Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins - Review

Stir Me Up

by Sabrina Elkins

Publication Date: October 1, 2013

Published by HarlequinTEEN

Pages: 268

Source: HarlequinTEEN and Kismet Book Touring

Purchase: Amazon  Barnes & Noble

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Cami Broussard has her future all figured out. She’ll finish her senior year of high school, then go to work full-time as an apprentice chef in her father’s French restaurant, alongside her boyfriend, Luke. But then twenty-year-old ex-Marine Julian Wyatt comes to live with Cami’s family while recovering from serious injuries. And suddenly Cami finds herself questioning everything she thought she wanted.

Julian’s all attitude, challenges and intense green-brown eyes. But beneath that abrasive exterior is a man who just might be as lost as Cami’s starting to feel. And Cami can’t stop thinking about him. Talking to him. Wanting to kiss him. He’s got her seriously stirred up. Her senior year has just gotten a lot more complicated….

Contains mature content and some sexual situations. Suited for readers 16 and up.

My Thoughts 

On the surface, Stir Me Up could be viewed as a stereotypical love triangle, will they/won't they, what's going to keep them apart love story, and just a few pages in, it really seemed like that was the story that I was going to get. Yes, there are traces of those elements in the story, but Stir Me Up is a lot more than that. It's about making your own decisions and realizing that you don't have to have your future all planned out when you finish high school. Because, if we are being honest, eighteen is too young to have it all figured out, and that's ok.
 
I seriously fell for the love story of Cami and Julian. Cami thought she was in love with her long time boyfriend, Nick, but to see her really fall in love felt like falling in love for the first time all over again. They couldn't get enough of each other, couldn't be close enough to each other - it is a sweet romance to read. 


I love all of the cooking in the story. Each recipe shows different aspects of the characters' personalities and what types of food they liked to eat revealed a little bit about them too. So many dishes that Cami made sounded delicious and it was a nice treat to discover that several of the recipes are included at the end of the book. I don't think I'll make alphabet soup sloppy-joes any time soon, but I wouldn't mind an Apple Muffin. I hear they're good in a food fight. (Read the book to find out why).

I enjoyed Stir Me Up a whole lot and look forward to what Sabrina Elkins gives readers next. Until then, I'm recommending this book to fans of YA and adult contemporary - Romance and recipes - You can't get much better than that.

Disclaimer:  I received this ARC from HarlequinTEEN and Kismet Book Touring in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.