Gouda Friends by Cathy Yardley: When Tam is sent home early from an overnight stay for her job, the last thing she expects 
is to find her boyfriend of 6 years in bed with his ex. To top it off, he threw out her emergency cheese. She immediately ends things but finds herself without a place to go at 3 AM in New York. She does the one thing that will help: calls Josh with the code word “Goldfish.”
The last thing Josh expects ending his day in California is to answer a call from New York and to hear his childhood best friend say their code word. The code word hadn’t been used since he has used it years prior when he needed help, so he knows he must do something. He convinces Tam to take the earliest flight out of New York and to return to Ponto Beach where their friends are waiting, especially him. He wants to help her find a job that makes her happier than her previous role and find more of her self-worth.
Being there for each other has been their thing since elementary school, but this time is different. They feel a spark between them that neither had noticed before, and they try to avoid giving into temptation to not ruin their friendship. When they finally start trying to be more, their plans are thrown for a loop when the possibility of Tam moving get me thrown into the mix.
Tam starts off not knowing what she wants to do next, and it scares her. She has felt pressure her entire life due to her family. Her parents as well as her brother don’t understand why she doesn’t have a desire to be a head honcho at a company or go into the sciences. With the help of Josh, she starts to look deeper at herself to understand that she is more than just an assistant, and she can bring worth to a company in other ways. By the end of the book, Tam understands what she is good at, what she wants to do, and who she wants to spend her time with.
Josh relied on Tam years prior when he had a similar situation to hers and he wants to repay the favor, but he doesn’t want to be too pushy or make her feel like he is pressuring her. He tries to be an innocent bystander, but his feelings continue to grow. When Tam gets an amazing opportunity, he chooses not to tell her how he feels because he wants her to be able to grow unlike how her exes treated her. He has to find a way to tell her how he feels without making it seem like he is making decisions for her.
Overall, I am OBSESSED with this book. The cheese motif that flows throughout the entire book is un-brie-lieveable, and it makes the entire book become even more addicting. It’s not overdone either. Instead, it adds to the context and builds on the relationships between Tam and her many friends to show that they are the ones that truly know her. I can’t wait for more of the series to come out to see what happens with the other Ponto Beach friends.
Book Info:
Publication: March 22, 2022 | Montlake | Ponto Beach Reunion #2
Two high school BFFs reunite and endeavor to fix each other’s lives in this geeky romance from the author of Love, Comment, Subscribe.
Tam Doan dumped her boyfriend after he threw away her gourmet cheese. Sure, it’s a little more complicated than that, but the point is, he had it coming. Newly single and unemployed, Tam calls up her best friend from high school and utters the emergency code word—goldfish. Next thing she knows, she’s on a plane back home.
Josh O’Malley was a troubled, unconfident teenager. Now he’s the successful owner of a multimillion-dollar ghost kitchen. Tam, his high school BFF and fellow member of the Nerd Herd friend group, was instrumental in building his self-esteem. When she calls him out of the blue, he jumps at the chance to return the favor.
Josh and Tam immediately get to work fixing her life—but again, it’s complicated. Their close friendship was always a lifeline between them; a blooming romance might confuse things. Still, at least one thing is for certain: their chemistry is un-brie-lievable.
