Review: Recipe for Love

Recipe for Love by Aurora Rey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finished on January 7, 2021

Favorite Scene/Quote: "Anything I should know? Likes, dislikes, things that will make you come unglued?"

I was very happy about how this book played out. While the idea immediately got my intention and made me want to read it, I knew there was a possibility of it not meeting my expectations. 

    

I always have slight concerns around city-women coming to the country for a short amount of time for any reason and striking up a relationship. The idea that Drew would stay there for a year or two before continuing along in her path made my problem with that less of an issue. Watching the relationship develop between the two was fun and I enjoyed it a lot, even the stumbles and missteps (the part with the tomatoes being incorrectly marked and Hannah scrambling was amusing and helped cement the idea that Drew, even if serious about her work, isn’t unnecessarily cruel or demanding when mistakes are made).

Some of the drama felt forced to me. I didn’t like the doubts that Drew’s family placed in Hannah’s head, as unintentional as it might have been. I also felt that some of the drama was left up to miscommunication and could have been easily solved by conversation. However, the drama was handled pretty well for what it was and I quite enjoyed the final act with Hannah’s farm and the reconciliation it brought. 

Also, I loved Hannah’s character. I don’t often get to read books where a feminine-leaning character does hard, messy work. Hannah was a farmer but she wasn’t butch. It was a nice change of pace and I loved it. I also adored that food played a central part in the story. Drew’s a cook and Hannah’s a farmer producing the produce for the restaurant Drew works at. It makes sense for food to be one of the main focuses of the book. 

(Sidenote: I want to read more books with feminine farmers. I love my butch farmers but it’s nice to change the pace sometimes. Need recommendations.)