The Key To Love – Betsy St. Amant – Revell – Published 13 October 2020

♥♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

The only thing Bri Duval loves more than baking petit fours is romance. So much so, she’s created her own version of the famous Parisian lovelock wall at her bakery in Story, Kansas. She never expects it to go viral–or for Trek Magazine to send travel writer Gerard Fortier to feature the bakery. He’s definitely handsome, but Bri has been holding out for a love story like the one her parents had, and that certainly will not include the love-scorned-and-therefore-love-scorning Gerard.

Just when it seems Bri’s bakery is poised for unprecedented success, a series of events threaten not just her business but the pedestal she’s kept her parents on all these years. Maybe Gerard is right about romance. Or maybe Bri’s recipe just needs to be tweaked.

My thoughts

The Key to Love is a very sweet (so many macaroons and petit fours!!) romance about finding love in unexpected places.

Bri is a romantic. She’s holding out for a big romance, just like the one her parents shared. But her aunts’ bakery, where she works and tries to recreate both her mother’s legacy and recipes, is in danger of being sold, demolished and replaced with a chain store. When a travel magazine sends a reporter to write about the bakery, Bri hopes it will be just what they need to save it. But the journalist, Gerard is nothing like she expected and seems against them and her from the start.

I really enjoyed the romance between Gerard and Bri. They are complete opposites. Bri has stayed in her comfort zone, living and working in her home town. She likes bitter coffee and sweet treats. She loves all things romance. Gerard has sworn off love after a relationship gone bad and words of advice from a trusted mentor. He lives a life with no strings holding him back and is cynical about relationships. Settling down is the very last thing on his plan. He also has no desire to write a sappy article about a bakery, but it’s the only thing between him and a promotion.

Bri and Gerard butt heads right from the start. Yet despite everything that is different between them, their different goals in life, they connect. Well, mostly they argue and fight, snap and banter, but they also have a few moments where they really gel. They also have some challenging conversations about their desires for life and what has gone wrong for them. They build each other up but also challenge each other to consider more for their futures.

Bri is a Christian and refers to her trust in God, but the faith journey in this book is Gerard’s, as he is challenged by Bri’s light and selflessness and his mother’s downward spiral. Caring words spoken by a pastor help Gerard to search for further meaning in his life.

If you enjoy really sweet romance with a good heart, you’ll love Betsy St Amant’s The Key To Love.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Adult fiction

Genre: Christian Contemporary.

Themes: Romance, bakeries, journalism, cooking, family, grief, parents.

Published: 13 October 2020 by Revell.

Format: Paperback, ebook. 336 pages.

ISBN: 9780800738891

Find it on Goodreads