Book Summary: 

My name is Lucas Donovan, and I’m a sucker for a great taco.

No, that’s not an innuendo, though I do like my women like I like my tacos: extra spicy. So when a brand new food truck rolls into our sleepy little town of Fantasie, Maine, I know I’m in trouble. I just don’t know how much trouble.

Things go downhill fast when I meet Chloe Brown, the sizzling hot and super sassy owner of Taco Bout Love who is as extra as guac. Then out of the blue, Chloe plops her huge purple eyesore of a truck in my designated parking spot. I’m sorely tempted to have her truck towed, and her right along with it.

Unfortunately, Chloe’s as fierce as a ghost pepper, and she’s not going down without a fight. Before I know it, the only thing I’m certain of is that this woman drives me crazy… in the best way possible. What’s more is that I’m beginning to think I just might miss her when she’s gone.

Suddenly, I can’t seem to keep my hands off Chloe Brown… or her tacos.

My Review:

There are SO many things I love about this book that I don’t even know where to start. The characters, the banter, the heat, and the heart, Taco Bout Love is an engaging read from beginning to end. I am REALLY hoping Lily Kate decides to make this into a series because the DiMaggio and Donovan clan have earned free space in my mind from this point on (translation – I can’t STOP thinking about the people – mostly the men – of Fantasie, Maine). 

Ready for a refresh start and much needed distance from New York, Chloe Brown had her sights (and hopes) set on the small town of Fantasie, Maine. Blowing into town on a wing and a prayer with a dream in her heart, to start a dessert taco food truck, Chloe only makes it as far as a designated parking spot before her newly purchased old truck dies for good. Taking a moment to scroll through the insanity that she just experienced moments prior: nearly running over the “town psychic”, learning of said town psychic as she is about to receive a ticket from a gorgeous, yet grump Sheriff, getting out that ticket by a stranger who has just given her flowers to deliver and an impromptu meetup for drinks later, Chloe is at her wits end. By the time another gorgeous (what is with this town) man approaches her – the owner of the designated parking spot where her truck is currently “resting”, she’s had it. She just wants to get to her bed and breakfast to check in! Still licking her wounds after escaping one disaster of a relationship, Chloe has no desire to deal with the male species, no matter how good this guy looks, and is determined to get as far away from their instant attraction as she can. Unknown to her, Lucas had other ideas the moment she got out of that disaster of a truck. Lust at first, Lucas has been dying to scratch an inch and what better way to do it than with the random stranger that is just passing through town. Determined to get to know Chloe more, Lucas quickly realizes the chemistry between them is more than he bargained for. For Chloe, this overly welcoming town and Lucas are the last thing she needs – she is on a mission to prove to can take care of herself but what happens when the people you know the least choose to love you the most?

What I like about it: As I said before, there are so many things I truly enjoyed about this book. For starters, Chloe and Lucas chemistry was insane! The exchange between them alone was so heated that you didn’t know if you would survive the moment when they finally gave in! Next up, the “background” characters of the town. I use quotes because honestly they were front and center in most of the book. If it wasn’t Ruby’s passive aggressive crocheting, it was Chuck getting rich off Luca’s insecurities, or Finn, Matt, Noah, the list goes on. Noah and The Doc cracked me up, especially Noah. I adored Lily and Josie and would be lucky to have these two women in my corner! I REALLY hope Lily Kate writes a series for this town so we can continue to follow the stories of DiMaggio and Donovan clan. I would also love to meet Grandma! A woman who can make a grown man pale just by the mentioning of her name has all of my respect! 

What I loved most was the twist towards the end. I definitely didn’t expect the direction the story took and think I read the last 20% faster than the rest of it (and as I already couldn’t put it down, that says a lot!). To be clear, the entire book was amazing but the direction change is what really set it apart and blew anything predictable out of the water.

Back to the heat, the spice of this book was fire hot. The build up was already intense so when it finally happened, it was explosive. The only thing I would say is a few of the scenes (because there are many) gave a little of a “one trick pony” feel to Lucas which, with the wall incident, I don’t believe it is true but there was some repeating versus variety. It didn’t take away from the steam but by the third or fourth time, you already knew what to expect.

As I always like to pop the hood and look deeper, I loved how Chloe’s character was written and the internal struggle that she experienced with healing from the pains of her past and trying to embrace her future. Through each conversation, you saw her work more and more towards understanding why – why she stayed so long, why things happened the way they did, why she left. She was so focused on doing everything at the opposite end of the spectrum that she didn’t initially take the time to truly see that it wasn’t her or the situation, it was Paul and what he represented. Being a part of the town, a part of a family helped her understand what it should be like to love and be loved. Her transformation both mentally and physically was the real meat and potatoes of the book. Lucas being such a big part of that by simply listening, supporting, and nurturing was fundamental to not only her growth but their bond. 

I will give a disclaimer that there is a domestic violence storyline in this book. I applaud Lily on how she wrote Hannah. She didn’t make her out to be a helpless victim. Speaking through her character, Lily wanted to make sure she spoke to the availability of options, that Hannah (and other women) could escape, start over, and reclaim her life. Hannah was strong, she was determined, and she still had power no matter what Carl did. Society has demonstrated time and time again the fear and violence of domestic abuse and Lily didn’t shy away from adding those factors into Hannah’s story, she kept the emotional energy as real as possible and as true to form as one can in a fictional story.

Taco bout Love was a beautifully written tale of how enchanting a small town can be, especially with half of the community is related! I really do hope she keeps this series going, I would love to read Noah’s story!