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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
This is a delightful debut romance about a reality TV champion chef who is teamed up with a ghostwriter to write his cookbook. It utilizes favorite tropes like forced proximity, one bed, and grumpy sunshine with pretty good success. The first half of this book was a 5-star read for me. I immediately fell in love with Kieran, a short, ginger king, executive chef, and definite hero of the story. The FMC, Ellie, is less likable overall, but I think that is because she isn't as successfully developed as a character on page. Unfortunately, the story began to lost momentum at about 50% and I had to wade through the last half to get to what I felt was a rather anti-climatic ending. Taken together, I am rating this one a 3-3.5 stars.
What this book did right:
❤️Kieran is a cinnamon roll chef who isn't emasculated by his feelings and is openly vulnerable.
❤️Did I mention he is a CHEF? Such sexy knife skills.
❤️Neurodiversity representation (dyslexia and ADHD)
❤️Sobriety representation (One of my favorite quotes from the book is: "Every day you've had since you got sober has been an act of optimism.")
❤️Body size diversity (Kieran is only 5'7" "on a good day"); Ellie is described as "endlessly curvy")
❤️Mental health representation (depression, anxiety)
❤️Multi-cultural representation (Jewish, Filipino)
❤️Exploration of grief (Ellie is a 30-year old widow)
❤️THREE! grand gestures that don't feel forced or cheesy
❤️A good cast of minor characters (Ben, Jay, Nicole)
Why this book missed:
🌙Tried to be about too much and about too many people (see above) so some of the best aspects of the story were really abbreviated and felt thrown away by the end
🌙Word count crowded with detail that didn't have anything to do with the plot or explored by the characters (see above) to the point that it felt like the author was checking off a DEI list. (The author often gives just one piece of information about a character, and that piece of information is their minority group.)
🌙Plot was too shallow for the length of the book
🌙Nicole and Jay? What was the point of their subplot?
🌙Despite the time spent with them in the narrative, Kieran didn't get any closure with his family at all
🌙Third act break up that doesn't make as much sense as the author thinks it does
🌙The last chapter didn't feel true to the characters
The shining star of this book is Kieran. He isn't the traditional tall, dark, and handsome romance hero, and is secure in his ability to please women and take care of them. His vulnerabilities don't stop him from going after what he wants. He is just so good, and kind. One of the sweetest aspects of the story is his bond with Ben.
Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives, and I will be reading this author's next book.
Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel.
What this book did right:
❤️Kieran is a cinnamon roll chef who isn't emasculated by his feelings and is openly vulnerable.
❤️Did I mention he is a CHEF? Such sexy knife skills.
❤️Neurodiversity representation (dyslexia and ADHD)
❤️Sobriety representation (One of my favorite quotes from the book is: "Every day you've had since you got sober has been an act of optimism.")
❤️Body size diversity (Kieran is only 5'7" "on a good day"); Ellie is described as "endlessly curvy")
❤️Mental health representation (depression, anxiety)
❤️Multi-cultural representation (Jewish, Filipino)
❤️Exploration of grief (Ellie is a 30-year old widow)
❤️THREE! grand gestures that don't feel forced or cheesy
❤️A good cast of minor characters (Ben, Jay, Nicole)
Why this book missed:
🌙Tried to be about too much and about too many people (see above) so some of the best aspects of the story were really abbreviated and felt thrown away by the end
🌙Word count crowded with detail that didn't have anything to do with the plot or explored by the characters (see above) to the point that it felt like the author was checking off a DEI list. (The author often gives just one piece of information about a character, and that piece of information is their minority group.)
🌙Plot was too shallow for the length of the book
🌙Nicole and Jay? What was the point of their subplot?
🌙Despite the time spent with them in the narrative, Kieran didn't get any closure with his family at all
🌙Third act break up that doesn't make as much sense as the author thinks it does
🌙The last chapter didn't feel true to the characters
The shining star of this book is Kieran. He isn't the traditional tall, dark, and handsome romance hero, and is secure in his ability to please women and take care of them. His vulnerabilities don't stop him from going after what he wants. He is just so good, and kind. One of the sweetest aspects of the story is his bond with Ben.
Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives, and I will be reading this author's next book.
Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for providing me an audio galley of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Before I get into the production of this book, I want to talk about characters, plot, and pacing.
I need books that will make me connect with the characters. I want characters who are strong and reliable. Ellie was an interesting character to start off. A young widow who struggles to give the love to herself she deserves. Throughout the book, she shows how she chooses to care for others. Which is admirable. But I was so frustrated with her. She could not recognize people taking advantage of her, which drove me bonkers. Yes, I know this was part of her development, but she truly didn't see any of it until the very end. I didn't feel she developed and changed as she could and then the author chose for her to turn her whole way of looking at things around at the last minute. I wanted a strong character, someone who has gone through a tragedy and come out on the other side learning lessons. But she was just a wet rag that people were stepping all over. Kieran was fun and I really enjoyed his ADHD representation. Had I not been listening to the audio but reading the actual book, I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more. I like that he wasn't your usual sexy, tall, brooding male main character. He's short, and ginger, and has some mental health issues that are shown but not particularly developed. I did feel his anxiety throughout the book. But I would have liked to see more about his addiction issues and how they potentially interfered with his story line.
Pacing was pretty good in this book. I got through it rather quickly. There weren't really times when it was particularly slow. I do understand this was supposed to be part of the plot, the characters slowly getting to know each other and connecting, but it was more than their slow romance. It was just slow with not much going on underneath the surface to keep me particularly interested.
As for plot, I loved the idea of these two coming together to write a book and finding out each other along the way. It is billed as enemies to lovers, but I certainly do not get that. I get two people who now little about each other and who learn that through the story. What I didn't get was the chemistry between the characters. I just did not feel it. Not in the words the author used to convey how they were feeling about each other. The forced proximity trope brought them in close quarters, sure, but as for their attraction and it's development? Well, that was truly flat and I wasn't really rooting for them to be together. I didn't fee like I really cared if they were friends or romantically involved. Plus the sex scenes were super dry. I don't necessarily need spicy, but I do need to feel the attraction between the characters and it just did not strike me that these two were it for each other. Yes, it is supposed to be a "friends with benefits" situation to start, but it is also supposed to evolve away from that and I just didn't feel that there was more than sex between these two.
The cover of this one is quite beautiful. I really love the backdrop setting of the Golden Gate Bridge. At the same time, I don't see it matching any of the scenes in the book so I'm curious why this particular setting was chosen rather than one that would match what the characters were doing.
Now for the production. Unfortunately, I think the production of this book brought what would have been a solid 3 star book down to 2-2.5 stars for me. I did like the dual POV narration. That is something I always want to see in most romance books. And the female narrator, Kate Handford, drew me in. I would definitely try and find more books with her voice. But the male narrator, Hunter Johns, just did not fit the character for me. For a narration of a character with ADHD, his slow and measured candence just did not fit the character. Not to mention his long pauses while he was narrating scenes drove me insane. I had to speed the book up so I would not be taken out of the story. Plus there were a few areas in the book where the narration stalled and then skipped ahead. Finally, there were long pauses between the chapters I was concerned with. I kept thinking I turned the audio off.
All in all, I would not recommend or buy the audio version of this book. I could possibly see getting a Kindle or finished print version, but the audio really turned me off of the story. I do realize this author is a newer author with not much under her belt. Perhaps future books by her will be more fleshed out.
Before I get into the production of this book, I want to talk about characters, plot, and pacing.
I need books that will make me connect with the characters. I want characters who are strong and reliable. Ellie was an interesting character to start off. A young widow who struggles to give the love to herself she deserves. Throughout the book, she shows how she chooses to care for others. Which is admirable. But I was so frustrated with her. She could not recognize people taking advantage of her, which drove me bonkers. Yes, I know this was part of her development, but she truly didn't see any of it until the very end. I didn't feel she developed and changed as she could and then the author chose for her to turn her whole way of looking at things around at the last minute. I wanted a strong character, someone who has gone through a tragedy and come out on the other side learning lessons. But she was just a wet rag that people were stepping all over. Kieran was fun and I really enjoyed his ADHD representation. Had I not been listening to the audio but reading the actual book, I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more. I like that he wasn't your usual sexy, tall, brooding male main character. He's short, and ginger, and has some mental health issues that are shown but not particularly developed. I did feel his anxiety throughout the book. But I would have liked to see more about his addiction issues and how they potentially interfered with his story line.
Pacing was pretty good in this book. I got through it rather quickly. There weren't really times when it was particularly slow. I do understand this was supposed to be part of the plot, the characters slowly getting to know each other and connecting, but it was more than their slow romance. It was just slow with not much going on underneath the surface to keep me particularly interested.
As for plot, I loved the idea of these two coming together to write a book and finding out each other along the way. It is billed as enemies to lovers, but I certainly do not get that. I get two people who now little about each other and who learn that through the story. What I didn't get was the chemistry between the characters. I just did not feel it. Not in the words the author used to convey how they were feeling about each other. The forced proximity trope brought them in close quarters, sure, but as for their attraction and it's development? Well, that was truly flat and I wasn't really rooting for them to be together. I didn't fee like I really cared if they were friends or romantically involved. Plus the sex scenes were super dry. I don't necessarily need spicy, but I do need to feel the attraction between the characters and it just did not strike me that these two were it for each other. Yes, it is supposed to be a "friends with benefits" situation to start, but it is also supposed to evolve away from that and I just didn't feel that there was more than sex between these two.
The cover of this one is quite beautiful. I really love the backdrop setting of the Golden Gate Bridge. At the same time, I don't see it matching any of the scenes in the book so I'm curious why this particular setting was chosen rather than one that would match what the characters were doing.
Now for the production. Unfortunately, I think the production of this book brought what would have been a solid 3 star book down to 2-2.5 stars for me. I did like the dual POV narration. That is something I always want to see in most romance books. And the female narrator, Kate Handford, drew me in. I would definitely try and find more books with her voice. But the male narrator, Hunter Johns, just did not fit the character for me. For a narration of a character with ADHD, his slow and measured candence just did not fit the character. Not to mention his long pauses while he was narrating scenes drove me insane. I had to speed the book up so I would not be taken out of the story. Plus there were a few areas in the book where the narration stalled and then skipped ahead. Finally, there were long pauses between the chapters I was concerned with. I kept thinking I turned the audio off.
All in all, I would not recommend or buy the audio version of this book. I could possibly see getting a Kindle or finished print version, but the audio really turned me off of the story. I do realize this author is a newer author with not much under her belt. Perhaps future books by her will be more fleshed out.
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
slow-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
It''s really fun to read a well written food romance! This slow burn romance was pretty good and believable. It is important to note the FMC is a widow.
The back and forth between the main characters voices was smooth and I felt like added to the story. I'd recommend for a fun foodie read!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.
The back and forth between the main characters voices was smooth and I felt like added to the story. I'd recommend for a fun foodie read!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
I wanted a sweet, feel good romance and that is exactly what I got! I loved both Ellie and Kieran and just wanted the best for both of them. There were a lot of layers to the story, including how our parents affect us as adults and how difficult it can be to be true to ourselves. Highly recommended!
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
lighthearted