Description

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 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?

(Goodreads)

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Review

I’ll be frank: You’ve Got Mail is one of my all-time favourite movies. I watch it nearly every Christmas, it’s the film that made me fall in love with coffee shops and NYC as a setting, and I cannot think of a better RomCom. Of course, that leaves me searching for a similar read, and I’m always on the lookout for an adaptation with similar vibes.

Betsy St. Amant did a great job with Tacos for Two and crafted two characters I enjoyed reading. You learn that there is much more than meets the eye with these two, especially Jude, who could easily fit into one stereotype but breaks the mould. Pair that with delicious food and cooking scenes, and it combines to make one super cute RomCom.

Perhaps it’s because I know the plot of YGM so well that I found it predictable, but some creative decisions kept me engaged. And it was so much fun to see the cooking lessons unfold!

I recommend this one if you are looking for a cute RomCom with a cooking contest, themes of family heritage, a second-chance romance, and You’ve Got Mail vibes. And if cilantro is a divisive spice in your household, watch the drama unfold!

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

Content Warnings

This Book in Three Words

Scrumptious, Adaptation, Cute

Values/Themes

• Family Heritage
• Forgiveness
• Trust
• Second Chances
• You’ve Got Mail Influenced/Adaptation

Favourite Part

I really enjoyed all of the cooking scenes! And Jude coming into his own as a chef.

Feelings

• Hopeful
• Lighthearted
• Cute

Overall Rating

Numerical Rating: 3.5 stars

QOTD: Do you enjoy romance books centred around food? Let us know!