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modock's review
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming
Body shaming tag pertains to one scene in the car. It wasn’t major but felt unnecessary. It didn’t add to the plot but stuck with me as someone in a bigger body who always feels like they need to shrink to make others comfortablexojackiedaniels's review
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
**no spoilers**
I was obsessed with the Ukrainian Master Chef contest as a kid. So a book written from the POV of a contestant on a similar show was right up my alley.
I enjoyed the pace a lot, it was as fast and dramatic as these TV shows tend to be. However, there was a lot of "telling-not-showing" as a way to skip over the more repetitive/tedious aspects, which grinded my gears a bit. I also feel like some interesting parts were left out for the same reason. I wish we got to experience the contestants' confessionals, instead of simply hearing about them happening in between of major events.
The characters were sweet and loveable, the cast - diverse without tokenization. I liked that the main few were incredibly easy to relate to. Nevertheless, the character development felt pretty rushed :( Not sure if that is because of how rapidly the plot was progressing or due to poor writing...
Something I really disliked was how the main character used other people's bodies to characterize them. Whenever a person did something frustrating, she found a physical "ick" of theirs to focus on.
A former love interest is described as unattractive and having acne scars, but only AFTER we find out he did something really shitty. MC points out another contestants' belly and receding hairline after he says something mildly annoying. This happens on and on, where I felt like I'm supposed to dislike some of the characters purely because they are conventionally ugly and not because of their genuinely horrid actions. The focus was just off for me.
⭐3.75 for the unseriousness, DELICIOUS food descriptions, and the whole TV show setting. It is a very decent book, there were just a few personal icks I cannot get over. If you love food and wholesome romance, you'll love this.
P.S.: even though this is a new adult book, there is not a single sex scene present. Thought that some people could appreciate that!
I was obsessed with the Ukrainian Master Chef contest as a kid. So a book written from the POV of a contestant on a similar show was right up my alley.
I enjoyed the pace a lot, it was as fast and dramatic as these TV shows tend to be. However, there was a lot of "telling-not-showing" as a way to skip over the more repetitive/tedious aspects, which grinded my gears a bit. I also feel like some interesting parts were left out for the same reason. I wish we got to experience the contestants' confessionals, instead of simply hearing about them happening in between of major events.
The characters were sweet and loveable, the cast - diverse without tokenization. I liked that the main few were incredibly easy to relate to. Nevertheless, the character development felt pretty rushed :( Not sure if that is because of how rapidly the plot was progressing or due to poor writing...
Something I really disliked was how the main character used other people's bodies to characterize them. Whenever a person did something frustrating, she found a physical "ick" of theirs to focus on.
A former love interest is described as unattractive and having acne scars, but only AFTER we find out he did something really shitty. MC points out another contestants' belly and receding hairline after he says something mildly annoying. This happens on and on, where I felt like I'm supposed to dislike some of the characters purely because they are conventionally ugly and not because of their genuinely horrid actions. The focus was just off for me.
⭐3.75 for the unseriousness, DELICIOUS food descriptions, and the whole TV show setting. It is a very decent book, there were just a few personal icks I cannot get over. If you love food and wholesome romance, you'll love this.
P.S.: even though this is a new adult book, there is not a single sex scene present. Thought that some people could appreciate that!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Toxic relationship
Minor: Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Fatphobia
Warning for a revenge porn sub-plot.dearbookboyfriend's review against another edition
funny
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual harassment
blackveilbeccy's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This was okay, I liked the main character and the love interest but a lot of the ensemble cast weren’t my thing. There was too much political talk for what I thought was a lighthearted chef romance. My favourite part was the Jewish representation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content and Transphobia
meganpbennett's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
4.0
Sadie on a Plate is an interesting novel. Sadie - after a story recounted about three quarters through the book in detail - loses her job at a Seattle restaurant. Shortly thereafter, she's invited to take part in a televised chef competition. On the plane to New York, she meets handsome Luke, and they really hit it off. And the next morning she learns that he's a last minute fill-in judge for the show. Oops.
If you like cooking competition shows, give this book a read.
If you like cooking competition shows, give this book a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, and Panic attacks/disorders
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.0
It turns out that the niche subgenre I love most is "romcoms on the set of a reality cooking show" because it's fun for me every time. In this one, Sadie flees a bad work situation involving her boss and revenge pornography when the perfectly timed opportunity to compete on Chef Supreme comes knocking. She wants to seize the dream of having her own restaurant, and this may be the last avenue available to her for reaching it. Things go a bit sideways when she connects with a fellow chef on the flight to New York, only to have him materialize as a judge on the competition.
There were a lot of things I enjoyed in this book. Sadie is an imperfect and likable protagonist, unsure of herself but passionate about food. She has a humorous inner dialogue and amusingly personifies her anxiety in the form of her Jewish grandmother. There's great conversation about Establishment food and how marginalized cuisines like Jewish foods and Appalachian foods are unfairly viewed as not worthy of a fine dining experience. There's also a strong queer cast. Sadie is "not straight" but it comes up only in passing and doesn't have a material impact on the plot. There's a non-binary character and sapphic relationship among side characters, however. The story touches on how women are underrepresented and harassed in professional kitchens and the importance of using someone's correct pronouns. My favorite relationship is Sadie's realization that she has unnecessarily cast another woman as a frenemy in her head and coming to terms with the jealousy that planted the idea.
While billed as a romance, Sadie and Luke's love story is background at best. It's instalove followed by a forbidden love so forbidden that they mostly have nothing to do with each other throughout the book. It's pining central. A downside of single POV is that Luke is a bit one-note, his brief interactions with Sadie largely revolving around some daddy issues that are reasonable but not overly nuanced. Finally, one of the highlights of the story is Sadie's passion for Jewish diaspora foods and the detailed descriptions of her cooking adventures on the show (the attention to detail wow *literal chef's kiss*). Unfortunately, this strayed into a couple casual mentions of Israeli cuisine with no unpacking of colonialism and food appropriation that I think is necessary there. The repackaging of Palestinian and broader Levantine food traditions as Israeli is wildly problematic, and that sat with me throughout the whole book despite the briefness of the mentions on page.
There were a lot of things I enjoyed in this book. Sadie is an imperfect and likable protagonist, unsure of herself but passionate about food. She has a humorous inner dialogue and amusingly personifies her anxiety in the form of her Jewish grandmother. There's great conversation about Establishment food and how marginalized cuisines like Jewish foods and Appalachian foods are unfairly viewed as not worthy of a fine dining experience. There's also a strong queer cast. Sadie is "not straight" but it comes up only in passing and doesn't have a material impact on the plot. There's a non-binary character and sapphic relationship among side characters, however. The story touches on how women are underrepresented and harassed in professional kitchens and the importance of using someone's correct pronouns. My favorite relationship is Sadie's realization that she has unnecessarily cast another woman as a frenemy in her head and coming to terms with the jealousy that planted the idea.
While billed as a romance, Sadie and Luke's love story is background at best. It's instalove followed by a forbidden love so forbidden that they mostly have nothing to do with each other throughout the book. It's pining central. A downside of single POV is that Luke is a bit one-note, his brief interactions with Sadie largely revolving around some daddy issues that are reasonable but not overly nuanced. Finally, one of the highlights of the story is Sadie's passion for Jewish diaspora foods and the detailed descriptions of her cooking adventures on the show (the attention to detail wow *literal chef's kiss*). Unfortunately, this strayed into a couple casual mentions of Israeli cuisine with no unpacking of colonialism and food appropriation that I think is necessary there. The repackaging of Palestinian and broader Levantine food traditions as Israeli is wildly problematic, and that sat with me throughout the whole book despite the briefness of the mentions on page.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Sexual content
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