The Sweetness of Life by Kathryn Andrews: Book Review

If you enjoy stories of food and wine, you will love The Sweetness of Life by Kathryn Andrews. Set in a winery in northern Georgia, this book oozes in southern charm.

Plot Summary

Shelby Leigh is a food critic, blogger and chef who is looking to land a job with the Food Network channel. She loves putting her southern flavour on old classics and has developed a reputation as a well respected chef. When she is provided with an opportunity by the channel to spend two weeks in a winery developing recipes that can be paired with their wines, she jumps at the chance. She is disappointed to learn that the winery owner is Zach Wolff, aka her worst blind date ever. This leaves her even more determined than ever to make this assignment spectacular.

Zach hates critics – ever since the bad review he didn’t deserve to receive. When he sees that Shelby is the critic/chef who has come to spend the next two weeks with him, he sets out to develop a plan. He can certainly look beyond Shelby’s obvious beauty and charm in order to win a favourable review. Or can he?

Book Review

I enjoyed this story, which is told from the dual perspectives of Shelby and Zach. Although the plot was predictable, I also found it to be both charming and entertaining. The characters were well developed and likeable. I appreciated the information on the wines, and the recipes that were shared at the end of each chapter (they all sound amazing). While I found that the book flowed a little too slow for me, it also represented a more laid back lifestyle I associate with the setting.

Audiobook Review

I listened to the audiobook format of the book which was narrated by Joshua Macrae and Natalie Duke. I enjoyed their performances and appreciated that their voices/accents reflected a book set in Georgia. I listened to the book at a slightly faster !.5x speed to make the performance more comfortable. If you appreciate listening to books with narration that represents the geographical area, I’d suggest choosing the audiobook format.

What I Liked About The Sweetness of Life:

• The winery setting
• The food and wine discussions
• The enemies to lovers trope (with a southern flair)!

I Recommend This Book To:

Those readers that enjoy romance novels with food and wine as themes.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Netgalley and Orange Sky Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for the honest review provided here.

My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5.

Add The Sweetness of Life by Kathryn Andrews to your Goodreads shelf

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

The Vineyard at Painted Moon by Susan Mallery

The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison

Thanks for reading!  Feel free to leave a comment.  I hope you have a wonderful day.