Scrumptious by Amanda Usen

Unlikeable heroine ruins story
2 stars

Joe Rafferty isn’t just an excellent chef but he’s gorgeous to boot. When he agrees to help out at his friend’s restaurant until she finds a full-time chef then he sees it as a great time to cook some food and make time with the lovely pastry chef, Marlene.

Marlene likes the look of Joe but if he thinks he’s going to waltz into her best friend’s restaurant – the place she’s put her heart and soul into – and simply take over then he’s got another think coming.

Soon their battle of wills turns into a battle of the heart but who will take home the sweetest prize of all?


As someone who loves both romance novels and food – I’ve been keen to read stories that combine the two. Unfortunately I haven’t found any that do justice to my expectations and this book was no exception.

My first, and main, complaint was about Marly. I just didn’t like her. She was over confident, happy (and proud) to sleep around, quite juvenile in her reactions and not someone I could either relate to or aspire to be like. I’m all for strong, confident women in stories but Marly’s casual attitude turned me off.

Joe was a likeable character who was doing his best to make changes in his life although to be fair he wasn't particularly discerning either when it came to his relationships. His character was fairly well developed and I liked him but he certainly wasn't a hero that I would swoon over. Regardless, his relationship with Marly was, for me, clouded by the fact that I wanted him to find someone better!

The story was okay but towards the end it all went a little bit ridiculous and I was a little confused as to why it had changed for no apparent reason. I also couldn’t really understand much of the tension or conflict in the book. Surely a conversation between best friends, Marly and Olivia (another unsympathetic character and owner of the restaurant) would have made much of the point of the book disappear.

Overall this wasn’t my thing at all. The writing wasn’t terrible which is why I’ve given the book 2 stars rather than 1, but it was really hard to finish and I can’t recommend it, unfortunately.