J.L. Clark

Jennifer Yen's debut, A Taste for Love, is the fluffy YA romance you think it is. It reads like a season of The Great British Baking Show with Pride & Prejudice vibes and some complicated Chinese-American inter-generational dynamics.

While I would have liked a little more emphasis on the romantic arc, Liza's passion for baking was just what I needed in the cold, overwhelming landscape of January 2021. James is, as the blurb says, "annoyingly hot." That's one of the best tropes - "I don't want show more to be attracted to you but I am and I kind of resent you for it."

A Taste for Love is told entirely through Liza's POV and while she definitely makes some Lizzie Bennett-style assumptions, I never found her annoying or immature. (Can you tell I don't love P&P?) Liza's relationship with her mother is strained, but not quite for the reasons she thinks. Liza wants to pursue baking after high school, but her parents are pushing her to go to college for something "practical" and to date a nice Asian boy. A big part of Liza's arc is the reclamation of her love for baking and through it, her bond with her mother, who runs a baking contest every year. Her sister also plays a big part in the story and I'd love a follow-up book focusing on her.

Overall, this was a fun read with an unexpected baking-sabotage mystery and a sweet romance.

I regret not having any custard buns nearby, however. show less

Sophia Bennett is having the best summer ever: interning with a genome laboratory, cultivating bacterial colonies for eight hours a day; going to sappy movies with her best friend Angie every weekend; and daydreaming about her high school crush Jake the rest of the time. The only thing Sophia looks forward to more is her eighteenth birthday and celebrating with Angie. In fact, after graduating high school and enjoying the last days of a particularly glorious summer, preparing for college and show more occasionally catching Jake's eye are perhaps the most important issues on Sophia's mind.

And, indeed, those are the only things that cause her any particular worry...at least, until the night of her birthday party. Suddenly, Sophia is thrust into a world that she never knew existed, and finds herself being swept into the middle of the eternal struggle between good and evil. Time is apparently against her as she and her new friends seek to take possession of an anciently powerful magic before it falls into the wrong hands.

Drafted into a war that she initially had no idea was being waged, will Sophia be able to solve the mystery of the Lilith Links in time to save her loved ones, or will the enemy ultimately triumph and destroy everything that she cherishes? When everything she knows about her life is subsequently challenged - Sophia must decide what she is truly fighting for - living an authentic life, or living the kind of life she has always wanted.

I must say that I really enjoyed reading this book. Sophia and her friends were so well drawn and I could really sympathize with their plight. I was immersed in the plot right away, and found myself immediately swept along into the story. In my opinion, this was a well-developed story filled with several unexpected plot twists. I have always loved reading books featuring the Fae, and am wondering where the next book in the series will lead. I would give this book a definite A! show less

Liza is frustrated with her mother, who spends most of her time complaining about her daughter's imperfections. To ensure Liza's future, she insists that Liza only date Asian boys and tries to fix her up with them as often as possible. She even goes as far as setting up their annual baking contest sponsored by their restaurant/bakery called Yin and Yang with only young Asian men as contestants and then makes Liza a judge and also one of the rewards, offering her up to give baking lessons to show more the winner. When the contest begins, things don't go as anyone has planned.

A Taste for Love is a light and cute YA romance featuring Asian food and drink at its heart, adding another layer of enjoyment to the story. The protagonists are likable and appealing, while making a few mistakes that lead to some over-the-top drama, but for the most part, this is balanced with the other elements included in the plot. One additional character in the story, Sarah, is a white girl that has a tendency toward saying and doing politically incorrect things that Liza is able to point out, showing the audience how easily hurtful ideas can slip into conversation, but also how they can be corrected. Overall, A Taste for Love is a fun little romance with some cultural lessons thrown in for good measure. 3 1/2 stars show less

*I got this book for review from the publisher for my honest thoughts*

I really loved this read. It was such a fun read. I loved the bakery as a setting of this read mixed with competition but also a bachalorette elements that just made me smile. I really loved how this book was about the asisan american culture. I thought this book had a nice balance between sweet but also tackling harder topics. This book had so many side characters and so many romances that just made me smile. I really show more loved how this book also tackled the summer after high school or but also parent expectation vs child wants. I will def read more by this author in the future. show less