Fun read, had a little to many darlings for my taste but other then that was a great read.Jillian is a recluse after an accident. When a old romance causes her to leave her home, will love keep here away or will she fall back into old ways

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for allowing me to review

This was my first read my Gigi Templeton and wow it did not disappoint. I love a good sizzling romance between people who were always meant to be together. Jillian and Jack were unique characters I’ve never read about and it got me intrigued to see where it would go. My only regret was to have read this sooner!

loved the premise of this book - it was so cool to see pepper grower x bbq master because it just seems like a perfect pairing. It is a second chance lovers to insta-love after 10 years, however that is a super long time… I guess right person wrong time is real!

This was a great book.


I really enjoyed the storyline and I had a great time getting to know these characters. I thought that they were amazing characters and it really kept my interest with the storyline.

Highly recommend checking out this book for sure.

8.5/10

Spiced Right by Gigi Templeton

Spicy second chance romance that sees two people perfect for one another finally get their happily ever after ~ Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

What I liked:
* Jack Reed: rancher, cowboy, pitmaster, charismatic, caring, responsible, loves his family, athletic dreams thwarted, has never forgotten…Jillian
* Jillian Parks: creative, entrepreneur, cookbook author, grows hybrid peppers in her own greenhouses, survivor, has never forgotten…Jack
* The producers of the shows Jack and Jillian run independently and their idea to have the collaborate – wonder I they might get together in the future
* The sensitivity, patience, and understanding Jack showed with Jillian as he learned what had happened since they were last together
* The strong family ties Jack’s family have for one another – would love to learn more about all of the singletons that have not met their matches
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* That I liked all the characters, could relate to them, and felt I would it in with the group if I were to drop in on them
* The recipes discussed that made me drool
* The chemistry and witty repartee between Jack and Jillian
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about all that Jillian had to deal with and the impact it had on her life – including her faithless fiancé

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author/in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

I loved this book. The characters hook you. The banter is funny and sweet. You wont regret one clicking this book!

Spiced Right is the perfect book for anyone who loves a second-chance romance. Jillian and Jack's love story is so beautiful with all the hell they've gone through. Jillian owns a spice company, while Jack is the head of his family ranch and has a cooking channel, teaching others how to cook and what the best things to put on food (aka spices.) They team up to help increase their views and Jillian's spice business. This book covers hard topics such as miscarriage, death, fear of people and much more. It's a book that all should read, (unless you get triggered by the things listed above.) Such a beautiful book! The day this book becomes an audiobook, I will listen to it 24/7!

thank you net galley, this is jack and jillion story. they both have so baggage after being apart for ten years. jack is a bbq cooking king on cooking show and jillion is a podcast host.. second chance romance, lot of witty banter,spicey scence.

In a romance about spice (literally and figuratively) I found the cooking and entertainment industry portion overpowered the romance portion. Many of the lingo and terms used with cooking alienated me as a reader since I'm not much of a spice enthusiast. I love cooking, but I feel that it was too much. The writing was superb (don't get me wrong), but I feel like it was a romance novel that focused more on showing off the writer's knowledge of YouTube and spicy cooking than the romance.

*I voluntarily read an ARC copy through NetGalley.com. All opinions are my own.*

I loved the premise of this book - it was so cool to see pepper grower x bbq master because it just seems like a match made in heaven. It is a second chance lovers to insta-love after 10 years? Going to be honest I struggle a little with this, but I would read the next in the series by the author.

Okay, so this was cute... but it also wasn't anything I hadn't read before. Gigi Templeton is a new writer for me and overall the writing was good (albeit in third person which I'm not a fan of but hey that's a personal preference) and the banter was entertaining. It did however have a surprise twist at the end (*SPOILER* pregnancy *SPOILER*), which wasn't super out of the blue and also kind of boring. Overall the book was fine, nothing new but also not bad. 3/5 stars.

OMG YEHAW? If you love cowboy romance,this book is the right one for you! The male lead was UGH and the way he had it with the female lead was insane! When is it it my turn to meet someone like that? 😕 the author was great with the words. I can understand them easily and the plot was okay? That's why I gave it a 4. It's like you knew what's gonna happen but I still like this book and it deserves the hype!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I really liked this story. As someone who loves spicy food I liked the inclusion of peppers and cooking a unique story like. I liked the relationship between the characters and will definitely look for more from the author.

Jack and Jillian met in college, due to a family emergency Jack never comes back to college. Fast forward 10 years, she’s now a recluse with a line of spicy sauces and he’s a rancher with a cooking show using her spices. They reconnect with a call-in on his show. A cute second chance story.

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for gifting this arc for early review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.75/4 stars.

This was a really fun and enjoyable read. A second chance romance that felt very grown up in that the MC’s weren’t just dealing with a missed connection but the responsibilities and trials of life that separated them in the past, and then them fighting to overcome those obstacles in the present.

I loved the backdrop of the MMC’s family ranch and the extensive bbq and cooking references. They were detailed but didn’t outshine the other elements of the story. There was a great supporting cast in Jack’s family and Jillian’s manager/bff, Mindy, as well.

Towards the end, the pacing did feel a bit rushed, and I feel like another 50ish pages would’ve helped parse some of those things out. Esp. regarding the “miracle” at the end— I think a chapter of us seeing how Jillian came to grips with that after vehemently denying that she was interested in one of her and Jack’s last convos, beyond Mindy being like “girl you should want this, this is your HEA”— would’ve been great. Given everything Gillian went through and overcame, despite the magical medical breakthrough, her decision was a huge one. Even if it was just a short chapter of her inner monologue on the plane/drive to Triple R, like what was she working through in her head regarding this new chapter she was embarking on.

But the banter was great, and the whole southern gentleman/cowboy thing— which could’ve gotten really tired, somehow worked wonderfully. And it was clear that these were two characters who really deserved to be with one another and really made each other happy. I think another family moment/meal at the end or an epilogue would’ve nicely rounded things out as well, especially given the outcome of the final scenes, seeing how central the Reeds and Reed-Martinez’s were to the story at large. The lack of these aforementioned things and more of Jack and Jilly’s inner dialogue after/during the final scenes, caused the story to fall a bit flat for me. However, like I said, great characters with amazing chemistry, fun supporting characters, spice scenes that made sense and didn’t feel gratuitous (although those can be nice), I had a good time.

Quite a sweet story about two people getting their second chance at love after circumstances kept them apart 10 years previously. Jack and Jillian met at university in Seattle when they were 19 and after being friends for awhile they got together and spent one amazing night together but then Jack's dad died suddenly and he had to return to the family ranch in Texas to take over.

They both go their separate ways but still manage to end up in the same field - Jillian cultivates her own chilli's and creates spice mixes, rubs and sauces that she sells online alongside her podcast while Jack has his own YouTube channel grilling BBQ. He's a BBQ champion in Texas (not that I knew this was a thing!) and is quite successful on his channel as well as running the ranch.

Their managers get them together with Jillian calling in to Jack's show to offer some advice and whatnot for the spices to use on his BBQ and from there they decide to spend a week filming together at Jack's ranch.

What he's yet to learn about her is that she had a horrific accident several years prior that left her with a severe anxiety around groups of people - any size group will send her into a panic attack. When Jack finds out he is respectful and keeps her safe and within about 2 days she seems to shed most of this fear and starts joining the large family for meals - which seems a little ridiculous to me but maybe she just needed the right people to ease her back into being around people again.

The dialogue between Jack and Jillian felt a little clunky and forced at times. I know people can be understanding but Jack is above and beyond the average person which felt a little far-fetched at times. It's told in a third party POV so we get both sides but I would have preferred a dual POV - I think this would have elevated the story that bit more. I enjoyed it overall and I'm glad they got their happily ever after, but the ending did feel a little bit rushed. Also, reading this book will make you hungry so have snacks on hand!

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Jillian is a podcaster and also a grower of chilies, the hybrid kind. She is also a person who served a traumatic occurrence does not travel too far from her home and also has most items delivered. Her producer has an opportunity for her in Texas with a man who is a rising star on Facebook. It also happens that they dated ten years ago in college until he left to take care of the family's ranch when his father got ill. After making it there and then having their first show everything is taking off. I enjoyed the story but I found Jillan's character to be the stronger character overall and Jack’s character was not as strong just willing to let her go once again and not take help from his siblings who all were willing to help and once again the woman moved to be with the man instead of him moving for her and helping her. Other than that it was a good book.

Sugar and spice and everything nice. It's a good start to a series! It's my first time reading a book by Gigi Templeton. It's a nice second chance romance with a good balance amount of sweet and spice. The romance was slow burn but there's a HEA.

The story felt a little formulaic and rather predictable. However, it still a joy to read from front to end. The banter between Jack and Jillian was very fun to read and filled with chemistry from the very beginning.

The main reason why I picked this up is that it was marketed as a second chance romance between a barbecue master and a hot pepper horticulturist. I was not disappointed. Will definitely continue with the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for the arc copy. All opinions are my own.

What a great way to begin February! This book was perfection. I loved the characters and their second chance at love. It was fun and interesting to read about their careers and backstories. I appreciated how they were kind to one another. Great spice as well! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I will look for more books by Gigi!

Spiced right was my first book by Gigi Templeton and it was really enjoyable! It follows Jillian, an agoraphobic podcaster with an intense interest in growing chillies/peppers and creating her own line of spices. Following a traumatic experience, Jillian relies on outside support as she lives alone in her home. It was refreshing to see a woman aware of her trauma but also being confident in accommodating her triggers and daily troubles to make her as comfortable as possible.
Her producer and friend arrange for Jillian to call in to a popular barbecue web show hosted by ex-flame Jack Reed. Their chemistry is off the charts. Desperate to reunite with Jillian and capitalise from their success, Jack invites her out to his ranch to partake in his show in person as well as offering her own segment.
Anxiety riddled Jillian accepts the offer and journeys to the Reed ranch unprepared for the instant flirtation and chemistry between herself and Jack.
It was really cool reading about their cooking and food interests as well as reading about Jillian’s trauma and how she slowly opens up to Jack about her experience.
It was an emotional rollercoaster, but it was very enjoyable. There were lulls where I felt a little bored, but it never took long for the plot to pick back up. I hope the other Reed family members have their own book so we can get a glimpse of Jack and Jillian and their happily ever after. I will definitely be interested in reading Gigi’s other books!