If you’ve been following the blog you’ll know that I’m a big fan of romantic comedies. So when I heard about Gouda Friends I became really curious. Cathy Yardley is an author I’ve been wanting to read for quite some time now, so I signed up for the blog tour. Keep on reading to read what I thought of this book and what Gouda Friends is all about!

A big thank you to the author and Montlake for providing me with an e-arc to read and review.

Two high school BFFs reunite and endeavor to fix each other’s lives in this geeky romance from the author of Love, Comment, Subscribe.

Tam Doan dumped her boyfriend after he threw away her gourmet cheese. Sure, it’s a little more complicated than that, but the point is, he had it coming. Newly single and unemployed, Tam calls up her best friend from high school and utters the emergency code word—goldfish. Next thing she knows, she’s on a plane back home.

Josh O’Malley was a troubled, unconfident teenager. Now he’s the successful owner of a multimillion-dollar ghost kitchen. Tam, his high school BFF and fellow member of the Nerd Herd friend group, was instrumental in building his self-esteem. When she calls him out of the blue, he jumps at the chance to return the favor.

Josh and Tam immediately get to work fixing her life—but again, it’s complicated. Their close friendship was always a lifeline between them; a blooming romance might confuse things. Still, at least one thing is for certain: their chemistry is un-brie-lievable. 

Review

In all honesty, the cover of Gouda Friends is what caught my attention. I’m loving all of the illustrated covers and this one definitely jumped out at me. And I’m glad it did, because this book was so much fun. I love friends to lovers romances and Cathy Yardley definitely did this trope right. Also, be aware food is talked about a lot in this book. It definitely made me hungry, haha.

Tam wasn’t having a good day. First not getting the weekend away at work as planned and then coming home to find her boyfriend in bed with his ex. To make matters worse he threw away her gourmet comfort cheese. You just don’t do that! So when she calls her best friend and heads back to California things in her life start to change. I really like Tam. She was a fun character, but just didn’t realize how amazing she was. Or that what she loves matters at well. After always being drilled she needed to do her best and be successful she doesn’t know how to take time and figure out what she wants. I loved watching Tam trying to figure things out. She’s a strong person it just took her awhile to realize it.

Josh is definitely a new member of my book boyfriend list. He was so sweet. Tam and Josh didn’t have easy childhoods and I loved how they had each other for support and protection. The genuine love and protectiveness he felt for her was really heartwarming. Josh is also a hard worker (maybe a bit too much so) and I loved reading about his work and how he was trying to develop more restaurants.

We all know that when you’re that close more feelings can develop. Things definitely got steamy between them and that got confusing when taking their friendship into consideration. I did love how they both started realizing there was more and how it felt realistic. It didn’t just jump to oh we love each other and all is well. It showed us both of their doubts and fears. They left a smile on my face.

Add in a lot of funny moments and some amazing side characters. The Nerd Herd is the best and I would love to keep reading about them. I really hope we get to see more of them in future books. If you’re looking for a fast and fun romance I definitely suggest picking up Gouda Friends.

About the Author

Cathy Yardley is an award-winning author of romance, chick lit, and urban fantasy, who has sold over 1.2 million copies of books for publishers like St. Martin’s, Avon, and Harlequin. She writes fun, geeky, and diverse characters who believe that underdogs can make good and sometimes being a little wrong is just right. She likes writing about quirky, crazy adventures, because she’s had plenty of her own: she had her own army in the Society of Creative Anachronism; she’s spent a New Year’s on a 3-day solitary vision quest in the Mojave Desert; she had VIP access to the Viper Room in Los Angeles. Now, she spends her time writing in the wilds of East Seattle, trying to prevent her son from learning the truth of any of said adventures, and riding herd on her two dogs (and one husband.)

Author Links

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All in all, Gouda Friends was a great rom com to read. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author. She has quite the backlist, so that’s exciting! Seeing how our main character loves cheese, what’s your favorite cheese? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.