Knives, Seasoning, & A Dash of Love is a workplace romance that caught my eye. I don’t think I’ve read many books like this. Today I want to tell you about this book and what I thought. Keep on reading to find out more.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Lake Country Press for providing me with an eARC to read and review.

In this spicy workplace romance, a hotheaded celebrity chef finds himself drawn to his inexperienced new hire. But when her bubbly attitude collides with his sharp edges, can they handle the heat, or will their love be a recipe for disaster?

Alexander Chen is one of the most talented chefs to ever grace the culinary world of French haute cuisine. He rules his kitchen with an iron fist and fiery temper, so it’s no secret that if you can’t handle the heat, he’ll gladly toss you out with the trash. As one of the first Chinese-American chefs to claw his way to the top, he has a lot to prove and a massive chip on his shoulder.

But he wasn’t always like this. Eden Monroe, his newly hired sous chef—who may or may not have (definitely) embellished a lot on her resumé to land herself the job—knew him back when he still went by his real name, Shang. He used to be sweet and helpful and definitely not the second coming of the devil himself.

Eden won’t say anything, though, no matter how hot her curiosity burns. Especially if it could cost her this job, which she needs if she has any hope of hiring a private detective to find something she lost long ago.

All she has to do is fly under the radar. It’s just a shame that she and her new boss butt heads more often than they fulfill orders. But what happens when things finally boil over, and they discover the feelings between them are spicier than they ever imagined?

Review

When I started Knives, Seasoning, & A Dash of Love, I was expecting a lighthearted grumpy/sunshine work place romance. I did get that, but I also read a story that had a lot more emotional depth than I thought. This book was definitely one that hit in all the feels.

Eden was abandoned by her parents as a child and incidents with foster families have made her lose her trust in people. She really only thinks she can trust herself. When a sous chef position opens at a fancy restaurant, she has to apply. It’s the easiest way for her to save the rest of the money she needs for a private investigator to help find her biological parents. Eden clearly doesn’t trust people when she starts working at La Rouge. It was interesting to see her become more confident and slowly start to trust people throughout this book. She was actually making friends and letting herself believe in finding love. Even after everything Eden went through, she was still letting herself open up.

Alexander (Shang) has worked really hard to become a Michelin star chef and he’s gotten pretty far. This journey has made him cold and and someone who doesn’t trust easy. It was interesting because so much success was actually starting to make him very unhappy. When Eden was hired, she seemed to be his weakness. I loved watching him open up and slowly trust her. He had some life events that made things more difficult as well, so once you learn more of his backstory, you understand him so much better.

Eden and Alexander were interesting characters to read about. I loved when he started teaching her more about cooking and they slowly started falling for each other. Yeah, there was a third act breakup, but I didn’t mind it as much in this one. It actually felt fitting. I will say I was expecting food and the restaurant to have a bigger part of the story. All in all, I really enjoyed this romance and would love to get more from this author.

I love reality baking/cooking competitions, so a book that had food elements in it was a lot of fun. Have you read any books where cooking is a part of the story? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!