My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC copy of this book available to me.

I couldn't finish this. This use of present tense in the book made it just too annoying to me, reading like it was a screenplay or the script of a play. As far as I did read, the relatives of the woman just made me cringe. I'[m sure there is an audience for this book, but it's definitely not me.

Chris and Susan were once a couple. Then she left and he doesn’t know why. Now they are both in Edinburgh making a go of their respective restaurants.

And they’re still on each other’s minds, a lot. After ten years. There is such a thing as moving on.

This story was more about how to get on in the restaurant business than a romance. There was very little romance in this story, considering it is supposed to be a romance.

There was the obligatory other guy. Who was a delight.

There were the two sister. Who, I am sure, I have already read about in another novel. Just couldn’t put my finger on it, but the haughty elder sister and the basket case younger sister seem like tropes, rather than characters.

I liked the story better when the sisters were in it less.

I pretty much struggled through the first half of the story. Liked it better in the second half. But the story didn’t sizzle and there wasn’t much of a bang - even though there was much cooking and even some actually fireworks.

This is a very fun story, more of a chick lit book than a true romance, but it is a second chance romance at the heart of it.

Susan and Chris get their second chance at romance when they both find themselves back in Scotland. Chris is trying to launch his own restaurant, and Susan is trying to save her family's restaurant. They both have complicated pasts and family dynamics that they need to overcome, and their relationship history is fraught with miscommunication and misunderstanding.

In the end, however, Susan does learn to stand up to her family and focus on herself, and her relationship with Chris. The hate-to-love, finding each other's way back, is really written with wit, humor and compassion. A thoroughly engaging read.

Light and entertaining retelling of Austen's Persuasion. Really enjoyable description and scene setting in Scotland - made me want to visit!

All Stirred Up is a fabulous debut novel by Brianne Moore. The alternating perspectives of the main characters and a lively supporting cast make for an intriguing read.

Started reading this in a busy time and I think that's the best time to read a book like this. The plot is not all that exciting but overall it's a very cute read that kept me entertaint throughout.
It took me a while to connect with the characters, but as I kept reading I loved Susan more and more. The way she fought for her restaurant and cared for the people around her was beautiful. My favourite character in the book was Chris, I loved how we got to see more of his 'tragic' background at the end of the book, that made me understand him more.
The secondary characters I sadly did not love as much. Gloria was the only one I mildly cared for and that was just because she had a fun personality. If I had to choose one of Susan's sisters I'd pick Julia, you could just see how much effort she put into redecorating Elliot's so she could escape reality.
Aunt Kay I despised tho, it felt like we had to forgive her right away at the end and I just couldn't. I know she meant well for Susan but she should not have hurt Chris in that way.

Now on to Romance:
I felt like the storyline between Philip and Susan was all that necessary. And sadly that got in the way of the development between Chris and Susan. I have to say that I would have liked to have some more romance between the two of them. But atleast we got some of that at the ending.

Favourite things about the book:
- ALL THE FOOD. God I was so hungry while reading this
- Chris and Susan's ending

Least favourite things about the book:
- Not as much romance between Susan and Chris
- The secondary characters

Overall I enjoyed the book and I'd give it 3 stars

You don't have to be a foodie to love this book, but all the references to restaurants, food critics, cooking shows, and chefs make it really fun to read. Add a great love story that is not too graphic or too sweet, but just right and you've got a terrific read. Apparently this is based on Jane Austen's book, Persuasion, which I have never read. That did not take anything away from my enjoyment of this book, and I imagine that if I was familiar with Persuasion, I'd like this book even more. Look forward to recommending this title.

All Stirred Up was a character-driven romance between two chefs that brought in really interesting plot points, like social media, blogging and festivals. Based on Persuasion by Jane Austen, the two main characters, Susan and Chris, were together ten years ago and then come back together when they both move to Edinburgh to start new things.

One of the main points that I enjoyed in this story was the development of the side characters. Susan's family in particular was really interesting. Her sisters, Meg and Julia, had very established personalities and it was clear that the entire family had not recovered from their mother's death, ten years prior. It was sweet to see the way that the three sisters got on - and didn't - throughout the book, as they all coped with the trauma, and with each other, in unique ways. Susan's father got less character development and, personally, I don't think that the story needed him to feature quite so much. I think that the aunt, Kay, would have really flourished if she'd stepped into that role as the leader of the family. The final family member worth mentioning is Beth, Chris' sister, who, while amusing, seemed rather stereotypical and gimmicky, with a pronounced Scottish accent that was written in such a detailled way that it took away from what she was saying. The rest of Chris' circle, however, was more intriguing. His best friend and sous-chef, Calum, wasn't seen much but, when he was, he brought humour and levity without detracting from the scene. Rab, too, was very interesting and made a good point of contact between Susan and Chris.

The main characters, however, could have been more well-rounded, for me. Susan just didn't ever seem to be very flawed. Her flaw - leaving Chris without explanation - was explained away, leaving the audience sympathising with her. Chris, too, seemed to be quite unflawed. His major 'flaw', which was explained in one unsatisfying scene, again didn't seem to have much impact on the story as a whole, except in the past.

I found the plot itself nice to read. It was a bit of a success story for both of them, with some minor hiccouphs along the way. Lots of attention was paid to family dynamics, which were very well done, and too much attention, in my opinion, was paid to the setting and the facts of the setting (i.e. the tourist attractions and the visible things), rather than the atmosphere that these things lent to it. For me, as a British person (although not Scottish), it was quite evident that the author was American but it was particularly highlighted when the British chef referred to rocket salad as 'arugula', which most British people would not read as what it is.

The romance, for me, lacked a bit, too. The interactions we do get between Chris and Susan - including a particularly nice one in a park - are sweet but few and far between, and they only actually get together in the last scene. I would have liked a bit more between them.

All in all, I did enjoy this book. The plot and the characters were interesting to read about but I found the writing a bit lacking and the romance a bit underwhelming. Even so, I would recommend this book to anybody who wants a quick, light read with some fuzzy bits and a very heavy Scottish overtone.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC of this title.

I had just read Jane Austen's Persuasion, which this novel is based on. I usually love modern adaptions of classics especially Austen but this one I really struggled with finishing. I think that it many places it was trying to hard to be a perfect parallel to the original which I think made it feel like it was trying too hard. I thought that the characters were a bit bland and didn't have the complexity of a modern person.

Maybe this one is a bit easier and cuter if you haven't just read the source material.

This was the first book I've read from this author and I enjoyed it very much. It was very well written and the characters were well thought out.

The story of Susan and Chris. I liked how it is told from both of their points of view, and the story unfolds sharing their secrets throughout the book.

It is based on persuasion, so it was fun to work out who was based on who!

I was given an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book; Scotland! Cooking! It had all the makings of an amazing rom-com. But it was mediocre for me. The plot was more focused on descriptions of Edinburgh, of houses (the wallpaper!), etc. The plot moved slowly and I didn’t particularly care for the characters.

I don’t think I’d pick this one up again, nor would I recommend it to friends.

This was a fun take on Persuasion, and I really enjoyed the restaurant setting. The food descriptions left me hungry!

This book is inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, and even though this story is incredibly modern, it still kept most of the bones of the original and does justice to the original material. It's a wonderful second-chance romance filled with heartbreaking and heart-swelling moments aplenty. Susan and Chris separate in the worst of circumstances, and they both go off and see massive changes in their lives over 10 years. When they meet again, Chris is opening a restaurant, which is sure to be a smash hit, while Susan is trying to save the last restaurant left in her grandfather's empire. Warning: this book will make you hungry.

I am a big Jane Austen fan. That being said it is hard to read a contemporary book that tries to keep so close to the original books story line - the original was written in 1817! I liked the characters in All Stirred Up and felt it could have been a good story if the author had taken a more broad approach. The main characters don't really start interacting until the half way part of the book. Had the author started with the premise then written an original story it would have been MUCH better.

Susan Napier is trying to save her family's once thriving high-end restaurant empire that only has a single place left the original Elliott's in Edinburgh due to mismanagement and in the case of her father, neglect.. Everyone loved a good Jane Austen adaptation and All Stirred Up does not disappoint. Susan while dealing with her scatterbrained family, rampant sexism, an annoying reporter and another interfering family member is pitted against the former love of her life who is opening a fancy new restaurant in Edinburgh. Will the competition rekindle their once flaming romance or will they both crash and burn under the strain and close quarters?

I'm going to be TOTALLY honest here and say that I DNF'd this book at about the 45% mark. I REALLY try to not do that with books when I'm gifted an ARC because I feel I owe it to the publisher and author to give it a fair review, but I just have too many books in my pile that I an anxious to read to keep plugging away on something that felt like a chore. I was really intrigued by the premise of this book, but I found it to be tedious to actually read and I just couldn't make myself care about the story or the characters. There are plenty of readers who loved this book, so I have no doubt it was just not a good fit for my personal tastes or my current mood or something, but this wasn't a winner for me.

I'm giving it 3 stars because I don't feel like it's fair to rate it lower than that when I read less than half of the book.

This was a lovley read. I enjoyed almost being walked around Edinburgh as the descriptions of the city were detailed and picturesque. I could imagine myself in this story as a by-stander, watching and willing it to all be OK in the end.
Thanks to the publishers and Net Galley for the ARC copy for review.

DNF'd - this one was not for me.

I found the third person perspective and detailed descriptions of the Scottish setting took me out of the story.

Also I found Susan a bit frustrating as a character.

I found this book very slow. It was hard to stay focused when reading it. To much time was spent focusing on the restaurant instead of the relationships between the characters.