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A review by khelb
Celestial Banquet by Roselle Lim
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eArc in exchange for an honest review.
What a high concept book! I am always interested in food writing, and after just having watched Culinary Class Wars (set in Korea, but did feature Chinese cooking), seeing the "Hunger Games meets Iron Chef" comparison was all I needed to hear to want to read this book. This will find many happy readers; I was not one of them. The prose was absolutely fine, but the plot construction and characterization were really lacking. An example: perhaps three quarters or more through the book, minor God Kama must select a member of his team to complete the next challenge. "Who will you pick?" someone asks. To which Kama responds, "I don't know, I need to know more about you all first." They are not just meeting each other; this team has already bonded over two previous challenges. This sentence felt forced and inorganic and the vulnerabilities shared as a result were not impactful for it. Similarly, there was no real chemistry or build up between the protagonist and either love interest. The reader is asked to simply accept the love triangle without creating any real tension to root for one party or the other. And the first kisses?? In 2025, I have a really hard time accepting those kisses. (Both basically occurring as trauma responses). I would recommend this for the right reader, but not as a general reading recommendation.
What a high concept book! I am always interested in food writing, and after just having watched Culinary Class Wars (set in Korea, but did feature Chinese cooking), seeing the "Hunger Games meets Iron Chef" comparison was all I needed to hear to want to read this book. This will find many happy readers; I was not one of them. The prose was absolutely fine, but the plot construction and characterization were really lacking. An example: perhaps three quarters or more through the book, minor God Kama must select a member of his team to complete the next challenge. "Who will you pick?" someone asks. To which Kama responds, "I don't know, I need to know more about you all first." They are not just meeting each other; this team has already bonded over two previous challenges. This sentence felt forced and inorganic and the vulnerabilities shared as a result were not impactful for it. Similarly, there was no real chemistry or build up between the protagonist and either love interest. The reader is asked to simply accept the love triangle without creating any real tension to root for one party or the other. And the first kisses?? In 2025, I have a really hard time accepting those kisses. (Both basically occurring as trauma responses). I would recommend this for the right reader, but not as a general reading recommendation.