Love à la Mode - Stephanie Kate Strohm
Take two American teen chefs, add one heaping cup of Paris, toss in a pinch of romance, and stir. . . . Rosie Radeke firmly believes that happiness can be found at the bottom of a mixing bowl. But she never expected that she, a random nobody from East Liberty, Ohio, would be accepted to celebrity chef Denis Laurent's school in Paris, the most prestigious cooking program for teens in the entire world. Life in Paris, however, isn't all cream puffs and crepes. Faced with a challenging curriculum and a nightmare professor, Rosie begins to doubt her dishes. Henry Yi grew up in his dad's restaurant in Chicago, and his lifelong love affair with food landed him a coveted spot in Chef Laurent's school. He quickly connects with Rosie, but academic pressure from home and his jealousy over Rosie's growing friendship with gorgeous bad-boy baker Bodie Tal makes Henry lash out and push his dream girl away. Desperate to prove themselves, Rosie and Henry cook like never before while sparks fly between them. But as they reach their breaking points, they wonder whether they have what it takes to become real chefs. Perfect for lovers of Chopped Teen Tournament and Kids Baking Championship, as well as anyone who dreams of a romantic trip to France, Love la Mode follows Rosie and Henry as they fall in love with food, with Paris, and ultimately, with each other.
I honestly thought that I wouldn't get my hands on this book so soon, but I did. It was released a bit earlier this month and I loved it! Also, I thought that I would be reviewing this book much later, but I flew through it and did not want to want until February of next year to start posting my review.
So, without further delay, here are my many thoughts on this book...
Firstly, this book should be a movie, like a full-length feature film, with every detail of the book included. Like that's going to happen, but a girl can dream.
My next thought, definitely going to recommend this to everyone, especially fans of food and the Food Network shows, or even people that just like to binge cooking shows on Netflix. The likelihood of me reading this book again is 100% yes. After DNF'ing the last Stephanie Kate Strohm book I attempted to read The Date To Save was terrible, I didn't really expect or have high hopes for this book, but it shocked me by blowing me out of the proverbial water.
This book takes place in the city of Paris! What's not to like, it had that certain je ne sais quoi. For those of you who don't know what that means, it just translates from French to English as I don't know what, seriously that simple. One of my favorite things to do is eat, but I think I like to cook even more, it just gives me the chance to unwind and make something I know I and everyone else in my house will love.
Although cooking will always be second to reading, I enjoyed how the author was able to combine the two and add a dash of romance for a nice outcome.
The main characters: Henry Yi and Rosie Radeke, an unlikely pairing, but joined in the city of love by their mutual love for cooking and it all comes together in a nice little recipe for a romantic element in this YA novel, though my only complaint is that Henry is written so aloof it really creamed my corn.
Other characters AKA the side ones were okay, I didn't like them as much as our leading cast, but Priya, was fun, so was Yumi, but Bodie Tal and Clara, yuck. Sorry to spoil a bit, but they were not my cup of tea...
Overall, I really liked this novel and will definitely borrow or purchase it next year for a re-reading. Go out and read this book, you won't regret it like Edith Piaf sings.
Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5 Stars!
Bon appetit!