Yaffa S. Santos

Includes recipes and a reading group guide.

A Novel

A Taste of Sage

Bria

I truly don't know how I feel about this book. I'll come back later with a review.

Dee B. 

I didn't hate it...

--------

Their dynamic should work (hate to love, rivals to partners, headstrong af, grumpy vs eternally happy, well loved female character vs a feared male character) but it only just missed the mark for me. I wanted just a bit more of the explanation of her super palette (which is reminiscent of something but I just can't remember what). I wanted a clearer view of heir romance being developed so it didn't feel quite as rushed. But it was enjoyable and the recipes were a nice little addition.

From talented new writer, Yaffa S. Santos, comes this unforgettable, heartwarming, and hilarious rom-com about chefs, cooking, love, and self-discovery that is a cross between The Hating Game and Sweetbitter. Lumi Santana is a chef with the gift of synesthesia—she can perceive a person’s emotions just by tasting their cooking. Despite being raised by a single mother who taught her that dreams and true love were silly fairy tales, she decides to take a chance and puts her heart and savings into opening a fusion restaurant in Inwood, Manhattan. The restaurant offers a mix of the Dominican cuisine she grew up with and other world cuisines that have been a source of culinary inspiration to her. When Lumi’s eclectic venture fails, she is forced to take a position as a sous chef at a staid, traditional French restaurant in midtown owned by Julien Dax, a celebrated chef known for his acid tongue as well as his brilliant smile. Lumi and Julien don’t get along in the kitchen--to say Lumi is irritated by Julien’s smug attitude is an understatement, and she secretly vows never to taste his cooking. Little does she know that her resolve doesn’t stand a chance against Julien’s culinary prowess. As Julien produces one delectable dish after another, each one tempting Lumi with its overwhelming aromas and gorgeous presentations, she can no longer resist and samples one of his creations. She isn’t prepared for the feelings that follow as she’s overcome with intense emotions. She begins to crave his cooking throughout the day, which throws a curveball in her plan to save up enough money and move on as soon as possible. Plus, there’s also the matter of Esme, Julien’s receptionist who seems to always be near and watching. As the attraction between Lumi and Julien simmers, Lumi experiences a tragedy that not only complicates her professional plans, but her love life as well... Clever, witty, and romantic, A Taste of Sage is sure to delight and entertain readers until the very last page.

Sheena

“A Taste of Sage” was uneventful, dull, and lacked appealed. The relationship between Lumi and Julien was just about non existent and there was no real connection at all between them beside a physical attraction. It had potential but the author failed to meet them which is unfortunate because I was really looking forward to a culinary romance.

sade head

It was very cute, but I felt like this book was ALL over the place and I’m not sure how to gather my final thoughts about it.

Katie

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy free for review. All opinions are my own.

Doesn't it suck when an anticipated release isn't nearly as good as you wanted it to be?

The story starts with Lumi, our main character, struggling to keep up with bills at her restaurant. Due to her off-the-cuff cooking style, it's difficult to maintain a steady base of customers, and her restaurant eventually goes under. She ends up as a sous chef for one of the pickiest, most demanding chefs in New York City, Julien Dax--who promptly decides he wants to bang her.

And that, my friends, is the crux of my issue with this book. I felt no chemistry between the two leads. I saw no reason for them to want to be together. And considering this is a romance, that's a pretty big deal! The relationship is the whole reason you read the dang book! I also thought this would be a bit more hate-to-love than it was, so that was a bit disappointing, but blurbs aren't always accurate so I feel like I can't really hold that against it.

There was also a weird fantastical element that came out of nowhere and I was very confused. I didn't remember seeing anything about that in the summary, so it just felt very out of left field for this genre of book. It wasn't exactly bad, but it didn't feel like it felt with the rest of the book.

I did enjoy the writing style. It wasn't anything crazy spectacular, but it was smooth and made this book easy to read, which is something I value in a romance. I want to be able to turn my brain off for a while and just enjoy the ride, and the writing style did that for me! One of my favorite things about this book was that recipes for most, if not all, the dishes mentioned were at the end of chapters. It would be really fun for a book club to read this and then when they talk about it, have a little potluck where everyone brings a dish from the book. Or just, you know, cook some delicious food for yourself.

Overall, I think this book was just way off the mark from my expectations for it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really up my alley either.

Linda Quintanilla

I hate to say this but I was so confuse with A Taste of Sage story line. I do not know how else I can say it.
Reading the book was completely different from what the book summary has mention. Very briefly was her special gift was mention in the book. It was a bit back and forth about the two characters about their food opinions. Pus, there was very little interaction until the end of the book. Relationship seem very rush toward the end. I don’t want to critique but it need to be more chemistry between the characters. If there was more attraction and chemistry, then this book would have been better. It had potential with rival chef with different taste. That’s all I am saying.

Cheryl Hedlund

This dish had flavor, but not enough to keep me coming back. Parts of this fell flat or felt brushed over too quickly for me. Maybe part of that is a tone issue. Some real dramatic and serious things are touched on, but then we very quickly go back to a cute and happy rom-com. The writing style and the food descriptions were great. I think the biggest problem was that I never fell for Julien, the male lead. He had a real temper that could flare and made me uncomfortable. He did mellow toward the end and that was meant to show the good influence of being in a loving relationship. But it was never outright called out or addressed as a problem, and I felt it was enough of a temper to be a problem. I really liked Lumi and the character arc she had. I enjoyed the touch of magical realism with her tasting ability. The comradery in the kitchen was great and the side characters were charming. There was an attempt to give Julien development and a family backstory, but he was just not as well-developed a character as Lumi.

A Taste of Sage A Novel

Reviews