day I really liked this book.

This is a love-hate story which are some of my favorite kind of books. The setting is the restaurant section of New York which is a wonderful place. Lumi Santana is a chef who has a wonderful ability to feel and taste the emotions of the person who cooked the food that she is eating. That would be a great gift, maybe. Then There's Julian Dax, a gergeous chef who is best known for his good looks and of course because he's good looking, his bad attitude, Lumi ends up working for Julian after the restaurant she opens closes. At first she doesn't like him, of course but then after she tates his food that changes.

I liked this book, but I am not one for the whole damsel in distress and must be saved by a man. I wish she had been able to pick save herself. Dispite that I will be recomending this book to friends and family. It was a good book with a good story line.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving this book to me to read in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a little taste of everything! While the main story is a very slow burn, it does heat up a little bit. I was so excited to be approved for this ARC from Netgalley but ultimately ended up a little disappointed.
The good: I love that the characters are from different backgrounds, even though that seems to be happening a lot lately, and I also loved the included recipes! I felt the over all story line was good and perhaps even brought out the feels a little bit as we all struggle to hold on to something and make it thrive down the line even if it means taking some steps back ourselves.

The bad: I felt that one of the main characters was just plain rude and it made me struggle a little bit to feel for him and want him to end up with the happy ending. The slow burn of the main story line made me feel like I was watching for water to boil at times.

Overall I don’t regret having read the book as I did enjoy it I just would rate it as an ultimate favorite. I would definitely recommend it to friends just with a precursor of no over excitement.

This was a slow burn for me, but it picked up in the second half. I appreciated the originality in the plot and the character development of Lumi. The romance was a good mix of sweet and sexy. Fans of foodie fiction will definitely enjoy that aspect of it!

I was able to read A Taste of Sage by Yaffa S. Santos for free from Netgalley for providing me with an advanced ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. I hardly read romance novels but I wanted to read Taste of Sage because while reading the description it reminded me of "Like Water for Chocolate.”
I enjoyed Lumi and Julien’s love of cooking and the way author Yaffa S. Santos writes those scenes will make anyone salivate (the Majarete brought back so many memories). Lumi’s gift for Dominican fusion creations and Julien’s traditional French cooking were the highlights of the story.
This book kept me reading. Lumi and Julien just draw you in. The story will have you rooting for Lumi as well as laughing at the lobster scene. The aloe vera scene had me welling up with tears.
Lumi shows you how to survive the painful and how to grow. Julien’s character matures and surprises you.
I was so happy to receive this book and it didn't disappoint! I love the story and it just keeps you wanting more.
I loved the recipes mixed in with the story, but I especially loved how these two were just what each other needed.
I can't wait to read more from this author.

I liked the idea of this story and the cover is so adorable. However, I really disliked the main character (kind of rude) and struggled at times through the book because of this. When I completed the book, I liked the overall story - just a wished for better character chemistry.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I could not finish this book.
When I was first introduced to A Taste of Sage a year ago, the synopsis lead me to believe that this would be a modern day, "Like Water for Chocolate," but the cover told a different story and was very clearly a standard romance.
Even with that knowledge, I tried to give this book a chance because I LOVE reading books about food and books about people who love to cook but I just could not get into this cookie-cut she's Latina and spicy/ he's (probably) white and stuffy plot. I just couldn't.
I'm sure there is an audience who will love this book but I'm just not apart of it.

DNF at 35 %. This one wasn’t what I hoped for. I love a good food themed book. But Julien was insufferable and their relationship made me uncomfortable.

I thought the food writing was beautiful and I loved the addition of actual recipes, but I just didn’t connect with the characters. Julien in particular.

While I'm a total foodie, the one-dimensional characters, choppy chapters, lack of chemistry, and disconnected scenes did not endear me to finish this novel. While the inclusion of recipes was a cute idea, I think it interrupted the story (and nothing in the chapters made me really interested in them, anyway).

Thank you, NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.

I really love culinary romance books, but this one just wasn't my favorite. I liked the chemistry in the kitchen and between the characters, but I felt that our leading man at times was kind of a jerk.
It's a cute story, the characters just needed some work.

I can't say much here. The heroine (Lumi) was likable, the hero (Dax) took a while for me to get there. There just needed to be more character development. I also thought that Ms. Santos just totally ignored the whole thing with the Fatal Attraction secretary. It just seemed to be hand-waved and it was just odd. I did love the recipes, and the description of the food in the book seemed great.

"A Taste of Sage" follows chef Lumi as she tries to give her own restaurant in New York a go. Lumi wants to have an eclectic clientele, and changes up the menu on a daily basis. She thinks she may be close to realizing her dream after dealing with her mother's voice in her head and on the phone telling her she's not capable of more. When Lumi's venture fails she has to go back to work as a sous chef to French chef, Julian Dax at his place called Dax. Lumi finds Dax off-putting and arrogant. She also doesn't think his style of cooking resonates with her style since he's all about the classics with no modernization. The two quickly start to feel something between them.

I honestly thought that Lumi was a bit naive at first. When she is told her venture is failing she just stuck her head in the sand. I liked the fact her friend helped her out with the job at Dax. I am realizing more now that we had gotten more of Lumi with her friends and other colleagues. Most of the book was her in the bath tub and then cooking something, while being irked at Dax. I don't know much about the restaurant world, but Lumi's style definitely didn't seem workable. I wish that we had gotten a chance to see her learning more from Dax and Dax learning more from her. I thought the book would end up similar to "Woman on Top" with the female character showing how to good wonderful food and how it slowly wakes up others senses around them. We do have Lumi with her special ability to taste people's emotions when she eats their cooking, but it didn't work it into the plot enough for me.

Julien or Dax as he was mostly called was fine. I just felt myself growing bored of him throughout the book. At first he irritated me, then I was just, eh. I wish there had been more there.

I did love the sexy times between the two of them, but sex scenes are no enough to have me return to a romance novel again and again. This just needed more time to simmer so we can see how the two have changed. We just jumped through so many things too fast I think and then we are in the epilogue a year later.

Heat Factor: There’s a fire in this kitchen
Character Chemistry: He’s a manipulative douchenozzle
Plot: It went some unexpected places
Overall: I was so excited about the premise, but the execution was disappointing

The basic idea behind this book is that when Lumi eats food, she experiences the emotions of the person who cooked it. When she goes to work for a chef with some anger issues, she initially dislikes him, but then she tastes his cooking and it’s magical.

What a cool idea for a book, right? We’ve got some enemies to lovers stuff going on, some fated mates stuff going on (because of course only his cooking has that magical something extra), and some magical realism for good measure.

Sadly, A Taste of Sage fell flat for me.

On an objective, craft level, the food writing was a little off. Santos includes lot of detail about the process of preparing food - what ingredients our protagonists gather together, what tools they use, how they chop and sauté and braise everything. Santos even includes recipes for some of the dishes made, which is fun! (I’m totally going to make the Coq au Vin in Mamajuana, mainly because I have a bottle of Mamajuana my husband impulse bought when we were on our honeymoon and I have no idea what else to do with it.) I will say that I side-eye anyone who makes ratatouille by cutting up vegetables and baking them all together in one casserole dish, because that has NEVER worked for me. (I’m looking at you, Remy the Rat.)

However, Santos includes very little detail about the sensory experience of eating the food, which, given the premise, is a little weird. I want to know specifics about how things taste! How does it feel in her mouth? How do the flavors harmonize - or not? How does her emotional synesthesia interact with the flavors of the food? We get a little of this, but frankly, the fact that this book is not dripping in these kinds of details is a missed opportunity.

My other issue with this book is more about personal preferences. I thought Julien, our hero, was a complete jerk (even after he was supposedly redeemed), and it really killed the romance for me.

Some examples:

When Julien and Lumi first meet, he negs her. At first I was like, ok, we’re setting the stage for an enemies to lovers romance. But then we get his perspective on the interaction and he’s all like, I think this complete stranger is cute so I’m going to “tease” (!!!) her by telling her her food is terrible. Just...no.

Lumi has an accident and is covered in 3rd degree burns. Julien goes to tend to her, and convinces her to take a walk. (This is the first time she has left her apartment in weeks. Understandably. She has had bandages all over her face.) They walk to his place. She wants to go home, but he’s like, how about you take a shower? And then he walks into the bathroom before she even gets wet and when he sees her naked he’s like, can we please have sex? I’ll be careful. She has blisters on her face and is on a liquid diet because she can’t move her mouth, but she still says yes. That is a dick move, Julien. And even though she’s into it, I do not buy this interaction as enthusiastic consent.

AND THEN! Here’s what happens after the sexytimes start. Reminder: her face and torso are covered in burns.
A thought crossed his mind and he smiled to himself with a glint in his eye. He pushed away from her and stood up behind her.
“Sorry,” he lied. “I got a little carried away.”
She turned to face him, eyeing him seductively. “Come back,” she whispered.
This is not sexy. Just revisiting this quotation makes me feel all ragey inside.

I also had some issues with the pacing and build up of the relationship, which did nothing to mitigate my complete and utter loathing for Julien, but which I’m not going to cover in detail because I think I have ranted enough.


I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report. (May 2020)

I adore a good culinary romance and I couldn’t wait to read A Taste of Sage. I enjoyed Lumi and Julien’s love of cooking and the way author Yaffa S. Santos writes those scenes will make foodies and non-foodies alike salivate. Lumi’s gift for Dominican fusion creations and Julien’s traditional French cooking were the highlights of this book, but unfortunately there wasn’t much else that I loved.

Lumi Santana is a likeable heroine and she’s easy to care about, especially after the heartbreaking closure of her restaurant. I hated seeing her dream shattered and I was rooting for her to succeed professionally every step of the way. In the meantime, Lumi has to pay her bills and that means taking a job as a sous chef at a traditional French restaurant owned by mercurial chef Julien Dax. Julien is shown to be a hot-tempered snob in the beginning, but that kind of fades. Julien isn’t an easy character to pin down, mostly because he isn’t as well-drawn as Lumi. Julien is, in essence, whatever the plot needs him to be at any given moment. He’s temperamental, he’s rude, he’s smitten, he’s obsessed, he’s devoted… There are some hints at depth to his character, but because he’s so inconsistent nothing really sticks out. Their romance is rather shallow and seems based on lust and a shared love of food more than anything else. I wanted to like them as a couple, but I really couldn’t work up any enthusiasm and simply did not care about their romance.

A Taste of Sage starts off as a fairly straightforward opposites attract story and I was totally ready to enjoy this beloved trope. But partway through things seem to just fall apart. There’s an overreliance on Lumi’s gift of synesthesia to further the plot and there’s also a minor “bad guy” who may not be so bad after all…? I can’t be entirely certain because many of the characters simply change according to what the plot calls for. I did like Lumi’s friends and would like to explore their characters more. But aside from Rafelina and Jenny, the rest of the supporting cast is thinly-drawn and inconsistent in their behavior. I also didn’t like that Ms. Santos defined every single heavy character by their weight and in incredibly frustrating terms. I grew tired of hearing people referred to as “portly,” “fleshy,” and “Michelin Man.” For example, I would have liked to learn more about Julien’s sister and the family dynamics that are brought up and then dropped, but sadly all I know about her is that she works in HR and is – to use this book’s term – “portly.”

A Taste of Sage had potential, but ultimately missed the mark for me. I enjoyed the culinary aspects of the story and Lumi was an interesting heroine for much of the book, but I wasn’t sold on the romance, the inconsistent characters, or the dropped storylines.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

This was a fun mix between Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors and the Hating Game. If you like the enemies-to-lovers trope, you'll enjoy A Taste of Sage. Also has a but of a Chocolat flair.

•• I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.”
It was hard for me to connect to this story. There were jumps in the story that felt abrupt. Changes in personality, major events are skipped and then presented as an afterthought, and issues that are just glossed over.
The writing is good but made me feel removed from the story. At first the recipes were a nice touch but they became a distraction.
I liked Lima, even though she was a little flat. Her love of food is very apparent but I am not sure of much else.
Julien is a chef. I mean he’s a chef. Like really a chef. He also has red hair. And is an asshat.
There was no chemistry. They were all just meh.
If you like a chefs romance, this might be for you. It had a lot of potential but it didn’t deliver.

I wish I could give a better review but I DNF'd this novel about a third of the way into it. The premise is right up my alley but the love interest was not someone I could deal with. He comes of as the biggest asshole that is secretly a nice guy but that didn't work for me at all. Maybe he turns it around and I would think differently if I read the entire book but I really don't want to.

A Taste of Sage, by Yaffa S. Santos, was a food-inspired romance that I enjoyed reading, although I wasn’t overwhelmed by the story. The story follows chefs Lumi Santana, who can feel the emotions of a chef through eating their food, and Julien Dax, who is successful but much disliked. After her own restaurant fails, Lumi begins working with Julien. In spite of her own reluctance, she slowly begins to fall for him in this enemies to lovers romance.

Santos’ writing was fun and smart, but I didn’t connect with either of the characters and it was hard to root for them to succeed. Their romance felt forced and when they started to share their feelings, it seemed to come out of nowhere. There was not a slow build to the romance and seemed awkward and stunted as they tried to navigate it. There was also a magical realism element, advertised as synesthesia in the book’s description, but in which the main character experienced the emotion of a chef who cooked food - if the chef was sad when they baked cookies, then Lumi would taste that sadness when she ate them, and so on. This made-up version of synesthesia was interesting, but led to some odd, and unrealistic, turns in the book that ultimately did not work for me as a reader.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

If you love food writing and romances and wish there were more books that combined the two, this is the book for you! Very cute.

Its sweet, witty, entertaining and promising start made me think “Yes! I found another feel-good rom-com will warm my heart and help me to forget my shitty and stressful day”! I felt like some four or five starred review was already coming up. So I poured more wine to my glass, extended my legs and started reading.

I was so happy to be introduced to Lumi Santana, Dominican chef, lovely, relatable heroine loses her dream restaurant and trying to find a solution to make her ends meet, holding her head above the water and she finally gets a job at French restaurant owned by Julien Dax.

Yes, this is the moment we are introduced to our hero and wait for the couple’s sparkling, sizzling, growing chemistry. But guess what? It perfectly blows on your face and the only reason you cannot find the sparkle and hot chemistry, losing your interest and entire excitement is THAT PRETENTIOUS, MEAN, ARROGANT, A…HOLE HERO!

Can a hero with worst traits sabotage the entire foundation of the book? Yes he can. Yes he will, he already did that.

When I read a romance: I don’t care about clichés or same elements starting with enemies to friends and friends to lovers relationship dynamics. And of course something big happens to force the lovers break up. They suffer and some groveling later, one of them (mostly hero) makes a remarkable jest and takes his girl back, riding his horse into the sunset for their HEA!

But this formula never works if one of the characters needs to be punched several times and there is no chemistry or reliable romantic elements. This book has dislikeable anti-hero killed not so reliable romance and forced chemistry.

Overall: Writing of the book was not so bad but romance parts and character building failed me. I only gave 2.5 stars and rounded them up to 3 for the sake of the heroine and representation of Dominic culture and diversity elements. I still wish to read more books of the author but next time I’m begging her to create more likeable heroes!

Special thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for sharing this romantic ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

A Taste of Sage was a sweet book about a Dominican fusion chef, Lumi, and her journey to finding herself as a woman in a meaningful relationship and as a restaurant owner. She meets Julien, the owner of a reputable French restaurant, and ends up working as his sous chef, taking liberties with the traditional recipes here and there. Julien’s normally strict personality tends to bend whenever Lumi is around as he falls in love with her.

I found this book to be a cute story, especially if you enjoy novels that center around cooking. I am rating this book 4 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.