A review by rosgw
The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett

emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Enjoyed this one in general but was irked by the ending. The pacing of the reconciliation in the freezer toward the end felt a little swift (but I did like the walk in freezer as a device for private space). The epilogue felt like it jumped out from behind a bush and slapped the face. It also felt like some of the characters were left hanging - Jeremy? What happened to law school? Natalie? Did you fancy Sophie or what?

 That said, I really like Amy and Sophie. They felt actually real. Like people who want to fuck each other but who also annoy each other sometimes. Their shampoo did not. Why do their respective scents of peaches and lemons linger all day? There must be some industrial strength chemicals in that shampoo or they have fierce olfactory capacities. 

Some absolutely top notch sex, made better still because very often these two characters snipe at each other and irritate one another. It’s all roses (or peach or lemons) which felt quite a bit more realistic than some ff romance where they’re just perfect for each other all the time once they’ve gotten together