Hot Honey Love by Nan Campbell

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The details…

  • Title: Hot Honey Love
  • Author: Nan Campbell
  • Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
  • Publication date: November 12, 2024
  • Available formats: ebook, paperback, audiobook 
  • File size: 1411 KB
  • Print length: 312 pages
  • Audiobook: 13 hours and 43 minutes, narrated by Lula Larkin
  • Genre: contemporary romance 
  • Themes: vulnerability, trust, personal growth, love, women loving women relationships, anxiety, overcoming failure, self-esteem, resilience, romance, public scrutiny, ambition, career success, cooking, restaurants, film, videographers, making movies

The blurb from the publisher…

Chef Stef’s passion for her profession is being severely tested. After a disastrous appearance on a cooking competition show, she has become a meme. The entire Internet now knows her as the Kitchen Bawler. Her ascent through the fine dining kitchens of New York City has been thoroughly derailed, but she has a plan to get her career back on track. She’ll make cooking videos on YouTube to foil the algorithm and overhaul her search engine results. One problem: she knows nothing about creating video content.

Enter Mallory Radowski. She’s a talented filmmaker currently earning a living as a wedding videographer, with complicated reasons of her own for her reluctance to help Stef. Mallory lives with anxiety, and is the pickiest eater imaginable. Food—Stef’s love language—is untranslatable to her. How can she make Stef’s food look delicious if she won’t eat any of it?

Stef has to trust that Mallory’s videos can get her cooking food she’s proud of again, but it’s out of the frying pan and into the fire when she starts to fall for her.

My thoughts….

Nan Campbell dishes up a real treat with her latest novel, Hot Honey Love. She takes huge helpings of passion, ambition, and personal struggle, creatively whisks them together, then tenderly simmers the mixture over a low flame for 312 pages. The result is a tantalizing romance that’s sure to capture the taste buds of even the most finicky reader.

Chef Stef Lombardozzi’s journey begins with an epically humiliating setback. After a disastrous appearance on a cooking competition show, she becomes known as “The Kitchen Bawler” and turns into an internet meme. When people Google her name, neverending clips of her crying come popping up on the screen. This traumatizing moment of humiliation not only continues to affect her career and her self-esteem, but it looks as if it’s never going away. Ultimately, with encouragement from a friend, it serves as a catalyst for change and pushes her to reclaim her dignity and respect as a chef.

As the plot unfolds, the introduction of Mallory Radowski adds another layer of complexity to the narrative. Mallory grapples with trust, anxiety, and a complicated relationship with food. These issues weigh heavily on her, even holding her back from completing a passion film project. Instead of finishing her film, she contents herself with videotaping weddings for a living. After a run-in with an old friend, she reluctantly agrees to film Stef’s YouTube cooking videos. However, when asked on camera to taste Stef’s food, Mallory’s pickiness makes it difficult for her to appreciate the culinary creations. Campbell capitalizes on this unique situation, scripting scenes that showcase moments filled with frustration, humor, and tenderness.

Stef and Mallory’s relationship is well-developed and portrayed with sensitivity and depth. As Mallory learns to trust Stef, feelings begin to develop within both women. Their dynamic becomes increasingly engaging as they navigate their creative partnership, moving from professional to personal. Readers witness the affection and concern grow between them. Campbell effectively captures the nuances of this evolving relationship, scripting scenes that allow for genuine moments of connection and vulnerability. Most importantly, she is patient with her development; she doesn’t rush these two characters. She gives them time to grow—as individuals and as a couple. The result is a romance that feels genuine and relatable.

Final remarks…

Hot Honey Love reminds readers that sometimes love can be wonderfully transformative, changing life in powerful ways. Campbell delivers a resonating narrative, one filled with humor and insight. She keeps things contemporary and fresh, cleverly introducing social media and YouTube into the mix. Her leading ladies are captivating, relatable women, and their journey is scripted with sensitivity and thoughtfulness. By exploring themes of vulnerability, trust, personal growth, and love, she manages to tell a story that is touching and heartfelt. This novel deserves two thumbs up.

Strengths….

  • Told with compassion and sensitivity 
  • Likable, compelling characters 
  • Fantastic story world
  • Well-developed romance 
  • Layered and dynamic storytelling 

This book is available from…

A bit about the author….

Nan Campbell grew up on the Jersey Shore, where she first discovered her love of romance novels as a kid, spending her summers at the beach reading stories that were wholly inappropriate for her age. She was, and continues to be, a sucker for a happy ending.

She is a seasoned traveler, having visited many countries across six continents, and hopes to make it to the seventh someday. She hates to cook but loves to practice her cocktail-making skills. She also loves karaoke, which is unfortunate for anyone within range of her singing voice.

Nan and her wife live in New York City, where they struggle to balance their natural homebody tendencies with all the amazing things the city has to offer.

For more information, check out her website.

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