A Taste for Love - by Jennifer Yen (Hardcover)

About the Book

Both high school senior Liza Yang and her mother share a love and talent for baking but disagree on the subject of dating, especially when Mrs. Yang turns her annual baking contest into a matchmaking scheme.

Book Synopsis

For fans of Jenny Han, Jane Austen, and The Great British Baking Show, A Taste for Love, is a delicious rom com about first love, familial expectations, and making the perfect bao.

To her friends, high school senior Liza Yang is nearly perfect. Smart, kind, and pretty, she dreams big and never shies away from a challenge. But to her mom, Liza is anything but. Compared to her older sister Jeannie, Liza is stubborn, rebellious, and worst of all, determined to push back against all of Mrs. Yang's traditional values, especially when it comes to dating.

The one thing mother and daughter do agree on is their love of baking. Mrs. Yang is the owner of Houston's popular Yin & Yang Bakery. With college just around the corner, Liza agrees to help out at the bakery's annual junior competition to prove to her mom that she's more than her rebellious tendencies once and for all. But when Liza arrives on the first day of the bake-off, she realizes there's a catch: all of the contestants are young Asian American men her mother has handpicked for Liza to date.

The bachelorette situation Liza has found herself in is made even worse when she happens to be grudgingly attracted to one of the contestants; the stoic, impenetrable, annoyingly hot James Wong. As she battles against her feelings for James, and for her mother's approval, Liza begins to realize there's no tried and true recipe for love.

Review Quotes

"Scrumptious." --Kirkus Reviews

"A plot-driven romance with a happy ending, Yen's debut is filled with mouth-watering descriptions of jelly cakes, egg waffles, matcha cookies, boba tea, and char siu bao...A fun story about family and friendship." --School Library Journal

"Pride and Prejudice gets a taste of The Great British Bake Off in this debut, which hits all the right notes." --Booklist

"This enjoyable rom-com has plenty to offer readers, including valuable friendships, the importance of family, a well-developed main character, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments...Readers will be engrossed in this relaxed re-telling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from beginning to end." --School Library Connection

"Jennifer Yen's debut ticks all of my most favorite romance boxes... Austen-worthy hero? Check. Sweet and spicy baking competition? Check. Coming-of-age feels? Double check. A Taste For Love is a delightfully fresh take on first love and following your heart that will appeal to readers of Sandhya Menon and Emma Lord." --Erin Hahn, author of More Than Maybe

About the Author

Jennifer Yen is a Taiwanese American author who lives in Texas with her adorable dog. She spends her days healing the hearts of others, and her nights writing about love, family, and the power of acceptance. Jennifer believes in the magic of one's imagination, and hopes her stories will bring joy and inspiration to readers. If you find Jennifer wandering around aimlessly, please return her to the nearest milk tea shop. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @JenYenWrites.