Simone has taken over her grandfather's barbeque restaurant and is on a quest to make it a success, by selling their dynamite barbeque sauce. But when chef Finn turns up with his own sauce, Simone can't believe it. Thinking she's found a new way in, she applies for a reality tv show that promises funding for bright ideas but guess what, Finn's there too. The competition is on!

This was an enjoyable enemies to lovers story with great banter, sizzling chemistry and plenty of laugh out loud moments. Though this was the second book of the series, it can be read as a stand alone as I haven't read book one, though I might have to now!

The second book in this series, the story of Simone and Finn.
They meet when he comes to her town to sell his bbq sauce at the farmers market - they clash but will they be able to work together? Both of them have issues, and will they get over these to be together?
A great read, and I liked how it was told from both points of view. Looking forward to the rest of the books in this series.

Stirring Up Love was a decent romance, but overall fairly forgettable for me. I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers plotline (always my favorite trope), but there was nothing remarkable or fresh in my opinion. Maybe this one just wasn't for me. I do hope it finds its readers though!

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

I’m going to keep this review short and sweet.

I didn’t like this book and that’s because almost all the conflict is based on miscommunication and I absolutely can’t stand that. Especially when the characters are supposed to be adults. If you’re grown enough to run a business, to work in corporate America, if you’re old enough to have the ability to open a culinary school, then you’re old enough to have a conversation.

It’s one thing that I didn’t really bond to the characters which I’m disappointed by. It’s not like the writing is bad.

The characters just didn’t do it for me. And with a road trip, BBQ, enemies to lovers, this should have been everything but I just didn’t like it. And that’s probably stems from the fact that I couldn’t stand the fact they couldn’t act like adults and just communicate.

It’s a two (2) stars from me, and I don’t think I’ll recommend it. I’m really tired of romance’s biggest flaw being miscommunication. I want the character’s actions to be the cause of conflict. Not them not actually talking to the person they’re having sex with.

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

Though it is my first book of Chandra blumberg , it was absolutely fun and enjoyable read. The chemistry between simone and finn is real good. The cherry on the topping would the food wars. It's time to read the first book in the series.

This book has it all! Small-town charm, easy romance, fun banter and very likeable characters. Wrap that all up with a shark tank inspired TV appearance and a road trip for the ages and you have yourself a hit! This was an easy and fast rom com read with some really touching moments.

While the characters and the premise were interesting, I wasn’t hooked into the story. It was missing that extra kick that usually keeps me hooked with romances. The book has a lot of potential but I was bored for quite a lot of it.

3.5 stars ☆ An enemies to lovers, forced proximity, set in a small town rom-com is just want I need for a summer read.

I loved Simone and Finn's chemistry in this book. Their banter was amazing and I felt like it's also a reverse grumpy x sunshine since Finn has this golden retriever energy makes this book perfect. The only problem that I have was the miscommunication conflict but other than that, this was still a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC !!

Stirring Up Love serves up a tasty blend of familiar tropes—enemies to lovers, fish out of water, small town romance, forced proximity—within the framework of two young entrepreneurs competing for social acceptance and business success. Simone is just neurotic enough to be likable and believable in her drive for success and desire to prove herself worthy of love and friendship. Meanwhile, Finn’s history of revolving foster care and desire for permanence and love while dreaming of creating opportunities for others in need just tugs at the heartstrings. Neither feel safe enough to ask for what they want, and their missteps land them into a professional quandary, unplanned cross country adventure, and eventual romantic conclusion with a few sexy hookups and funny misadventures along the way. It’s a fun read filled with colorful characters that works as a standalone despite being the second in a series.

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read this title in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely gorgeous romcom and a great sequel to Digging Up Love (which I adored). 5 glorious romantic stars!

Not quite the same magic as the first book in the series had for me. I still really did enjoy this reality tv show, road trip, enemies to lovers romance between two rival BBQ sauce makers fighting to win money to help fund their cooking dreams. The story had great banter and chemistry between the two main characters but this one is a closed-door romance so be warned if that's not your thing. Recommended for fans of stories like For butter or worse or The romance recipe. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

“Finn Rimes was the flip side to her coin. She hated that.”
— 𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙐𝙥 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚, Chandra Blumberg

I recently listened to 𝘿𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙐𝙥 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 and was intrigued enough by Simone’s character to want to read this one as well. Unfortunately for me it fell a little flat.

I should be obsessed with this, as it was the recipe for the makings of my favorite types of books. Rivals to lovers? Forced proximity? Road trip? Small town romance? It should’ve been perfection, but unfortunately it wasn’t.

I didn’t connect with either of the two MCs. Simone willingly took her sister’s spot as owner of Honey and Hickory but when people offered to help her, she pushed them away. And Finn did the same exact thing. Finn’s backstory is a sympathetic one but instead of being strong in the face of all the adversity he faced, it seemed to me he just used it as an excuse to continue with his woe-is-me attitude.

All said, this just was not the book for me.

Simone and Finn own rival businesses that make barbecue sauce. After a tense meeting at the local farmers market, both win places on The Executives, a Dragon's Den-style reality show where they find themselves competing for funding, with an outcome neither one expected.

I found the start a little slow, but once it really got going I loved the enemies-to-lovers aspect of this story. The taping of The Executives was incendiary (if a teensy bit far-fetched) and I really enjoyed their (often) flirty banter throughout. I think my favourite part was the road trip (no spoilers). I really grew to love both characters, especially when they were in the cabin. Finn's story about his tattoos made me sob. And while trust and communication aren't either of their best attributes, I appreciated the way both characters began to understand how alike they actually were, and their growing admiration of one another was sweet.

Just like Finn's sauce, this story had layers of flavour, from tangy Simone to sweet Finn, and just a hint of fire (although I would have loved a tiny bit more spice, given the amount of flirting 😉). My first book by Chandra Blumberg, I would happily read more.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥 🔥
Emotional Rating: 💓🙈😬💔😢😍🥰

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

**UPDATED REVIEW**

Simone Blake wants nothing more than to see the family BBQ restaurant succeed now that she’s taken over for her grandfather. Finn Rimes sells his homemade BBQ sauce to fund his dream of teaching others to cook. Simone and Finn meet at the local farmer’s market and battle ensues. Six months later they find themselves needing to work together after they both compete for cash on a reality TV show.

This rivals to lovers romance is full of humor and great banter. Simone just wants to do right by her loved ones while proving herself. The author does a great job developing her character through her journey and her family members. Finn is willing to do anything to see his dream come true but has no problem stepping up when others need his help. I really loved how warm and welcoming Simone’s family was toward Finn even though he was her “enemy”.

While this is the second book in the Taste of Love series, it can be read as a stand alone. I did go back and read the 1st book, Digging Up Love, after reading book 2 and enjoyed it just as much. I look forward to seeing if the author expands this series into any more books.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake!

I read the synopsis of this book and was excited, a barbeque war and a road trip…sign me up. Sadly, this book just didn’t work for me. I just could not connect with either character, I honestly didn’t find either one all the likeable and to me the “enemies” theme felt forced. In fact everything in this book felt forced. I struggled to read it, put it down several times, picked it up to try again, and put down again. Each time I tried to see the book and the characters with new and fresh eyes and I felt the same way every time. It pains me to rate a book this low especially one that sounded so good to me and I’m sure it will work for other readers, but for me it was a miss.

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Stirring Up Love by Chandra Blumberg is a wonderful #ownvoices rom-com about entrepreneurship. The story revolves around Simone, who has come back to her hometown in Illinois to run her grandfather's barbecue restaurant. But Finn, a nearby chef has created his own barbecue sauce. Soon, it's the battle of the barbecue sauces, and it's playing out on TV. Both Simone and Finn are entering a Shark Tank-like reality competition!

Here is a hilarious excerpt from Chapter 1:

""Nautical blue? Nah." Her best friend, Chantal, used her fingertip to reveal the next set of colors. "Back in Chicago, with Lake Michigan nearby, maybe. But out here?" Her tone indicated just what she thought of the rural Illinois town. She tapped another hue on the swatch. "What you want here is cornflower blue."
Grinning, Simone shook her head. She'd missed joking around with Chantal. And nothing could dim her pride in the town's agriculture. Their corn fed the nation. Lake Michigan was picturesque but cold and forbidding half the time."

Overall, Stirring Up Love is an adorable rom-com that is like You've Got Mail meets Shark Tank. One highlight of this book is that it is an #ownvoices rom-com by a Black author. I think that there should be more rom-coms featuring People of Color, and I am so happy to support this author. Another highlight of this book is the intriguing premise. As a Shark Tank superfan, I was so interested to see a similar reality TV show premise incorporated into the plot. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of rom-coms, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in July!

The story revolves around culinary romance, close proximity (which I was not a fan of), and enemies-turned-lovers. There was something special about Finn Rimes as a character. As for Simone, I did not really care for her. She just felt no one believed in her and judged her as a result and it showed in how she treated Finn. As a result, I was unable to connect with her and the read wasn't as enjoyable.
As for their culinary dreams and taking part in a "Apprentice" type show, I really enjoyed them. In the end, I found the story to be redeeming.


Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the ARC. This is an honest review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Stirring Up Love is the second book in Chandra Blumberg’ s Taste of Love series. It can be read as a stand-alone, although I do recommend the first one.
This one is just as fun as the first, really leaning into the food element with a lot of enticing descriptions of different dishes. It’s also quite fun and tropey, with a fairly well executed enemies-to-lovers dynamic.
Simone and Finn are both dedicated to the culinary field, and competition between them to build themselves in, locally initially and then on a bigger scale through a reality show, has them butting heads in a comical way. It could easily epically fail, but the simmering tension leads to them constantly crossing paths in ways they initially did not expect, like going on a cross-country road trip. I loved watching the two of them bond as they got to know each other, and reconsider whether their careers really were more important than each other.
There are some moments where the pacing feels a bit uneven, like the beginning takes a bit to get going and there were some moments where I felt it was a bit slow going in the middle. But given I had issues with the angst of the last book, I felt that there was a better balance of that here, with the characters having better reasoning for their concerns and higher stakes to challenge the relationship.
I enjoyed this one more than the first, and will continue reading Chandra Blumberg’s work to observe her growth as a writer. Whatever your thoughts on the first one, I recommend this to readers of food-centric contemporary romance.

I think this might be an unpopular opinion, but I didn’t love this one. I started it like five times and kept putting it down and then I just made myself push through it because I had an early reader copy.

I usually love an enemies to lovers romance! They are totally my jam. But I guess I really need to like both characters for it to work for me and this one fell flat. Simone and Finn were interesting characters, but I just couldn’t connect with them. They both pushed away help at every opportunity and even their sympathetic back stories didn’t sway me.

And, my least favorite form of conflict is miscommunication and it abounds in this book.

I didn’t love this one, but it could totally be a “me” thing.

A few of my favourite things, food, banter and sort of enemies to lovers trope make for an interesting read. 3 stars.