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falon 's review for:
A Dash of Salt and Pepper
by Kosoko Jackson
This had all the makings of being a Top Book for me but fell flat in SO many ways. Xavier is the son of a chef and after a series of set backs in his life, he is back in his hometown of Harper's Cove, Maine. He's not exactly happy about it, but when a chance to get his life back on track means working at handsome single dad, Logan O'Hare's restaurant, Xavier will have to guard his heart if he plans to ever leave this town.
I love food romances! I love reading the different descriptions of all the dishes, I love reading about the process of making the food. I love reading a couple falling in lover over food. There's a sprinkle of that in here and I really enjoyed it when we got it.
Xavier and Logan also had good chemistry when the author let them do what they do best -- banter. They have very different personalities but I feel like they did mesh together well. However, Xavier's internal monologue is exhausting to read. I see in a lot of reviews that other people think this book would be better if it was dual POV. I agree to a certain extent. I don't think it would solve my main issue with Xavier's POV. There's something about it that feels like it's constantly trying to prove something: prove that he has a weird family dynamic (that we see for 1 or 2 scenes), prove that he prefers the big city, prove that he doesn't fit in here, prove that no, actually, he prefers his small town, instead of just letting the narrative speak for itself. It was not an enjoyable experience to read.
Which really leads to my last point that I think this book has a plotting issue. Time moves so weirdly in this book, especially in the last third where the author decides a time jump is a great idea for a relationship we have only just begun to see bloom! How am I supposed to believe the characters I was introduced to 200 pages ago would make the decisions they're making on page 300 when we haven't seen the growth? It felt like a very harsh pivot, instead of a re-centering and I am still a little baffled by what Xavier choses in the end. Ah well, you win some you lose some. I am not sure if I will continue with Kosoko Jackson's work in the future -- I think the premise would have to really entice me.
I love food romances! I love reading the different descriptions of all the dishes, I love reading about the process of making the food. I love reading a couple falling in lover over food. There's a sprinkle of that in here and I really enjoyed it when we got it.
Xavier and Logan also had good chemistry when the author let them do what they do best -- banter. They have very different personalities but I feel like they did mesh together well. However, Xavier's internal monologue is exhausting to read. I see in a lot of reviews that other people think this book would be better if it was dual POV. I agree to a certain extent. I don't think it would solve my main issue with Xavier's POV. There's something about it that feels like it's constantly trying to prove something: prove that he has a weird family dynamic (that we see for 1 or 2 scenes), prove that he prefers the big city, prove that he doesn't fit in here, prove that no, actually, he prefers his small town, instead of just letting the narrative speak for itself. It was not an enjoyable experience to read.
Which really leads to my last point that I think this book has a plotting issue. Time moves so weirdly in this book, especially in the last third where the author decides a time jump is a great idea for a relationship we have only just begun to see bloom! How am I supposed to believe the characters I was introduced to 200 pages ago would make the decisions they're making on page 300 when we haven't seen the growth? It felt like a very harsh pivot, instead of a re-centering and I am still a little baffled by what Xavier choses in the end. Ah well, you win some you lose some. I am not sure if I will continue with Kosoko Jackson's work in the future -- I think the premise would have to really entice me.