Nestled along San Diego's coast, the former romantic getaway of the silver screen's most notorious lovers is now the sizzling hacienda of Bonnie Miller's culinary boot camp. "If you are what you eat, make it hot, spicy and irresistible," is her motto, and this queen of Southwestern cuisine enjoys quite a savory life: success, fame, and a reputation for the finest palate west of Barcelona. That is, until a pot-rattling bang causes Trace Domingo, a washed-up sports writer, to crash into her life. His arrival turns up the heat at the culinary boot camp as Bonnie discovers in life's recipe book, it is not the spices which add the most flavor, but how truly hungry you are.
My thoughts:
Holy Guacamole was a book that started out great, but ended short of it's potential. Seriously...a plot with a bunch of foodies who knew all there was to know about food was great all by itself, but when a short trip to Mexico turned into a kidnapping plot, I sorta zoned out. It all got so crazy!
I expected there to be more romance than there was, but perhaps since the book was told in a first-person, male POV, the romance wasn't as crucial an element in a guy's mind. And it's just pure speculation here, but I'm guessing that there were some specific, Southwestern words and phrases that I just did not get. Some of the secondary characters spoke unlike anything I've ever read or heard, and I truly had no clue at times what they were trying to say.
With channels like Food Network becoming more popular, there's got to be a segment of readers who would love a book like this. Being a Food Network fan myself (as well as someone who's getting braver with new recipes in the kitchen), I thought it would be a good reading experience. It just strayed so far beyond the initial description. As I said before, had the book solely been food-related without all the other drama, it could've been a really great book. As it stands, my rating is 3 stars.
Southern? No
Sass? No
**Many thanks to Glass Road PR for providing a copy for review.
Oh bummer. It sounds so cute. Thanks for your honest take.
ReplyDeleteBTW, it's been a while since I've visited so I must say: Your header is ADORABLE! Serious kudos!