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papercranestitches's review against another edition
2.0
Looking back, I realize that I’ve read quite a few M/M novellas set in restaurants and bakeries over the last year. I think it has something to do with allure of reading about sweet, sexy men who could turn even the sad contents of my refrigerator - which consists mostly of condiments, booze, and brie - into a feast fit for a king (don’t judge me; when you’re a single woman with a culinary repertoire of about five things, that shit is sexy). It also doesn’t hurt that the main characters in these books tend to be creative, passionate, authoritative individuals – all characteristics that whip my egg whites into stiff peaks, if you know what I mean.
So I started Alex Cohen’s Yes, Chef with a certain sense of anticipation.
I have to admit that Cohen worked overtime in the first few pages to make the reader feel as if they had been transported into the middle of a fully-functioning kitchen filled with strong personalities, established routines, and a constant hum of energy and movement.
Right off the bat, Diego Ramirez, the restaurant’s head chef seemed like a character I was going to like. He was a bit older, more experienced, and a little gruff without being a totally arrogant douchecanoe. He was a man with exacting standards, a little bit of personal pain in his past, and I couldn’t wait to see how he was going to rub on with the bright, young, cheerful new pastry chef, Ben… who just happened to be the nephew of the boss (yay nepotism!) and hiding a little of his own pain as well.
Unfortunately, as soon as Ben was introduced to the story, everything started to crumble. It wasn’t the poor guy’s fault, but the writing just wasn’t there. The author resorted to telling us things about the characters rather than showing them to us. In fact, sometimes the details the author was telling us via the secondary characters seemed not only nonexistent, but in direct opposition to what was on the page. For instance, Ben was supposedly depressed, but his smiles and general good humour throughout those sections of the book seemed to refute that entirely.
Awkward time jumps and a few scenes that didn’t feel purposeful (they failed to drive the plot or the characters’ relationship forward) didn’t improve my overall impressions of the story either.
Other than a few tense moments in the opening pages of the story that gave me hope for some delicious sexual tension, I didn’t find that Diego and Ben had a lot of chemistry together. This was only made worse by the rapid hot and cold – or should I say lukewarm and cool? – game that Diego was playing with Ben’s emotions, keeping him on the hook but refusing to commit to so much as a first date. For a grown man, Diego seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time angsting over a relationship that didn’t even exist yet. To be honest, it didn’t take me long before I started to wonder why Ben was attracted to him at all.
By the halfway point I found myself indifferent to the characters, their struggles, and their relationship, and I was ready for this book to be over. It wasn’t a terrible book by any stretch of the imagination (objectively it was probably pretty serviceable) but I just didn’t find it compelling. Cohen didn’t make me feel anything for the characters as I was reading, so when we were given a whispered, one-way “I love you” (with nothing to base it on) and a completely unsatisfying frottage scene at the end, I’m pretty sure I yawned.
Please note that an ARC of this book was provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
So I started Alex Cohen’s Yes, Chef with a certain sense of anticipation.
I have to admit that Cohen worked overtime in the first few pages to make the reader feel as if they had been transported into the middle of a fully-functioning kitchen filled with strong personalities, established routines, and a constant hum of energy and movement.
Right off the bat, Diego Ramirez, the restaurant’s head chef seemed like a character I was going to like. He was a bit older, more experienced, and a little gruff without being a totally arrogant douchecanoe. He was a man with exacting standards, a little bit of personal pain in his past, and I couldn’t wait to see how he was going to rub on with the bright, young, cheerful new pastry chef, Ben… who just happened to be the nephew of the boss (yay nepotism!) and hiding a little of his own pain as well.
Unfortunately, as soon as Ben was introduced to the story, everything started to crumble. It wasn’t the poor guy’s fault, but the writing just wasn’t there. The author resorted to telling us things about the characters rather than showing them to us. In fact, sometimes the details the author was telling us via the secondary characters seemed not only nonexistent, but in direct opposition to what was on the page. For instance, Ben was supposedly depressed, but his smiles and general good humour throughout those sections of the book seemed to refute that entirely.
Awkward time jumps and a few scenes that didn’t feel purposeful (they failed to drive the plot or the characters’ relationship forward) didn’t improve my overall impressions of the story either.
Other than a few tense moments in the opening pages of the story that gave me hope for some delicious sexual tension, I didn’t find that Diego and Ben had a lot of chemistry together. This was only made worse by the rapid hot and cold – or should I say lukewarm and cool? – game that Diego was playing with Ben’s emotions, keeping him on the hook but refusing to commit to so much as a first date. For a grown man, Diego seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time angsting over a relationship that didn’t even exist yet. To be honest, it didn’t take me long before I started to wonder why Ben was attracted to him at all.
By the halfway point I found myself indifferent to the characters, their struggles, and their relationship, and I was ready for this book to be over. It wasn’t a terrible book by any stretch of the imagination (objectively it was probably pretty serviceable) but I just didn’t find it compelling. Cohen didn’t make me feel anything for the characters as I was reading, so when we were given a whispered, one-way “I love you” (with nothing to base it on) and a completely unsatisfying frottage scene at the end, I’m pretty sure I yawned.
Please note that an ARC of this book was provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
luciameetsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I think Yes, Chef was the first m/m romance I've ever read and I adored it!
The characters were what made me fall completely in love with this book, especially Diego, he's the one I remember the most and I haven't read this book since 2015 so that on itself it's pretty impressive :P
Also, it's a super short book, which I was afraid before picking it up because I'm not a big fan of short stories but surprisingly I didn't have a problem with that. The problems I remember having were that I didn't know how much time had happened between one scene and the other (a day, a couple of hours? I never knew) and there's also an age gap that created a lot of problems but I couldn't understand why because I didn't know how many years older one of the character was compered to the other...
I would still recommend this book if you want something sweet and super quick to read <3
The characters were what made me fall completely in love with this book, especially Diego, he's the one I remember the most and I haven't read this book since 2015 so that on itself it's pretty impressive :P
Also, it's a super short book, which I was afraid before picking it up because I'm not a big fan of short stories but surprisingly I didn't have a problem with that. The problems I remember having were that I didn't know how much time had happened between one scene and the other (a day, a couple of hours? I never knew) and there's also an age gap that created a lot of problems but I couldn't understand why because I didn't know how many years older one of the character was compered to the other...
I would still recommend this book if you want something sweet and super quick to read <3
thequeerbookish's review
4.0
This novella made me really hungry! So much tasty food... But not only the food is great. I really liked how harmonic Yes, Chef is, even though both main characters have their fair share of a depressing past. There is no competition in the kitchen, just friends having fun while working.
While it's a short story, it manages not only to give Diego and Ben character, the side characters have their own pasts, too. Bonus points for Jesse. Why? You gotta read it.
Diego is a little bit of hot and cold, but considering his past, it makes sense. And sex under the influence of alcohol is not a great idea, especially if it's a couple's first time (consent issues, y'know?), so I was very happy, that their first time wasn't then.
Disclaimer: I received through NetGalley a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
While it's a short story, it manages not only to give Diego and Ben character, the side characters have their own pasts, too. Bonus points for Jesse. Why? You gotta read it.
Diego is a little bit of hot and cold, but considering his past, it makes sense. And sex under the influence of alcohol is not a great idea, especially if it's a couple's first time (consent issues, y'know?), so I was very happy, that their first time wasn't then.
Disclaimer: I received through NetGalley a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
luthereadingqueen's review
4.0
I think Yes, Chef was the first m/m romance I've ever read and I adored it!
The characters were what made me fall completely in love with this book, especially Diego, he's the one I remember the most and I haven't read this book since 2015 so that on itself it's pretty impressive :P
Also, it's a super short book, which I was afraid before picking it up because I'm not a big fan of short stories but surprisingly I didn't have a problem with that. The problems I remember having were that I didn't know how much time had happened between one scene and the other (a day, a couple of hours? I never knew) and there's also an age gap that created a lot of problems but I couldn't understand why because I didn't know how many years older one of the character was compered to the other...
I would still recommend this book if you want something sweet and super quick to read <3
The characters were what made me fall completely in love with this book, especially Diego, he's the one I remember the most and I haven't read this book since 2015 so that on itself it's pretty impressive :P
Also, it's a super short book, which I was afraid before picking it up because I'm not a big fan of short stories but surprisingly I didn't have a problem with that. The problems I remember having were that I didn't know how much time had happened between one scene and the other (a day, a couple of hours? I never knew) and there's also an age gap that created a lot of problems but I couldn't understand why because I didn't know how many years older one of the character was compered to the other...
I would still recommend this book if you want something sweet and super quick to read <3
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