Book Reviews

Book Blurb

A savory slice of first love.

 

Simon’s dad died when he was young, leaving Simon to take the reins of the family restaurant business—and the responsibility for his mother and brothers. His commitment to his duty left Simon time for little else, least of all romance.

 

Argentinian celebrity chef Luke Ferreya has wanted Simon since their culinary-school days, but for Simon, family always came first. Now Luke’s back in Simon’s life—briefly before he returns to South America—and he’s determined to give Simon a sample of everything he’s missed out on.

 

Simon’s brothers are grown, and his mother is doing fine on her own, and Luke is offering a second chance for a future full of the pleasures of fine food, wine, and especially love. Without his obligations to hide behind, can Simon finally allow himself to say “Yes, Chef”?

 

Book Review

A new direction in life is something to be welcomed, a second chance at love needs to be celebrated, and when both happen at the same time, even in a totally unexpected way, it is a delight to behold. This novel offers all of these plus a few twists, some wonderful characters, and lots and lots of great food descriptions. The central topic is burnout—a danger in many professions, and professionals who face high pressure to perform on a daily (or nightly) basis are in much greater danger of getting there. In this story, both Simon, a hotel/restaurant manager, and Luke, a newly retired celebrity chef with two Michelin stars, face burnout. Luke has already “capitulated” and gotten out, but Simon has not yet recognized that he is heading for disaster as well – if he is not already there. Watching them interact and come to grips with their situation was fascinating and I loved every second.

Simon has done a great job raising his brothers after their father died – but he has been too “serious” for many years. He has certain ideas how things should work and is under constant pressure to be perfect. Even though he is not a chef (thanks to his lack of kitchen skills), he very much has the personality of a perfectionist overachiever that all great Michelin-starred chefs need to succeed. He manages the Brasserie sur le Lac, following in his father’s footsteps, and hasn’t even had any time off since he took over years earlier. I was so sad to find about the collection of travel guides he has, using them to imagine traveling to other countries. He needs a change – and fast!

Luke has been driven to succeed all his life. Initially his mother and some of his snobby family were not happy when he decided to become a chef; ‘serving” was not classy enough for them. But Luke did not give up and achieved great success – except the stress got to him over the years. Running a good kitchen is very much like a military operation, with the chef in charge issuing orders to his troops, and the exclamation “Yes, Chef!” (a variation on “Yes, Sir!”) shows how similar both situations are. Now he has sold his restaurant and is considering his options. One of his biggest regrets is not having explored a relationship with Simon when they were in culinary school together – and he has traveled to Brasserie sur le Lac to reconnect with Simon.

The fact that Simon and Luke have stayed in touch and remained friends for so long should have been their first hint. Their immediate camaraderie and mutual respect are great starting points – but both men are too hesitant to lose what they have to take the first step into a relationship. Luke has secretly carried a torch for Simon for years. Simon thinks he is not gay (he already has two gay brothers) but he cannot deny the fact that he finds Luke irresistible – both emotionally and physically. But they just can’t seem to find the right time to discuss what they both need to talk about most urgently. Both Simon and Luke have good friends to help them along and boy, do they need the help! The author held me in suspense as to what was going to happen almost to the end – and it was a nail-biting experience!

If you like small-town settings with two stubborn main characters who can’t seem to get to open up to each other despite (or maybe because of) their close friendship, if you want see two men figure out their future and their love life at the same time, and if you’re looking for a read that is entertaining, suspenseful, stars wonderful food, and might just make you grind your teeth in frustration or cheer these guys on, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s fantastic for more than one reason!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 193 pages/53199 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	02-April-2019
Price	$4.99 ebook, $9.99 paperback, $9.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/yes-chef-by-t-neilson-10340-b