Review - Tacos For Two by Betsy St. Amant
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For those of you who don’t follow along in the daily newsletter, you may not know that I’ve recruited three lovely ladies to do some reviews for me so I can make this blog an even better resource for readers searching for Christian books. These reviewers were not paid or given anything other than the book (paid for by me, the blog owner) to do this review. None of us had any contact with the publisher or the authors unless I state otherwise. The opinions are their own and I instructed them to be brutally honest so that readers will be able to decide if this is the right book for them to purchase.
Here’s Patti’s review of Tacos For Two by Betsy St. Amant. You can read a bit about Patti at the bottom of this post. She chose this story from a short list of new books I said I’d like to have reviews for. It’s from Revell, a Christian publisher. Amazon says it’s 364 pages.
About The Author
Betsy St. Amant Haddox has written over fifteen inspirational romance novels and has been published by Revell, Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, Barbour Books, and has even written a few Love Inspired romances for Steeple Hill. She lives in north Louisiana with her husband and two young daughters. She blogs frequently at www.ibelieve.com, a devotional site for women. A full list of Betsy’s books can be found on her website at betsystamant.com where she also provides a critique service for writers aspiring to be published. Her works include The Key to Love, Love Arrives in Pieces, All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes, and Max Lucado’s Pocket Prayers for Friends: 40 Simple Prayers That Bring Joy and Serenity. Her latest work, Tacos for Two, was published in October, 2021.
Tacos For Two Book Description
Rory Perez, a food truck owner who can't cook, is struggling to keep the business she inherited from her aunt out of the red--and an upcoming contest during Modest's annual food truck festival seems the best way to do it. The prize money could finally give her a solid financial footing and keep her cousin with special needs paid up at her beloved assisted living home. Then maybe Rory will have enough time to meet the man she's been talking to via an anonymous online dating site.
Jude Strong is tired of being a puppet at his manipulative father's law firm, and the food truck festival seems like the perfect opportunity to dive into his passion for cooking and finally call his life his own. But if he loses the contest, he's back at the law firm for good. Failure is not an option.
Complications arise when Rory's chef gets mono and she realizes she has to cook after all. Then Jude discovers that his stiffest competition is the same woman he's been falling for online the past month.
Will these unlikely chefs sacrifice it all for the sake of love? Or will there only ever be tacos for one?
Patti Stephenson’s Review of Tacos For Two
The movie “You’ve Got Mail”, starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, is one of my favorite romcom movies. In this book, author Betsy St. Amant gives us a updated funny, romantic twist on that movie and its “online friends become business rivals” theme.
Rory Perez and Jude Strong know each other from their online chats as “StrongerMan99” and “ColorMeTurquoise”. Their banter back and forth on the “Love at First Chat” website find them using quotes from “You’ve Got Mail”, a movie that they both love. (And I have to mention this: They also use quotes from “Pride and Prejudice”. No wonder I loved this book so much.) Their online friendship is quickly developing into a romantic interest, but there’s a complication of which neither of them are aware that could end their relationship before it truly begins: They are competitors in the taco business.
Rory Perez has inherited a food truck business from her aunt called “Salsa Street”, a very popular food vendor that has served tacos to the community of Modest, Texas for many years. Although Rory’s committed to making the food truck business a success to honor her aunt, she has a secret: She can’t cook. If it weren’t for her lifelong friend’s talent in the kitchen, Rory would have had to close the food truck long before. Her dream is to run an events planning company.
Jude Strong is ready to take his exam and become a partner in his father’s law firm. He’s doing this very reluctantly because he has his dream of running his own taco food truck. He steps out in faith and opens his own truck, called “Naco Taco”. He decides to enter the town’s food truck contest, never dreaming that his main competition is Rory, who is unknowingly his online crush.
Sound complicated? It is, and that’s the fun of this book. I was somewhat surprised at how heart touching this storyline becomes. There’s a theme of trusting God that runs in a subtle way throughout the book and gives the book an inspirational feel. Rory and Jude face many obstacles on their way to happily-ever-after and their story is one that you’ll fall in love with.
The only drawback that I found to the storyline was that it seemed to take a longer time than was needed to have the two main characters drop their animosity towards each other.
I loved this author’s ability to blend touches of humor and heart touching moments to make this such a compelling story. The messages that go back and forth between Rory and Jude add much to the story and give it a modern feel.
I voluntarily received a copy of this book from “Christian Book Finds”. All opinions are my own.
Where To Find Tacos For Two by Betsy St. Amant
You can purchase this book at the following links:
About the Reviewer
Patti Stephenson has been avid reader ever since she read her first “Nancy Drew” book many years ago. A retired elementary/middle school teacher, she enjoys doing wildlife/landscape photography with Mike, her husband of 45 years. They love doing photography road trips across America, especially in the National Parks. She also loves doing Bible study with the ladies in her church and blogging about books. You can find her blog at http://www.shelivestoread.com.
