Book Review: Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Amant

TACOS FOR TWO
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Revell
RELEASE DATE: October 12, 2021
PAGES: 364

Rory Perez, a food truck owner who can’t cook, is struggling to keep the business she inherited from her aunt out of the red–and an upcoming contest during Modest’s annual food truck festival seems the best way to do it. The prize money could finally give her a solid financial footing and keep her cousin with special needs paid up at her beloved assisted living home. Then maybe Rory will have enough time to meet the man she’s been talking to via an anonymous online dating site.

Jude Strong Worthington is tired of being a puppet at his manipulative father’s law firm, and the food truck festival seems like the perfect opportunity to dive into his passion for cooking and finally call his life his own. But if he loses the contest, he’s back at the law firm for good. Failure is not an option.

Complications arise when Rory’s chef gets mono and she realizes she has to cook after all. Then Jude discovers that his stiffest competition is the same woman he’s been falling for online the past month.

Will these unlikely chefs sacrifice it all for the sake of love? Or will there only ever be tacos for one?

“I wanted it to be you so badly.”

You know that feeling after devouring an excellent book, the cream of the crop, and you’re just sitting there, a bit of a mess – laughing a little, smiling a lot, all while wiping away tears of you-don’t-even-know-why-you’re-crying? It’s a lot like the feeling you get at the end of a Tom Hanks – Meg Ryan romcom. Say, for instance… You’ve Got Mail … because Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Amant is a loving nod to the best (don’t fight me on this) Hanks/Ryan movie – with its own delicious flavor – and gave me all the feels that I felt when I watched YGM for the first time.

Don’t get me wrong, though – Tacos for Two isn’t an updated You’ve Got Mail. Rather, the author gives fans of the movie a story-wrapped hug (and don’t we all need one of those after the last couple of years?), kinda like a comforting, warm beverage on a cold, dreary day. Haven’t watched the movie yet? (WHY?!?!) No worries! You’ll have no problem following along with this delightful & smartly-written romance. You just appreciate the author’s story crafting prowess even more if you have watched it.

Ok, enough about YGM.

Rory and Jude have a lot in common at heart… except for cilantro lol. (I’m with Rory on this, Jude – it tastes nasty.) Both are at a crossroads in their professional lives and their personal lives, too, for that matter, and the line between the two gets fuzzy as the story progresses. The professional affects the personal, and vice versa, and Rory and Jude’s separate internal conflicts have a habit of tangling up with the other’s conflicts as well. Which means a sizzling skillet of romantic tension & some smokin’ hot kisses, too! But as much as I loved the kisses (whew! keep a fan handy!), I think I might have loved the friendship that led up to them even more. St. Amant has created two fantastic protagonists with layers and emotions and dreams, and she’s allowed them to find that like-minded connection in each other – both in their online alter egos and their tentative in-person friendship. I loved the dynamics this put into play, and I loved the journey the author took with these characters – and her readers.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention all the fabulous side characters in this book, too. Specifically on Rory’s side of things. Hannah (all my love for Rory’s cousin & the graceful way the author wrote her) and Nicole & Grady are exactly the kind of people you want by your side in life. The kind of friendships who build you up, who keep you going when you want to quit, who are there with the right hug or pick-me-up at the right time. I’m also glad that Jude had at least one friend like that too, and it made my heart happy to watch Rory’s friends become a support for him as well (without violating their loyalty to Rory). The author drew each of these vivid secondary characters with purpose, and the balance they bring to the story elevates it to so much more than ‘just’ a romance.

Bottom Line: In Tacos for Two, Betsy St. Amant tugs at all her readers’ emotions, giving us lots to chuckle, smile, tear up, and swoon over as we follow Rory & Jude on their bumpy food truck ride to happily-ever-after. The wit is perfectly placed, and the plot is full of heart from beginning to end. Fans of You’ve Got Mail will delight in the affectionate nods to the film, references which only add to Rory & Jude’s story rather than detract from it. This is one of my fave reads of 2021, and it’s a must read for any romance fan!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 5 stars / in a class by itself

KissingBook Level: 4 / keep that fan & fainting couch handy!

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Betsy St Amant is the author of more than fifteen inspirational romances, including The Key to Love (2020) and Tacos for Two (Oct. 2021), and is a frequent contributor to iBelieve.com. She lives in north Louisiana with her husband, two daughters, a collection of Austen novels, and an impressive stash of pickle-flavored Pringles. When she’s not composing her next book or trying to prove unicorns are real, Betsy can usually be found somewhere in the vicinity of a white chocolate mocha—no whip. Learn more at www.betsystamant.com.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Amant?