Thank you so much @RazorbillBooks, @PenguinTeen & @NetGalley for giving me this physical ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 02 February 2021)

SYNOPSIS | Liza Yang wants to follow in her parents footsteps & attend culinary school to pursue her love of baking, but her parents want a better life for her. Her mum is constantly trying to set her up with a nice Asian American boy, yet Liza isn't interested in dating someone that ticks all of her mum's boxes. Her mum hosts a bake-off every year & Liza is overjoyed to be offered the position of a technical judge until she see's that the contestants are all Asian American boys...

WHAT I LIKED:
- it was a really cute, fluffy & wholesome story that'll leave you craving pastries & boba tea
- it's perfect for fans of To All the Boys I've Loved Before, The Great British Baking Show & The Bachelorette

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- it read on the younger side of YA
- the mother/daughter relationship (there was a lot of belittling, meddling & a complete disregard for each others feelings)
- i didn't root for any of the romances
- so many references to boba

Thank you to Penguin Teen for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Warning - this book will make you very hungry! I have been craving buns from the asian bakery and this book made me want to drive the 30 min just to get some pineapple buns/egg tarts! This own voices Taiwanese-American YA romance novel is a pride & prejudice retelling featuring a baking competition very similar to the Great British Baking Show. It's super adorable with delicious Asian food references and a diverse cast of characters (different races, bi-sexual). The relationship between Liza and her mom is frustrating at times but I think it's a good insight into the pressure Asian teens often feel in their households.

I enjoyed it a lot and I look forward to more own voices books in the future so others can learn about the Chinese culture!

I love a good enemies to lovers and this one takes the cake (pun intended)! Liza was such a fun character and I loved learning more about her background and Taiwanese baking. If you're not craving Taiwanese pastries after reading this book, there's something wrong. Back to Liza, her mom has been trying to set her up with a nice Asian boy, preferably Taiwanese, and Liza is having none of it. She hides the American boys she dates and tries to live her own life, like her sister Jeannie who's a model in NYC. Liza's mom owns a bakery & her father owns a restaurant that they named Yin & Yang. Her mom hosts an annual bakeoff and this year Mrs. Yang uses it as a matchmaking exercise for Liza, cue the drama.

What really adds to the story are the secondary characters. Her friend Grace is the perfect complement to Liza's reserved self. She's bubbly and outgoing. Grace's outgoingness leads the girls to meeting James & Ben, two boys that moved to Houston from NYC (you learn why later in the story). Grace and Ben hit it off, but James rubbed Liza the wrong way the first time she met him, in her high school parking lot. After constantly being forced together due to Grace & Ben, James and Liza become friendly.

Both Ben and James are in the baking competition along with 8 other boys. Drama ensues both at the bakeoff and in Liza & Grace's lives. Throw in a lying boyfriend, a baking foe, and the drama from New York and you have the perfect recipe for something more crazy than a K-drama (according to Liza). I really enjoyed how the story unfolded, though I did guess some of the things in the end reveal.

It was a cute story full of friendship, family, and delicious treats.

Omg this book is really amazing and sweet.
The story is beautiful and is the best book romance. Thank you so much for for this e-book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC in exchange for review.

Sometimes I read a book and I have to remember the audience. Like Jenny Han's books, as a teacher/mother I cringe at some of the story scenarios. But for the book's intended audience, the book hits the target.

Liza is not having luck in love. Not to mention her mother has specifics for whom she is allowed to date. Owners of a restaurant/bakery, Liza's mom does something different for the annual baking contest...all of the contestants are Asian boys. Not only are they competing in a baking competition, they are unknowingly auditioning to date Liza.

The book is a little cheesy and definitely gave me pause with a "Come on," but for a 6th-12th grader, the fun of baking shows and new romances will make this a popular checkout in our library.

When I heard that Jennifer Yen is going to write a Pride and Prejudice retelling, I was so ecstatic. I know there are A LOT of Pride & Prejudice retelling out there, but I'm still excited for it because a) the MC is Asian!!, b) it features baking, and c) how can you NOT be excited for a Pride & Prejudice retelling? Anyway, thanks to the publisher, I got an early copies of it and I'm happy to say that A Taste for Love is as good as I imagined.

A Taste for Love follows Liza Yang, a baker with the strictest of strict mother who only wants her to date "good Asian boy". Her mother constantly set Liza up with her friends's son, but Liza has become some sort of master of dodging the set up. Until one day, when she helps her mom in her annual baking contest and it turns out all the participants are boys that check her mother's box. Also not helping was the fact that she sort of hate-attracted with one of the contestant, James Wong.

One thing that I didn't expect from this book is that it's actually a rom-com. There were some scenes that just didn't make sense, just like how some of the scenes in rom-com movies didn't. Not that I'm complaining though, since it made the book more fun. Along with pop culture references and over-the-top jokes, this book successfully made me laugh several times.

Another thing that I appreciate in this book is how it's truly made for teens and young adult. Sometimes when I read a book with teen characters, I get the feeling that they act older, which made me picture them as someone in their 20s and not the usual 16-18 (not that teen was supposed to act a certain way, but I hope you get what I mean). But that's not the case with this book. I can easily pictures all these characters as a teenager in a high school. From being obsessed with bubble tea to popular meme references, I think a lot of teenager or young adult can relate with the characters in this book, especially Asian teens.

Even if, in my opinion, A Taste for Love wasn't the best Pride and Prejudice retelling I've ever read (it's not bad, it's just I didn't get the ~feels~ that I usually get when I read a P&P retelling. This isn't a problem though), it's still a fun and engaging book that I highly recommend. If you're looking for a book with relatable teen characters, lots of baking, and a bit of hate-to-love romance, do try A Taste for Love!

Yeah this one is a DNF.

As soon as the MC started listing off the rules set forth by her mother, which included only dating Asian boys, specifically Tawainese or Chinese because no other Asians counted I was out.

Yes, the mother is overbearing and ridiculous, but I really don’t feel like delving into a story where the Chinese are the perfect minorities in American society and everyone else is the scum of the Earth.

A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen is an absolutely delightful modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice and checks all of my boxes for a fun YA contemporary. It has a decent plot and diverse cast, plenty of laugh out loud moments, nearly perfect chemistry between the characters, and no shortage of overall entertainment. I immensely enjoyed this book and will recommend to all YA contemporary readers.

Here are my three reasons why A Taste for Love should be on your TBR-
1. A feisty, headstrong, free spirited Taiwanese-American heroine, a meddling I-know-what's- best-for-you mom, hell bent on finding her daughter the perfect boyfriend and a hot and handsome yet moody and mercurial hero.
2. A Great British Baking Show style baking competition which in actuality is an elaborate matchmaking scheme in disguise.
3. Downright delectable descriptions of food, both sweet and savory that is bound to make you hungry and you might end up ordering a bunch of Asian treats (with Boba tea) and savor them along with the book.

*Thank you Penguin Young Readers Group for the eARC from Netgalley.

Let the baking begin! Liza Yang is known for her baking skills. Liza definitely has had experience over the years as she worked in her mother’s bakery. Liza’s life is baking, hanging out with her friends, drinking boba tea, and doing her best to stay away from her mother’s matching making obsession. Liza soon realizes that she wants to be considered more serious about her baking. When her mother finally agrees, Liza becomes the newest judge of the annual junior baking competition. However, Liza is less than impressed once she realizes that her mother has turned the competition into a romantic match for Liza.

This was enjoyable most of the time. Other than the similarities with some of the names, I did not really feel like this was much of a Pride and Prejudice retelling. I enjoyed the characters and plot, but I wish some of the comparisons would have been changed a bit more to not seem as direct, like you should think of this book while reading this.

My favorite inclusion of this book was definitely the love of culture mixed with baking. I loved learning more about the baking process for different creations. This book definitely made me crave all the baked goods!

One kind of annoyance for me was Liza’s mother. I did not mind the matchmaking efforts most of the time, but sometimes it seemed like it was a little too focused. I would have liked to get more baking or see Liza spend more time with other characters. I can see why it is used, but sometimes it felt like that was all that we were getting for long periods of time.

Overall this was a kind of average read for me. The characters were mostly enjoyable, but I never really had strong reactions to anyone or anything. The character who was supposed to be more of a Darcy time did not come across similar really at all. I liked him enough though. However I also thought that the bigger conflict with him and another character was too hastily thrown in and not done the best. I expected it because I know the Pride and Prejudice plot, but this inclusion still felt a little underdeveloped and unnecessary.

FIRST OF ALL. I FEEL BETRAYED THAT NOBODY TOLD ME THIS WAS LIKE A PRIDE AND PREJUDICE INSPIRED STORY. Once it clicked for me I just got so excited. I thought at first the first line in the book was just a funny thing BUT THE PARALLELS. BEAUTIFUL.

Anyway, this follows Liza, a high school senior who is just trying to make it through her last year. She wants to go to culinary school but her parents have different expectations, especially when her older sister is the golden child. Anyway, the annual baking competition her mother hosts is just around the corner… and naturally, her mother turns it into an elaborate matchmaking scheme. Cue drama and fun!

Anyway, I loved reading in Liza’s voice. She was naturally really funny and kind of relatable! I loved her passion for baking and reading about her aspirations. Also, I loved her friendship with Grace! It was just great to see a happy female friendship without like the whole miscommunication or jealousy trope.

It was great to see Ben and James interact with Liza and see how their friendship progressed, especially as drama went down. I loved seeing Liza’s relationship with her older sister as well. Pretty much all the relationships were just really great and fun to see!

Of course, the food descriptions throughout the book were perfect and made me so incredibly hungry even for desserts I don’t think I would actually enjoy personally.

The story itself was really fun and cute, though in the middle before the synopsis plot started it felt like the scenes were just there to fill space (though they made sense in hindsight, it just felt weird to have certain scenes as they happened?). I finished this book in like two sittings so it’s incredibly fast paced and easy to read!

I would recommend this to anyone who loves great friendships, cute relationships, all the drama, and Pride and Prejudice vibes. If you enjoy baking, incredible matchmaking schemes, soft and happy boys as well as misunderstood snarky boys, fun pop culture and literary references, and a sprinkle of funny embarrassing moments, definitely check this out!

High school senior Liza Yang loves baking. Her parents are the owners of the popular Chinese bakery and restaurant Ying and Yang in Houston. Her parents respect the traditional Chinese values, and her mom doesn't want anything more then that Liza will date a nice Asian guy that she picked for her. But Liza is a bit of a rebellious teen and isn't that into the dating her out antics of her mom. College is coming up soon, but before that, Liza starts helping out at the bakery's annual junior competition, but when the competition starts, she finds out that all the contests are young Asian American mom that her mom has chosen for her to date. Oh no...this is al wrong, or not?Not when she starts to like one of the contestants, James Wong. A battle starts for the best baker, her feelings for James and the approval of her mother. But not without lots of delicious Taiwanese bubble tea and pastries..mmm!

I really liked this cute contemporary young adult book! The story is fun and fast, and I loved the storyline. The story has a large cast of characters, Liza, her sister Jeannie who is a model, Liza's bff Grace, Ben, Nathan, James, Mrs. Lee, and last but not least Lisa's parents, the owners of the bakery.When Liza goes to visit her sister Jeannie, who is studying and working on her modeling career in New York, she meets Jeannie’s new boyfriend and fellow model, Nathan, who is also taking part in the baking contest. At some point I was a bit lost in the connections between Liza's friends. there is also someone sabotaging the baking contest, but who? Is it one of the guys her strict mother has her eyes on for her or is it someone else? And will Liza find her true love? Find out in this new YA novel that is perfect for fans of Jenny Han's books and for everyone who loves baking and bubble tea!!

I won a copy of this title as a part of the YALLWrite e-ARC Rec A’ Reads sweepstakes. I thought this book was super enjoyable and incredibly light-hearted - honestly, just what I needed to read right now. We follow Liza, who wants to follow her dreams of attending culinary school after graduation and date whoever she want, but her parents (especially her mother) want her to find a more practical career path and date a nice Asian boy. When she finally gets the chance to be a judge in her family's annual baking competition, she realizes she's in store for way more than she bargained for.

I had so much fun reading this. I'll admit, it took me a while to get into it, and to get a feel for the book, but looking back the beginning part I initially wanted to skim became pretty important for later plot points, so I'm glad I stuck it out. Once the baking competition starts, and shenanigans ensued, I flew threw it and had a blast. I thought the book explored friendships, family dynamics, and embracing ones culture extremely well - from Grace and Liza sticking together through anything, to Jeannie and Liza's sisterly bond, to Liza's mother having the impression that Liza is not proud of who she is and her heritage because she doesn't want to date an Asian guy. I found the character of Sarah to be pretty interesting, because I believe she represents those of us who don't know much about cultures different from ours, and sometimes might say things that aren't meant to be offensive but are taken as such because they are ignorant. She does learn, by the end, to be more mindful of the words she uses in those conversations, and she understands that it is not the job of her friends, Grace and Liza, to educate her - she has to put in the work herself.

Overall, a really cute book that I can't wait for other people to devour.

Just prepare yourself with a full stomach because the mere mention of her mom's delectable veggie baozi and her dad's sesame chicken left my stomach wanting more.

I wanted to love this story. I enjoy books that prides themself with immersing the reader in Asian cultures. Between the simple additions like food or traditions specific to their culture to using phrases or words from the native tongue, it opens up the reader to that part of the world. The premise sounds fun and entertaining, but the overall execution fell a little flat. The writing at times made the characters feel like they were in junior high rather than high school. This had the promise of a cute concept and it was easy and fast read, but flow of the story felt rushed and interactions between characters felt exaggerated.

There were some sweet moments and moments where characters were really vulnerable. I enjoyed how sting and how positive the friendships with the story were represented and how the family connection was portrayed. But overall I wanted more from this book.

Big thank you to PenguinTeen for the e-ARC of A Taste For Love through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review!!

3.5/5 stars

A Taste For Love follows Liza, a Taiwanese American girl who just graduated high school and LOVES to bake! When she isn’t helping her parent’s out at their family’s joint restaurant/bakery then she’s at Boba Life with her best friend Grace and Sarah. Liza’s mom is determined to set her up with the perfect match despite Liza’s disinterest in anyone her mom tries to (not so subtlety) nudge her way. Since Liza loves baking and her parents won’t let her go to culinary school, her and her mom come to an agreement that Liza will help with their family’s annual Baking Competition for students. But Liza is in for a ~treat~ when it turns out all the contestants this year are matches her mom has picked out for her....

This book was super fun and cute to read and I loved how food/bubble tea/baking/pastries etc was a HUGE part of this book but whatever you do...don’t read it while hungry lol!

I really appreciated reading all the double dating and friendship dynamics in this which were really sweet and I can’t wait to include it in my Valentine’s day book recommendations video to come!

My only problems with the book was that I didn’t realize it was based on Pride and Prejudice at first so I was super confused why the main character’s love interest was so aloof? I didn’t understand what his personality exactly was but once I found out that their relationship dynamic was based off Pride and Prejudice and the further the story went along the more he showed his personality and I really warmed up to him more and his relationship with the main character!

The other thing was that the mother/daughter dynamic is kind of hard to read because the mother is very strict and constantly ignoring her daughter’s very valid feelings so it just made me extremely sad for the main character throughout.

A cute premise, it was bogged down a bit by the writing style and the later dramatics - plus it really leaned into the GBBO of it all (I love watching baking shows as much as the next person, but didn't necessarily need to know about what everyone baked at each stage). I appreciated that many of the side characters had their own arcs but wished that they were a bit better realized overall. Nevertheless, those looking for light YA contemporaries, especially one focused on food, might enjoy.

This was an adorable, delightful romcom with great characters and a baking competition! What’s not to like!

I was looking for a light, fluffy romance and I devoured this one in a day. It was so much fun reading about all these great Asian desserts and the baking competition that Liza helped her mom model after The Great British Baking Show. Yen also did a great job introducing the characters and I really believed that Mrs. Yang was enough of a meddler to sabotage her own baking show in order to set Liza up with someone. I was laughing out loud as the contestants were introduced!

Liza's mom was highly critical of her at the beginning of the story, to the point where I was a bit uncomfortable. If you have this kind of relationship with your parents it could potentially hit a little too close to home for you. But Liza and Mrs. Yang eventually come to an understanding and I was really invested in the evolution of their relationship.

Of course, I have to talk about the romance! Liza and James were super cute together and I think a lot of us can relate to how utterly dense Liza is about his feelings for her. This book is also a Pride and Prejudice retelling, so in accordance with the original, she's given reason to believe he isn't interested. (I also didn't know that this book was based on P&P until after I read it, so I probably missed some parallels between the two.) The only thing I wanted here was more scenes of them alone together; the constant double dates got old after a bit and it felt like their friends were too pushy at times. Plus, my favorite scene was the last one and I wished we had gotten more one-on-one scenes with James and Liza. I recommend this to all the GBBO and Austen fans out there!

After first hearing about this book when it was announced, I grew even more excited to read this book after reading a sample, especially for the setting! And it did not disappoint. A Taste for Love was an adorable contemporary with a fun plot and a cute romance.

For the past few years, Liza has been fending off her mother’s attempts to set her up with a “good match.” Then she agrees to help judge her mom’s annual junior baking competition in an attempt to convince her parents that she’s serious about wanting to pursue baking as a career; however, there, she realizes that all of the contestants are potential matches that her mom picked. One of them is James, a boy she met a few months ago and whom she keeps crossing paths with because her friend starts dating his cousin.

I will say that the baking competition plot doesn’t start till about halfway throught the book, but this is a short book so that wasn’t necessarily a pitfall. The first half is more dedicated to building up Liza’s relationships with her parents, particularly her mom, and her sister. We also see Liza and her friend Grace meeting and hanging out more with James and his cousin Ben.

The competition was fun! I usually hate books that are centered around cooking or baking because I just cannot stand long descriptions of food. However, this book avoided that and I actually liked the food descriptions.

I also really liked the characters; Liza is headstrong and stubborn, and I really related to her relationship with her mom. Grace is supportive, and I really liked her scenes. At first, James came fof as rude but you gradually come to see that he’s more of a Darcy character. I also loved that we got to see a lot of Liza’s parents, which is fairly unusual in contemporary YA.

The romance was cute! I think the book vaguely follows Pride & Prejudice, so it has dislike-to-love, mostly because Liza thinks James is stuck-up at first. Also, she knows that he pretty much exactly fulfills her mom’s requirements for a “good” boy to date, so she refuses to like him more. But naturally, they grow to know each other more.

A Taste for Love was an adorable contemporary filled with descriptions of pastries that will leave your mouth watering. I liked the characters, and the romance was so cute. If you like Pride & Prejudice retellings and/or To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, I definitely recommend A Taste for Love.

3.5 rounded down.

This was really cute, and exactly what I needed to get out of my slump. I really loved Liza, and honestly I’d really like to try all of these recipes stat. Normally I hate an overload of descriptions of food, and typically get bored when it’s described to me in such detail, but this was pretty enjoyable. It definitely should be a movie so we can all see the delicious creations. My problems with this, however, were mainly two things.

1. James. I know we’re supposed to feel bad for him and the fact that he opens up later is supposed to undo it all, but that is not for me. Maybe I’m just getting old, but though there were a few sweet and romantic scenes, he seemed like a really toxic individual and I really hated his attitude and the way he just assumed shit. I’m willing to let it slide if that’s just him being a kid, but if there’s a sequel, I have my eye on him.

2. A personal preference of mine is leaving “real world” stuff out of books, as it always makes it seem like the author is trying too hard to relate to the teens (i.e. talking about TikTok or famous actors or Netflix). Again, a personal issue of mine, so if you don’t mind that and you find it awesome that they have nods to pop culture, ignore this note!

This books was so cute! I loved the premise, but I think the story couldn't been clearer at points. I wasn't really invested in the romance, and I didn't understand some of the barriers holding the couple from getting together. However, even though the romance was a little confusing, other aspects of the book were phenomenal. I really enjoyed the baking scenes and the competition. The author NAILED the Great British Baking Show feel. Also, I loved the main character's relationship with her family, especially her mom. The books was really sweet and I loved the premise of the story, but I just didn't like the romance because I wasn't rooting for the couple.