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emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5 ⭐️ 4 🌶️ ***ARC Review***
Tropes:
🍒 Age Gap
🍒 Forbidden Romance
🍒 Single Dad
🍒 Found Family
🍒 His POV
I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again.. Letizia could write literally anything and I would eat it up as my last meal. I devoured this book in one sitting. Could not put it down.
This is Book #4 of the Love and Other Recipes Series. All are standalone romances and can technically be read in any order, but for this one in particular I highly recommend reading 1-3 first. If you can’t wait, you will still devour it like I did, but reading 1-3 first gives so much background to the other characters that I feel really fleshes out this story and makes it all the more of an emotional rollercoaster.
If you love a redemption arc this book is the one. Logan from book #3 is still one of my favorite MMCs in the Letizia-verse, but having read Riding the Sugar High first and going in with an opinion and background knowledge of our MMC, Aaron, I was not prepared for the journey that was about to take place. Of course I was excited for whatever story Letizia threw our way (I will even take the scraps - no kidding), but I was hesitant knowing the MMC was going to be Aaron for “With a Cherry on Top”. Talk about dynamic and relatable. Aaron has definitely earned a seat at the table and has a story that we can definitely all relate to - our “f*** ups” don’t define us, and we can create whatever path we want to in this short life. Aaron is frustrating and has his many flaws but pulls at our heartstrings with his loving and soft nature toward his girls and family. And I feel out of all the MMCs Letizia has written, Aaron is the most tangible. Feels like a real person, rather than a perfect, female-written man that only exists between the pages of a book (although he does, sadly).
Our FMC, Charlotte is also quite unique for the Love and Other Recipes series which I quite enjoyed. Her fiery personality and run-ins with our MMC made this book Letizia’s hottest one yet - just in a different way than we’ve had before which I always appreciate. Always keeping us on our toes. Her trauma and background also made for a complicated and messy kind of love story that I feel meshed very well with Aaron’s own trauma and struggles. Highlighting the kind of love that heals, and isn’t formed from perfection, which can be so rare.
I feel like #4 redeemed my qualms about #3 being “Hallmark” and “cookie cutter” at times. It brought back the unpredictable, realistic, messy, twists and turns kind of love story and characters that had me falling in love with her first books (with the guaranteed happy ending of course). This book was such a web of emotions that had me kicking my feet, getting second hand embarrassment, gasping in shock or horror, almost throwing my kindle across the room (which I’d never do to my baby don’t worry), getting hot and bothered, and had my heart melting within the span of a few chapters.
This one was truly *chef’s kiss* 🤌🏻💋
Tropes:
🍒 Age Gap
🍒 Forbidden Romance
🍒 Single Dad
🍒 Found Family
🍒 His POV
I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again.. Letizia could write literally anything and I would eat it up as my last meal. I devoured this book in one sitting. Could not put it down.
This is Book #4 of the Love and Other Recipes Series. All are standalone romances and can technically be read in any order, but for this one in particular I highly recommend reading 1-3 first. If you can’t wait, you will still devour it like I did, but reading 1-3 first gives so much background to the other characters that I feel really fleshes out this story and makes it all the more of an emotional rollercoaster.
If you love a redemption arc this book is the one. Logan from book #3 is still one of my favorite MMCs in the Letizia-verse, but having read Riding the Sugar High first and going in with an opinion and background knowledge of our MMC, Aaron, I was not prepared for the journey that was about to take place. Of course I was excited for whatever story Letizia threw our way (I will even take the scraps - no kidding), but I was hesitant knowing the MMC was going to be Aaron for “With a Cherry on Top”. Talk about dynamic and relatable. Aaron has definitely earned a seat at the table and has a story that we can definitely all relate to - our “f*** ups” don’t define us, and we can create whatever path we want to in this short life. Aaron is frustrating and has his many flaws but pulls at our heartstrings with his loving and soft nature toward his girls and family. And I feel out of all the MMCs Letizia has written, Aaron is the most tangible. Feels like a real person, rather than a perfect, female-written man that only exists between the pages of a book (although he does, sadly).
Our FMC, Charlotte is also quite unique for the Love and Other Recipes series which I quite enjoyed. Her fiery personality and run-ins with our MMC made this book Letizia’s hottest one yet - just in a different way than we’ve had before which I always appreciate. Always keeping us on our toes. Her trauma and background also made for a complicated and messy kind of love story that I feel meshed very well with Aaron’s own trauma and struggles. Highlighting the kind of love that heals, and isn’t formed from perfection, which can be so rare.
I feel like #4 redeemed my qualms about #3 being “Hallmark” and “cookie cutter” at times. It brought back the unpredictable, realistic, messy, twists and turns kind of love story and characters that had me falling in love with her first books (with the guaranteed happy ending of course). This book was such a web of emotions that had me kicking my feet, getting second hand embarrassment, gasping in shock or horror, almost throwing my kindle across the room (which I’d never do to my baby don’t worry), getting hot and bothered, and had my heart melting within the span of a few chapters.
This one was truly *chef’s kiss* 🤌🏻💋
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Terminal illness
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The only way to describe Letizia’s writing is utter perfection. I didn’t think it could get better than the wedding menu but this book is definitely up there! And I know male only POV might not seem like your cup of tea but truly it is so well done. Aaron is the villain in everyone’s story and he believes it to his core. He’s doing everything he can to minimize himself and the damages to repair relationships from the mistakes he’s made. He’s so focused on being the bad guy he has lost the point of it all. He doesn’t believe he deserves anything and honestly he will have your heart in shambles. When a cat forces an encounter his whole life takes a 180 and he gets to finally have fun. If only he can get out of his own way. Meeting charlotte may have been a one off but now being forced to cook for her and her mom makes it impossible for Aaron to focus and be professional. When boundaries get crossed and lines get so so spicy you’ll also be screaming yes chef! This book brings back all your favorites from the previous books and as much as Letizia tried you cannot hate any of them. Everyone is an imperfect realistic person. Making mistakes and doing our best even if it causes an occasional lash out of moment of pure stupidity. This book will make you cry, laugh and fan yourself from how hot it is! Trust me Letizia does the make POV right! I will forever pick up any book Letizia writes!
3/5 spice
Tropes
Forbidden romance
Age gap
Male only POV
Single parent
Found family
3/5 spice
Tropes
Forbidden romance
Age gap
Male only POV
Single parent
Found family
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"With a Cherry on Top" by Letizia Lorini starts well enough. I was digging all of the storylines and wondering how they would all converge with one another. I didn't read the other books in this series, but I quickly picked up on the other couples and their relationships to/with one another. There are *a lot* of them, so you really need to pay attention to who dates/is married to whom, who is related to whom, who has betrayed whom, who is best friends with whom, etc. There are A LOT of moving parts to this story (more on this later). I liked Aaron as the main male character at first. I loved his dynamic with his young daughter, Sadie. Sadie is the best thing about this book. Anything involving her was a hit for me. I absolutely adored her, and it's typically hard for me to love the way kids are written in fiction. I found myself intrigued by the drama involving Aaron's ex-wife/Sadie's mom, Josie. Their toxic relationship/divorce, her excessive drinking and her frequent visits to rehab, the cheating scandal and its fallout, all of this told me we were going to be in for some major drama at some point. I also loved the best friend dynamic between Aaron and Amelie. Their shared passion for food and cooking could be felt from the very first few pages! The longer the book went on, though, the more disenchanted I became with it all. Aaron and Charlotte, AKA Cherry, the main female character of the story, are some of the most immature characters I have read recently. As soon as Aaron links up with Cherry via an online cam service called TOP, it's like all of his maturity is zapped out of his body and flies out the window. Aaron is supposed to be a 37-year-old man, and he acts like a teenager for the rest of the book. Cherry is supposed to be a 23-year-old woman, and she acts like a 14-year-old, huffing and puffing and being overly dramatic and generally annoying. The part where Aaron had a guest in his house, someone who worked at his daughter's school, and Cherry shows up because she's jealous that this woman wants to go on a date with Aaron? What a child! I should have DNF'ed there because it made me so annoyed. What Cherry has to deal with regarding her horrible, no good, abusive mother is terrible, but she is borderline insufferable. In no way, shape, or form did I ever believe for one second that she should be with/could emotionally be with/was even slightly ready for a relationship, let alone a relationship with a nearly 40-year-old man with a child. In fact, I didn't really ever buy into their relationship at all. It's almost all insta-lust that quickly (much too quickly, IMO!) turns into love. That said, the spicy scenes are well-written, but I didn't feel any spark or pining while reading them. I feel like a lot of the important conversations about alcoholism, coparenting with an alcoholic, parental abuse, parental abandonment, disordered eating, and even Parkinson's disease, aren't handled with the care they deserve or are quickly wrapped up in the last 10% of the book after being drawn out for chapters and chapters. On this note, the book also feels way too long and includes too much plot just to up the page count. Like I said, there are too many moving parts. I am bummed about this one.
Thanks to Letizia Lorini for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
Thanks to Letizia Lorini for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Abandonment
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A surprising amount of depth for a concept that seems like it would only be superficially spicy. However, our protagonist (which, can I get a round of applause of an all MMC POV?) has more going on than just a career change and a divorce. His new career as a private chef is actually the one thing that seems to be going well for him…until…
My only true criticism (based on my history with an ago gap romance) is I wish there was a little more conversation on what it means to enter a new relationship with a kid. It’s not easy to navigate and there’s a lot that Charlotte needed to consider before diving in that I feel wasn’t really addressed. With everything else rooting against them, this seemed a little too easy.
The love story was sweet, the spice was spicy, and those weren’t the only things happening in the story. All in all, an enjoyable romantic read for the summer!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia, Abandonment
Minor: Grief, Death of parent