Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Romance Recipe

Natalie Naudus and Chelsie Stephens together are the spices needed to make the romance recipe HOT! I loved their chemistry even though they read opposite chapters it was palpable. 10/10😍🥵

The story follows Amy, a restaurant owner, and Sophie her head chef and former Hollywood chef, as they navigate running a kitchen together. In the heat of the kitchen emotions run high, and so does the tension between the two. But the restaurant is slowly but surely failing, so Amy and Sophie start looking for opportunities to bring new life to the place. With luck on their side they are offered a spot on a cooking show, but will this grumpy sunshine duo be able to navigate their feelings inside and outside of the kitchen?

I loved this book so much! The story, THE SPICE! The food. It was all*chefs kiss* perfection and what I wanted out of a cooking romance.

Cw
Sexual content
Death of a parent
Grief
Biphobia
Alcohol
Sexual harassment
Blood

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kbairbooks's review

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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.

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melaniereadsbooks's review

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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!

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fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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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!

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Thanks to Harlequin Books for the free advance copy of this book.

- THE ROMANCE RECIPE is another entry in the mini boom of queer cooking romances AND queer reality show romances!
- I loved that Sophie was just coming out as bisexual at 30 years old. There's a little biphobia around it, but for the most part, it's treated as joyful and normal.
- I found Amy to be a bit of a frustrating character, given her need for control, but on the other hand, the fights and growth she and Sophie had because of that felt pretty real.
- Also, this book is mega spicy. I'm so glad we're moving past having only sapphic romances where the physical growth of the relationship hardly exists on the page.

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decklededgess's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-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

5.0

trigger warnings: biphobia, emotional abuse, death of parent mention, sexual content, alcohol,

This book..idk how to express how emo and soft this book made me. Sophie and Amy both dumping for each other and then simping even harder while hooking up but pretending it’s casual except EVERY ACTION INDICATED OFHERWISE!!! I’m soft. Worst third act break up ever though this shit was ROUGH. Thank god it was quick and actually made sense for their arc. They needed the time to heal. Love love loveeeee

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