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savannahsauls's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Sexism
rachrreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
3.5
I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Reese Camden is offered an experience of a lifetime when she gets a Marketing internship at her favorite show— Friends of Flavor. She is so excited and is vying for the fall internship, but unfortunately so is the other intern, Benny Beneventi. What makes things even worse? The fact that he is charming and Reese is falling for him. When the two are wrangled into doing a segment on Friends of Flavor one afternoon, they are not expecting it to become a regular thing. The two become an internet sensation and fans are shipping them. Reese knows it is dangerous to mix romance and work so she tries to keep Benny at bay.
This was such an adorable story and I love how it dealt with some important issues as well. Reese struggles with social media anxiety after being bullied in high school. She also struggles with anxiety towards relationships, which is in part due to the bullying she received after a relationship went south. There was also some sexual harassment and misogyny that has been interwoven into this story and it is dealt with beautifully.
Benny. Benny is such a sweet soul and I love how understanding he is towards Grace. He does not want to push her into something she is not comfortable with and encourages her to open up to him.
There was definitely some horribly cheesy parts as well which is why this is not rated higher but I would definitely still recommend <3
Reese Camden is offered an experience of a lifetime when she gets a Marketing internship at her favorite show— Friends of Flavor. She is so excited and is vying for the fall internship, but unfortunately so is the other intern, Benny Beneventi. What makes things even worse? The fact that he is charming and Reese is falling for him. When the two are wrangled into doing a segment on Friends of Flavor one afternoon, they are not expecting it to become a regular thing. The two become an internet sensation and fans are shipping them. Reese knows it is dangerous to mix romance and work so she tries to keep Benny at bay.
This was such an adorable story and I love how it dealt with some important issues as well. Reese struggles with social media anxiety after being bullied in high school. She also struggles with anxiety towards relationships, which is in part due to the bullying she received after a relationship went south. There was also some sexual harassment and misogyny that has been interwoven into this story and it is dealt with beautifully.
Benny. Benny is such a sweet soul and I love how understanding he is towards Grace. He does not want to push her into something she is not comfortable with and encourages her to open up to him.
There was definitely some horribly cheesy parts as well which is why this is not rated higher but I would definitely still recommend <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
bookrecsbyjess's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this ARC.
The first thing that caught my eye about this book was the cute cover, but then I read the synopsis and was hooked!
While this book had a lot of good qualities, it didn’t live up to my expectations. I would rate this a 3.5 out of 5 stars (not bad but not awesome).
What I loved most about this book was Benny. He’s so wholesome and sweet, and I just wanted to give him a huge hug. He treated Reese so well even when she didn’t deserve it (which was most of the time…).
I also found the premise of this story to be very interesting, unique, and relevant. The whole social media and video series elements were done very well including the unfortunate reality of cyber bullying.
I liked how the author tackled the topic of cyber bullying in a real and emotional way. Also, the food puns in this book were fun and added to the cooking theme in the story.
While there were many good aspects to this book, there were two parts that made this book fall flat for me.
The first being Reese as a character. The author had the opportunity to use Reese to show how a strong woman can handle the realities of sexism in the workplace. While I think this is what the author was trying to do, I felt that she made Reese too dislikable to make any sort of good impact.
Reese was so terrible to Benny, and she was constantly jumping to conclusions about what was happening in her life and what other people thought of her. It was so frustrating watching her push Benny away over and over again when he did nothing wrong to her. He was so good to her, and she treated him like trash.
The other aspect that bothered me in this story was how the author used her characters to push her views when it didn’t fit naturally in the story. Reese mentioned several times her disagreements with her church growing up, but it had no relevance to the story.
Also, how am I supposed to believe that Benny didn’t have any girls that liked him in high school when he is a complete cupcake? Honestly, he was respectful, a good listener, kind, and good looking. It was not believable that Reese was the first person to show interest in him.
Overall, this was a good book but not great.
The first thing that caught my eye about this book was the cute cover, but then I read the synopsis and was hooked!
While this book had a lot of good qualities, it didn’t live up to my expectations. I would rate this a 3.5 out of 5 stars (not bad but not awesome).
What I loved most about this book was Benny. He’s so wholesome and sweet, and I just wanted to give him a huge hug. He treated Reese so well even when she didn’t deserve it (which was most of the time…).
I also found the premise of this story to be very interesting, unique, and relevant. The whole social media and video series elements were done very well including the unfortunate reality of cyber bullying.
I liked how the author tackled the topic of cyber bullying in a real and emotional way. Also, the food puns in this book were fun and added to the cooking theme in the story.
While there were many good aspects to this book, there were two parts that made this book fall flat for me.
The first being Reese as a character. The author had the opportunity to use Reese to show how a strong woman can handle the realities of sexism in the workplace. While I think this is what the author was trying to do, I felt that she made Reese too dislikable to make any sort of good impact.
Reese was so terrible to Benny, and she was constantly jumping to conclusions about what was happening in her life and what other people thought of her. It was so frustrating watching her push Benny away over and over again when he did nothing wrong to her. He was so good to her, and she treated him like trash.
The other aspect that bothered me in this story was how the author used her characters to push her views when it didn’t fit naturally in the story. Reese mentioned several times her disagreements with her church growing up, but it had no relevance to the story.
Also, how am I supposed to believe that Benny didn’t have any girls that liked him in high school when he is a complete cupcake? Honestly, he was respectful, a good listener, kind, and good looking. It was not believable that Reese was the first person to show interest in him.
Overall, this was a good book but not great.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol
onthesamepage's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-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
4.0
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a really solid debut, and exactly what I happen to like in a contemporary romance. I do think that the characters seem more mature than I would normally expect from eighteen year olds, especially Benny. Maybe there's a bit of wish fulfilment in the way his character was written, but I honestly didn't care. It was nice reading about a love interest that takes his partner's concerns very seriously, and is eager to learn and always do better.
There are plenty of cute romantic moments between Reese and Benny, but a large part of this book actually deals with sexism in the workplace. Even though Reese and Benny both star in a new series on the cooking channel, the (male) bosses quickly show favoritism towards Benny. Reese, meanwhile, gets comments about how she should smile more for example. These kinds of double standards are nothing new, and an incident in Reese's past has made her extra wary when it comes to this kind of behaviour. But it's hard to stand up to it when your job or internship is on the line. She also garners way more vitriol from fans online than her male cohost. I appreciated the way the author handled Reese's situation. That said, I do think it would've made the story stronger if we had been able to see other women at the company dealing with (or having dealt with) similar incidents/treatment.
The book lagged slightly in parts, and there is a bit of repetition in the things Reese stresses about, as well as the feminist commentary (some of which was a bit on the nose too), but I had a great time reading this.
This is a really solid debut, and exactly what I happen to like in a contemporary romance. I do think that the characters seem more mature than I would normally expect from eighteen year olds, especially Benny. Maybe there's a bit of wish fulfilment in the way his character was written, but I honestly didn't care. It was nice reading about a love interest that takes his partner's concerns very seriously, and is eager to learn and always do better.
There are plenty of cute romantic moments between Reese and Benny, but a large part of this book actually deals with sexism in the workplace. Even though Reese and Benny both star in a new series on the cooking channel, the (male) bosses quickly show favoritism towards Benny. Reese, meanwhile, gets comments about how she should smile more for example. These kinds of double standards are nothing new, and an incident in Reese's past has made her extra wary when it comes to this kind of behaviour. But it's hard to stand up to it when your job or internship is on the line. She also garners way more vitriol from fans online than her male cohost. I appreciated the way the author handled Reese's situation. That said, I do think it would've made the story stronger if we had been able to see other women at the company dealing with (or having dealt with) similar incidents/treatment.
The book lagged slightly in parts, and there is a bit of repetition in the things Reese stresses about, as well as the feminist commentary (some of which was a bit on the nose too), but I had a great time reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Sexual harassment
brittanyisbooked's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Reese and Benny are both summer interns at Friends of Flavor when they are presented with the opportunity to team up on their own series.
🎂
If you’ve ever read a romance ever you know how that goes. What you don’t know is that Reese is a vocal feminist and Benny is so supportive of her. It was refreshing to see a woman portrayed this way, and even more importantly a woman portrayed this way in a YA romance.
🎂
Reese’s best friends also have their own backstories shared through the novel. The author does a great job of making it clear how these stories feed into Reese’s sense of self, but what I particularly liked was the pushing boundaries of a perfect, Christian, Southern Belle.
🎂
While romance, there are also many times that Reese faces her own challenges. Benny does too, but I would say that Reese is definitely the star of the show.
🎂
My only mistake with this book was that I wasn’t fully in the mindset that it was YA. I knew the characters’ ages and situation, but for some reason I just couldn’t get my mind fully there. I feel like I lost out on some of the impact from the novel because of this. Nonetheless, good book, go check it out!
🎂
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Bullying and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia
bookwormbullet's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism
paxyshia's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.75 stars! It was very cute!
Definitely for you if you enjoy:
- Enemies to lovers
- Fun, flirty banter
- Feminism! Yeah!
Reese Camden is polite southern hospitality and has landed her dream internship in marketing for Friends of Flavor, her favorite food channel. She just needs to kill it this summer and land the fall internship but the only thing standing in her way is Benny, the culinary intern who’s all dimpled smiles and backward caps.
When Reese and Benny are thrown together for an impromptu video, the fans of the channel instantly fall in love with them, all their banter and all of their chemistry on screen too. After going viral, the higher ups decide to give them a small series competing against one another making food. Denying their chemistry gets harder and harder for Reese but landing that fall internship is her endgame. She has to decide what she can handle and what needs to be set aside.
📚
This one was cute! I liked it and I didn’t find myself being bored like I do with some YA books. It was romance-y but not in a weird off putting way. The book gave me The Ex Talk (by Rachel Lynn Solomon) vibes but if it were a Disney movie. It was fun and the banter was cute and flirty too.
I feel happy knowing books like this will exist for current and future teens where they’re talking about things like feminism and what falls under that topic. I think it’s important to show characters who are open to talking about things like that within relationships.
Definitely for you if you enjoy:
- Enemies to lovers
- Fun, flirty banter
- Feminism! Yeah!
Reese Camden is polite southern hospitality and has landed her dream internship in marketing for Friends of Flavor, her favorite food channel. She just needs to kill it this summer and land the fall internship but the only thing standing in her way is Benny, the culinary intern who’s all dimpled smiles and backward caps.
When Reese and Benny are thrown together for an impromptu video, the fans of the channel instantly fall in love with them, all their banter and all of their chemistry on screen too. After going viral, the higher ups decide to give them a small series competing against one another making food. Denying their chemistry gets harder and harder for Reese but landing that fall internship is her endgame. She has to decide what she can handle and what needs to be set aside.
📚
This one was cute! I liked it and I didn’t find myself being bored like I do with some YA books. It was romance-y but not in a weird off putting way. The book gave me The Ex Talk (by Rachel Lynn Solomon) vibes but if it were a Disney movie. It was fun and the banter was cute and flirty too.
I feel happy knowing books like this will exist for current and future teens where they’re talking about things like feminism and what falls under that topic. I think it’s important to show characters who are open to talking about things like that within relationships.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Bullying
100acrewoodlibrary's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with a free e-ARC for an honest review!
Reese Camden has received an internship at Friends of Flavor, her and her friends favorite cooking channel. She decides that work is a No Feeling Zone, but that burns up in a second after meeting her cute fellow intern, Benny. After a change in plans, Reese and Benny somehow land themselves in a cooking competition for the Fall employment after becoming the Internets' new favorite ship. As the competition goes on, Reese has a hard time keeping her growing crush on Benny to the side all while dealing with sexism inside of Friends of Flavor.
Love from Scratch is a sweet story with an equally sweet romance. Hill does a fantastic job including serious topics like sexism into the plot while keeping the book light and fluffy. Reese is such a great character who is easy to like and root for while overcoming issues in her internship. Benny is a loveable romantic interest who is attentive to his girlfriends issues too. I LOVED this book so much and it is perfect for fans of Emma Lord and bakers of all ages.
Reese Camden has received an internship at Friends of Flavor, her and her friends favorite cooking channel. She decides that work is a No Feeling Zone, but that burns up in a second after meeting her cute fellow intern, Benny. After a change in plans, Reese and Benny somehow land themselves in a cooking competition for the Fall employment after becoming the Internets' new favorite ship. As the competition goes on, Reese has a hard time keeping her growing crush on Benny to the side all while dealing with sexism inside of Friends of Flavor.
Love from Scratch is a sweet story with an equally sweet romance. Hill does a fantastic job including serious topics like sexism into the plot while keeping the book light and fluffy. Reese is such a great character who is easy to like and root for while overcoming issues in her internship. Benny is a loveable romantic interest who is attentive to his girlfriends issues too. I LOVED this book so much and it is perfect for fans of Emma Lord and bakers of all ages.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
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