Flavor of the Month

I will start by saying I am a huge fan of Ms. Beer and her writing but this particular book just didn't click with me. It isn't that I disliked this book it was just didn't really grab me in that 'can't put it down' way. Maybe I wasn't meant to be the target audience from an age perspective (the main 2 characters are mid/late 20s), and the characters felt a bit flat for me.

I liked that both Emma and Charlie were stand on their own millennial' gals, but the writing spent way to much on Emma's 'I hate her/I love her' monologue in her head. And Charlie, well she made a decision in college that came pack to bite her, but to much guilt was piled on that got a bit much. I did like that Ms. Beer did touch back on some of their history, but I guess it wasn't deep enough for me to really see why both characters were so beaten down by the whole thing.

The other issue I had was the the sub-characters were not flushed out at all, but yet time was put in to bring them in at key moments - Emma's mom was written about a few times as an alcoholic and bitter about Emma's dad leaving but yet by the end there was no understanding of why. Which brings me to Emma's dad, which was used as a catalyst to bring Emma and Charlie together but absolutely no resolution as to why he left in the first place, which could have come from Emma's mom, but that character was dropped 1/2 way through the book.

I did love the colorful writing Ms. Beers puts into the scenery and surrounding area/locations you find the characters in (small town, bakery, location) but it seem with this book more time was spent in that then really developing the characters (sorry).

Again, this isn't a bad book, I finished in in a few days, but it isn't one of those books I put in my re-read pile (these are in my re-read pile: Puppy Love series, Fresh Tracks, Blend).

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own.

Emma and Charlie has known each other since they were 8 years old. They became each other’s first love and were inseparable throughout high school. However, going to different colleges had taken a toll on their relationship. When a well known business entrepreneur, Darcy Wells, recruited Charlie to come work for her in Manhattan, Charlie agreed. She not only fell in love with Manhattan but also Darcy. She became so enamored and self absorbed with Darcy and their lifestyle that she made the choice to leave Emma and her family behind with little thought to the consequences of her actions. However, five years later, Darcy became bored with Charlie and told her to leave. She returned to her small town with little money since Darcy has asked Charlie to focus on her company’s nonprofit organizations rather than her own career.

The author effectively portrayed Charlie as being very selfish and kind of short sighted in terms of only seeing Darcy and Darcy’s world. For example, she didn’t visit her family in two years and she hadn’t seen Emma in five years. When Emma tried to call/text her, Charlie ignored it and Emma eventually gave up trying…leaving her devastated and heartbroken. Charlie’s parents were more forgiving of Charlie’s inconsiderate ways, but her younger sister, Sherry, was not so forgiving. Charlie was not easy to like, but Emma was. She was the more mature, independent and caring character who tried to hold her emotions in check after the return of first love and in dealing with her functional drunk mother. Even though we get a glimpse of their love before college, I never felt a strong love connection between them throughout the story, especially since Charlie continued to have thoughts of Darcy running through her mind. I would have liked to see Charlie and Emma’s relationship develop further before the story ended.

I liked the confrontation between Charlie and her sister. This was well written and emotional. Even though it showed Charlie’s selfish side once again, it gave insight into the hurt her family experienced by Charlie’s sudden departure from their lives and the choices she made. I would have liked to see a similar confrontation between Emma and her mother after she found out about her father, but it was left unresolved. I think this would have added more depth to the story and more insight into her mother’s condition.

There’s always something to like in a Georgia Beers’ novel. Even though I didn’t care for the romance aspect of the novel, I did enjoy the restaurant and bakery setting. The author was very proficient in describing some mouth watering recipes. Honestly, I wanted to stop reading and bake something. (But I waited until after I finished the book.)

3.5

I love Georgia Beers and have read or listened to almost every one of her books. One of the many things that I like about her work is her characters and the development of them. She does another wonderful job in Flavor of the Month, but this one had a rarity for me. I absolutely disliked the character of Emma. While I understand the hurt that she was going through with Charlie leaving at the beginning, but she carries that grudge for years afterward. She comes across as very vindictive and not a very approachable person. The HEA is there at the end, but I would have been just fine with Charlie leaving again. Emma never indicated that she was willing to forgive.

Overall, the story is very enjoyable and if you have read any of Beers' work before you will enjoy this one as well. While there are a couple of hot sex scenes, the story itself is about Emma and Charlie's relationship and trying to mend fences.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.