Served with Love

Author: Priyanka Menon

Publisher: Harlequin India

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Blurb (as on Amazon.in):

Abhimanyu Dev, orphaned early and brought up by a doting grandfather, has his life chalked out. He is forty-two years old and single and intends to stay that way. And he runs a hotel with all the care he might have devoted to a home. In walks Pakhi, taking charge of the hotel kitchen. A guardian to her niece Abhithi, Pakhi is passionate and opinionated and focused on the little girl and on work.Abhi and Pakhi rarely see eye to eye. Sparks fly and tempers fray. Yet there are two things that bind them – gourmet meals and their love for Abhithi. The little girl’s affection and innocence draw Abhi out of his shell in a manner he had not anticipated. As for Pakhi, her niece is the center of her life.
When Abhithi is kidnapped, it brings Abhi and Pakhi together as they follow her trail to Mumbai. Will they find Abhithi and each other in time? Served with Love is a mature romance for a new age.

My Take

Pakhi Mehra and Abhimanyu Dev, falling in love over food. My idea of a perfect love story.

Abhimanyu is a wonderful chef who happens to be single and intends to remain just that. Pakhi is a happy-go-lucky desi girl who is trying to live her life. She lives with her Dad and her Neice Abhithi who is the kinda kid you’ll instantly fall for-like it or not.

And then their worlds collide. What happens next is an emotional rollercoaster, a casual relationship that turns into a serious one, over a series of very interesting events.

Served with love has been spiced up with the perfect kind of characters. Abhimanyu- the angry, rich and not-so-young businessman cum chef. Pakhi- The desi girl who is pretty without makeup, maybe just a little Kohl for those big expressive eyes, rocking everyone’s world with her dupatta and kolhapuris.

Oh! and there’s a lot of cooking and eating going on. There’s Salmon, Pomfret, Quiche, Cupcakes and Hot chocolate with chilly (Apparently tastes yumm). The book also takes you places and I mean “literally’. These lovebirds and their little “lump” travel to Kolkata and Jaipur. The cities have been described with perfection and I had a great time imagining these cities, their monuments and their cuisine (obviously) 😛

The chemistry between them is great and the romantic scenes have been well-written (except the fact that the word breast appeared too many times, each time the description being peculiar, and hence annoying me to the core). The story develops slowly and has every element of love in it- the denial, the butterflies, daydreaming, fantasizing, arguing, crying and love making. The story also has confused minds, a psychopath, and a kidnapping. There’s just-enough drama and there’s thrill.

I think I enjoyed this book much more because the last book I read was “Swing Time” by Zadie Smith and such books tend to occupy your mind a bit longer. This was an easy-going, relaxing read for me. The pace of the book can be judged by the fact that I finished this book in 4 hours (of interrupted reading).

“Served with Love” has indeed been served with love by Priyanka Menon and I say this because the book is going to make you happy. Her love for food and Romantic stories is visible throughout the book.

I would recommend this book if u wanna read a Romantic tale and have a great time. Don’t expect too much from this book. It’s a simple story that is well-executed.