My enormous thanks to Sara-Jade Virtue at Simon and Schuster for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Just a Taste by Anise Starre. It’s my pleasure to share my review today.
Published by Simon and Schuster on 23rd October 2025, Just a Taste is available for purchase through the publisher links here.
Just a Taste
A Christmas romance featuring a personal chef who is snowed-in with her least favourite client – a sexy but miserable technopreneur.
The only thing personal chef Noelle Jones loves more than cooking is Christmas. She has a roster of extremely wealthy clients, including the elusive and stoic Alexander Hoxton.
When he asks her to cook a last-minute business meal he’s having, offering triple her pay for the short notice, Noelle jumps at the chance. It’s easy money, one of her favourite dishes and she’ll still have plenty of time to get to her family’s annual Christmas reunion.
But, when a sudden blizzard leaves Noelle snowed-in with Alexander, she quickly realises he wants absolutely nothing to do with anything festive. Stuck with a veritable grinch, she’s sure this Christmas is about to become one of her worst . . .
My Review of Just a Taste
Professional chef Noelle has a new client in Alex Hoxton.
Oh yes! I thoroughly enjoyed Just a Taste. Of course it has a familiar structure with a forced proximity trope, but the exposition of that trope is fabulous. The story sizzles with tension, from professional annoyance to sexual attraction, so that the reader lives the undulations of Noelle and Alex’s relationship with them. The slow build of sensuality could not be more effective or more deftly handled. And Just a Taste isn’t just a conventional love story about two heterosexual people, but it’s one about love of family and self love too so that it has additional depth.
The Christmas setting works perfectly and with Alex’s aversion to the season Anise Starre exploits potential humour to perfection. This might be a cracking slow burn love story that ends explosively (and very satisfyingly for reader and character alike!), but is huge fun too. Indeed, the only aspect of Just a Taste I didn’t appreciate was not knowing the full identity of the author. Transpose Anise Starre and you have the perfect pseudonym for an author with a chef as a protagonist and I was sure there was more to know!
And what a protagonist Noelle is. I loved her. She’s sharp witted, caring, hard working and talented. She’s also quite quick to judge and make assumptions about Alex and not averse to a tiny bit of snooping so that, not only does she feel very authentic, she’s well balanced and creatively defined too. It shouldn’t matter that she is a black woman, but I found myself desperate for more readers to discover such a woman. Her ethnicity matters as it’s part of her beauty, but more importantly, she’s a brilliant role model for readers of all ethnic backgrounds.
I loved the developing relationship between Noelle and Alex, not least because Noelle doesn’t need a man in her life to be a fully rounded and complete individual. As with any relationship, they encounter mis-understanding and problems along the way so that they are relatable and believable too. When Alex’s taciturnity about Christmas was finally explained, I found the story rather emotional too.
Just a Taste is such an apt title as Noelle and Alex get just a taste of one another’s lives so that they discover the true person under the public and professional veneer. Underpinning a highly entertaining narrative are themes of professionalism, family, and the impact of upbringing that add layers of interest. However, it is Noelle’s food and cooking that are truly magnificent. I’d defy anyone reading Just a Taste not to feel ravenous and I definitely was left wanting just a taste of Noelle’s food!
Of course Just a Taste fulfilled my reader expectations of a story where two mis-matched individuals discovered they have more in common than initially thought. In addition, however, Anise Starre brought me two fantastic characters in an uplifting, engaging story that I thought was fabulous.
About Anise Starre
Anise Starre is a born and bred Londoner who now travels the world with her husband. She loves writing sweet, fluffy romances featuring Black women being loved on and adored, with a hint of steam and spice to get the heart going. One Week in Paradise is her debut novel and the first book in the Flights and Feelings series. The second book is One Last Job and One More Shot is the third and final novel in the series. Just a Taste is her brand new Christmas romance novel coming out in October 2025.
For further information, follow Anise on Instagram and visit her website.
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