Book Review: “Tacos for Two” by Betsy St.Amant

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“You’ve Got Mail” is a movie I watch regularly as there is so much to like about it. ‘Tacos’ borrows from it in many ways including a romance that starts via online messaging (as against AOL email), the two lead characters duelling over similar career paths (this one Mexican food trucks), Rory Perez inspired by her great aunt and Jude Worthington coming from a rich pompous family, the patriarch of which is not a very nice fellow.

It was an easy fun read with two well crafted lead characters in Rory and Jude plus a supporting cast that had plenty of likeable people especially on Rory’s side. Like Rory and Jude looked forward to their ‘night time messaging date’ I looked forward to the next instalment in their cooking adventures and the will she/he, won’t she/he combative nature of their initial in-person connection.

One of the great aspects of the movie is that after initially sparring and hurting each other, the two characters: Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox, spent time getting to know each other as regular friends do. This didn’t really happen in this story and St. Amant relied on the online connection to initiate healing in Rory and Jude’s relationship. Hence, it wasn’t as believable and tended to rely on the electricity of physical touch and passionate kisses.

Overall, I enjoyed Tacos for Two and if you’re someone who loves ‘You’ve Got Mail’ you’ll certainly enjoy whiling away some hours reading this enjoyable romance.

I was fortunate to receive an early ebook copy from Revell via NetGalley as part of the former’s ‘Revell Read’s” bloggers program with no expectation of a positive review.

Book Review: “Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery” by Amanda Cox

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Oh my! What a beautiful story Amanda Cox has written for her sophomore novel. It’s quite remarkable. Set over two different time periods: the present day and the years from 1965 into the 1980s, we meet three generations of Clearwater ladies: Glory Ann (or Nan), her daughter Rosemary and the latter’s daughter, Sarah. Cox weaves a compelling small town story of kept secrets, parental expectations, familial loss and forgiveness through the lives of these strong women. All so alike in many respects but also unique I warmed to each of the three for different reasons.

The three ladies lives pivot around the Old Depot Grocery which Glory Ann ran with her husband and both Rosemary and Sarah grew up working in from an early age. It serves as a physical statement of so much life shared between the three but it also served as a mechanism for the three to ‘hide’ their secrets and ‘hide away’ from the possibilities of doing something different with their lives.

It was powerful reminder of the importance of truth but also unconditional familial love that allows forgiveness and redemption. There’s also a strong side note regarding the difficulty of war vets adjusting back to normal life which I enjoyed reading too.

I appreciated how we saw quiet strength in some of the male characters too. Clarence Clearwater was a superb character demonstrating unconditional love not just to his wife and daughters but the community as well. Clay Ashby also was a beautiful illustration of a man of quiet strength, who didn’t push himself onto Sarah, giving her the time and space she needed to grieve her loss and reconcile her past and future aspirations.

Cox managed the different POVS well and I always felt confident in who’s voice I was reading and the time period each scene/chapter was set.

I’m so looking forward to Cox’s next story. She might have become a ‘must read’ author for me.

I received an early ebook copy as part of Revell Reads blogger program via NetGalley with no expectation of a favourable review.