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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Overall, this was a cute story with good characters and a rather interesting plot! It’s a slower burn… if you didn’t gather that based on the title and the wait was worth it.
I liked that Ellie (the fmc) was plus size/curvy and that her weight wasn’t the ENTIRE plot of the book! Look it can be done :)
I also truly loved that Kieran was a smaller man!!! I love my tall male main characters, but he has a special place in my heart now.
I’m going back and forth between 3 and 4 stars because 3 feels too low for my enjoyment level of the book but 4 seems a smidge high considering the other books I’ve recently rated 4 stars. If I could I’d give this book 3.87 stars and I stand by that.
I read this in one sitting and was engaged the entire time. It was unique to me that Ellie at the point in the book had been widowed for 3ish years so her not being able to commit to a relationship didn’t feel super contingent on her moving on from the spouse she had. Which in a lot of books that feature this storyline, the entire premise is usually the lead working through moving on. That was just a small thing I enjoyed. Obviously we still see the grief (and poor treatment because of that) with other characters.
The fake dating/gf felt thrown in there but I guess for the sake of the story it had to be there? I wish since that was already in there maybe there had been other opportunities for them to fake date prior to the whole declaration of love and stuff.
Okay this is long and I feel like I have more to say but I’ll leave you with I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t my favorite but I did like it and am glad that I experienced their story! I received an arc via netgalley
I liked that Ellie (the fmc) was plus size/curvy and that her weight wasn’t the ENTIRE plot of the book! Look it can be done :)
I also truly loved that Kieran was a smaller man!!! I love my tall male main characters, but he has a special place in my heart now.
I’m going back and forth between 3 and 4 stars because 3 feels too low for my enjoyment level of the book but 4 seems a smidge high considering the other books I’ve recently rated 4 stars. If I could I’d give this book 3.87 stars and I stand by that.
I read this in one sitting and was engaged the entire time. It was unique to me that Ellie at the point in the book had been widowed for 3ish years so her not being able to commit to a relationship didn’t feel super contingent on her moving on from the spouse she had. Which in a lot of books that feature this storyline, the entire premise is usually the lead working through moving on. That was just a small thing I enjoyed. Obviously we still see the grief (and poor treatment because of that) with other characters.
The fake dating/gf felt thrown in there but I guess for the sake of the story it had to be there? I wish since that was already in there maybe there had been other opportunities for them to fake date prior to the whole declaration of love and stuff.
Okay this is long and I feel like I have more to say but I’ll leave you with I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t my favorite but I did like it and am glad that I experienced their story! I received an arc via netgalley
emotional
funny
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 was cute! As a native and current Bay Area resident, I loved the SF and East Bay representation! I loved Kieran and Ellie’s characters: very cute “opposites attract”, chef and cookbook writer, ADHD and type-A, great depth with their family backstories, and solid banter and chemistry. I also loved Ellie’s relationship with her father-in-law and the love he had for her.
I hesitate to call this a slow burn, I felt like there were other random tropes thrown in for the sake of tropes (namely the fake dating for one chapter) and Kieran’s sudden proposal of hooking up didn’t fit the slow burn bill. I would’ve liked to see more development for Ellie at facing the prospect of dating and having feelings for someone who was not her late husband, and not just worrying about the physicality of if she was still good at sex.
It wasn’t perfect, but overall I enjoyed this and thought it was a cute and easy read!
I hesitate to call this a slow burn, I felt like there were other random tropes thrown in for the sake of tropes (namely the fake dating for one chapter) and Kieran’s sudden proposal of hooking up didn’t fit the slow burn bill. I would’ve liked to see more development for Ellie at facing the prospect of dating and having feelings for someone who was not her late husband, and not just worrying about the physicality of if she was still good at sex.
It wasn’t perfect, but overall I enjoyed this and thought it was a cute and easy read!
Kieran is a chef who just won a cooking competition show, and now wants to write a cookbook. Ellie is a cookbook ghostwriter who is trying to figure out life as a widow while still living her in-laws. They don’t get along. Kieran is spontaneous and easily distracted. Ellie is organized and driven. Of course, they don’t start off liking each other, but because they have to work together they are sent off to a cabin by the publisher to learn to tolerate each other for the book. Like turns to lust and then to love as they both work through their pasts. This, yes slow burn, romance has all of the tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating, and workplace romance. The addition of the food, the backstory, the side characters, and both main characters’ perspectives make the overload of tropes bearable. There were a few seemingly extraneous moments, but they let readers really get to know the characters separately and together. The audiobook even had two narrators for each perspective. The narrator for Kieran was a little flat and didn’t give the characters discernible voices, but the narrator for Ellie made up for it. This book was a fun mix of food and romance that any romance reader will enjoy.
I voluntarily read and reviewed advanced audiobook and ebook copies of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I voluntarily read and reviewed advanced audiobook and ebook copies of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A very slow burn and some exquisite descriptions of the Bay Area, which was very fun.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
wow this had me hooked. I binge read this within 3 sittings because it was so good. adored the chef and cookbook ghost author plot sm. I love love loved the main characters personalities and self growth. the way kieran is so caring and thoughtful was heartwarming. i also appreciated how genuine this relationship was written without sugar coating anything and keeping in the realities of real life. overall gave it everything i was hoping for ❤️
medium-paced
This book was ruined by Kieran. I didn’t like him - he reminds me of Ariana’s cheater bf (who I can’t stand) and he acts like a child. He is not a likeable MMC in the slightest.
I thought that since Ellie was a widow and this book was supposed to be about her finding new love that she would be a bit more apprehensive about a new relationship but no. She fully just jumps into this new relationship which goes against everything we’re told about her as a person.
I thought that since Ellie was a widow and this book was supposed to be about her finding new love that she would be a bit more apprehensive about a new relationship but no. She fully just jumps into this new relationship which goes against everything we’re told about her as a person.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes