A review by sophieissapphhic
The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett

“Ever since I first watched her on the final episode of Pop-Up Kitchen, I’ve wanted to kiss Sophie Brunet.”

Content Warnings: Sexual Harassment (unsolicited explicit pictures, verbal harassment), death of a parent (cancer, off-page), biphobia, meal skipping (unintentional)

NOTE: My review is based on a PREVIEW of the first five chapters!

The micromanaging owner of a restaurant and her head chef try to save their struggling restaurant while resisting their attraction to each other in the process.
The thing I liked most about The Romance Recipe was how it was realistic. Amy and Sophie  were relatable. Similarly, the characters’ reactions and the circumstances they were placed in felt natural and true to life. Amy, the dedicated owner of Amy & May’s, is under a lot of stress to keep her business afloat, cope with her mother’s death, and navigate her relationships. Hiring Sophie, a former reality TV star, was supposed to help her restaurant gain exposure and bring in revenue. Unfortunately,  Sophie hates posting on social media and has been bringing in less and less patrons since she broke up with her ex-fiance. 
When Sophie came out to her ex-fiance as bisexual, he suggested that she keep it a secret. Crushed by the person she thought she could trust, she left him behind. In doing so, she cuts off the majority of her connections and loses fame. Being pressured to post consistently on social media stresses Sophie out and she’s been losing her passion for cooking ever since she turned it into a job. Sophie has no plans to return to the glaring public spotlight, but when a potential opportunity for Amy & May’s to go on a foodie TV show run by her ex-fiance arises, it may be the only solution to keep the restaurant open. 
Another thing the author does well is introducing background information about the characters seamlessly without interfering with the current narrative. This book is also full of awkward flirting (which I enjoyed).
Despite the characters feeling relatable, there wasn’t as much character development as I would have preferred. There’s definitely development later on in the book that I didn’t get to experience, but I’m not invested in the characters at the current point I’m at. Also, some of the physical descriptions of the characters weirded me out. They weren’t uncomfortable, per se, but the wording felt unnatural. However, I’m looking forward to seeing how the story plays out when it comes out in June 2022.

Rating: 3.5/5
Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin) for this preview!

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