Taste Test

Taste Test

by Kelly Fiore

Raised by her widower father and having spent most of her life as his assistant at his locally famous barbeque joint, high school senior Nora Henderson knows her way around a kitchen.  But when she's accepted for a chance to compete on a nationally broadcast food competition show, the prize for which is just too tempting to ignore, Nora's going to have to pull out all the stops.

When she meets her fellow competitors, she knows winning won't be easy.  Between the stuck-up roommate, the heir apparent to his father's cooking legacy, and the producers trying to stir up controversy, Nora's got some serious work ahead of her.  She also has to pass college-level courses and learn new recipes in order to wow the judges at each taping.

Complicating all of that is the saboteur who is picking off fellow contestants one-by-one.  No one knows who's doing it, but Nora's definitely got to watch her back... if she can get her eyes off the back of the hottie who's her biggest competition.

Final thoughts:  Cotton candy book.  It's fluffy and sometimes fun, though there is an odd "aftertaste" in the sense of unanswered questions.  If she's only worked in barbeque, how does she know how to cook so many other foods with so little practice?  Why in the world would the competition be continued after a serious injury to a competitor with no real consequences or changes?  What kind of college classes are they taking? Seriously.  Why can't she make up her mind?  I hate him... I like him... I hate him... He's not that bad... I hate him... I lloooooovvveeeee him!!!!  I would have like more time spent on the judging instead of glossing over that part as the author has.  The recipes at the back are interesting.  I wish the Kindle formatting had been a little better since there seemed to be some charts about the competitors during the judging matching them with their dishes and comments, but they were impossible to read the way the book uploaded.

Rating: 3/5