I believe this may be Georgia Beers' BEST book to date!

It read more smoothly than her others, the setting seemed easier to lose myself in, the angst and heartbreak, and the consequences of poor decisions were all much more believable...and her other books were really good, so you can imagine where the bar sits with this one.

A word of caution...

DO NOT READ WHEN HUNGRY

I warned you...

Georgia Beers has created another truly delightful read. This is a second chance lesfic and with so many out there the them tends to get redundant but Ms. Beers does a great job of doing it differently. Charlie selfishly dropped her whole life in Small Town (Shaker Falls), Vermont, when a larger than life woman gives her an offer she can’t refuse. When her world collapse she goes home, defeated. Over time, with the help of her family, and ex she realizes how truly selfish she was. I loved the dynamic between Charlie and Emma. There was drama but not a ton of unnecessary angst. I enjoyed this book and feel other will too!

4 Stars for Flavor of the Month by Georgia Beers.

This is a nice, pleasant Georgia Beers second chance romance. High School sweethearts attempt to rekindle their friendship and love after going their separate ways in college.

Charlie Stetko and Emma Grier grew up together in the small town of Shaker Falls, Vermont. They were best friends since childhood and later High School sweethearts. They went to separate colleges to pursue their different interests. Charlie to a school where she could study marketing and business and Emma to a culinary school. As the years passed, it was becoming clear their career aspirations would most likely put them in different cities. Eventually, they moved on. Emma practically begged Charlie not to join and work for entrepreneur, Darcy Wells in Manhattan. Wells was known to be a love ‘em and leave them type – Charlie herself first described Darcy as having “Flavor of the Month” girlfriends. Unfortunately, Charlie succumbed to Darcy’s charms and to the excitement of working in NYC. She was doing well in marketing and also happy as Darcy’s “partner” but 5 years later, Darcy sent Charlie packing with nothing but her old car and a few clothes. Charlie has no place to go but back home - embarrassed and depressed to Shaker Falls.

Emma has also returned to Shaker Falls. She is a talented chef and her dream was to open her own restaurant. Because Shaker Falls didn’t have an upscale restaurant and to be closer to her mother, Emma opens EG’s Restaurant. Although still new, it is on the way to becoming a great success. Emma is the more interesting character of the two. She is bi-racial, although it’s not really an issue one way or another. Her Father left when she was young and her mother is a barely functioning alcoholic which was one of the reasons Emma moved back to Shaker Falls. Maybe I missed it, but I don’t remember reading how Emma was able to save and/or raise enough money to buy a building and start a new restaurant while still in her twenties. Nevertheless, she accomplishes it.

Charlie gets a job at the new local bakery and she rediscovers her love of baking that she learned at her Grandmother’s side when she was a girl. Charlie begins baking pies for the bakery using her Grandmother’s recipes and inventing new creations. Although Charlie avoided it as long as possible, it was inevitable she would eventually run into Emma – especially when she was tasked to deliver her pies to the restaurant.

I really liked how their friendship was slowly healed and you can see why they were BFFs for so long. But the question is – will Charlie stick around?

I love Georgia Beers’ books - they’re real comfort reading for me - and Flavo(u)r of the Month has a slightly different, well, flavour, from the others I’ve read, as the two protagonists aren’t meeting for the first time. Charlie and Emma were once a couple - childhood sweethearts, more or less - but their relationship ended when Charlie was swept off her feet (and to a post-college job in New York) by the glamorous, successful (and frankly not very nice) Darcy. It’s fair to say Charlie didn’t behave well towards Emma at that time, and her behaviour left Emma understandably bitter. Some years later, Charlie has been unceremoniously dumped, lost her job, and is forced to return to her home town, Shaker Falls, where Emma now runs her own restaurant. All a bit awkward.

Can Charlie and Emma overcome past hurts and get it together again? The answer won’t be much of a surprise, but it’s fun getting there, and I particularly enjoyed the plot strand about Emma’s father. The other characters were also likeable - I’d have liked to see more of Sandy.

A lovely escapist read.

This book is phenomenal! It is without a doubt one of the best second chance romances I’ve read in a long time. The reason is simple: Georgia Beers is a master at turning the complexities of relationships, families and love into wonderful stories. She transcribes the emotions of love, heartbreak and loss with such care and reverence. Readers are drawn to her characters. They are easily able to relate, empathize and sympathize with them. Quite simply, she writes romances that readers fall in love with!

The characters in Flavor of the Month are beautifully written. I loved their humanity and vulnerability, especially Charlie’s. At her core, she is a good and decent person who simply makes a mistake at a young and vulnerable age. This mistake hurts people she loves dearly, and she is only able to truly see their hurt once she is in the midst of her own heartache. For Charlie, this story is not so much a rediscovery of her first love, but of herself.

I loved watching Charlie grow and mature during this story. I especially enjoyed her display of humility during her most awkward and difficult times with Emma. It just made this character so tangible for me. Beers has created some outstanding characters over the course of her writing career, but I believe this one might be her most remarkable.

Even though I did favor Charlie, I believe that Emma is a fabulous character, too. Emma’s pain over her and Charlie’s breakup is palatable. Her resistance to trust again is beyond understandable; she felt broken when Charlie left. I was very sympathetic to her situation and discomfort. Most of all though, I was relieved that Beers did not rush the reconnecting and rekindling between Emma and Charlie. She let it defrost slowly. Charlie’s return is unsettling and Emma needs time to adjust. They were separated by five years and hundreds of miles. Beers turns up the heat very slowly between these characters, creating a well executed story arc that is nicely paced.

Beers always makes nice use of her secondary characters, and this novel is no different. I liked how Beers utilizes Charlie’s sister Sherry. Sherry reveals to readers just how affected Charlie’s loved ones are by her move to New York and subsequent departure from their lives. Sherry gives a different perspective and fills in a bit of backstory. Her anger ultimately provides a conduit for Charlie to reflect and grow. The scene with Sherry and Charlie at the fire pit-amazing and beautifully written! Sherry’s frustration and upset really resonate, but so does her love for Charlie. It tugged at my heart.

The heartbreak, beauty, and wondrous joy of love are on full display in Flavor of the Month. This second chance romance is exceptional. Georgia Beers has outdone herself with this one. I highly recommend reading it.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Charlie and Emma been best friends since childhood and then turn lovers. When the distance between them starts grow more Charlie leaves Emma to have a life with the woman Darcy who is a successful entrepreneur. Charlie get blindsided when Darcy dumps her even though she knew it was coming but was in denial. Five years later she back home to the place she never thought she see again and the people she left behind.

Emma comeback to town to help her mother even though she was reluctant to do so while there she open up a restaurant that becomes popular in town. She only does causal dating when she learns Charlie back in town she fears her life is going turn upside down.

This was ok second chance romance even though I was annoy with everyone throwing in Charlie face how she broke Emma heart. I mean she knows she did even though I didn’t really felt that Emma was that broken up as everyone said was yes she had her walls up but I didn’t really felt her pain only felt her pain about her mother and father.

A wonderful second change romance by Georgia Beers with relatable characters and a sweet romantic story.
I enjoyed it very much and can't wait until her next novel. :)

Charlie Stetko, returns to her hometown after a painful and unexpected break-up from her girlfriend. Emma Grier, the woman left behind when Charlie was swept off her feet by a successful entrepreneur and the pull of the bright lights and big city. Charlie returns home with her head down and a lack of self-confidence. She feels like a loser. She thinks she is prepared for the slap in the face comments from her friends and family when she returns. An awakening awaits her. Emma is not prepared for how to feel when she sees and interacts with Charlie. I enjoyed the food description and the supporting characters, especially Charlie's parents and sister. I wanted to embrace the read more but something held be back. I think it was the back and forth, will I or will I not.

you can't go wrong with old flames. you can always count on this author to deliver great background and adjacent stories. As always with romance, their was a small amount of predictability but that should not deter anyone who is up for a great easy heartwarming read.

Georgia Beers has put out a ton of romances. She knows what she is doing. I would have to say it's a safe bet to take a chance on reading one of her books. Flavor of the month wasn't my favorite Beers book, but it was still good. I really don't want to rehash the synopsis that the author puts out. But I do want to say this is a second chance romance. Emma and Charlie grew up together and dated it each for several years until things started to fall apart at the end of their college lives. It's the normal distance thing that happens when two people are at different colleges. It proved to be too much for Charlie who really wants to live in the big city and is easily swept off her feet by the rich woman from Manhattan. Of course things fall apart of Charlie and she has to return home 5 years (or so) later because she was dumped.

So I have to admit that I really didn't like Charlie much. But the reason I could deal with it because she is only in her mid twenties. We all had a lot of growing up to do in our 20s. Emma on the other hand was by far my favorite. She is a good daughter, talented chef with her own business and just an overall good person. Her communications skills might be a tad bit lacking but that is expected at her age (also in her mid 20s). I honestly don't know if I would have given Charlie another chance, but this is a romance so hey why not. I am glad that Charlie steps up to the plate when she needs to and that soften my opinion of her. Overall, this is a solid romance.

I rate it 3.75 stars

Emma and Charlie has known each other since they were 8 years old. They became each other’s first love and were inseparable throughout high school. However, going to different colleges had taken a toll on their relationship. When a well known business entrepreneur, Darcy Wells, recruited Charlie to come work for her in Manhattan, Charlie agreed. She not only fell in love with Manhattan but also Darcy. She became so enamored and self absorbed with Darcy and their lifestyle that she made the choice to leave Emma and her family behind with little thought to the consequences of her actions. However, five years later, Darcy became bored with Charlie and told her to leave. She returned to her small town with little money since Darcy has asked Charlie to focus on her company’s nonprofit organizations rather than her own career.

The author effectively portrayed Charlie as being very selfish and kind of short sighted in terms of only seeing Darcy and Darcy’s world. For example, she didn’t visit her family in two years and she hadn’t seen Emma in five years. When Emma tried to call/text her, Charlie ignored it and Emma eventually gave up trying…leaving her devastated and heartbroken. Charlie’s parents were more forgiving of Charlie’s inconsiderate ways, but her younger sister, Sherry, was not so forgiving. Charlie was not easy to like, but Emma was. She was the more mature, independent and caring character who tried to hold her emotions in check after the return of first love and in dealing with her functional drunk mother. Even though we get a glimpse of their love before college, I never felt a strong love connection between them throughout the story, especially since Charlie continued to have thoughts of Darcy running through her mind. I would have liked to see Charlie and Emma’s relationship develop further before the story ended.

I liked the confrontation between Charlie and her sister. This was well written and emotional. Even though it showed Charlie’s selfish side once again, it gave insight into the hurt her family experienced by Charlie’s sudden departure from their lives and the choices she made. I would have liked to see a similar confrontation between Emma and her mother after she found out about her father, but it was left unresolved. I think this would have added more depth to the story and more insight into her mother’s condition.

There’s always something to like in a Georgia Beers’ novel. Even though I didn’t care for the romance aspect of the novel, I did enjoy the restaurant and bakery setting. The author was very proficient in describing some mouth watering recipes. Honestly, I wanted to stop reading and bake something. (But I waited until after I finished the book.)

3.5 rating

ARC given for an honest review.

Sloppy Seconds.

Charlie was in college and drifting apart from her long term girlfriend, Emma. They had been best friends as kids and their first everything together. But the distance was damaging and Charlie found herself infatuated with Darcy. A business woman who occasionally spoke at Charlie's school. Darcy lured Charlie away to the snobby high life of Manhattan. Fast forward 4 years and Darcy has released Charlie.

Tail between her legs, Charlie has to go back to the small town she wanted so desperately to get away from all of her life. She is back in her childhood home with the Family she rarely kept in touch with while she was wining and dining and sleeping in a NY penthouse.

This is that classic story of discovering your roots. Seeing things from a grown up perspective. Reaching down deep to figure out what it is you truly want in life.

Charlie gets an opportunity to work at a bakery and it reignites her passion for baking. And of course, this leads her to a run in with that old flame she carelessly discarded. Emma.

Although this book seems to be mostly Charlie's journey, I found myself more invested in Emma. I think this is because I didn't particularly care for Charlie. She was written as young and selfish. She only cared about her own wants and didn't pay any attention to how her actions impacted those who care about her.

Alternatively, you could tell that Emma was a really good person who had been jaded by heartbreak. You could't help but root for her happiness. The only good thing happening to her was her restaurant. Otherwise, she had been hit by abandonment her whole life. Her father who had left. Her mother who chose alcohol over her. The love of her life who dropped her for a successful business woman and a big city.

This was a good romance. It was entertaining and it made me have a multitude of emotions as Charlie floundered about and Emma warred with herself over letting Charlie back into her life. It was especially good during the tense interactions they shared early on.

I wanted to like it more, though. While it was very good, I felt like was missing something. I couldn't get beyond how it seemed like Emma was just the sloppy seconds. Like Charlie was only considering Emma because Darcy had threw her away. I wished that there could have seen where Charlie discovered that Emma was what she wanted all along. That Darcy wasn't really anything significant to her. It was alluded to in some ways, but not prominently and I think that made me feel a little bit disconnected.

This is well worth your investment of time.

I recommend to this to those who like to read romance, mistakes, first loves, second chances, baking, entrepreneurship, family issues, and pie.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Georgia Beers' novels are always beautifully written and meticulously plotted, and this book is no different. Indeed, a new Beers book is always a time to put away the banalities of everyday life and settle into an absorbing romance from this wonderful author. She once again goes to the top of the class (lesfic of course!) with this wonderfully composed story of second chance romance. With great pacing and perfectly calibrated prose, Beers once again breathes life into the memorable characters of Charlie and Emma. The romance is compelling, realistic and sexy as hell. I loved every page, from first to last. A literal page- turner that will keep you warm on a dark winter night, 'Flavour of the Month' was a definite hit with me.

Charlie Stetko and Emma Grier were high school sweethearts. Charlie left Shaker Falls, Vermont, and Emma for a job in New York City and a woman named Darcy, a high powered marketing executive who basically took advantage of Charlie and then tossed her to the curb. The story focuses on Charlie's return to Shaker Falls and her second chance romance with Emma, who is now a chef who owns and runs her own restaurant, EG's, in this little Vermont hamlet.

The book was very easy to read, I found the main characters engaging via their push-pull relationship, and the second chance romance produced a HEA. Mixed into the storyline is the Emma chef role and the Charlie baker role. With the jobs of each main character focused in the food industry this book has a side effect of making the reader hungry! Overall I rate the book at 3.5 stars.

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful story. The separation of Charlie and Emma might of felt as permanent, however when things are meant to be, they will. No time or distance can separate 2 people who actually belong together. This story is extremely sweet. The heartbreak and challenges are real but all comes to final point. Love always wins.

This book made me want to eat Strawberry and chocolate ! I loved the way it was written. I honestly thought Emma was presenting real life person/emotions. I don't know, she seemed so real, Charlie tho was ok I did not like her much. thought she only wanted Emma since she's there and quiet honesty I did not see her develop, it's been 5 years. she did not change at all , I dont think she's selfish but I feel like she's lying or hiding her true desire. however she fits the story. I must say I appreciated the younger sister. she was also real and her reason made me like her even more.

It's recommended since it's sweet. I finished the book within 2 days Id say it's more than like 3.8 Stars


thank you for the author and her team for the free copy in exchange of a honest opinion

Georgia Beers is in my top 5 list of writers and this book shows again impeccably writing, nicely flowing descriptions and dialogue. It's not a fast paced story, but I prefer that over the unrealistic insta-love romances anyway. But yeah..something's missing. A second chance romance is a bit hard to get into when one MC (Charlie, the one that ran off and broke Emma's heart) is coming back to her home town feeling still pining for her ex and basically still does everything *she* wants. Even the revelations she has about the way she acts make no difference in her actions (for example: the job interview).
Emma was a more likeable MC for me, but a bit too soft with letting Charlie back in and no conversations about her being dumped those years ago. Although first love..*sigh*... that is an entirely different species.
So, basically I have issues with this book...nevertheless it was a pleasure reading it, I just think it could have been better.

*** An ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

Do people change? Charlie left Emma almost 5 years ago, and now she’s back. Has she changed? Can someone change so much that you can trust them again? That’s what Emma struggles with the whole book, and even Charlie asks herself if she’s changed enough to be trustworthy and worthy of a second chance.

It was a fascinating topic that Georgia Beers focused on, and I found it gave this book depth and realism. Both these characters are in their mid-late 20’s, and that’s when you’re still figuring out who you’re becoming while living out in the big world on your own. And boy were they still figuring it out, especially Charlie. She was a fully fleshed out character who struggled with believing that your life would look one way after college, but having to come to terms that most of the time you don’t end up where or who you thought you’d be. And that’s ok. She just took longer to figure it out then Emma.

Emma on the other hand struggles with the issue of trust, as one does when they constantly have people who “love” them then leave them behind. She’s the most relatable, and you really root for her to finally have things go her way.

I did wish that this book had an epilogue. It felt like one of those books where the characters finally figure out their issues and then BAM, it’s done. Also, there were a lot of side stories that could have been wrapped up more fully in an epilogue (i.e. the opening of the coffee shop, Emma’s mom and dad’s family etc.)

Overall, I enjoyed the book and thought it was very well written. I didn’t give it 5 stars, because I reserve that rating for books that I would read a second time, and this one I wouldn’t put in that category.

In her acknowledgements right at the beginning of the book, Beers says that this book is about forgiveness and exploring the question whether people can change. She also lists a bunch of other questions that arose in her mind while writing this book. She’s answered them in the story with her beliefs about those questions, but we’re not convinced.

Charlie Stetko and Emma Grier were high school sweethearts and the first everything for each other as they discovered their sexuality together. They moved to different parts of the country to pursue their college education. During the final phase in college, Charlie is offered a job in Manhattan by a super successful and super smooth businesswoman, Darcy Wells, who also happens to be a known player. With little thought for Emma, Charlie grabs the opportunity and moves to New York without the slightest pang.

Five years later, Charlie finds herself returning to her parents in the small town of Shaker Falls (after not having seen them for two years). Darcy has dumped her. While on the high of living with Darcy in a penthouse in Central Park, Charlie had moved into volunteer work so she is financially down with nowhere to go. Her return home is grudging at best. (In fact, even as she is sitting outside the house, she is willing to turn back.) Charlie’s reluctance to be at home is inexplicable since she has an uncommonly loving family. In fact, her parents have even made a studio apartment for her in their basement to afford her whatever privacy she needs. They are desperately supportive of her every step of the way. Even friends she’d unceremoniously dropped welcome her with warmth and open arms. It’s not much later that Charlie learns that Emma is also back in Shaker Falls and owns a newly opened restaurant, EG.

Charlie spends time feeling rather sorry for herself, missing Darcy and sending Darcy numerous unanswered text messages. Finally she decides that she needs to work (with the unstated goal of getting enough money to leave Shaker Falls) and what do you know! Her mom has explored possible openings for her and has a job lined up. So Charlie becomes the pie maker at a local bakery. The bakery and EG exchange food with each other, so Charlie starts running into Emma more and more. Despite how shabbily Charlie had treated her, and despite the two and a half years of therapy that Emma needed after Charlie dumped her, Emma finds herself still attracted to Charlie.

Second chances romances are tricky. They only work if both the MCs are likeable and the reasons for the separation the first time are understandable. The reasons can be circumstantial or temporary emotions like fear or something. But when the reason for the failure of the relationship is personality based, it is more difficult to sympathise.

Some of the questions Beers explored while writing this book are: Do we deserve to be forgiven for our mistakes or is lost trust gone forever? Do those mistakes define us? So the key here is ‘mistakes’. Charlie doesn’t make ‘mistakes’ in her behaviour. She makes choices which are entirely based on her personality. Her choices are driven by what she wants in life. We have no argument with a person following their ambitions but we do have a problem with calling their choices ‘mistakes’. In fact, the only person who seemed to have the appropriate reaction to Charlie’s return is her younger sister.

What is interesting is that despite everything, Charlie is not dislikeable. In fact, she is undependable (even in her new job), unremittingly selfish and entirely self-centred but very strangely she is an okay person to have around and be around – a good hail-fellow-well-met person to hang around with. Just not someone anyone should invest even the tiniest emotion or trust in.

Emma is totally understandable even though she apparently seems to be breaking a lot of hearts. To her credit, though, she’s upfront about her disinterest in turning her some-nights-stands into a relationship. Usually breaking hearts behaviour puts us off a character, but Emma doesn’t seem bad at all. Even her attraction towards Charlie is entirely possible because getting over a first love, particularly one that shattered you, is very, very difficult.

At the end of the book, we feel that it can only be a HFN, not a HEA. Charlie is the same person that she was at the beginning of the book. We don’t see her lasting long in Shaker Falls, obsessed as she is by ‘big city’. What we do hope is that this time when they split, Emma is the one who moves on.

The book is well written, but didn’t work for us.

After Charlie has abandoned her childhood love Emma and moved to New York, she is now returning to her old home after years. Here the two meet again and old wounds are opened.
When I started the book, I expected a light reading. But in fact this story is marked by deep insecurities and great fears.
As you know it from Georgia Beers, she has a nice fluid writing style. I noticed the many short "half-sentences" in this book, which partly hindered my reading flow a little bit. (But this stylistic device of the author is nothing negative, just a subjective feeling on my part). The story develops in a rather slow tempo, a bit too slow for me, but that is also a matter of taste.
My rating is 3,5 stars.

I received a copy from netgalley in exchange for a an honest review.