A Taste for Love. Jennifer Yen. 2021. 322 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mother in possession of great wisdom, must be in want--nay, in need--of a daughter who will listen.
Premise/plot: A Taste for Love is a YA romance that puts a contemporary twist on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Liza Yang, our heroine, is tired of her mother trying to set her up on dates and find her the perfect (according to her Mom's standards, not hers) Asian boyfriend. Her love life--or lack thereof--is on her. There's definitely tension between Liza and her mother. However, that's not the only relationship with some tension...
So her mom (who owns Yin and Yang bakery) has had a baking contest for five years...this year Liza is involved as the technical judge. Her mom *may* have selected the participants solely to "help" Liza find a boyfriend. Once Liza realizes that she has been set up...well...she's not pleased! But two new friends step up and apply--Ben and James. Ben and James are cousins, best friends, near brothers. Ben is dating Liza's best friend... James is...many, many, many things. But is he a baker too?
My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I did. It was a light Austen retelling. (Which may just be the right way to approach it.) It is set in Texas. Most of the characters are either beginning or ending their senior year of high school. There is some talk of choosing colleges and planning for future careers. I like the focus on baking. The contest definitely reminds me of Great British Baking Show...if it was done for a local cable channel. Still, it was fun to see that as a hobby and interest.
I liked seeing Liza with her friends. I wasn't crazy about Liza's older sister. If Jeannie--the sister--is supposed to be anything at all like Jane, it's a total failure. But I don't think that was the intention at all. I don't. I think they gave the role of Jane to one of Liza's friends--the one dating Ben. The thing that bothered me about Jeannie was her reluctance to believe Liza (and her friend whom she would have known for years) over her current "boyfriend." Still I guess the book needed a bad guy??? I don't know.
© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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