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A review by nerdybookqueen
Celestial Banquet by Roselle Lim
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
I received a digital copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for feedback.
Cai, chef of the Peninsula, faces off against other skilled cooks, magical creatures, and cruel gods in a cooking battle to the death. The first chef to attend from her region in ages, she is belittled, doubted, and almost killed. The price- peaches of immortality that would set her up for life, and protect her region from impending conquerors.
I had so much fun with this book. It was pretty exciting, as our heroine faced trails to even get the ingredients, not to mention cooking with hazards, each round more difficult than the last. Kama, her sponsor deity, was great, I really enjoyed everything about him. And the twists and turns of the tale kept me locked in until the very end. There is no sequel listed that I can find yet, but I really hope for another one.
Cai is a great lead, I enjoyed watching her both cook and problem solve throughout the story, maintaining her strong morals in a way that was pretty amazing.
I thought the world was pretty interesting, the minor gods and the major ones all felt pretty unique and interesting, excluding the minor gods we don't really meet, but that's understandable. I enjoyed the different creatures they used for the meals, each a new test for them to solve.
The only mild grievance I had was the romantic subplot. It felt more intrusive than relevant, and I thought it was the weakest part. I would have enjoyed more on friendships with Kama or Tara over her trying to decide between Bo and Seon.
Cai, chef of the Peninsula, faces off against other skilled cooks, magical creatures, and cruel gods in a cooking battle to the death. The first chef to attend from her region in ages, she is belittled, doubted, and almost killed. The price- peaches of immortality that would set her up for life, and protect her region from impending conquerors.
I had so much fun with this book. It was pretty exciting, as our heroine faced trails to even get the ingredients, not to mention cooking with hazards, each round more difficult than the last. Kama, her sponsor deity, was great, I really enjoyed everything about him. And the twists and turns of the tale kept me locked in until the very end. There is no sequel listed that I can find yet, but I really hope for another one.
Cai is a great lead, I enjoyed watching her both cook and problem solve throughout the story, maintaining her strong morals in a way that was pretty amazing.
I thought the world was pretty interesting, the minor gods and the major ones all felt pretty unique and interesting, excluding the minor gods we don't really meet, but that's understandable. I enjoyed the different creatures they used for the meals, each a new test for them to solve.
The only mild grievance I had was the romantic subplot. It felt more intrusive than relevant, and I thought it was the weakest part. I would have enjoyed more on friendships with Kama or Tara over her trying to decide between Bo and Seon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism