A Dash of Salt and Pepper

By: Kosoko Jackson

Narrated by: Joshua David Scarlett

One of Amazon's Best Romances of December
A December LibraryReads Pick

Sometimes two cooks in the kitchen are better than one in this swoony romantic comedy from the author of I’m So (Not) Over You.

Xavier Reynolds is doing less than stellar. He just got dumped, was passed over for a prestigious fellowship, and to top it all off he's right back home in Harper's Cove, Maine (population: 9,000). The last thing he wants to do is to work as a prep chef in the kitchen of the hip new restaurant in town, The Wharf. Especially since the hot, single-father chef who owns it can’t delegate to save his life.

Logan O’Hare doesn’t understand Xavier or why every word out of his mouth is dipped in sarcasm. Unfortunately, he has no choice but to hire him—he needs more help in the kitchen and his tween daughter, Anne, can only mince so many onions. It might be a recipe for disaster, but Logan doesn’t have many options besides Xavier.

Stuck between a stove and a hot place, Logan and Xavier discover an unexpected connection. But when the heat between them threatens to top the Scoville scale, they’ll have to decide if they can make their relationship work or if life has seasoned them too differently.

Critic reviews

“A Dash of Salt and Pepper serves up a fresh update on the small-town romance with a heaping side of swoon. Hilarious, nuanced and with dazzling voice, Kosoko Jackson’s writing leaves us eager for extra helpings.”—Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of The Roughest Draft

“Kosoko Jackson cooks up a saucy, sweet, sexy small town romance that made me laugh and swoon in equal measure. Not to be missed.”—Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Not Your Average Hot Guy

"A Dash of Salt and Pepper is laugh-out-loud hilarious, bursting with charm and heavy on swoons. Kosoko Jackson vividly captures the quirks of a small coastal town as Xavier and Logan cook their way to the sweetest of happily ever afters. Well-stocked with lovable side characters, I smiled at every single page."—Bridget Morrissey, author of A Thousand Miles

"Sizzling, hilarious, and oh-so-satisfying! A Dash of Salt and Pepper has all the best romance ingredients: a charming small-town setting, a savvy and relatable hero on the precipice of change, and a sexy, gruff love interest who’s good with his hands (and not just in the kitchen). Kosoko Jackson writes delectable rom-coms you can’t help but savor."—Timothy Janovsky, author of Never Been Kissed

"A wonderful small-town romance with a vibrant voice. You'll love spending time with Xavier and Logan in Harper's Cove."—Jackie Lau, author of Donut Fall in Love

"Jackson’s sexy grumpy/sunshine romantic comedy will grab readers from the first page. Highly recommended for all collections."—Library Journal

"Sparks fly in and out of the kitchen in this age-gap contemporary romance."—Kirkus Reviews

A more real and down to earth experience

I admired Jackson’s ability to create realistic characters and a more honest theme in this book. It’s a story of discovering yourself mixed with a romantic theme that progresses the story in a smooth, easy to read, direction. I will say the voice actor did well in most parts except in some situations where the book would mention the character was whispering or speaking in a more raspy voice, and it felt like the voice actor missed the target time after time, however the story was still well narrated and the voices to each character were well separated. I always knew who was speaking, and found the voice actors abilities still relevant and good for this story.

Thank you to the author, editor, publisher, and the narrator for a lovely story. I will recommend this story/book and will likely reread it myself in the future.

Such a treat!

This author was new to me, and I am SO happy I took a chance on this book. The story is wonderful and deals with real-life issues and problems. The characters are fascinating and believable. The narration by Joshua David Scarlett was delightful and brought the humor in the story to life. I enjoyed this book so much that I immediately turned around and listened to Mr. Jackson's earlier book, I Am So (Not) Over You and liked it just as much. I highly recommend this book.

The writing is so bad. I feel no connection to characters and dont feel any among the main characters either

This book feels like a teenager wrote it. It is supposed to be funny fail and romantic the characters have no chemistry

Whhhhhhhyyyyyy

I really wanted to like this book, but almost DNF'ed it several times. But I do not DNF lightly! I struggled through! I thought it might be getting better toward the middle, but I was mistaken. I don't like leaving negative reviews because I know how much work the author must have put into it, but there were so many instances where it felt like the characters just flipped a switch. I also found the ending extremely frustrating. So, yeah! Do with this review what you will!

I wanted to like this book.

While there are funny moments, the main characters are so annoying and the ending was not enough to justify the 3rd act breakup.