Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Romance Recipe

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett

10 reviews

shaples's review

Go to review page

Content Warnings

angelfireeast24's review

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful lighthearted tense 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

4.0

Content Warnings

wardenred's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Rule number one of fucking your business partner is not to catch feelings.

I think my one problem with this book is that it never seemed to be able to decide what kind of story it wanted to be, so to speak. There are plenty of common romcom tropes and conventions here. At the same time, there are a lot of heavier, more serious themes, such as Sophie figuring out her bisexuality and dealing with the aftermath of her break-up, and even more prominently so, Amy's continued grief for her mother and her attempts to reconnect with her Dad. Now, it's fully possible to balance romcom tropes and heavier topics, but I don't feel like the author reached the right balance here. For me, the book constantly swung back and forth between a couple of very different moods. One moment, I'd be reading a fairly lighthearted melodrama; then I would turn the page and find myself plunged into something far more emotionally bruising.

For what it's worth, I feel like the author did an excellent job portraying all those heavy feelings and experiences. I'd love to read some less romcommy books from her, perhaps some angsty, hurt/comfort-ish contemporary romance with a real focus on the hard feelings. I think she'd be amazing at that! But this book was marketed as a romcom and tried to actually be a romcom half the time, so. Yeah.

I did very much like both leads and their relationship. Even through all of the misunderstandings, they have the kind of connection where they both lift each other up. Amy helps Sophie restore her confidence. Sophie helps Amy learn to accept help. It's so clear how they make each other's lives better and more complete, and I really, really shipped them. I guess Amy's arc resonated with me more—I have a soft spot for characters who have no idea how to deal with feelings, so they decide they're Just Not Empathetic and spring into action instead of making connections while feeling entirely too much under the surface. But Sophie was also a really interesting character with a full personality and a logical arc. I loved her relationship with her mother: rocky yet accepting. And her relationship with cooking, too—how she felt like now that it was her job, not just her passion, she wasn't good enough, and how she rekindled the "passion" part over the course of the story.

My other favorite parts involved Amy's relationship with her twin and all the moments focused on the restaurant: all the day-to-day in the kitchen, the glimpses of the staff's interactions, and of course all the tv show parts. I wish there was more focus on all of that, tbh!

Content Warnings

ladythana's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

imds's review

Go to review page

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

inkiereads's review

Go to review page

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? It's complicated

4.0

I’m so happy I picked up The Romance Recipe. I loved it! Amy and Sophie push each other to be their best selves, and their chemistry is so clear. And I spent the entire time reading so hungry! I wish they could come over to cook for me!

Steam: steamy open door

Content Warnings

kbairbooks's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective tense fast-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

3.75

This was a fun read. It hit on some heavy topics and the asshole dad/certain restaurant moments were a bit tough for me to listen to but it was a really lovely realization of self/sexy WLW/romance. Sophie was pretty patient with her woman’s issues and her coming out scene was not too bad! I do feel like maybe a little bit too much was packed into the story? Or maybe it’s just because of my brain at the time of reading it.

Content Warnings

marysbookinit's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

melaniereadsbooks's review

Go to review page

lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you so much to Carina Press and Netgalley for the arc of this book.

This is an absolutely adorable and introspective adult romance about a chef and a restaurant owner who put aside their differences to work together to save their restaurant, and end up falling for each other along the way.

I love the dual povs in this story! Amy is the grumpy to Sophie's sunshine but they are both so much deeper than that. I particularly loved Sophie's story with discovering her bisexuality and how much it is a part of herself! This part of the story was really meaningful to me and I thought it was dealt with gracefully and with the gravity it deserved.

This is also a super cute romance story with a little bit of spice. Sophie and Amy work really well together and watching them develop from co-workers to lovers to partners and equals was magical. I absolutely love this one and can't wait to have a physical copy!

Content Warnings

fromjuliereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

**Thanks to HarperCollins Canada for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

I enjoyed this book! I really liked the characters and some of the elements that it dealt with. I think the characters were the strongest part of the story. There were a lot more sex scenes than I was expecting and they started fairly quickly in the story - I think based on the premise and the title I had expected a bit more of a build up in the romance. But I loved the sapphic love and the really cute moments that Amy and Sophie had! And I liked the references to grief, dealing with your emotions, and dealing with biphobia. They are all important topics and discussions - I wish some of them had been a bit more central to the plot. I also liked the scenes about family and friends and how they were integral to the story.

I read this really quick and really enjoyed it! If you're looking for a sapphic romance with lots of spice, this is the book for you!

Content Warnings

More...