Genre: Romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 336
Release Date: May 21, 2024
Summer won’t last forever.
Sage Byrd has lived in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington) her entire life. She’s learned to love her small world, with the misfit animals on her hobby farm, and her friendships with the town’s inhabitants. But when her 5-year relationship ends and her ex, town-golden-boy Ian, suddenly gets engaged, Sage needs a win―something that will convince everyone to stop pitying her all the time, and to put Ian in his place. The Festival of Spunes, the town’s annual summer competition, would be the perfect opportunity. She just needs a partner.
Fisher Lange was a hotshot chef in New York City until the loss of his sister left him numb, grieving, and responsible for his teenage niece Indy. When Fisher loses his Michelin star along with his love of cooking, his boss sends him and Indy to Spunes on a much-needed summer sabbatical to consult on a restaurant opening. But when clashes with the townspeople threaten his last chance to redeem himself and a kiss with his new neighbor Sage leads to dating rumors, a strategic alliance might just be the best way to turn things around.
A deal is struck. Sage will improve Fisher’s image in the eyes of the town and remove the roadblocks he is facing with the restaurant, and Fisher will be Sage’s partner for the competition. But as their pact quickly turns into steamy rendezvous, emotional wounds begin to heal, and the pair tries to savor every moment, they start to realize that summer is racing by much faster than they would like…
DNF 80%
I don’t think Savor It is part of a companion novel series, but it certainly reads like it. There are a lot of characters introduced at the beginning of the novel that I had a hard time keeping them straight. It was a funny introduction to Fisher and his niece to the town and an even funnier meet cute between Fisher and Sage, but there were too many other people involved. I still had a hard time keeping all the characters straight at the midway point of the novel.
I didn’t enjoy Savor It as much as I wanted because there are pages upon pages of the main characters’ inner monologues that do a lot of telling rather than showing.
On the other hand, Fisher and Sage didn’t talk enough. I certainly knew how they felt about each other based on the pages of inner monologues. However, this caused their relationship to feel forced rather than genuine because readers rarely see the characters interacting firsthand.
Sage is an almost all knowing small town girl that everyone can’t help but love. There’s nothing that I can point to that I disliked, but I couldn’t connect with her. I’m all for communication and boundaries, but I don’t think she knew what a fling was since she kept trying to set rules and restrictions.
Their eventual coupling had the cliche ‘this has never felt like this before’ which is hard to believe since it felt like they barely spoke to each other.
Savor It features themes of mental health as Fisher deals with grief, sudden parenthood, and the loss of his career and passion.
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️
Overall, Savor It is an okay romance set in a small town where a hot shot chef from the big city, who has a lot going on, falls for the small town girl.
*** I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Will you be reading Savor It?
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