A Taste of Love is the first book in the series, ‘Of Love’. This series focuses on men who run businesses dealing with food. In this story, we meet Darryl Hansen who runs Café Belgie, and Billy Weaver who was hired by Darryl. This is told in third person from both Darryl’s and Billy’s pov.



I first started reading this series with books three and four. I enjoyed those two so I went back to the beginning. I’ve read many of this author’s books and can count on a HEA and a pretty angst free read. At least the books I’ve read from him before have been low angst. However, that didn’t happen in this one. There’s a subplot dealing with the twin brothers of Billy that I found sad and stressful. I’m not going to mention what it is because it gives away too much of the story. But, it wasn’t what I was looking for. I like reading his books because they are low angst and there’s a HEA ending. But, you may find that YMMV in this story.

I did read some of the reviews and I think I remember one reader suggesting the author take some more time to hone his craft. I have to agree. Like I’ve mentioned, I’ve read many of his books and normally I would expect an author to get better at their writing over time, but I haven’t seen that. I blame some of that on the editors and proofers. There were many instances of a word used multiple times in one paragraph and repetition of ideas and thoughts reworded differently. There were also quite a few missing words. It seemed like the book was wordy when cutting and tightening would have made this a lot better read. Also, there were many instances where the author told the readers the answer to an issue or to the character’s thoughts instead of showing us and allowing the readers to figure out the answers themselves. The best part was the plot. It’s probably the best one I’ve read from this author so far.

The characters were great, including the twins. The boys were kids but not annoying. The one thing I thought odd though was when the author had the five-year-old boys calling their parents Mom and Dad rather than Mommy and Daddy. I don’t think I’ve ever met a five-year-old who called their parents Mom and Dad like an older child. It made the kids sound inconsistent for their age. Darryl and Billy fit well together and seemed age appropriate in their behavior.

I enjoyed A Taste of Love although I think the editing could have been a lot better, the telling eliminated, and the writing tighter in order to enhance the plot. As it was, the repetitive words and the other items I mentioned overshadowed the plot. I give this book, 3.5 Stars. I hesitate to give it three stars because the plot made this a good read, but then, the writing left much to be desired. In the end, the plot wins out and I’ll give this 4 Stars but just barely. If the author ever decides to put out another edition of this book, I suggest going through it again and working hard at removing the repetition and tightening it up.



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4-1/2 stars
Excellent read - this is the first book in years that actually brought tears to my eyes. Loving, at times poignant and sweet, Andrew Grey is getting better as he goes.

Only two minor continuity errors keep this story from being a 5, but I'm not complaining. ( )

Darryl can't really complain about the fact that his restaurant is doing so well--except that he needs to hire more staff to cover the lunch rush. Enter Billy, a young man who desperately needs a job and shows promise. Darryl hires him and is very impressed by how quickly he picks up the job and his work ethic. But Billy has a secret that he won't be able to keep forever and Darryl is faced with the ethical dilemma of finding himself incredibly attracted to one of his staff. And each of them has something more lurking in their past that might cause everything to unravel.

This was an adorable and sweet story. It was very easy to connect with both Darryl and Billy and the connection between the two of them builds easily. It's interesting to see the ways in which these two grow--individually and together--over the course of the book. It's not all sunshine and rainbows and parts of hit are truly heart-rending, but I really did enjoy this one.

One thing that did sort of throw me, though, is the way Darryl's past trauma is handled. He's been carrying major issues/doubts/beliefs about his sexuality for most of his life and they seem to be magically lifted after one quick phone call with his parents. While the point of the call is to reassure him that what he believes happened wasn't the truth, it just doesn't seem like that's something that could just change like the flip of a switch. And that's what gets this three stars from me, because while I enjoyed the story and recommend it, it did have a hard time trying to look past that major unrealistic plot point. ( )

Nope nope NOPE NOPE !!

Ripped my F-in heart out and shattered my soul. Uhh!

Ok so I liked the story between the MCs. But it was the twins that stole the show for me. And those precious babies stole my heart.

I can’t explain it better than that. .... just go read it yourself. ( )

This is a great love story with the focus firmly on very loveable characters. The setting against the background of running a restaurant added color to the book and, being a foodie myself, increased my interest even more. The contrast between Daryl and Billy's loves is stark, and the fact that Andrew Grey tackled hunger and poverty in their story added a depth that I found very appealing.

Daryl owns a restaurant, but is isn’t a glamorous place, nor does he aspire to any Michelin stars anytime soon. Café Belgie is a neighborhood bistro, and I loved the behind the scenes look at all the issues he Daryl has to deal with. One of them is success, and a resulting need for more help in the kitchen. When he meets Billy he decides to give the man a chance, and ends up with a lot more than just anew employee. Being the wonderful man he is, he takes it all in stride, and is soon involved in a rapidly developing relationship on top of everything else.

Billy, as the blurb says, suffers in silence. His father dies and left him in charge of his twin five-year-old brothers, but it is all getting too much for him. Billy does his best, but finds it very hard to do them justice while earning a living to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. He is too proud to ask for handouts, and works hard to make ends meet. He is devastated when Daryl finds out his carefully guarded 'secret', but the relief when Daryl steps up to help, without making him feel pitied or less of a man, is enormous.

I originally read this book when it first came out, and have picked it up gain because I wanted to remind myself of the story before I start catching up with the series (book four was released recently). Reading this story again was as much fun as the first time, and I was as involved in the characters' lives as ever. They feel like real people to me, and I was really happy to see them get their happy ending. I only wish more of those would happen in real life! If you like stories about regular guys, if you enjoy reading about food and its preparation as well as running a business, and if you're looking for a heartwarming story with great characters, then you will probably like it as much as I did.




NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
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