Georgia Beers is one of my favorite lesfic writers. And she can write a good story, there's no disputing that. But, I must be honest in saying that this was, for the most part, not a pleasant read. If I weren't so hellbent on keeping my ARC promises, I would've dropped this at chapter two. Yet, I persisted.

To preface: I'm not into second-chance romances. Unless done in a stellar way, they drag me down with the characters' bad memories as I piece together what made them that way. Give me the excitement and sensuality of first meet-ups any day. This story just dragged me down from the very beginning. While social distancing and being bombarded with pandemic news, I wasn't here for my fiction to make me feel awful, too. I wanted flirty looks and cute ladies kissing!

For the first time ever, Beers has managed to assemble a cast of characters that I didn't really care for. Charlie and Emma were unlikable to me. I think the only characters I actively enjoyed were Lily and Charlie's mother. Sandy, Bethany, and Charlie's father were fine, but they're on the sidelines, anyways.

One of my issues from the beginning was the snideness of the Shaker Falls residents about Charlie's living in the city. People who love you, even if you mess up, are generally happy for when you've made a life for yourself in the city. It's not met with so much resentment, jeez. Were they not able to separate their anger about the breakup with Emma from the city? (Example: jokes about NYC using cabs while Shaker used Ubers. I can't tell you the last time my friends or I caught a cab. Uber or Lyft all the way!) Maybe I'm just extra sensitive as a New Yorker, who sees my city being hit so hard by COVID-19. It's bad timing and that's not Beers' fault.

This book also felt like it left out the reality of social media too much. Yes, facebook was mentioned a bit, but I cannot believe that Charlie, especially with someone as glitzy as Darcy, wouldn't post on social media. If anything, her insta or finsta would be updated often. It's just hard to imagine her not being in touch with anyone, especially since social media alleviates that in a low-effort way. They could've just thrown in a "you don't even post anything online" to make up for it.

Next issue: Am I just a cold-hearted cupcake? Because....uhhhhh.......was Charlie's crime so huge? She didn't pull a Caton from Behind the Green Curtain once her hot rich lady showed up. Charlie broke up. Messed up for Emma? Yes. So horrible that everyone and their mother in the town talks about it like urban legend? Absolutely not. They were two college or fresh-out-of-college people who broke up. Were they supposed to never break up ever? They both moved away and one came back sooner.

Okay, so I get the buyer's remorse of Darcy from Charlie's point of view, but they painted her like Cruella De Vil. Charlie falling in love with another woman would've made sense. Was Darcy morally questionable for dating ingenues within her staff? Uh yeah, but most of Charlie's memories were of Darcy being the worst, which doesn't convince me of the conflict. Like, once she sees Emma, she's consistently bombarded with how amazing she is. How come she couldn't have some problems with Emma's personality mixed in there, too? I found the destiny thing kind of weak and I feel like the transition from coldness to flirting was too jarring.

This is a neutral thing, but Beers and Melissa Brayden are definitely friends (as seen in the acknowledgements). Maybe their editors are friends, too. Because at times, the tone of this book felt Brayden-esque.

Before I go on, there were things I liked about the book. Some really well-written parts. Some quotable lines. I'm fortunate I had to finish this and not a badly-crafted story. The fact that Darcy left Charlie for someone named Tatiana brought the rap song "Thotiana" to mind and I laughed. The concept of a baker and a cook falling in love is adorable. Muffin Top is a perfect bakery name.

Okay, so this may have been my biggest issue and what sealed the deal for two stars: the storyline on Emma's father. We're all familiar with Georgia Beers: lovely writer and her characters and lily white. Very white. And that's fine, I guess, as long as she's putting out a good love story. So, when I see that not only did Emma's Black father abandon Emma and her white mother, he had a whole second family in some other part of the country. Then he died without being involved in her life. Huh?! Beers seems like a smart lady. She knows better than that. To finally involve a Black parent and he's an absent father? What the hell, Beers?

Did Charlie even like the city? It didn't feel like she really missed it. Maybe her tie to NYC was based on Darcy alone? But, that doesn't fit into the narrative of her going for her dreams (something not many people mentioned) in a fast-paced city. I loved her working relationship at Muffin Top and I had not a single doubt that she's turn down Boston.

Lastly, because this rant has to wrap up, Emma's mother.

Um.

Uh...

Did they ever resolve her drinking problem? It started out as a huge part of Emma's life, then Emma brought up having to eventually face her about her father (did the mom even know her ex-husband died?) and it never came up again. If I missed any part of them reconciling or getting her mother the rehab she needed, please point it out to me.

I look forward to Beers back at her best in this next book. Two stars.

There’s always a good reason behind picking up the latest from Georgia Beers and Flavor of the Month is no exception. This book is an interesting take on second chance love where Emma becomes consumed by the dazzling lights of the big city and rich girlfriend to go with it, until she doesn’t. Now back home she’s faced with realizing she made so many bad choices by leaving including completely ghosting her best friend and first love, Charlie. There’s no sparing of Emma’s guilt and embarrassment for what she did, and there’s no shortage of daily reminders of her poor choices. Emma may seem superficial on the surface, but we’re given windows into her humanity in that she isn’t perfect, nor is Charlie or anyone else for that matter. Choices are our own, as are consequences, and how we respond to those is ultimately what makes you a good person in the end. Redemption despite epic stupidity just might be possible after all. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Georgia Beers is at the top of my favorite lesbian romance authors - high within the top five. When I have a virtual stack of books to read and her's is one of them, I'll save her's for last - savoring the fact that I have a new Beers book waiting to be read.

Beers has the ability to make my heart break along with her characters' hearts. I'm usually so invested in their happiness and eager to get to the happy ending, I can't put the book down. Unfortunately, this was not that book.

I dug in and and cruised along with the story until about 3/4 of the way through and then I found myself just wanting to wrap it up. There were some character flaws and too many holes in the story.

Charlie's parents were heartbroken by her not coming home for 4 years. Was NYC really so far away that her parents couldn't go visit? I just found this to be a bit unbelievable. And the conflict with her sister was bizarre. There was tension between them that resolved around a fire pit one night. Then the sister disappeared from the story.

And then there was the handling of Emma's father and mother. The father left when Emma was small, never to be seen again. The part of the story where Emma and Charlie go to meet the father's family felt planted just for a situation to bring them together sexually. It fell flat. Emma's mother had a serious drinking problem, yet once Emma connected with her father's family, the mother was dropped from the story, save for a few texts between her and Emma. The alcohol issue was never resolved, and we never got to hear Mom's reaction to Emma finding her father's family.

There was also a scene that had me scratching my head. Charlie and Bethany offered to run the bakery so that their boss could attend the town's festival with the man she had just begun dating, yet when Saturday comes, Charlie's ALSO at the festival and is there all day. What happened to Charlie's offer to work at the bakery? The boss even tells Charlie that she saw her at the festival.

When I finally got to the end, I flipped the page, expecting a final chapter to wrap things up, but was met with "About the Author". This story needed an epilogue, even if small.

There were just too many loose ends. It felt like Beers had all these ideas she wanted to present, but then just lost interest in finishing those parts of the story line, or forgot that she had started them. Still though, I'm looking forward to the next one.

Oh this is going to be a tough review for me!

You see I’m a big fan of Georgia Beers, I think I’ve almost read all her books. This one really ticks all the right boxes. You have a very entertaining romance novel of second chances, with Charlie one of the MCs being forced to go back home after a failed relationship and getting exposed to a certain glamorous lifestyle of NY, back to her small town to her ex high school love.

Everything seems perfect until you just keep not liking one of the MCs. Every single page, i disliked Charlie more and more until I just stopped rooting for her getting back with Emma. This also unfortunately ruined the romance part of the book because I just couldn’t feel it. And most importantly, I didn’t want to feel the connection.

I did however enjoy the baking, I did like Emma and I still do recommend this book. I just wanted to kick Charlie’s ass, that spoilt selfish girl :) oh well if you get to a point where you have such strong opinions about characters in a book, then know that this is a great author hahahah :)

My rating is a 3.5 and I received an ARC for an honest review.

I was given this ARC from NetGalley and publisher for an honest review...many thanks!!
I couldn’t put this book down until it was finished. Georgia Beers stories are favorites of mine and this book didn’t disappoint.
Charlie and Emma are childhood best friends, who discovered their sexuality together, each other’s first kiss, first love, first everything. However, Charlie and Emma start to grow apart as they work through college. Charlie never wants to go back to their small hometown and a job offer from a beautiful woman and the lure of the big city are too much to turn down and moves to Manhattan and doesn’t look back.
4 years later, Charlie is dumped by her girlfriend with no money or career of her own and has no choice but to move back to her hometown and family she hadn’t seen in two years. This forces Charlie to take a hard look at herself and the selfish choices she’s made. Then she sees Emma...beautiful Emma who now runs and is chef to her own restaurant. Emma wants nothing to do with her, Charlie broke her heart so long ago and she doesn’t want to go down that path again.
Can Charlie show Emma that she changed? Can Emma ever forgive her and open her heart again?

The only issue I had with this book was that there were some plots, like Emma’s mom alcoholism, that were never resolved and just kind of ended. Regardless it was a good story.

Charlie Stetko, former resident of Shaker Falls, Vermont and recently returned to Shaker Falls when her girlfriend in New York dumped her after several years.

Emma Grier, lifelong resident of Shaker Falls, and owner of SG's a dining establishment.

Charlie and Emma have been friends since childhood and through the years, their friendship grew into a deeper relationship. When college separated them, Charlie started to see Darcy Wells who got Charlie to work for her and then live with her. Charlie was pretty dependent on Darcy, and then it all fell apart. What else was Charlie supposed to do? She returned home to Shaker Falls, in shame, to live in her parents' basement, literally.

Emma was heartbroken when Charlie took up with Darcy, so when Charlie comes back to town she runs smack into the wall that Emma has built around her heart.

Can people get second chances? Do some people deserve them?

This is another brilliant story by Georgia Beers. I highly recommend it!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

I love this author - Georgia Beers always delivers believable characters and relatable situations.

Charlie is home - defeated, heart broken and questioning her choices in life. She never meant to retun to this one horse town and to admit that she lives in her parents basement after attempting to conquer the Big Apple is just to much to endire with good grace.

Emma is one of Charlie's bad choices - the first love left behind for greener pastures. Emma, too, has returned home. The difference is that Emma has a purpose - establishing her restaurant, keepibg relationships casual and forgetting Charlie.

The story walks you through first love, career experience and learning what is truly necessary to have a happy life.

If you love believeablecharacters and a romance that keeps callibg you back, I highly reccomend this book and author..

Oh, my gosh, I think I gained ten pounds reading this book.

Flavor of the Month by Georgia Beers is a contemporary romance novel about second chances, forgiveness, and love…and pies, lots of yummy pies.

Our two main characters, Charlie and Emma, were best friends growing up. As teenagers they became girlfriends, but when they went to separate colleges, they began to drift apart. Charlie was lured away to New York City where she ended up a trophy wife to a big city entrepreneur. Four years later Charlie’s big-city girlfriend finds someone new to take her place and kicks her out. She is forced to go home to Shaker Falls and live with her family. The family she has pretty much ignored for the last four years. There she takes a part time job in a bakery and slowly realizes how her actions years ago have hurt her family, friends, and especially Emma whose heart was broken.

Can people grow, mature and change their ways? Can someone be forgiven for the hurt they have caused others in the past? Can love really last through pain and heartbreak? These are some of the questions answered in this book through Charlie and Emma. This is a lovely story though there is a good deal of angst running through the book. I became invested in both characters, and really cheered them on as they worked though the trauma of their past. Ms. Beers really knows how to pull your heartstrings with her writing.
I can recommend this novel to all who love a good romance.
And I really, really want the recipe for that peanut butter pie with the chocolate glaze!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections: http://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

This was a quick read that I enjoyed. There wasn't the typical unnecessary drama in act 3 which was a nice change. Just a maturely handled overcoming of an obstacle. I was also delighted to see a biracial main character! That is so incredibly rare (which is sad) but as a biracial woman it is always a treat to get to see some representation, especially in this genre which is pretty white washed typically. I appreciate the author branching out in that way and hope others follow suit!

This is a great book. It´s well worth reading.

I want to start this review by stating that I rarely read books with second chances, because I don't tand to find them believable or enjoyable. This book makes me question my preconceptions. It's well written and both the characters and the story is credible. In this book Beers makes you feel with and for the characters. The emotions are so real they jump of the pages and go straight to your heart. The characters process their feelings whilst doing something they love, which is both believable and relate able. In Flavor of the Month that is cooking and baking. The excellent descriptions of the baked goods made me hunger for pie.

A big message for this book is about mistakes. How we all make them, and how we handle the aftermath. I have deducted one star, because after such an emotional roller coaster I would have wanted one more chapter, or an epilogue to see how it works out long term. A lot of the book is about trust, and I would have wanted to learn how they worked through those issues in the end. This is something I have noticed I have wanted in quite a few books so it might come down to personal preference.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

Georgia Beers has written yet another stellar romance in Flavor of the Month. Emma and Charlie grew up together and were each other's first romance. They dated until college where their distance and separation caused them to drift apart. Charlie got caught up with a flashy new girlfriend with her flashy apartment and was unceremoniously dumped and replaced with another girl. Charlie with no money and no job returned home. In the meantime Emma has made it a as successful chef and also returned home to run her own restaurant.
The premise for the story is not necessarily for everyone with Charlie rekindling her relationship with Emma after breaking her heart but Georgia Beers is such a talented writer she manages to pull it off.  This is a definite page turner and I can't wait for her next book.

I came because of the baked goodies and I stayed for the lovely lesbian second chance romance!

Flavor of the Month is about Charlie having to go back to her town after a heartbreak and there she finds Emma, her high school sweetheart and the person whose heart she broke years ago. Now, we get to see how much they grew (or didn't) and how they react to seeing each other after such a long time.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of second chance romances but this one truly is the exception to the rule. The way these two girls handled the situation was so mature, plus you could see that there was a time when they loved each other deeply and the way they broke up is bound to have similar passionate responses.

Everything I was hoping to get from this book, was delivered! Especially those baked goodies, there's nothing I love more in books than to see people bake and describe the tasty things they prepare. It was mainly about sweet and baked things but we also got a glimpse of food cooked by a chef.

In my opinion, Emma was the most well rounded and relatable character of these two. She went through a lot of rough things but even then she would still be a nice person who cared about her business and tried to make every customer feel at home. She was the description of strong minded and dedicated. Charlie, on the other hand, was a bit dramatic and selfish a lot of times so I couldn't completely like her but I appreciate the growth we got to see her make throughout this novel.

All in all, I would recommend this book 100% to everyone looking for an adorable f/f romance where the characters are trying to step over their shared past. And also anyone who loves slow burn romances, aka the best ones!

4 stars. This book is about Charlie Stetko, who moves back to her home town of Shaker Falls, VT after her NYC girlfriend and boss breaks up with her, She has no choice but to head back to her parents house and lick her wounds. In Shaker Falls, her ex, Emma Grier, has opened a restaurant. Charlie had broken up with Emma five years previous to lead her life in NYC. Emma and Charlie had been each other firsts in everything. They have not seen each other since they have broken up. Charlie starts to spend time in the town and runs into Emma and is unsure how to feel about being back in her hometown.

This book is very good. I love most of the Georgia Beers' books. They are all solid reads with few exceptions. This was not my favorite of her novels but it was still a very good one. The characters have solid development and they both seem to change for the book throughout the book. There were a couple flaws I had with the book, as their relationship was already set up before the novel started so it did not build the same way as if they had not met before. It did not hinder the book, I just did not seem to enjoy their development as much, it seemed quicker. I would still highly recommend this book, as I read it pretty quickly over two days.

So let me thank Netgalley and the publisher for this arc so I can give a honest opinion of this book. So again I will try and not give many plot details. It's a second chance book but this one does not really dig a ton in to the back story.. You get a small base of what happened and then snippets as the book goes along.Its about 2 late 20s characters. Now from reading some peoples reviews of other books some of you may not care much for one of the MCs. I kept asking myself why do I like this person?. Why am I rooting for this couple?. Well, Georgia Beers writes so well you really cant help yourself not to root for them. So on the whole I really liked this book..up to about 75 percent. I won't delve into details. Don't get me wrong it is still a great book and I by NO MEANS regret any time spent reading it but it had a few issues for me and kept me from 5 stars. So again Georgia Beers produces another great book and pick it up as you wont regret it. 4 stars and can't wait till her next one.

Charlie Stetko and Emma Grier were best friends since they were eight. Later, they were each other's first love and first everything. As Charlie graduated from college, leaving for Manhattan with a successful businesswoman who then became her girlfriend, she subsequently broke off contact with Emma for years, leaving the latter's heart in pieces. Now that Charlie was dumped and broke, she headed back to her hometown Shaker Falls as a last resort. With Charlie working at a bakery across from Emma's restaurant, the pair needed to figure out their own feelings, thoughts, and priorities.

While I wasn't thrilled about some of the questionable and untimely decisions the pair were making, I have to say that Beers sure knew how to build up a solid story. If we free ourselves of judgements on both Charlie and Emma and really experience what they were feeling, it wasn't hard to relate to them. Yes, Charlie made horrible decisions in her early-20s, and yes, Emma had worked so hard to move on with life. But when we follow Beers's words and understand Charlie's rapid growth as well as comb through Emma's conflicting emotions, we can see the complexities of their characters and the plot line. I happen to find the rich taste of a wonderful pie a great analogy for the book.

The stylistic choice of the sex scene was very on point. With long sentences and many commas, Beers delivered brimming feelings while showing desperateness that was almost like gasping. Despite the choice of stylistics being good, the words were not. I have to point out that there was one occurrence of the word "Eskimo," even though everyone in 2020 should agree not to use it.

"Flavor of the Month" is a bittersweet book on loss and re-trust. It has mirroring storylines focusing on redemption and facing your past on your own terms. And through this journey, we ultimately see if Charlie's sincerity is enough to redeem herself.

I believe this may be Georgia Beers' BEST book to date!

It read more smoothly than her others, the setting seemed easier to lose myself in, the angst and heartbreak, and the consequences of poor decisions were all much more believable...and her other books were really good, so you can imagine where the bar sits with this one.

A word of caution...

DO NOT READ WHEN HUNGRY

I warned you...

Georgia Beers has created another truly delightful read. This is a second chance lesfic and with so many out there the them tends to get redundant but Ms. Beers does a great job of doing it differently. Charlie selfishly dropped her whole life in Small Town (Shaker Falls), Vermont, when a larger than life woman gives her an offer she can’t refuse. When her world collapse she goes home, defeated. Over time, with the help of her family, and ex she realizes how truly selfish she was. I loved the dynamic between Charlie and Emma. There was drama but not a ton of unnecessary angst. I enjoyed this book and feel other will too!

4 Stars for Flavor of the Month by Georgia Beers.

This is a nice, pleasant Georgia Beers second chance romance. High School sweethearts attempt to rekindle their friendship and love after going their separate ways in college.

Charlie Stetko and Emma Grier grew up together in the small town of Shaker Falls, Vermont. They were best friends since childhood and later High School sweethearts. They went to separate colleges to pursue their different interests. Charlie to a school where she could study marketing and business and Emma to a culinary school. As the years passed, it was becoming clear their career aspirations would most likely put them in different cities. Eventually, they moved on. Emma practically begged Charlie not to join and work for entrepreneur, Darcy Wells in Manhattan. Wells was known to be a love ‘em and leave them type – Charlie herself first described Darcy as having “Flavor of the Month” girlfriends. Unfortunately, Charlie succumbed to Darcy’s charms and to the excitement of working in NYC. She was doing well in marketing and also happy as Darcy’s “partner” but 5 years later, Darcy sent Charlie packing with nothing but her old car and a few clothes. Charlie has no place to go but back home - embarrassed and depressed to Shaker Falls.

Emma has also returned to Shaker Falls. She is a talented chef and her dream was to open her own restaurant. Because Shaker Falls didn’t have an upscale restaurant and to be closer to her mother, Emma opens EG’s Restaurant. Although still new, it is on the way to becoming a great success. Emma is the more interesting character of the two. She is bi-racial, although it’s not really an issue one way or another. Her Father left when she was young and her mother is a barely functioning alcoholic which was one of the reasons Emma moved back to Shaker Falls. Maybe I missed it, but I don’t remember reading how Emma was able to save and/or raise enough money to buy a building and start a new restaurant while still in her twenties. Nevertheless, she accomplishes it.

Charlie gets a job at the new local bakery and she rediscovers her love of baking that she learned at her Grandmother’s side when she was a girl. Charlie begins baking pies for the bakery using her Grandmother’s recipes and inventing new creations. Although Charlie avoided it as long as possible, it was inevitable she would eventually run into Emma – especially when she was tasked to deliver her pies to the restaurant.

I really liked how their friendship was slowly healed and you can see why they were BFFs for so long. But the question is – will Charlie stick around?

I love Georgia Beers’ books - they’re real comfort reading for me - and Flavo(u)r of the Month has a slightly different, well, flavour, from the others I’ve read, as the two protagonists aren’t meeting for the first time. Charlie and Emma were once a couple - childhood sweethearts, more or less - but their relationship ended when Charlie was swept off her feet (and to a post-college job in New York) by the glamorous, successful (and frankly not very nice) Darcy. It’s fair to say Charlie didn’t behave well towards Emma at that time, and her behaviour left Emma understandably bitter. Some years later, Charlie has been unceremoniously dumped, lost her job, and is forced to return to her home town, Shaker Falls, where Emma now runs her own restaurant. All a bit awkward.

Can Charlie and Emma overcome past hurts and get it together again? The answer won’t be much of a surprise, but it’s fun getting there, and I particularly enjoyed the plot strand about Emma’s father. The other characters were also likeable - I’d have liked to see more of Sandy.

A lovely escapist read.

This book is phenomenal! It is without a doubt one of the best second chance romances I’ve read in a long time. The reason is simple: Georgia Beers is a master at turning the complexities of relationships, families and love into wonderful stories. She transcribes the emotions of love, heartbreak and loss with such care and reverence. Readers are drawn to her characters. They are easily able to relate, empathize and sympathize with them. Quite simply, she writes romances that readers fall in love with!

The characters in Flavor of the Month are beautifully written. I loved their humanity and vulnerability, especially Charlie’s. At her core, she is a good and decent person who simply makes a mistake at a young and vulnerable age. This mistake hurts people she loves dearly, and she is only able to truly see their hurt once she is in the midst of her own heartache. For Charlie, this story is not so much a rediscovery of her first love, but of herself.

I loved watching Charlie grow and mature during this story. I especially enjoyed her display of humility during her most awkward and difficult times with Emma. It just made this character so tangible for me. Beers has created some outstanding characters over the course of her writing career, but I believe this one might be her most remarkable.

Even though I did favor Charlie, I believe that Emma is a fabulous character, too. Emma’s pain over her and Charlie’s breakup is palatable. Her resistance to trust again is beyond understandable; she felt broken when Charlie left. I was very sympathetic to her situation and discomfort. Most of all though, I was relieved that Beers did not rush the reconnecting and rekindling between Emma and Charlie. She let it defrost slowly. Charlie’s return is unsettling and Emma needs time to adjust. They were separated by five years and hundreds of miles. Beers turns up the heat very slowly between these characters, creating a well executed story arc that is nicely paced.

Beers always makes nice use of her secondary characters, and this novel is no different. I liked how Beers utilizes Charlie’s sister Sherry. Sherry reveals to readers just how affected Charlie’s loved ones are by her move to New York and subsequent departure from their lives. Sherry gives a different perspective and fills in a bit of backstory. Her anger ultimately provides a conduit for Charlie to reflect and grow. The scene with Sherry and Charlie at the fire pit-amazing and beautifully written! Sherry’s frustration and upset really resonate, but so does her love for Charlie. It tugged at my heart.

The heartbreak, beauty, and wondrous joy of love are on full display in Flavor of the Month. This second chance romance is exceptional. Georgia Beers has outdone herself with this one. I highly recommend reading it.