I've been getting more into audiobooks this year so NetGalley's advanced listening copies have been great. I happened to stumble upon Brianne Moore's debut novel All Stirred Up and was immediately intrigued because it's an updated version of Persuasion, my favourite of Jane Austen's novels, and it was set in Edinburgh - a place I had visited just in time at the beginning of March this year. I was sold. And when I was done? Thoroughly delighted.

Here's the synopsis:
Susan Napier's family once lived on the success of the high-end restaurants founded by her late grandfather. But bad luck and worse management has brought the business to the edge of financial ruin. Now it's up to Susan to save the last remaining restaurant: Elliot's, the flagship in Edinburgh. But what awaits Susan in the charming city of Auld Reekie is more than she bargained for. Chris Baker, her grandfather's former protégé - and her ex-boyfriend - is also heading to the Scottish capital.

After finding fame in New York as a chef and judge of a popular TV cooking competition, Chris is returning to his native Scotland to open his own restaurant. Although the storms have cleared after their intense and rocky breakup, Susan and Chris are redrawn into each other's orbit - and their simmering attraction inevitably boils over. As Chris's restaurant opens to great acclaim and Susan tries to haul Elliot's back from the brink, the future brims with new promise.

But darkness looms as they find themselves in the crosshairs of a gossip blogger eager for a juicy story - and willing to do anything to get it. Can Susan and Chris reclaim their lost love, or will the tangled past ruin their last hope for happiness?
It's been a few years since I've read Persuasion (I just checked Goodreads...I read it last in 2013) so the particulars of the novel are a bit fuzzy. I do recall some of the main plot points so I could see where Moore was honouring the story in certain parts. I don't think you have to know Austen's work to appreciate this story and I also think diehard Austen fans can enjoy the way Moore updated the story for her novel. Though I will say I would have much rather had a letter from Chris instead of a text message. If you know, you know.

The reason I love Persuasion so much is because it's a second chance romance, just like All Stirred Up, and that's one of my favourite tropes. It's been years since Chris and Susan have seen each other and you know right from the get-go that there's unfinished business between them. There were so many contributing factors to their break up that neither of them had the full story. They both felt hurt (Chris was justified to feel as such and Susan knew that her hurt was self-inflicted) and that kept them from communicating with each other. I got ever so slightly annoyed when they just refused to talk things through but that's the nature of rom coms, my friends. They're going to do frustrating things! I was rooting for them the whole time because I couldn't wait for them to get over the bullshit in their past and finally get back together. I needed that Happily Ever After!

As I alluded to at the top, I listened to this one as an audiobook. The narrator, Mary Jane Wells, did a pretty good job switching characters and her male Scottish accent didn't annoy me (which is what happened with another audiobook I listened to earlier this year). Since I pretty much only listen to audiobooks on my commute, I found myself looking for ways to get more reading time in. A walk after work when my partner had to work late? Done. (That was before the time change of course. Now it's dark before I even get home. *sobs*) Doing the dishes? Perfect time to listen. Playing mindless games on my phone? More listening time! I didn't want to stop!

This novel was a love letter to Edinburgh. Moore wasn't born there but you can tell in her descriptions that she absolutely, totally, completely loves the city. I had goosebumps as I listened to the description of Susan flying into the city then again as she walked around her new neighbourhood and mentioned streets and monuments I had seen myself back in March. There's a scene where she climbs to the top of Calton Hill that had me swooning because I could completely picture where she was (so much so that I shared my pictures from my trip on Instagram after finishing the novel).

There were many reasons that may have made me love All Stirred Up more than the average reader but I was so completely thrilled with Brianne Moore's novel that I don't even care. I loved it and it made me feel so happy. That is what I look for in almost every read, even more so this year, and I'm so pleased I had a chance to read this novel.

*An advanced listening copy was provided by the publisher, Dreamscape Media, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Thanks NetGalley for this preview!

First things first- the narrator's voice and accents were superb! I loved how they jumped back and forth between the characters and gave them each a distinct voice. This romance was the second chance story I was waiting for-it had me hooked from the beginning. The emotions from the love and loss seemed so genuine and I felt them along with the characters. I also love cooking and the foodie accents made me very happy!

A very cute modern reimagining of Jane Austen's Persuasion. The fun in the plot was seeing which events and characters from the original novel were subtly (or overtly) altered, deleted, or (in one notable case) made fun of. The love story is sweet but and the inside baseball of the food industry is fun, but something about the modern setting and the frothy plot falls a bit flat. That said, the author does a great job with the characters. With few exceptions the are three dimensional and treated with more love and respect then Austen did to her comedic targets. Fun, cute, but a bit insubstantial.

I don't really have much feedback to give on this one. This book was very boring to me and sadly I had a hard time paying attention to it. I didn't hate it but nothing from this story really stuck.

CW: business closing, discussion of family deaths, sexism, sexual harassment in work place, grief, discussion of drugs, discussion of murder

This book was exactly what I needed in every sense. There were heavy topics discussed but it wasn’t too much. It gave the book serious touches to what would be a too light of story otherwise.

I am a massive lover of books that have food/cooking as a main point to it so I couldn’t wait to read this one. The fact that it takes place in Scotland (starts in London but not much there) just added to my love of it. This book delved deep into family dynamics and family overall. There is a touch of romance but I would say it’s more woman’s fiction than romance.

The connections between the characters and dissecting how things went wrong while owning up to their parts in what happened instead of just placing blame definitely hit the right notes for me.

The audio was a bit glitchy with awkward pauses and I kept having to restart the app at the end of chapters which made me lose momentum but I’ve been informed that that’s because of it being an ALC and doesn’t reflect on the published audiobook. Other than the technical difficulties, I do recommend the audiobook.

Must Read if you like:
📺 Restaurant Impossible
📖 books about food/BTS of restaurants

I loved this imaginative retelling of a Jane Austen novel by Brianne Moore. How could anyone ever get too much of Jane?! I enjoyed Moore’s modernization of the story. I can definitely identify with Susan’s life. I loved the author’s characterizations of Susan and Chris. I felt like all the characters were handled and updated well.

This was a really fun read! Thanks to Dreamscape Media for the advance audio copy of All Stirred Up.

This book was the perfect escape. It was lovely and fun. It was my first book by this author and I will definitely be on the look out for more!!

I am a sucker for modern-day Jane Austen retelling, but this new version of Persuasion, didn’t work for me. I never really got to the point of caring about Susan or Chris. Their relationship felt flat, and their drama was a little too much for a realistic fiction book. Chris’s big secret that is revealed at the end of the book felt unnecessary and went against the rest of the character’s development. The setting was fine, and I enjoyed the small aspects of Scotland the author included, but I never felt like I was there. Plus, for a book that is supposed to be a romance, Susan and Chris interact very little, and I never found myself invested in their relationship. I received this book as an audiobook from NetGalley, and the reader was probably the best part and saved the book as much as she could. Some fans of Austen may love this novel, but for me, it was just kind of okay.

First of all, kudos to the narrator of this book! She was amazing! No matter the accent or gender of the character, Mary Jane Wells brought them all to life.

Unfortunately, the story just didn't hold my interest. The first half of the book felt sad and dreary, and I had a hard time getting into the story. It could totally be a personal problem, but the pacing just felt off to me. Sadly, this one goes in the compost bin.

When Susan and Chris broke up, they didn't think that they would ever see each other again.  But, now Susan is back in Edinburgh to try to revive the family restaurant  and Chris  is back to open his new restaurant.  Will they find their way back to each other in this modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion?  A retelling of my favorite novel of all time? I'm in!

While it is a fun romance, it doesn't come close to the brillance that is Persuasion - and is certainly NOT a retelling.  It follows the typical modern romance trope - they meet ... they fall in love ... some event comes between them ... will they get back together?  

I wish the publisher had not billed this as a retelling, because that leads to such high expectations.  In the end, I decided to review it as what it really is ... a rom-com ... and a better than average one at that. The narration is great!  The story is fun!  Sure, it had it flaws and I wished that I cared more about the characters, but I found it to be better than the average romance.  I most enjoyed the author's descriptions in the kitchen and could tell that she knows her stuff and really cared about that part of the book.  I gave All Stirred up 3 stars.

I thought this would be a light fun rom com. And to some it may be. To me it was a family drama that I was just not interested in. The family restaurant is going under and only one daughter can save. But a former staff member, now world renowned chef is moving in and opening a restaurant down the street. The set up is there, I just didn’t care. They didn’t bring the characters together soon enough. It was more about their difference or the wrongs going on in their lives as individuals. I just found myself not caring if I finished the book, so I didn't.

Such a fun twist on Persuasion. A lighthearted cooking novel with some sprinkles of romance. I love that it is a clean story that focuses on family and restoration. There are a lot of details and backstory, which I find helpful, but does make me slow down and savor the content. The narrator does an excellent job with the different voices, male and female. I received a complimentary copy from the author and NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

This was a really cute book! I enjoyed it and I enjoyed the audible version. The narrator was really good also. I loved the scotland setting and all the characters were really likeable and honestly reminds me of my family. I would definitely recommend this to people. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for sending me a free e arc of this book

A modern day retelling of Jane Austen’s book Persuasion! True confessions... I haven’t actually read a Jane Austen novel (I know! I tried to in high school... long story short... didn’t happen)! So maybe I would have enjoyed this one if I had actually read Persuasion, but I didn’t love it. ⠀
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First off, there are A TON of characters to keep track of. And that’s always a hard on audio! And because there are so many characters, it’s really easy to lose track of what’s happening throughout the book! However, I am a sucker for stories based around chefs and in kitchens - so I am glad I stuck around! ⠀
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The narrator did a fine job and her accents for the characters were so fun! But, this one wasn’t for me! Once I got to know who was who, the book was wrapping up and I was ready to just move on!⠀

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Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review! If you’re a big Jane Austen fan, this book might be a fit for you!

Susan and Chris had a great relationship in Susan’s family restaurant until Susan’s mother died and Chris disappeared. Now that they are in the same town with new restaurants of their own, the competition to succeed and the thoughts of a decade ago torment both. I really liked this book. The family life, the workings of a restaurant, and learning to forgive are powerful.

This was a fun book with a delightful narration. I would definitely recommend this book in audio version the voice acting really brings you in and adds to the story.

I received an audioARC in exchange for an honest review.

All Stirred Up is a Persuasion inspired slow burn romance involving chefs in Scotland. I enjoyed the host of characters and the setting. The wonderful descriptions of restaurant dishes made me hungry. The narrator of the audiobook was excellent. The accents added so much to my enjoyment of the book. Thanks Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audiobook arc of this title.

Unfortunately, this was not for me. All stirred up sounded pretty good with its cute cover and premise but after a little while, I found myself being really bored and nothing really stood out to me. I didn't even notice the romance and I was excited about that part. The food/restaurant theme can be nice but here I felt like it was too much about that and honestly, my mind wandered off because I didn't found it interesting enough. This audiobook brought me a headache and that definitely didn't help me enjoy it (which I didn't.. obviously). Maybe others will enjoy this but sadly I'm not one of them.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, author Brianne Moore, and narrator Mary Jane Wells for providing me with an audio eARC for this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This was such a cute, quick read and honestly the perfect little palate cleanser. Sign me up for any books that play off a classic- in this case, Persuasion. It was well done and the writing was great, as was the narrator!

I will say, I'm a sucker for a good romance though and hate waiting and waiting for those *moments* when you really come to love the relationship between people, regardless of the relationship. And I feel like I spent too much time waiting, but that's more my issue than anyone else's, but I did expect a tad more romance from this, especially with that cute cover!

This was a cute read and I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, well.. it looks like I've met my match. Ever since I saw All Stirred Up I really wanted to dive into it. At first glance, I thought it was going to be kind of like the movie 'No Reservations'. Sure, I was going to expect some cooking and romance. Maybe even some friendly competition.

What I got was food. Lots and lots of food. Each page had something new or described in even more detail what they were making or plating. I was expecting something interesting or entertaining to happen so that I could find something to like in it.

I looked so freaking hard and I couldn't find a damn thing likable. It did make me hungry though so dinner was made. I guess that's a goal?

In the end, I feel like I got a culinary degree just by listening to this audiobook.