Absolutely loved the chemistry and character development in this novel. The relationship between Kasi and Declan as they fight the attraction between them while working on an amazing business opportunity is unmatched. Kelly Cain does a phenomenal job tasking the main character with a strong personality but still having her be likable and realistic. There was some verbiage in the love scenes I did not particularly enjoy, but that was solely a personal thing and the rest of the writing was not found wanting.

I honestly had to DNF this book because the narrator just was not doing it for me. I liked the premise when I clicked and read the description, but because the narration was so off - I could not keep going.

This was absolutely delightful. I confess that I didn't realize that this was the second book of a series, but each book appears to follow a different family member in the series (think Get a Life, Chloe Brown), so I didn't miss any important information and I didn't feel weird reading them out of order. I actually went back and read the first book immediately after finishing this one - I also very much enjoyed it, though I think this was better written. To be honest, the only reason I realized it was the second book in a series was because the author put a few recipes at the end of the book and referenced the recipes from the first book.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of the aforementioned recipes in the back, although I think this might be one thing that was done better with the first book. In the first one, the recipes were sprinkled between the chapters and were relevant to the situations and recipes that were being discussed at that point in the book. I think this would have made the recipes stand out a little more, I also think it's easier to find the recipes if they're all compiled in the back in case you actually want to make any of them. So personally, I would've preferred them sprinkled throughout, but logically I can see why the formatting was different for this one.

The narration was the only thing I found a little difficult to fall into. The narrator occasionally had some intonations that didn't feel right for the flow of the character's conversations, and it almost jarred me out of the story. I did end up speeding it up, and that helped smooth it out a little bit. Other than that, it was absolutely delightful. While a miscommunication trope is usually the bane of my existence, I didn't have too big of an issue with this one, and I was able to fall into the story enough that I finished it within two days, and had a ravenous appetite for delicious food (and eye candy) the entire time.

This novel is about Kasi, an Indie film maker and Declan, a chef in a family owned restaurant. Both characters are strong, though Kasi appear more in a negative light. Considering this is part of the series focussing on Three Brothers, in this novel the female character played a bigger role. Both characters are struggling with Dynamics with their fathers.
When I saw the cover of this book and read the summary, I thought for sure I'd love the story. What is there not to love? It's about food and romance! My two favourite things. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like this book, I really did not enjoy it very much. I have a feeling I would have enjoyed it more had I read it versus listening to the audio book. The narrator did a fair job. There was just something about her voice that did not fit with the characters for me. All in all, I would give this book 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

A Tasty Dish is the second book in The Everheart Brothers of Texas contemporary romance series by Kelly Cain. The eBook version is 273 pages. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at eight and a half hours and is narrated by Deanna Anthony.

Our first-person POV heroine, Kasi Blythewood, is an indie filmmaker from Los Angeles trying to get out of the shadow of her famous film-producer father and make a name for herself. She goes to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, trying to find a financier for her dream project, an indie film showcasing amazing food from around the world. She doesn't want to ask her father for funding, since he'd taken her ideas as his own on a previous project. Kasi has two best friends she's known from childhood (Joy and Tariq) and I loved their relationship.

Our hero, Declan Everheart, is a chef at Michelin-star restaurant, also under the shadow of his famous father who founded said restaurant. Said father shows interest in funding her film, and demands that Declan be a producer on her series. Kasi realizes that Declan is also great in front of the camera as host, and starts to believe that is his calling in life. But she's unsure she'll be able to convince him about that, since he's so tied up with his family business. They travel to various locations including the highlands of both Peru and Scotland.

This was my first read by this author and works pretty well as a standalone read even though it's the second book in a series. I tend to like contemporary romances that also have to do with food, so it was right up my alley! There are even some recipes included at the back of the book that sound delicious. There are quite a few steamy scenes in this book, so if you like your romances a bit more closed-door, this is not the book for you.

Since Kasi is our POV character throughout this book, there is less from oldest Everheart brother Declan, even though he's one of the siblings that the series is named after. I wish that this book was dual-POV and included some scenes from Declan's perspective. Some parts of the story seem to take place at the same time as the first book in the series, An Acquired Taste.

Tropes in this book include: multi-cultural, foodies, long-distance, prickly heroine, workplace

The summary for this book should be super horny many couple attempt a culinary documentary with a heaping lot of family, specific dad, drama.

I don't know if it was the narrator of the writing, but I wasn't a huge fan of this. The narrator didn't do a very good job distinguishing between internal thoughts and actual dialogue so I was never quite sure what our MC, Kasi, actually said out loud.

The whole premise of this could've been promising, but it was underwhelming. I was confused (maybe it's the ace in me) by the OTT horniness from both the MC and the LI. I mean they never really have any actual conversations that aren't about the documentary, they overbearing fathers, or sex.

Then there's the fact that Kasi could dish out anger and resentment and quick judgments but couldn't handle any of that being aimed at her. She was a fairly hypocritical MC, which she kinda addresses at the end but not enough. She would get angry at small things when Declan was fairly kind throughout and tried to explain his logic. Then there's the fact that Kasi is so so mad at her dad for trying to control and navigate her life that she doesn't even realize she's doing the same thing to Declan.

I wanted to like this, but it's not my favorite romance. The actual romance itself was lacking for me, but if you like heavy steam books then this is definitely for you.

I'm super intrigued by the series though and maybe will give at least the third one a shot if I can find the audio for cheap.

Thanks to netgalley for the ALC.

Black midsize MC.

This was a delightful romance about a Documentary film producer and a competitive chef at odds with one another yet can't escape the attraction that draws them together.
Normally anything to do with film and tv sets can cause me to put down a book from previous experience. Not that it is bad that a book contains it, just what I can and cannot handle. I think Cain was able to balance the job they were doing and the character interactions to make it feel balanced in the story.
I do wish we got Declan's POV to understand some of his mindset..

Reviewing - A Tasty Dish by Kelly Cain

This is apparently book 2 in the Everheart Brother of Texas Series. This story follows a struggling filmmaker as she struggles to finance her dreams. Her love interest becomes one of the Everheart brothers, Declan. He is the son of a Michelin star chef. Both characters come from different families but both have dad issues. As the story moves on both characters grow and you can definitely see the sexual tension. This is definitely a cute romcom.

This was my first book from author Kelly Cain and I was very excited as several of my fellow, book reviewers have recommended her work. I was a little worried that I hadn't read the first book in this series, but felt this worked very well as a stand-alone book!

As someone who has an interest in all types of film and happens to be a solid home chef; the synopsis was appealing to me on both fronts. I tend to gravitate more towards historical fiction and dramatic reads and am attempting to diversify more. I was glad I did! Although I found things to be a bit slow at times, I really liked the character of Kasi and found the chemistry between Kasi and Declan too be spicy without being smutty. I feel that author achieved that delicate balance very nicely. I look forward to reading the other books in this series and more from this author in general.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for the opportunity to review this ARC of #ATastyDish in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was so culturally beautiful!! It flowed nicely and the narrator was engaging in a way that made me want to keep listening!

Kasi Blythewood is on a mission to make an indie documentary about food from around the world. The only problem is her famous father has made it almost impossible to get funding for the project. Opportunity appears when Kasi meets Declan Everheart who's famous chef father is willing in invest in her project, so long as Declan is a also a producer. Kasi and Declan have to navigate their working relationship, their difficult relationship with their individual fathers, as well as their incredibly strong attraction to each other.

General story and characterization were good. A pretty lackluster audiobook though. I did not care for the narrator and the accents when they encountered characters from other countries were not good.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an audio copy of this in exchange for an honest review

I really liked the narrator in this audiobook. She brought life to all the characters.

A Tasty Dish is a cute romcom which is book 2 in the Everheart brothers of Texas series. Although I didn’t read the first book, I did like this one. The main character is Kasi who is a struggling filmmaker. I liked the storyline and the characters, but the extreme stubbornness of Kasi was a bit much. There are some very steamy love scenes which I was not expecting based on the book’s description. Based on the description I thought there was going to be a bit more back and forth before they decided to get together but it happened quite quickly. Perhaps because I didn’t read the first book I missed some of the backstories of the characters, but I still wish there were more here.

Overall I gave it 4 stars, and may read other books by this arthur. I don’t have the need to go back to read the first book or continue with the series, because I didn't really fall for any of the characters. It made a great stand alone book though.

I want to preface this by saying that I'm not the biggest fan of audiobooks. I have trouble processing words that are spoken to me so radio shows, podcasts and, yes, audiobooks have all been out of the question. If I can't read alongside something that is being spoken, I tend to fall behind and then I lose interest because I'm not quite understanding. Sometimes, it's a pacing issue but most of the time, I just feel like I'm being talked at and lectured no matter how much I love the subject. That is NOT how I felt here. Deanna Anthony is the voice actress behind this recording of A Tasty Dish and at no point did I feel lost while listening to her. In fact, I felt like I was at brunch with a close friend and we were having story time. Her pacing was perfect but she was so engaging with the material and really breathed more life than there already was into Kelly Cain's writing. I liked that not only was there focus on the two main characters and their journey with each other but that there was focus on the history of their friendships/families and how that has shaped their growth. I liked that we got a peek into their friends' lives. Most of all, I liked the way that neither Kasi or Declan were perfect people and were constantly examining their own personal goals and needs aside from love as they grew through the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and author Kelly Cain for the advanced listener’s copy of A Tasty Dish. This review is left voluntarily and contains my own thoughts and opinions.

This is apparently the second book in a series. in the Everheart Brothers of Texas series. I actually had no idea and came into this book at book 2. I don't think you need the first book to follow this plot and these two characters but I'm guessing there are lots of Easter-eggs I missed out on!

I'm all for the black love in this story. The book is told entirely from Kasi Blythewood's POV, our female protagonist, who "has spent most of her life in the shadow of her famous film-producer father who’s deliberately kept her under his thumb with tough love." Her love interest is one of the Everheart brothers, Declan, is the son of a Michelin-star chef, a family of chefs, but isn't entirely happy with his current role.

Both characters come from different families but have dad issues. The sexual tension is palatable. But there are a few too many plots and characters. I really wanted more form the family (which now makes sense because this is one book in a larger series). I do appreciate the growth from both characters but wish we had more scenes where they were on set. If you're someone who wants a constant location, you won't get one, cause we're always on the move!

If you like:
✅ Two strong, driven main characters
✅ Lots of food descriptions
✅ Really complicated family issues

#ATastyDish #NetGalley

Reviewing
A Tasty Dish
By Kelly Cain

A Tasty Dish, book 2 in the Everheart brothers of Texas series, follows a struggling filmmaker as she struggles to finance her filmmaking dreams. While the steamy sexual tension between Kasi and Declan is palpable the rest of the story tends to fizzle out. As the Everheart brothers are the main character of the series I was surprised to find that this novel is told 100% from Kasi’s view leaving little room for the author to expand on the story lines from book one.

Overall it was a lit romcom with some hot and heaven sceens that may leave readers longing for a little more substance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 steamy stars for me.

A cute story about finding your way out of your parents’ shadow. Kasi was an interesting character but somewhat unlikeable; I never really warmed to her. Declan was more likeable but not in the story nearly as much as Kasi, despite being the Everheart brother and the focus of the series. I loved visiting the different countries and learning about their foods but there wasn’t enough of this either. This dragged in the middle; it felt stretched out to get a higher page count. There was a minor plotline about Declan’s brother in a competition that I either missed or wasn’t really explained well so it confused me. Recommended for a beach read or long plane ride.

Narration was well done, no issues.

This is a cute romcom, I liked the storyline and the characters. Despite the MC's extreme stubbornness.
I did not like the narrator however, I could never tell when the MC was talking and when she was simply thinking things in her head. The narrator didn't change her voice or give pause or anything to let the listener know the MC was talking. Other characters I was able to track and caught all their dialog, it was just the MC's I missed.

Rating: 💛💛💛.5/5
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶


Received an ARC audio copy thanks to Netgalley. A Tasty Dish is cute yet spicy romance novel. I loved the character development and all the fun food and travel references.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and author Kelly Cain for the advanced listener’s copy of A Tasty Dish. This review is left voluntarily and contains my own thoughts and opinions.

If you like:
✅ Two strong, driven main characters
✅ Lots of food descriptions (Declan is a chef)
✅ Workplace romance (movie producers on-location)
✅ Family drama
✅ Lots of spice 🌶 🌶🌶

A Tasty Dish is the book for you! Kasi and Declan unexpectedly begin to work together, as Dec’s father decides to invest in her newest documentary series about food & travels with a catch - Declan will also get a producer credit. While on location, their attraction grows and Declan begins to shine in his new role - but are they what the other really wants in life? What happens when family drama & expectations take center stage?

This is the second book in the Everheart Brothers of Texas series by author Kelly Cain. I haven’t read book one, and this worked great as a standalone. The whole book was in Kasi’s POV and I liked her driven nature and fierce love she held for those who she was closest to in life. I would have liked some of the book in Dec’s POV and more info about his brothers, too. Kasi’s two best friends, Joy and Tariq, were great additions - and I would love to see them more in future books! I enjoyed Kasi and Declan’s NA romance & it was definitely steamy - not for those that like their romance clean or “sweet.” 😉