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The Spice Master at Bistro Exotique

The Spice Master at Bistro Exotique
by Samantha Vérant
Pub Date – 12/6/22
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A talented chef discovers how spices and scents can transport her—and, more importantly, how self-confidence can unlock the greatest magic of all: love—in this perfectly seasoned new novel by Samantha Vérant.
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This brought the feeling of Paris and French cuisine. Kate an American that has been living in France since she was a teen and has studied at Le Cordon Bleu and just when she’s going to open her own restaurant everything starts to go wrong. Especially when she runs into this handsome jerk she nicknamed Anti Keanu, things just start to snowball from there.

The owner of the building the restaurant is in, who has a fancy spice atelier helps her to relaunch as long as she follows some rules. Love montages.

The magic of the spices the way they put a spell on people. I wish I could smell and taste all the foods they were eating. The chemistry between Kate and Charles was so sweet. They both had their reasons for taking it slow but they knew they were very much into eachother.

The mothers were the best! Kate’s mom was like a hippy older sister and Charles mom was a very fancy cat lady with a huge green house of exotic plants. But they were a good team.

✨ And seriously the food magic reminded me a little of the Sarah Michelle Gellar movie Simply Irresistible. I love that movie!!! And you even referenced it at the end. Even the crab! 🦀😂

❓ Have you been to Paris or France?
I went when I was 18 so it’s been a long time but it was beautiful. I want to go again.

Thank you @berkleyromance and @netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Synopsis:

A talented chef discovers how spices and scents can transport her—and, more importantly, how self-confidence can unlock the greatest magic of all: love—in this perfectly seasoned new novel by Samantha Vérant.

Kate Jenkins doesn’t believe in fate. She believes in a clear vision, meticulous planning, and hard work in order to achieve her culinary dreams. On the cusp of opening her own Parisian restaurant, Bistro Exotique, she isn’t even concerned when her standoffish—and annoyingly sexy—neighbor dismisses her as a crazy American tourist or when she meets the wildly eccentric Garrance, the self-proclaimed Spice Master of Paris, who ominously warns her of the previous owner’s failures.

Confident and optimistic, Kate keeps calm and cooks on. Until a series of unfortunate events derail her plans and her entire staff quits.

Kate is about to throw in the kitchen towel on her lifelong dream when Garrance offers to use her mastery of scents and spices to help her, but it comes at a price: Kate must work with Garrance’s son, Charles, a world-class chef and total jerk. After Kate hesitantly concedes to the deal, she slowly learns to open her heart and mind to new concepts, not quite sure if the magic she’s experiencing comes from Garrance’s spices, from within herself, or from the growing chemistry with Charles. One thing is certain, though: her kitchen is getting increasingly hot.