With or Without You

With or Without You by Eric Smith

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With or Without You is the latest YA romance novel by Eric Smith, set in Philadelphia, PA. Two competing food trucks have a rivalry that’s newsworthy, both making cheesesteaks. Plazas Steaks is run by a purist family. All you need are steak, cheese, and onions. Asking for mushrooms earns customers the bell of shame. Across the square, Ortiz Steaks offers more choices and healthier options. The families fought over the plaza corner, but the rivalry really kicked in when Jordan Plazas and Cindy Ortiz started working at the food trucks. Their vocal animosity amuses customers and fuels social media. It brings business to both trucks, but it’s all fake. In fact, Jordan and Cindy are secretly dating.

Smith beautifully captures the feeling of being young, with your whole life ahead of you, dreams so close you can taste them, and being able to reach for the life you want. Jordan Plazas has a simple dream – one no one seems to appreciate but him: to buy his own food truck and spend a year traveling the country with his girlfriend. He’s been saving all his tip money toward this dream, but what will really fund his dream is winning Truck Off – a food truck competition coming up in ten days. That twenty-five-thousand-dollar prize will make all his dreams come true.

Cindy’s dream is a little different. She wants to move back to Boston where she grew up, where her best friends are, and go to Northeastern University for television production. And even though she’s agreed to take a gap year with her boyfriend, she applied to college for the fall and is saving her tips for college. When a reality show producer swings by Cindy’s truck and says she wants to talk to her and her family about a reality show, Cindy is thrilled. All four parents love the idea, too, but not Jordan. Cindy has to talk him into the idea, reminding him that both their families could use the money.

The producers tell the Ortiz family they need to enter Truck Off, too, and things go downhill from there. The whole basis for the show is the rivalry between the two trucks, specifically between Jordan and Cindy. It means more lying, more hiding, and more chances of getting caught out. When Cindy is accepted into Northeastern with a scholarship, she has some major decisions to make, ones that could break their relationship.

Philadelphians and food lovers will love the details. All readers, will, actually. There’s a scene in a bookstore that’s so beautifully written it’s like slipping into a bookstore in real life. With food, music, romance, and more, it’s a delightful book. I love Smith’s previous book, You Can Go Your Own Way, and look forward to more.

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Visit the author’s website and follow him on Twitter.

Advance Reading Copy provided by Inkyard Press via Netgalley at my request.

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