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emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great descriptions of the food. Don’t read this when you are hungry!!
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This book was such a pleasure to read. Part romance, part foodie-heaven, and always full of friendship, the story was fun, captivating, occasionally tense. Ruthie Cohen, using an inheritance from her beloved Bubbe Bobby Grace, signs up for French Culinary School. While learning the ins and outs of French pastry and savory food , she falls in love with her kitchen partner. Chaos ensues when Ruthie discovers someone close to her has stolen the rest of her inheritance. Searching for a new opportunity gives Ruthie a chance to work hard and develop her own style of cooking and rediscover the true importance of her two best friends.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
fast-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
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ruthie has had enough.
Work wise, she isn't where she wanted to be; her data entry job isn't satisfactory enough. Love wise, she isn't any better either, still pining after a man she met on her holidays. But as fate would have it, she inherits a considerable sum from her favourite grandma, and so she decides to ditch her current job and pursue a career on what she does best: cooking.
The culinary school she enrolls to brings a new set of pleasures and challenges, and on top of it all, a new chance at love, in the face of her classmate Jeff. The tumultuous, whimsical adventures of Ruthie in food and in love are narrated to her friends and also jotted down in the young woman's diary. She goes through all sorts of challenges and red-flag situations, until she realises one very crucial thing: the only one responsible for her happiness is herself.
This book somehow reminds me of Bridget Jones Diaries. But make it a red flag EVERYWHERE. Ruthie is a rollercoaster of a character; at first, I smiled at her naiveté, and then, I realised she is also a glaring red flag (because no, Ruthie, you can't fix him, no one can). But the end of the story kinda redeemed Ruthie in my eyes. The descriptions of her shenanigans at culinary school was also lovely to read, to the point I did get a bit hungry. As for Jeff, I liked him when he was Ruthie's friend. (And don't get me started about Dean, UGH.) The only ones NOT a red flag (kinda?) were Lilly and Trish, Ruthie's best friends, who throughout the book maintained a beautiful friendship with her. That really was the book’s most pleasurable point, and it's worth a read just to see those three goofballs standing up for each other through heartbreaks and career changes.
All in all, it was okay. Makes for a light read, if you get past the sea of red flag characters.
I received this ARC from Netgalley and the opinion expressed is my own. My thanks to Netgalley, ECW Press and Amy Rosen for providing me with my copy.
Work wise, she isn't where she wanted to be; her data entry job isn't satisfactory enough. Love wise, she isn't any better either, still pining after a man she met on her holidays. But as fate would have it, she inherits a considerable sum from her favourite grandma, and so she decides to ditch her current job and pursue a career on what she does best: cooking.
The culinary school she enrolls to brings a new set of pleasures and challenges, and on top of it all, a new chance at love, in the face of her classmate Jeff. The tumultuous, whimsical adventures of Ruthie in food and in love are narrated to her friends and also jotted down in the young woman's diary. She goes through all sorts of challenges and red-flag situations, until she realises one very crucial thing: the only one responsible for her happiness is herself.
This book somehow reminds me of Bridget Jones Diaries. But make it a red flag EVERYWHERE. Ruthie is a rollercoaster of a character; at first, I smiled at her naiveté, and then, I realised she is also a glaring red flag (because no, Ruthie, you can't fix him, no one can). But the end of the story kinda redeemed Ruthie in my eyes. The descriptions of her shenanigans at culinary school was also lovely to read, to the point I did get a bit hungry. As for Jeff, I liked him when he was Ruthie's friend. (And don't get me started about Dean, UGH.) The only ones NOT a red flag (kinda?) were Lilly and Trish, Ruthie's best friends, who throughout the book maintained a beautiful friendship with her. That really was the book’s most pleasurable point, and it's worth a read just to see those three goofballs standing up for each other through heartbreaks and career changes.
All in all, it was okay. Makes for a light read, if you get past the sea of red flag characters.
I received this ARC from Netgalley and the opinion expressed is my own. My thanks to Netgalley, ECW Press and Amy Rosen for providing me with my copy.
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you ECW Press and Netgalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Twenty-something Ruthie receives an inheritance after the passing of her beloved Bubbe. She decides to use the money to quit her job and follow a lifelong dream to go back to school to become a chef studying French cuisine and pastry.
This book, written partially in a diary format, was funny, lighthearted, inspiring, infuriating, chaotic, and chock full of food, recipes, and technique.
Ruthie has two love interests during her year of learning and self-discovery, and neither of them are great choices. They do make for some juicy and fun diary entries.
The standouts and my favorite elements in this book are the unwavering friendship and support from her "Ride or Dies" Trish and Lilly, and the wealth of information about French cuisine. (Including a multitude of amazing recipes at the end of the book).
I did enjoy this book, but would have loved if the love interests had taken more of a back seat and it had focused on more of Ruthie's growth, the importance of friendship and the struggles of a female chef in a male dominated industry.
Overall, this was a delicious, easy, and lighthearted read.
Twenty-something Ruthie receives an inheritance after the passing of her beloved Bubbe. She decides to use the money to quit her job and follow a lifelong dream to go back to school to become a chef studying French cuisine and pastry.
This book, written partially in a diary format, was funny, lighthearted, inspiring, infuriating, chaotic, and chock full of food, recipes, and technique.
Ruthie has two love interests during her year of learning and self-discovery, and neither of them are great choices. They do make for some juicy and fun diary entries.
The standouts and my favorite elements in this book are the unwavering friendship and support from her "Ride or Dies" Trish and Lilly, and the wealth of information about French cuisine. (Including a multitude of amazing recipes at the end of the book).
I did enjoy this book, but would have loved if the love interests had taken more of a back seat and it had focused on more of Ruthie's growth, the importance of friendship and the struggles of a female chef in a male dominated industry.
Overall, this was a delicious, easy, and lighthearted read.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Off Menu by Amy Rosen is a lighthearted tale about Ruthie, a young woman who following an inheritance from her beloved Bubbe Bobby Grace, decides to follow her passion, give up her corporate job and embark on a career as a chef. She uses part of the inheritance to enrol in culinary school where she meets the charming Jake, an ex musician who is practically perfect in every way, if it wasn't for his model gorgeous girlfriend. To further complicate matters she is still holding a torch for Dean, the man she met while on holiday in Thailand with her best friends six months earlier.
Written as a series of diary entries we follow Ruthie on her journey to achieve her culinary dreams while juggling her complicated love life and making sure she is being a good friend too. This format actually worked quite well, it kept the story flowing while giving the reader a really good way of measuring how much time is passing, and making it feel like we get a really good insight into Ruthie's thought processes and emotional state, even if it did make her come across as pretty unlikeable at times. The author has done a wonderful job of making sure Ruthie has a very distinctive voice and it really helps to bring the character to life. I also thought that the way the author portrayed how complicated and messy relationships could be was very relatable but for me the romance plot was the weakest element of the book, I did not like either of the love interests, the friendship between Ruthie, Trish and Lilly was a far more interesting relationship. Food and food descriptions make up a huge chunk of this book, so be prepared to get hungry while reading, the good news is there are some recipes at the back of the book so you can cook along if you want to.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.
Written as a series of diary entries we follow Ruthie on her journey to achieve her culinary dreams while juggling her complicated love life and making sure she is being a good friend too. This format actually worked quite well, it kept the story flowing while giving the reader a really good way of measuring how much time is passing, and making it feel like we get a really good insight into Ruthie's thought processes and emotional state, even if it did make her come across as pretty unlikeable at times. The author has done a wonderful job of making sure Ruthie has a very distinctive voice and it really helps to bring the character to life. I also thought that the way the author portrayed how complicated and messy relationships could be was very relatable but for me the romance plot was the weakest element of the book, I did not like either of the love interests, the friendship between Ruthie, Trish and Lilly was a far more interesting relationship. Food and food descriptions make up a huge chunk of this book, so be prepared to get hungry while reading, the good news is there are some recipes at the back of the book so you can cook along if you want to.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Netgalley provided me an ARC for my review - thank you!
"Pastry is not for you. I have told you this many times before. It's your timing, your instincts, your sense of taste..."
You could say the same about our main characters love life - she has none of these things when it comes to men either.
I'm disappointed that this book could have been about a strong woman changing careers due to her late grandmother's inheritance and breaking into the male dominated industry of cooking. Instead this is mostly about her horrible taste in men, and her deciding between two mid guys (both of which are a bad choice).
I think the diary writing stunted this book and it could have been so much better. It made for an unreliable narrator - and also an insufferable one.
I think this either needed to be mostly about her cooking and her career or should have gone messier to how these men ruined her career and stole her talent and money. But it's just a story of a spoiled brat who got everything handed to her and kind of squandered it.
"Pastry is not for you. I have told you this many times before. It's your timing, your instincts, your sense of taste..."
You could say the same about our main characters love life - she has none of these things when it comes to men either.
I'm disappointed that this book could have been about a strong woman changing careers due to her late grandmother's inheritance and breaking into the male dominated industry of cooking. Instead this is mostly about her horrible taste in men, and her deciding between two mid guys (both of which are a bad choice).
I think the diary writing stunted this book and it could have been so much better. It made for an unreliable narrator - and also an insufferable one.
I think this either needed to be mostly about her cooking and her career or should have gone messier to how these men ruined her career and stole her talent and money. But it's just a story of a spoiled brat who got everything handed to her and kind of squandered it.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC
Off Menu is a generally delightful book that chronicles the main character Ruthie's journey through culinary school, serving feasts for the senses with detailed exploration into cooking techniques, history and food overall. As a food lover, this was a joy to read. Ruthie, on the other hand, has more ups and downs than she bargains for, with her entanglements with the already-coupled-up Jeff and old-ish vacation flame Dean. I love Ruthie's voice through her diary, and the book is downright hilarious at times. The relationships in the book can be messy and thorny, through I suppose that is also realistic. While it does end on a good note, I wish it didn't end so abruptly; there could easily have been more pages or even an extra chapter to cap things off.
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
A fast-paced and fabulously entertaining story of finding yourself through food.
While I found Ruthie frustrating at times, her journey through the grief of losing her beloved Bubbe and her finding independence through cooking was inspiring and thoroughly entertaining.
This book was funny, emotional, infuriating, hopeful, chaotic, and fabulous!
While I found Ruthie frustrating at times, her journey through the grief of losing her beloved Bubbe and her finding independence through cooking was inspiring and thoroughly entertaining.
This book was funny, emotional, infuriating, hopeful, chaotic, and fabulous!