Imperfectly Delicious: A Enemies to Lovers Romantic Comedy

Scarlett Jackson was an aspiring chef until a (very) close encounter with the very famous head chef she was auditioning for ended up in her setting his chef's whites alight with a blowtorch - the fallout ended her career aspirations and now she has a food truck selling cupcakes in New York. Guy Chapman gained fame as a chef on a reality TV show (think Gordon Ramsay style shouty), now he's matured somewhat and is in the process of an ambitious new partnership with eccentric billionaire Oliver to create a food block with exclusive high-end restaurants. The only flaw in his plans is the tatty food truck that parks on a small plot of land just beside one of his restaurants, he can't get rid of the truck and he can't seem to get the owners of the land to sell it to him. With Oliver becoming increasingly aggressive and acting as though he is in charge, Guy has to do something fast to resolve the issue, but the truck's owner refuses to speak to him - she even hides on the floor when he approaches the truck! When Guy and Scarlett meet at a charity event (his firm is catering and she provided cupcakes for the child guests), he has to rescue her from an unfortunate encounter with a walk-in installation. She is mortified but he doesn't recognise her as the trainee who set him on fire, or as the owner of the truck which is the bane of his life. There's instant chemistry but Scarlett knows this is doomed and runs away. Guy finds himself torn between the connection he felt when he first met Scarlett and the fact that she is standing between him and his business being a success, despite wanting to evict her he ends up helping her - especially after a prank he pulls goes horribly wrong. I enjoyed this, Guy and Charlotte had depth, she didn't immediately jump to conclusions, and he had some family responsibilities which were sensitively handled. My only niggle is that I read a book in 2019 (The Opposite of You) which also featured a woman with a food truck which is parked across the piazza from a high-end restaurant where the head chef wants to get rid of her and although the rest of the books were different, the similarity jarred a little.

I loved the story of Scarlett, with her delightful awkwardness, her warm heart and generous open-mindedness, and this Guy she saves from himself just... by being herself. Their interaction is highly entertaining, and the book fast-paced and full of snark. I also love this author, she really makes me finish her books with a warm smile on my face and a full, contended heart. I'd read anything she could ever write!

Fun Read! it's great when a writer helps you laugh!