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A review by marie_thereadingotter
For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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? Yes
3.25
I received this book from NetGalley for review.
This was a very enjoyable hate-to-love/fake dating romance. These are of my favorite tropes, and usually, they fall for each other too fast. But in this, it makes a lot more sense. They've been co-workers, and at each other's throats, for three years before everything falls apart and they are forced to spend time around each other outside work as well as fake dating, and really get to know each other. So while it's only a couple of months, it makes more sense.
This book has good rep for mental health in this book. Leo has anxiety and panic attacks, I felt it was handled in a healthy and believable way. His character is interesting, his family owns a chain of restaurants and is looked down on by his peers in the food industry. He is painted, by Nina, as this smarmy egotistical jerk. But I never really got that vibe from him. He just wants his family's business to be taken seriously by other restaurateurs. And had hoped the show would do that.
That is something that I hadn't really thought of. What really is the difference between him and Nina who also owns more than one of the same restaurant? Is it only because she was "trained", is it because her restaurants are state-local and not nationwide? She has some of her own issues that I don't think were addressed. She does have this snobbish pride about her that pegged Leo as somebody to not take seriously from the get-go. I think had she not assumed the worst about him, he wouldn't have tried to make her time on the show difficult. Granted, he did take things too far rather than behaving like an adult and talking to her when the cameras went off about her treating him like his opinion is less than hers because she was classically trained, and he was family taught.
The romance was fine. I just find it really hard to believe that they spent three years in front of the camera and never learned a thing about each other. They certainly had done interviews together or something. I did like that they didn't really come together as a couple until after they reconciled the animosity towards each other, and Leo apologized for his role in the online hate she received.
This is a personal pet peeve, and it's just something that takes me out of a story. I don't really like it when in the narrative real-world things are referenced. As I said, it takes me out of the world, even though this is "modern-day earth", the same things and people all aren't the same. It also can date the book. Using the names of the current popular social media and streaming platforms puts the book in a very particular era. An era that might not be relevant in 5-10 years.
This was a very enjoyable hate-to-love/fake dating romance. These are of my favorite tropes, and usually, they fall for each other too fast. But in this, it makes a lot more sense. They've been co-workers, and at each other's throats, for three years before everything falls apart and they are forced to spend time around each other outside work as well as fake dating, and really get to know each other. So while it's only a couple of months, it makes more sense.
This book has good rep for mental health in this book. Leo has anxiety and panic attacks, I felt it was handled in a healthy and believable way. His character is interesting, his family owns a chain of restaurants and is looked down on by his peers in the food industry. He is painted, by Nina, as this smarmy egotistical jerk. But I never really got that vibe from him. He just wants his family's business to be taken seriously by other restaurateurs. And had hoped the show would do that.
That is something that I hadn't really thought of. What really is the difference between him and Nina who also owns more than one of the same restaurant? Is it only because she was "trained", is it because her restaurants are state-local and not nationwide? She has some of her own issues that I don't think were addressed. She does have this snobbish pride about her that pegged Leo as somebody to not take seriously from the get-go. I think had she not assumed the worst about him, he wouldn't have tried to make her time on the show difficult. Granted, he did take things too far rather than behaving like an adult and talking to her when the cameras went off about her treating him like his opinion is less than hers because she was classically trained, and he was family taught.
The romance was fine. I just find it really hard to believe that they spent three years in front of the camera and never learned a thing about each other. They certainly had done interviews together or something. I did like that they didn't really come together as a couple until after they reconciled the animosity towards each other, and Leo apologized for his role in the online hate she received.
This is a personal pet peeve, and it's just something that takes me out of a story. I don't really like it when in the narrative real-world things are referenced. As I said, it takes me out of the world, even though this is "modern-day earth", the same things and people all aren't the same. It also can date the book. Using the names of the current popular social media and streaming platforms puts the book in a very particular era. An era that might not be relevant in 5-10 years.