title: Savor It
author: Tarah DeWitt
publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
publication date: May 21, 2024
pages: 336
peppers: 3 (on this scale)
warnings: death pf parents (off-page), grief, career burnout, bodily injury (off-page)
summary: Sage, who has a menagerie of pets and a simple, if overly solitary life, meets Fisher, who's renting the neighbor's house for the summer while he tsakes a career reset (Michelin-starred chef who's lost his mojo) and a personal reset (uncle to Indie, who is grieving the loss of her mother and is frustrated by Fisher who didn't take her on after his sister's/ Indie's mother's untimely/unexpected death. Together, Sage learns to think bigger and Fisher learns to love cooking again, but he needs to go back to his life in NYC, where Indie wants bigger things than the rural West Coast town has to offer.
tropes:
- cooking
- strange pets
- intrusive family
- small town/big city
- unexpected parenting
- can't avoid the ex
- sulky teenager
- she loves puns
- not ready to follow her dreams
- ticking clock (He's here only for the summer)
what I liked:
- Maybe because I recently watched season two of The Bear (highly recommend), I was all-in on the food preparation. In fact, he makes an omelet eggactly (sorry, couldn't resist) the way Sydney does on the show.
- She small-town vibes.
- Indie is a great character, so is her duck.
- Fun protective brothers.
- Funny animals.
- All past heartache made sense.
what I didn’t like: N/A
overall rating: 5 (of 5 stars)