Maxine ‘Max’ Mayberry was holed up in a friend’s apartment after a recent break-up and a diagnosis of a brain tumour. She found the perfect distraction in Johnny, a cheeky Tinder pen pal, who she flirted with via recipes in The Laurent Family Cookbook. While started as a joke, the ‘Fork Him’ project soon transformed into something more meaningful as Max went through her brain surgery, travelled to Paris for a fresh start, and decided what she really wanted in life.
This was an unexpectedly delightful story. I wasn’t going to pick up this book initially because I generally don’t enjoy cooking and I was afraid that its main idea of healing through cooking would lose me. I was glad I did though, because I ended up enjoying it!
The romance itself went a bit slow for my liking. I was so annoyed by Max’s relationship with Scott (the ex), and I didn’t understand why we had to spend so much time in the flashback. I’d rather use the time and energy to build up her new relationship!
At the end of the day, I think my lack of interest in cooking was offset by my appreciation for good food. The audiobook narrator I listened to did a superb job describing all the beautiful dishes - my mouth watered a few times listening to it. The combination of this and the Paris backdrop won me over in the end.