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The Hollywood Series #1
For Butter or Worse
A FEMINIST BOOK CLUB CHOICE AWARD WINNER!
They go together like water and oil…
All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she's had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene.
Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.
Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It's part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.
To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.
Now all they have to do is play along, without killing each other...and without catching feelings. Easy as artisanal shepherd's pie. Right?
Don't miss Erin La Rosa's next charming rom-com, PLOT TWIST, where a romance author who has never been in love searches for inspiration in a friends-with-benefits situation with her reclusive landlord...who just happens to be a former teen heartthrob.
They go together like water and oil…
All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she's had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene.
Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.
Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It's part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.
To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.
Now all they have to do is play along, without killing each other...and without catching feelings. Easy as artisanal shepherd's pie. Right?
Don't miss Erin La Rosa's next charming rom-com, PLOT TWIST, where a romance author who has never been in love searches for inspiration in a friends-with-benefits situation with her reclusive landlord...who just happens to be a former teen heartthrob.
11 pages, Audible Audio
First published July 26, 2022
352 people are currently reading
28183 people want to read
About the author
Erin La Rosa
7 books621 followersERIN LA ROSA is the author of Plot Twist and For Butter or Worse, and on her way to writing romance, she’s also published two humorous nonfiction books, Womanskills and The Big Redhead Book. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and four daughters (two humans, two felines). Find her on Twitter and Instagram @erinlarosalit and on TikTok @erinlarosawrites.
Be sure to follow Erin on BookBub for the latest sales as well https://www.bookbub.com/authors/erin-...
Be sure to follow Erin on BookBub for the latest sales as well https://www.bookbub.com/authors/erin-...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,541 reviews
May 22, 2023
This is one of the greatest execution of my favorite trope: enemies to lovers!
Nina and Leo were combustible! They put each chapter into flames with their palpable, hot chemistry!
Their smart banters made me laugh!
The google searches and twitter feeds of them are the funniest and most entertaining parts of the book! So quick witted and laugh out loud!
Both Nina and Leo are the judges of competitive reality TV series “The Next Cooking Champ”!
Nina accepts to be on TV for making a name for herself at the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens. She is already known her trademark restaurant chains ( unfortunately two of them were close and only LA branch in Silverlake is still standing) “Lyons” !
But her quick decision to be on show resulted with tarnishing her reputation: thanks to her super handsome/ people pleaser and also real jerk co-host Leonardo O’Donnell ( yummy combination of Irish father, Italian mom) reminded of her trolls her nickname: “Nasty Nina”
When they shot their live show, hearing the same name from Leo clicked something inside her which ended she notified the viewers: she was leaving the show, dropping the mic!
Leo’s efforts to convince her to come back resulted with both of them are tangled on the ground and a paparazzi shoots their photo, asking if they are kissing!
Well, Nina is adamant not to return the shoe even though producers accept Leo and her as a package deal which means Leo is out of job without her! But her dearest publicist Tom comes with an idea: they will fake date and heal their tarnished reputations. They can say no to additional customers to their restaurants which deal with financial struggles.
As Nina does everything not to close Lyons which is last restaurant standing of the chains, Leo deals with anxiety issues, working too hard to keep his Italian family restaurant above the water!
Could two enemies survive a few arranged dates to heal their reputation and save their jobs without ripping each other’s head off?
Well, this was absolutely fun read! At the last quarter: Nina pissed me off a lot as Leo grew on me. I was having issues with his sexist comments at the beginning but the guy was so sweet and earned so many brownie points to deserve a great place among best book- boyfriends!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
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Nina and Leo were combustible! They put each chapter into flames with their palpable, hot chemistry!
Their smart banters made me laugh!
The google searches and twitter feeds of them are the funniest and most entertaining parts of the book! So quick witted and laugh out loud!
Both Nina and Leo are the judges of competitive reality TV series “The Next Cooking Champ”!
Nina accepts to be on TV for making a name for herself at the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens. She is already known her trademark restaurant chains ( unfortunately two of them were close and only LA branch in Silverlake is still standing) “Lyons” !
But her quick decision to be on show resulted with tarnishing her reputation: thanks to her super handsome/ people pleaser and also real jerk co-host Leonardo O’Donnell ( yummy combination of Irish father, Italian mom) reminded of her trolls her nickname: “Nasty Nina”
When they shot their live show, hearing the same name from Leo clicked something inside her which ended she notified the viewers: she was leaving the show, dropping the mic!
Leo’s efforts to convince her to come back resulted with both of them are tangled on the ground and a paparazzi shoots their photo, asking if they are kissing!
Well, Nina is adamant not to return the shoe even though producers accept Leo and her as a package deal which means Leo is out of job without her! But her dearest publicist Tom comes with an idea: they will fake date and heal their tarnished reputations. They can say no to additional customers to their restaurants which deal with financial struggles.
As Nina does everything not to close Lyons which is last restaurant standing of the chains, Leo deals with anxiety issues, working too hard to keep his Italian family restaurant above the water!
Could two enemies survive a few arranged dates to heal their reputation and save their jobs without ripping each other’s head off?
Well, this was absolutely fun read! At the last quarter: Nina pissed me off a lot as Leo grew on me. I was having issues with his sexist comments at the beginning but the guy was so sweet and earned so many brownie points to deserve a great place among best book- boyfriends!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
medium.com
July 21, 2025
This isn't really enjoyable. I was hoping for a fluttering romance but the writing definitely made it up.
Further RTC
Further RTC
July 27, 2022
5 Stars
ARC Provided by Harlequin Trade Publishing (HQN) and NG.
Cinnamon and Espresso—a mouthwatering combination, and the best way to describe the dynamic and addictive relationship that is Nina Lyon & Leo O'Donnell. Workplace enemies turned lovers through fake dating in a world surrounded by food, For Butter or Worse is an unputdownable novel.
Oh my, do I love these two. They made me laugh, blush, squirm in delightful moments, and recoil in the difficult.
Nina is a self-built chef, and co-host of a foodie competition & reality TV series, "The Next Cooking Champ"! Leo claimed his co-hosting spot through the running of his inherited family-owned chain of Italian restaurants. Having worked on the show together for three years, they never let up on the digs at each other. Nina having despised Leo's comedic relief next to her hard critiques, and Leo always feeling the need to one-up Nina to ensure he rightfully deserved his co-hosting spot beside her. Their clashing on-air personalities caused turmoil between these two as well as the fans tuning in to watch the show. Sexism and mental health play a huge part in the downfall and ultimate end of their roles as co-hosts. With both their once-thriving businesses now in trouble and reputations on the line—they attempt to put trust in each other through a fake dating scheme in the hopes it will help one another's livelihoods, but find that maybe their sworn enemy wasn't so bad after all.
ARC Provided by Harlequin Trade Publishing (HQN) and NG.
Cinnamon and Espresso—a mouthwatering combination, and the best way to describe the dynamic and addictive relationship that is Nina Lyon & Leo O'Donnell. Workplace enemies turned lovers through fake dating in a world surrounded by food, For Butter or Worse is an unputdownable novel.
Oh my, do I love these two. They made me laugh, blush, squirm in delightful moments, and recoil in the difficult.
Nina is a self-built chef, and co-host of a foodie competition & reality TV series, "The Next Cooking Champ"! Leo claimed his co-hosting spot through the running of his inherited family-owned chain of Italian restaurants. Having worked on the show together for three years, they never let up on the digs at each other. Nina having despised Leo's comedic relief next to her hard critiques, and Leo always feeling the need to one-up Nina to ensure he rightfully deserved his co-hosting spot beside her. Their clashing on-air personalities caused turmoil between these two as well as the fans tuning in to watch the show. Sexism and mental health play a huge part in the downfall and ultimate end of their roles as co-hosts. With both their once-thriving businesses now in trouble and reputations on the line—they attempt to put trust in each other through a fake dating scheme in the hopes it will help one another's livelihoods, but find that maybe their sworn enemy wasn't so bad after all.
May 6, 2024
**3.5-stars**
Nina Lyon has worked hard to make a name for herself as a chef. When she decided to host a culinary reality television show, some people felt she was selling out, but Nina chose to take the risk anyway.
Nina views the show, The Next Cooking Champ!, as a great way to secure her name, brand and the success of her restaurant.
Her co-host, Leo O’Donnell, is a thorn in her side however, the only real downside to the show. Dealing with him every day; good grief.
Leo doesn't mean to drive Nina nuts. He's not like aiming to tick her off or anything, it just happens. The stress of filming gets to him and he seems to direct that towards her. Whoops.
When Leo takes a joke a smidge too far, Nina quits the show, live on air.
Later when Leo and Nina get caught in what appears to be a compromising position by paparazzi, the fans go absolutely nuts. Has there been a secret relationship unfolding when the cameras are off?
Well no, but it would certainly help both of their careers if that were true. Thus, their agents arrange a fake dating relationship in the hopes of salvaging these two celebrity chefs' reputations.
For Butter or Worse is a cute and satisfying enemies-to-lovers meets faking-dating story. I enjoyed my time reading this and loved the idea of two celebrity chefs having a bit of a romance.
I wish that they would have spent more time actually involved in the reality cooking show though. That's sort of what sold me on this, so I was a little disappointed it wasn't more of a setting for the actual story.
With this being said, it was still enjoyable reading about two chefs as main characters. They come from different worlds in the culinary business and I liked reading about their challenges within their careers.
I also always enjoy an enemies-to-lovers trope and this one was well-done. I will say, I personally prefer when the banter has a bit more wit and humor, but it could be that this just wasn't fit to my sense of humor. I definitely enjoyed it, but I wasn't giggling along as Nina and Leo were exchanging barbs.
The sex scenes in this were great. I will say I enjoyed the level of steam La Rosa brought to the page here. There was just enough to keep me fanning myself, without crossing into eye-roll territory.
I also liked the sweet scenes a lot. The scenes were Nina and Leo really started to connect. While there was miscommunication, of course, it never got overplayed or annoying for me. I think the tension was well-built and resolved, so great job by the author on that.
Overall, I enjoyed this. It is a good, fun story, with believable characters and an interesting set-up. I would recommend this to fans of Jasmine Guillory ((me)), or Alisha Rai's Modern Love series ((also, me)).
I am definitely looking forward to picking-up more from this author. I think she really did a lot of things well here and I look forward to following her skills grow with future work.
Thank you so much to the publisher, HQN, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
This is a fun book and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. It made me hungry...for delicious food and for more steamy romance!
Nina Lyon has worked hard to make a name for herself as a chef. When she decided to host a culinary reality television show, some people felt she was selling out, but Nina chose to take the risk anyway.
Nina views the show, The Next Cooking Champ!, as a great way to secure her name, brand and the success of her restaurant.
Her co-host, Leo O’Donnell, is a thorn in her side however, the only real downside to the show. Dealing with him every day; good grief.
Leo doesn't mean to drive Nina nuts. He's not like aiming to tick her off or anything, it just happens. The stress of filming gets to him and he seems to direct that towards her. Whoops.
When Leo takes a joke a smidge too far, Nina quits the show, live on air.
Later when Leo and Nina get caught in what appears to be a compromising position by paparazzi, the fans go absolutely nuts. Has there been a secret relationship unfolding when the cameras are off?
Well no, but it would certainly help both of their careers if that were true. Thus, their agents arrange a fake dating relationship in the hopes of salvaging these two celebrity chefs' reputations.
For Butter or Worse is a cute and satisfying enemies-to-lovers meets faking-dating story. I enjoyed my time reading this and loved the idea of two celebrity chefs having a bit of a romance.
I wish that they would have spent more time actually involved in the reality cooking show though. That's sort of what sold me on this, so I was a little disappointed it wasn't more of a setting for the actual story.
With this being said, it was still enjoyable reading about two chefs as main characters. They come from different worlds in the culinary business and I liked reading about their challenges within their careers.
I also always enjoy an enemies-to-lovers trope and this one was well-done. I will say, I personally prefer when the banter has a bit more wit and humor, but it could be that this just wasn't fit to my sense of humor. I definitely enjoyed it, but I wasn't giggling along as Nina and Leo were exchanging barbs.
The sex scenes in this were great. I will say I enjoyed the level of steam La Rosa brought to the page here. There was just enough to keep me fanning myself, without crossing into eye-roll territory.
I also liked the sweet scenes a lot. The scenes were Nina and Leo really started to connect. While there was miscommunication, of course, it never got overplayed or annoying for me. I think the tension was well-built and resolved, so great job by the author on that.
Overall, I enjoyed this. It is a good, fun story, with believable characters and an interesting set-up. I would recommend this to fans of Jasmine Guillory ((me)), or Alisha Rai's Modern Love series ((also, me)).
I am definitely looking forward to picking-up more from this author. I think she really did a lot of things well here and I look forward to following her skills grow with future work.
Thank you so much to the publisher, HQN, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
This is a fun book and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. It made me hungry...for delicious food and for more steamy romance!
September 2, 2022
Couldn’t connect with the characters, but I was still satisfied enough to not feel like I wasted my time. I really disliked Leo and did not get enough justifications as to why I should actually like him. Still enjoyed the banter and those hot scenes. The author uses Nina to illustrate sexism in the food industry and exposing shit like this is one of my favorite parts of reading.
August 30, 2022
“I’m not going anywhere ever again, unless it’s with you.”
4.5 stars! This book was a fun and heartwarming rom-com about love, second chances, mental health, grief, and learning to love again. Nina Lyon is a chef and a cohost of a cooking reality TV show who wants to inspire girls to be passionate about food. Leo O'Donnell is the owner of his dad's restaurant and cohost with Nina. Leo doesn't mean to get Nina mad, but he deals with anxiety and being on TV makes him nervous. Nina quits the show on live TV when Leo takes one joke too far. When Leo and Nina are photographed in a situation that looks like they are together, they decide to fake date each other to help their careers without developing feelings for each other. Will it work or not?
This book was SO good!! This book is told from Nina and Leo's perspective. The plot was interesting and the pacing was well done. The book was very well written and I loved the witty humor. The characters were so relatable and complex. I love Nina, she is strong, hardworking, ambitious, independent and sweet and caring once you see past her tough exterior. I love Leo so much, he is sweet, funny, charming, and extremely handsome. I loved seeing Nina and Leo evolve and grow throughout the book. I loved the side characters as well especially Sophie, Gavin and Jasmine. Sophie, Nina's sister is kind, helpful, optimistic and a romantic. I love Nina and Leo's relationship and I loved their banter. The sexual tension and enemies-to-lovers romance was amazing! I really appreciate how the author discussed and represented anxiety and mental health. I have family members who deal with anxiety and I'm glad that the author showed that anxiety is something people deal with daily and it takes work to feel better. The descriptions of food made me so hungry! I'm glad that the book ended on a happy note! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic comedies, enemies-to-lovers romance, slow-burn romance and great characters.
Thank you @Rachael for the recommendation!
4.5 stars! This book was a fun and heartwarming rom-com about love, second chances, mental health, grief, and learning to love again. Nina Lyon is a chef and a cohost of a cooking reality TV show who wants to inspire girls to be passionate about food. Leo O'Donnell is the owner of his dad's restaurant and cohost with Nina. Leo doesn't mean to get Nina mad, but he deals with anxiety and being on TV makes him nervous. Nina quits the show on live TV when Leo takes one joke too far. When Leo and Nina are photographed in a situation that looks like they are together, they decide to fake date each other to help their careers without developing feelings for each other. Will it work or not?
This book was SO good!! This book is told from Nina and Leo's perspective. The plot was interesting and the pacing was well done. The book was very well written and I loved the witty humor. The characters were so relatable and complex. I love Nina, she is strong, hardworking, ambitious, independent and sweet and caring once you see past her tough exterior. I love Leo so much, he is sweet, funny, charming, and extremely handsome. I loved seeing Nina and Leo evolve and grow throughout the book. I loved the side characters as well especially Sophie, Gavin and Jasmine. Sophie, Nina's sister is kind, helpful, optimistic and a romantic. I love Nina and Leo's relationship and I loved their banter. The sexual tension and enemies-to-lovers romance was amazing! I really appreciate how the author discussed and represented anxiety and mental health. I have family members who deal with anxiety and I'm glad that the author showed that anxiety is something people deal with daily and it takes work to feel better. The descriptions of food made me so hungry! I'm glad that the book ended on a happy note! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic comedies, enemies-to-lovers romance, slow-burn romance and great characters.
Thank you @Rachael for the recommendation!
December 27, 2022
"I'm not going anywhere ever again, unless it's with you."
It's no secret that my new favorite genre has recently changed from romantasy to books Cara and Iqra adored.
I swear these two have the power of making me want to read every book they review positively.
When I saw their reviews for this one, for example, I had to have it. And start immediately.
And, quelle surprise!, I really liked this one, as well.
My bank account says stop, but my heart says thanks, guys heart emoji.
For Butter or Worse was enjoyable for many reasons.
Put together cooking, food talks, an adorable Italian mom, a brother with an incredible sense of humor, a bestie and a sister to die for, a badass woman and a man who's basically a sexy golden retriever, the cutest romance (say hello, fake dating trope) and you can't go wrong.
I don't know about you guys, but I'm a goner for this kind of content, especially when it's as well done as this one.
I also really appreciate the fact that both main characters are (according to the author) older than me, and I related to them in a very deep way.
I saw myself in both of them, and thought it was adorable that both Nina and Leo are, despite their personal issues, not the unrealistically mature and serious kind of adults.
It's like authors sometimes believe people turn 30 and their soul dies.
Plotwise, this is easy to read, fresh and funny.
The only thing that I didn't really like was the ex storyline, but it was filled with so many good moments I almost didn't care.
I absolutely adored Leo. He's a mama's boy and a dork, but he definitely has an unfairly huge amount of charm to share.
I wasn't unaffected, in case you didn't notice, and while I claim to like my boys dark and damaged and broody, I know I'll eventually fall for the goofy one, and Leo is just my type.
And speaking of type.
Nina could step on me anytime.
She's everything I want to be in life and a woman after my own heart. I'd cook for her everyday.
Do I think it's weird that I'm in love with a character that reminds me of myself? I do, but then I remember I'm a Leo and I'm like eh, could be worse.
When it comes to rom-coms, I eventually reach a point where I'm inevitably bored.
Glad to say it never once happened with this one.
Pardon the food pun, but I totally devoured it.
February 12, 2023
3.75⭐
I am a big fan of butter and cooking competitions, so I just had to read this one.
Featuring ~ dual 3rd person POV, debut, celebrity, fake dating, slow burn, enemies to lovers, steamage
Nina and Leo both need the positive attention that dating each other would bring for their careers. Nina is discriminated against and receives a bunch of negative feedback on social media. Leo suffers from anxiety, which I found well written. It was fun reading their banter and their growth as individuals and as a couple.
Overall, a solid debut. I'd be delighted to read more from this author.
I was able to listen to a final copy that was narrated by Mela Lee for 10 hours and 20 minutes, easy to listen to at 2.5x. She did a lovely job, but I do wish there was a male narrator for Leo's POV.
*Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Erin La Rosa and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Follow me here ➡ Blog ~ Facebook
I am a big fan of butter and cooking competitions, so I just had to read this one.
Featuring ~ dual 3rd person POV, debut, celebrity, fake dating, slow burn, enemies to lovers, steamage
Nina and Leo both need the positive attention that dating each other would bring for their careers. Nina is discriminated against and receives a bunch of negative feedback on social media. Leo suffers from anxiety, which I found well written. It was fun reading their banter and their growth as individuals and as a couple.
Overall, a solid debut. I'd be delighted to read more from this author.
I was able to listen to a final copy that was narrated by Mela Lee for 10 hours and 20 minutes, easy to listen to at 2.5x. She did a lovely job, but I do wish there was a male narrator for Leo's POV.
*Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Erin La Rosa and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Follow me here ➡ Blog ~ Facebook
September 13, 2022
I love a good Belgian waffle, and on that waffle, I want to see the butter. Just a tiny bit of syrup, but visual butter. I love butter. 😂 For Butter or Worse is such a good title for this foodie rom com and Erin La Rosa’s fiction debut.
Nina is a trained chef trying hard to climb the culinary ladder in a male-dominated field. She’s currently a co-host of the reality show, The Next Cooking Champ. This may be her ticket to recognition. Leo, a restaurateur, is in her orbit on the show, and he’s always joking with Nina, which she doesn’t appreciate. This last joke makes her quit the show. The paparazzi catch them in what looks like a “secret romance,” and this may be what’s best for their careers to get a media boost, so they play the role. Their feelings come next, though.
The story is centered on fake dating and enemies to lovers tropes, which I enjoyed, as well as both Nina and Leo and their chemistry and banter. I also appreciated how anxiety was addressed. A steamy, entertaining love story!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Nina is a trained chef trying hard to climb the culinary ladder in a male-dominated field. She’s currently a co-host of the reality show, The Next Cooking Champ. This may be her ticket to recognition. Leo, a restaurateur, is in her orbit on the show, and he’s always joking with Nina, which she doesn’t appreciate. This last joke makes her quit the show. The paparazzi catch them in what looks like a “secret romance,” and this may be what’s best for their careers to get a media boost, so they play the role. Their feelings come next, though.
The story is centered on fake dating and enemies to lovers tropes, which I enjoyed, as well as both Nina and Leo and their chemistry and banter. I also appreciated how anxiety was addressed. A steamy, entertaining love story!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
June 28, 2024
Stop it. This book was adorableeee!
The writing was so fucking descriptive.
Me, sat on my bed, SALIVATING because I’m reading about all the colourful food they get to eat in there.
Every time I finished a chapter, I’d feel like I was STARVING and as though I’d never had a decent meal in my life 😂.
Leo was the sweetest when you get to his povs. He’s the guy you can rely on. The guy that makes you feel safe and cherished. AND he loves romcoms!
A GUY WHO LOVES TO WATCH ROM-COMS!! Where do I need to sign?
Honestly, his problems were so easy to empathise with and relate to. It never felt like he was this 2D caricature but more like he had an actual personality.
His dad jokes were HILARIOUS and I’ve giggled once or twice—I’m lying, it was every single time—over them 🤭.
Nina was definitely a force of her own. I loved her determination at the start but I didn’t like the fact that she kept blaming him for every little disaster. I mean she was right, most of the time but there were places where I was like?? What was the need?
She eventually grew on me and I loved that she didn’t hesitate to stick it to whoever fucked with her.
Their banter was a yes from me! I would burst out laughing in the middle of the night without care because this book did that to me.
That epilogue? Adorable
I appreciated the light the author brought on issues of sexism and disparaging comments that can potentially destroy someone’s mental health.
This book was heavier than I expected so you should go in with that in mind.
PLEASE READ THE TWs!
Thank you so much @Cara for buddy reading this with me! I love you for screaming with me about Leo and his gooey heart!! I’m so glad I got to share this experience with you <33
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
I LOVED her friends.
Also, her sister is the best! She needs her own book.
Leo’s brother made me smile every time he was in a chapter. I loved the support he offered Leo!
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
“My voice is preferable to the screeching banshee noise that comes out whenever you open your mouth.”
“I use a pitch only dogs can hear, so no surprise that includes you.”
“He shouldn’t have done the tapping thing. He knew it annoyed her. He just couldn’t help himself.”
~This is me with my sister 😂
“I did hate you.”
“But you grew on me, like a barnacle. Or a zit. Or...”
“Or a pair of devil horns?”
“I’m not going anywhere ever again, unless it’s with you”
~💕💗🦋💘💗
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀:
Ten trends to seduce your best friend - Penny Reid
The writing was so fucking descriptive.
Me, sat on my bed, SALIVATING because I’m reading about all the colourful food they get to eat in there.
Every time I finished a chapter, I’d feel like I was STARVING and as though I’d never had a decent meal in my life 😂.
Leo was the sweetest when you get to his povs. He’s the guy you can rely on. The guy that makes you feel safe and cherished. AND he loves romcoms!
A GUY WHO LOVES TO WATCH ROM-COMS!! Where do I need to sign?
Honestly, his problems were so easy to empathise with and relate to. It never felt like he was this 2D caricature but more like he had an actual personality.
His dad jokes were HILARIOUS and I’ve giggled once or twice—I’m lying, it was every single time—over them 🤭.
Nina was definitely a force of her own. I loved her determination at the start but I didn’t like the fact that she kept blaming him for every little disaster. I mean she was right, most of the time but there were places where I was like?? What was the need?
She eventually grew on me and I loved that she didn’t hesitate to stick it to whoever fucked with her.
Their banter was a yes from me! I would burst out laughing in the middle of the night without care because this book did that to me.
That epilogue? Adorable
I appreciated the light the author brought on issues of sexism and disparaging comments that can potentially destroy someone’s mental health.
This book was heavier than I expected so you should go in with that in mind.
PLEASE READ THE TWs!
Thank you so much @Cara for buddy reading this with me! I love you for screaming with me about Leo and his gooey heart!! I’m so glad I got to share this experience with you <33
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
I LOVED her friends.
Also, her sister is the best! She needs her own book.
Leo’s brother made me smile every time he was in a chapter. I loved the support he offered Leo!
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
“My voice is preferable to the screeching banshee noise that comes out whenever you open your mouth.”
“I use a pitch only dogs can hear, so no surprise that includes you.”
“He shouldn’t have done the tapping thing. He knew it annoyed her. He just couldn’t help himself.”
~This is me with my sister 😂
“I did hate you.”
“But you grew on me, like a barnacle. Or a zit. Or...”
“Or a pair of devil horns?”
“I’m not going anywhere ever again, unless it’s with you”
~💕💗🦋💘💗
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀:
Ten trends to seduce your best friend - Penny Reid
October 7, 2022
For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa is a rom-com novel that mixes in two romance tropes. The story is an enemies to lovers romance that brings those enemies closer together as they find they need to fake date one another. It’s also one that changes the point of view giving both sides of the story.
Nina Lyon is a chef that found herself rising to fame when she began hosting the television show, The Next Cooking Champ! Nina’s time on the show hasn’t been easy though being paired with Leo O’Donnell hosting so Nina has made the huge decision to pull out of the show.
After wrapping up her time with Leo though Nina finds that the public isn’t exactly on her side and Nina isn’t sure what to do. However, when Nina runs into Leo and the two end up photographed in what appeared to be a compromising position it becomes apparent the public would love to see the together and a little pretending may help both of their careers.
I have to say I really wondered if I would like For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa but the fake dating side is one of my favorites so I took the chance despite not being a huge fan of enemies to lovers. When finished with For Butter or Worse I was really glad I did pick it up as it was a really fun read that did have me laughing but also got me to root for our enemies too. Along with having some laughs this one also had a deeper side to it that also made the pages turn and all sides to the story wrapped up together nicely making me add this author to my list to read again someday.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Nina Lyon is a chef that found herself rising to fame when she began hosting the television show, The Next Cooking Champ! Nina’s time on the show hasn’t been easy though being paired with Leo O’Donnell hosting so Nina has made the huge decision to pull out of the show.
After wrapping up her time with Leo though Nina finds that the public isn’t exactly on her side and Nina isn’t sure what to do. However, when Nina runs into Leo and the two end up photographed in what appeared to be a compromising position it becomes apparent the public would love to see the together and a little pretending may help both of their careers.
I have to say I really wondered if I would like For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa but the fake dating side is one of my favorites so I took the chance despite not being a huge fan of enemies to lovers. When finished with For Butter or Worse I was really glad I did pick it up as it was a really fun read that did have me laughing but also got me to root for our enemies too. Along with having some laughs this one also had a deeper side to it that also made the pages turn and all sides to the story wrapped up together nicely making me add this author to my list to read again someday.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
March 11, 2022
I feel like people who enjoy and love Lucy Parker books, you're going to love For Butter or Worse. It has that same vibe, plus it features the foodie world. We have enemies who have been at each other's throat now having to fake date in order to help their businesses or make their reputations better. It was so fun and I highkey enjoyed it a lot. Erin La Rosa is definitely an author I will continue to read when future books come out.
Nina and Leo have been co-hosts of this reality-TV competition show. They appear friendly before the cameras, but off-camera they hate each other with a passion. If you've wanted a true enemies to lovers, say less... this book has it. THEY TRULY DISLIKE EACH OTHER!!! Some things they say hurt and are mean and my heart broke a little. But you know that's the thing about enemies to lovers books.. the characters get to know each other more deeply and they realize that they understand each other.
Fake dating for the fans and paparazzi is not going to be easy for them. They keep bickering and throwing awful words at each other still. But slowly and surely, Nina and Leo will find balance and maybe they will grow towards a love instead of dislike. I love the small moments between them. Them opening up to each other when they never had done it? Chef kiss! It means they trust each other and are at ease when it comes to the other person.
I understood so much about Leo's anxiety. All his thoughts and actions related to his anxiety were so clear to me. Many will say that the third act breakup ruined the book for them or whatever. But you know what... like I understand why it came to be. And to be honest, I would have done the same because anxiety is like that.
And I didn't want to leave this review without mentioning THIS BOOK HAS A 69 SCENE. YES SIR. Like omg there is far too little 69 scenes in books. I don't understand why because oh my god. Erin gave the crowd what the crowd wanted to be given. And she delivered. This is a pretty steamy book! They even f*ck in public, my friends. For Butter or Worse is a fun romcom with heat about two enemies who can't help but fall for each other when they have to act out a relationship for the cameras. The way emails, tweets, and texts have a huge part in the book, I ADORE!
Nina and Leo have been co-hosts of this reality-TV competition show. They appear friendly before the cameras, but off-camera they hate each other with a passion. If you've wanted a true enemies to lovers, say less... this book has it. THEY TRULY DISLIKE EACH OTHER!!! Some things they say hurt and are mean and my heart broke a little. But you know that's the thing about enemies to lovers books.. the characters get to know each other more deeply and they realize that they understand each other.
Fake dating for the fans and paparazzi is not going to be easy for them. They keep bickering and throwing awful words at each other still. But slowly and surely, Nina and Leo will find balance and maybe they will grow towards a love instead of dislike. I love the small moments between them. Them opening up to each other when they never had done it? Chef kiss! It means they trust each other and are at ease when it comes to the other person.
I understood so much about Leo's anxiety. All his thoughts and actions related to his anxiety were so clear to me. Many will say that the third act breakup ruined the book for them or whatever. But you know what... like I understand why it came to be. And to be honest, I would have done the same because anxiety is like that.
And I didn't want to leave this review without mentioning THIS BOOK HAS A 69 SCENE. YES SIR. Like omg there is far too little 69 scenes in books. I don't understand why because oh my god. Erin gave the crowd what the crowd wanted to be given. And she delivered. This is a pretty steamy book! They even f*ck in public, my friends. For Butter or Worse is a fun romcom with heat about two enemies who can't help but fall for each other when they have to act out a relationship for the cameras. The way emails, tweets, and texts have a huge part in the book, I ADORE!
Read
September 7, 2022Since this wasn’t an arc I’m DNFing bc I owe this book absolutely nothing and have seen multiple accounts of people saying Leo’s penis breath behavior did not in fact improve. I have no time to witness this woman end up with a no-grovel garbage heap. Also the narrator was questionable.
This is the fifth contemporary romance I’ve read recently where the man is sexist/misogynistic/horrible to the heroine under the guise of “enemies to lovers.” Plot twist, it’s not enemies to lovers when the other person is literally a shit human. That’s just an enemy babes.
The message I’m consistently getting in these books is that men can tell us to smile more, insult us on national television, and willingly get paid more but it’s all redeemed bc they do the bare minimum and they’re hot. No thank you. I’ve read some wonderful contemporary romances this year, but this was not one of them.
Thank you to those who sacrificed your well-being and read this before me and warned me.
This is the fifth contemporary romance I’ve read recently where the man is sexist/misogynistic/horrible to the heroine under the guise of “enemies to lovers.” Plot twist, it’s not enemies to lovers when the other person is literally a shit human. That’s just an enemy babes.
The message I’m consistently getting in these books is that men can tell us to smile more, insult us on national television, and willingly get paid more but it’s all redeemed bc they do the bare minimum and they’re hot. No thank you. I’ve read some wonderful contemporary romances this year, but this was not one of them.
Thank you to those who sacrificed your well-being and read this before me and warned me.
May 14, 2022
When you mix two scorching hot tv hosts with years of angsty banter, and a fake dating scenario to try and save their careers… You get this delicious, enemies to lovers story.
Nina Lyon and Leo O’Donnell have been cohosting The Next Cooking Champ, tv show for years together. Over the years of snide comments, bad dad jokes, harsh nicknames, sexism, anxiety, internet trolls, and self doubt, they’ve become sworn enemies. After a rough live recorded season finale, one of their publicists suggests they pretend they’re dating, for some great publicity. So you can imagine how absolutely dreadful their first arranged date is. But the problem is they’re both on the verge of losing their beloved restaurants and suffering financially. Can they suck it up and smile for the cameras?
I loved the way the author made this feel REAL, with media headlines, emails, texts, social media posts, and pop culture references. The depth of these characters was so much more than I expected. From Nina standing up to sexism in the culinary industry and her protective walls she’s built around herself, to Leo’s anxiety, self doubt, and constantly trying to prove himself. Not to mention their amazing friends and family.
This was such a hilarious and heartfelt novel. With all of the food and Italian family references, I felt like this was one giant hug. The banter was top tier. And I adored the sex scenes, although I wouldn’t have been upset if there were a few more… 😏 I grinned like an idiot, squealed with excitement, and possibly shed a couple tears while reading this. Please make a film adaptation. This is romcom GOLD.
Thank you to Erin La Rosa and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Nina Lyon and Leo O’Donnell have been cohosting The Next Cooking Champ, tv show for years together. Over the years of snide comments, bad dad jokes, harsh nicknames, sexism, anxiety, internet trolls, and self doubt, they’ve become sworn enemies. After a rough live recorded season finale, one of their publicists suggests they pretend they’re dating, for some great publicity. So you can imagine how absolutely dreadful their first arranged date is. But the problem is they’re both on the verge of losing their beloved restaurants and suffering financially. Can they suck it up and smile for the cameras?
I loved the way the author made this feel REAL, with media headlines, emails, texts, social media posts, and pop culture references. The depth of these characters was so much more than I expected. From Nina standing up to sexism in the culinary industry and her protective walls she’s built around herself, to Leo’s anxiety, self doubt, and constantly trying to prove himself. Not to mention their amazing friends and family.
This was such a hilarious and heartfelt novel. With all of the food and Italian family references, I felt like this was one giant hug. The banter was top tier. And I adored the sex scenes, although I wouldn’t have been upset if there were a few more… 😏 I grinned like an idiot, squealed with excitement, and possibly shed a couple tears while reading this. Please make a film adaptation. This is romcom GOLD.
Thank you to Erin La Rosa and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
September 21, 2022
If only they could talk. Oh, wait… How non- and intentional miscommunication not only derails a decent story but an entire novel.
“For Butter or Worse”? This amusingly cheesy title (and Helen Hoang’s prominent endorsement on the cover) made me read this. Sadly, it was mostly a waste of my reading time.
Chef Nina and restaurant chain owner Leo co-host a cooking show and don’t get along. Once she drops out of the show, Nina discovers she’s losing even more business than before and agrees to fake-date her “enemy” Leo. Leo is in a pretty similar situation and, thus, agrees to this charade as well.
At this point, I should have stopped. Fake-dating and enemies-to-lovers in one book? That’s a recipe for disaster but Erin La Rosa had to add a lot more ingredients to her novel and as its sole cook, she creates a hotchpotch of topics that are each highly relevant - and thoroughly neglected.
There’s, of course, the subject of sexism in the food industry. To be honest, I have next to no clue about the food industry but judging by the number of famous male chefs I know versus that of famous female ones, this seems fairly obvious.
It doesn’t really get explored in any meaningful way, though.
Let’s add anxiety and panic attacks to the mix - pretty much the only thing the novel has to say on the topic is that “the symptoms of a heart attack [are] virtually indistinguishable from those of a panic attack”.
We’re still not done yet because next to be added is “extreme burnout”. Thankfully, the author refrains from making any big assumptions on that one - apart from it being dealt with conclusively in a mere six therapy sessions…
Social media toxicity also had to be added, right next to toxic masculinity represented by the transgressive stereotypical ex-boyfriend. Stress eating and lots of other miscellaneous issues serve to further enrich this mess.
I could look past all that if the remainder of the story made up for it but, alas, there just isn’t enough of a story in this: They fake-date, they discover they harbour feelings for each other - and decide to keep silent about those feelings, sometimes actually expressing the exact opposite of what they feel and want from each other. I kept thinking “TALK TO EACH OTHER!” (Yes, in all-caps.)
It is so unbelievably annoying to me when authors resort to such simplistic devices: Both Nina and Leo can’t be teenagers anymore. They’ve each actually accomplished a lot. And, yet, they don’t talk.
Two out of five stars.
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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam
“For Butter or Worse”? This amusingly cheesy title (and Helen Hoang’s prominent endorsement on the cover) made me read this. Sadly, it was mostly a waste of my reading time.
Chef Nina and restaurant chain owner Leo co-host a cooking show and don’t get along. Once she drops out of the show, Nina discovers she’s losing even more business than before and agrees to fake-date her “enemy” Leo. Leo is in a pretty similar situation and, thus, agrees to this charade as well.
At this point, I should have stopped. Fake-dating and enemies-to-lovers in one book? That’s a recipe for disaster but Erin La Rosa had to add a lot more ingredients to her novel and as its sole cook, she creates a hotchpotch of topics that are each highly relevant - and thoroughly neglected.
There’s, of course, the subject of sexism in the food industry. To be honest, I have next to no clue about the food industry but judging by the number of famous male chefs I know versus that of famous female ones, this seems fairly obvious.
It doesn’t really get explored in any meaningful way, though.
Let’s add anxiety and panic attacks to the mix - pretty much the only thing the novel has to say on the topic is that “the symptoms of a heart attack [are] virtually indistinguishable from those of a panic attack”.
We’re still not done yet because next to be added is “extreme burnout”. Thankfully, the author refrains from making any big assumptions on that one - apart from it being dealt with conclusively in a mere six therapy sessions…
Social media toxicity also had to be added, right next to toxic masculinity represented by the transgressive stereotypical ex-boyfriend. Stress eating and lots of other miscellaneous issues serve to further enrich this mess.
I could look past all that if the remainder of the story made up for it but, alas, there just isn’t enough of a story in this: They fake-date, they discover they harbour feelings for each other - and decide to keep silent about those feelings, sometimes actually expressing the exact opposite of what they feel and want from each other. I kept thinking “TALK TO EACH OTHER!” (Yes, in all-caps.)
It is so unbelievably annoying to me when authors resort to such simplistic devices: Both Nina and Leo can’t be teenagers anymore. They’ve each actually accomplished a lot. And, yet, they don’t talk.
Two out of five stars.
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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam
Want to read
December 4, 2021enemies to lovers, the hating game AND the great british bake off???? i would eat 12 fermented eggs just to read this right now
November 1, 2023
8 was edging toward 4 stars but I decided on 3 stars instead. I do love both characters. They are likeable and cute. Their banter is engaging for enemy to lover trope.
What missing is the plot/ twist/ drama. Moss Rosa made her story bland in the middle.
I know she try so hard to lift it up, but it still flat for me.
3 stars
What missing is the plot/ twist/ drama. Moss Rosa made her story bland in the middle.
I know she try so hard to lift it up, but it still flat for me.
3 stars
February 28, 2024
5/5 🌟
3/5 ❤️🩹
3/5 🥰
3/5 🌶️
0/5 🔎
2/5 😰A
3/5 🎭C
1/5 🎭T
⚠️⛔️TRIGGERS:⛔️⚠️
Sexism
Cyber Bullying
Gaslighting
Mention of Abuse
Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Mention of Parental Death
Sexual Content
Stalking
Toxic Relationship (past)
Grief
Mention of Heart attack
🗯️💬BOOK BLURB:💬🗯️
A FEMINIST BOOK CLUB CHOICE AWARD WINNER!
“With great tension, simmering heat, and clever banter, FOR BUTTER OR WORSE is a mouthwateringly delicious enemies-to-lovers romance.”—Helen Hoang, USA Today bestselling author of The Heart Principle
"[A] sparkling romance...witty and lighthearted, with plenty of tender moments to keep readers invested, this work gets the enemies-to-lovers trope right."—Publishers Weekly
They go together like water and oil…
All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she's had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene.
Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.
Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It's part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.
To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.
Now all they have to do is play along, without killing each other...and without catching feelings. Easy as artisanal shepherd's pie. Right?
Don't miss Erin La Rosa's next charming rom-com, PLOT TWIST, where a romance author who has never been in love searches for inspiration in a friends-with-benefits situation with her reclusive landlord...who just happens to be a former teen heartthrob.
🤔🧐🤯MY THOUGHTS:🤯🧐🤔
I’m dying laughing 💀 at the very cute way this book ended!
This enemies to lovers rom com was ripe with angst and a slow burn that was so thick it was palpable. I adored this book and I’m anxious to read the next book in this duet. Author Erin La Rosa may be a new fave for me. This was my first book of hers. I’m smiling like a Cheshire Cat with this one.
RATING KEY:
🌟 Stars - based on the overall plot and theme or idea of the book
❤️🩹 Emotions - based on how emotional I got while reading
🥰 Romance - based on how well I got invested in the love story aspect
🌶️ Spice - based on how the sex scenes were portrayed and written as well as the number of sex scenes
🔎 Mystery - based on how well it kept me guessing who, how and why
😰 Scared/Anxious - based on how scared or anxious the book made me while reading
🎭 Comedy/Tragedy based on if I laughed or if there was a tragic event and how it affected me. I will mark the Masks with either a C or T to indicate Comedy or Tragedy
3/5 ❤️🩹
3/5 🥰
3/5 🌶️
0/5 🔎
2/5 😰A
3/5 🎭C
1/5 🎭T
⚠️⛔️TRIGGERS:⛔️⚠️
Sexism
Cyber Bullying
Gaslighting
Mention of Abuse
Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Mention of Parental Death
Sexual Content
Stalking
Toxic Relationship (past)
Grief
Mention of Heart attack
🗯️💬BOOK BLURB:💬🗯️
A FEMINIST BOOK CLUB CHOICE AWARD WINNER!
“With great tension, simmering heat, and clever banter, FOR BUTTER OR WORSE is a mouthwateringly delicious enemies-to-lovers romance.”—Helen Hoang, USA Today bestselling author of The Heart Principle
"[A] sparkling romance...witty and lighthearted, with plenty of tender moments to keep readers invested, this work gets the enemies-to-lovers trope right."—Publishers Weekly
They go together like water and oil…
All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she's had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene.
Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.
Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It's part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.
To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.
Now all they have to do is play along, without killing each other...and without catching feelings. Easy as artisanal shepherd's pie. Right?
Don't miss Erin La Rosa's next charming rom-com, PLOT TWIST, where a romance author who has never been in love searches for inspiration in a friends-with-benefits situation with her reclusive landlord...who just happens to be a former teen heartthrob.
🤔🧐🤯MY THOUGHTS:🤯🧐🤔
I’m dying laughing 💀 at the very cute way this book ended!
This enemies to lovers rom com was ripe with angst and a slow burn that was so thick it was palpable. I adored this book and I’m anxious to read the next book in this duet. Author Erin La Rosa may be a new fave for me. This was my first book of hers. I’m smiling like a Cheshire Cat with this one.
RATING KEY:
🌟 Stars - based on the overall plot and theme or idea of the book
❤️🩹 Emotions - based on how emotional I got while reading
🥰 Romance - based on how well I got invested in the love story aspect
🌶️ Spice - based on how the sex scenes were portrayed and written as well as the number of sex scenes
🔎 Mystery - based on how well it kept me guessing who, how and why
😰 Scared/Anxious - based on how scared or anxious the book made me while reading
🎭 Comedy/Tragedy based on if I laughed or if there was a tragic event and how it affected me. I will mark the Masks with either a C or T to indicate Comedy or Tragedy
September 21, 2022
✳️ 2.5 stars ✳️
✨𝙄 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤 @𝙇𝙚𝙤𝙊𝘿𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙡. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣.✨
𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗯.
Nina Lyon, an aspiring chef and a host on the competitive reality cooking show quits on live TV because of her annoying and disrespectful co-host Leo O'Donnell.
As Leo goes to apologise to Nina, the two are caught in a compromising situation making the fans go crazy. Now, to save their career and reputation, Nina and Leo must fake date; acting lovey-dovey when in reality they want to kill each other.
But once they spend time with each other, they find it hard to keep things professional...
𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀.
This started soo good and I was loving every moment of it.. the banter and sassy remarks had me grinning like crazyy!
The writing style was very engaging and the humour was amazing.. It has dual POVs and the first half is much more entertaining and captivating than the second. I was so bored in the second half that I even decided to DNF it..
but, then after skimming chunks of the plot, I somehow finished this book.
Because, after a point, both the protagonists start acting foolishly.. creating unnecessary friction in their relationship. Instead of confessing, they just went on a different tangent of "Do the other person even like me?"🤦🏻♀️
But, I loved how during the starting phase of their fake date, both started observing teeny-tiny details of each other and opened up to each other. I loved how they were gradually growing close to each other.. understanding each other on a deeper level.
Plus, Leo's POV was much more profound in terms of their relationship than Nina's and I could feel his emotions. But, Nina's POV was filled with pages-long conversations with Jasmine, which I mostly skipped and just couldn't connect to her.
Also, the take on mental health issues and panic attacks was superb.. and the way the author tackled sexism and how disrespectful remarks disguised as jokes affect the person, needs a big applause!
The smut was good but very sudden in their relationship and then, they both kept oscillating between seggs and misunderstanding. No one wanted to express what they felt, instead kept overthinking the situation🙄
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Overall, it was supposed to be a feel-good cheesy rom-com.. and it delivered the cheesy part but failed to make me feel good. Even though I enjoyed the first half but the second half was a major disappointment.
𝗧𝗪: Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Death of a parent, Sexism
✨𝙄 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤 @𝙇𝙚𝙤𝙊𝘿𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙡. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣.✨
𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗯.
Nina Lyon, an aspiring chef and a host on the competitive reality cooking show quits on live TV because of her annoying and disrespectful co-host Leo O'Donnell.
As Leo goes to apologise to Nina, the two are caught in a compromising situation making the fans go crazy. Now, to save their career and reputation, Nina and Leo must fake date; acting lovey-dovey when in reality they want to kill each other.
But once they spend time with each other, they find it hard to keep things professional...
𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀.
This started soo good and I was loving every moment of it.. the banter and sassy remarks had me grinning like crazyy!
The writing style was very engaging and the humour was amazing.. It has dual POVs and the first half is much more entertaining and captivating than the second. I was so bored in the second half that I even decided to DNF it..
but, then after skimming chunks of the plot, I somehow finished this book.
Because, after a point, both the protagonists start acting foolishly.. creating unnecessary friction in their relationship. Instead of confessing, they just went on a different tangent of "Do the other person even like me?"🤦🏻♀️
But, I loved how during the starting phase of their fake date, both started observing teeny-tiny details of each other and opened up to each other. I loved how they were gradually growing close to each other.. understanding each other on a deeper level.
Plus, Leo's POV was much more profound in terms of their relationship than Nina's and I could feel his emotions. But, Nina's POV was filled with pages-long conversations with Jasmine, which I mostly skipped and just couldn't connect to her.
Also, the take on mental health issues and panic attacks was superb.. and the way the author tackled sexism and how disrespectful remarks disguised as jokes affect the person, needs a big applause!
The smut was good but very sudden in their relationship and then, they both kept oscillating between seggs and misunderstanding. No one wanted to express what they felt, instead kept overthinking the situation🙄
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Overall, it was supposed to be a feel-good cheesy rom-com.. and it delivered the cheesy part but failed to make me feel good. Even though I enjoyed the first half but the second half was a major disappointment.
𝗧𝗪: Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Death of a parent, Sexism
February 9, 2023
This book is an enemies-to-lovers romance with a fake dating trope between two cooking competition hosts. The FMC, Nina Lyon, is a well-renowned chef and the MMC, Leo O’Donnell manages his family restaurant chain of restaurants. Despite working together as co-hosts, they intensely hate each other to the point where Nina has had enough and ended up quitting the show on national tv. Realizing that he may have gone too far, Leo visited Nina at her restaurant with the intention of apologizing; however, they were caught in a compromising position (even though it was all an innocent accident) leading to rumors that they were secretly dating. This new notoriety had an unexpected but positive effect on their respective businesses, which unbeknownst to everybody were experiencing some issues. To save their businesses and reputation, Nina and Leo agreed to fake date.
There are several things I liked about this novel. The premise was cute and something unique to me. I also thought it handled topics such as misogyny and mental health very well.
However, I found both Nina and Leo to be dislikable, especially Leo. That factor alone played a big role in reading experience. Nina was too abrasive for my taste but I empathized with what she had to deal with just because she’s a woman. As for Leo, no amount of mental health issues could redeem him for what a total jerk he was.
So overall, my likes and dislikes kind of balances out to a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating.
There are several things I liked about this novel. The premise was cute and something unique to me. I also thought it handled topics such as misogyny and mental health very well.
However, I found both Nina and Leo to be dislikable, especially Leo. That factor alone played a big role in reading experience. Nina was too abrasive for my taste but I empathized with what she had to deal with just because she’s a woman. As for Leo, no amount of mental health issues could redeem him for what a total jerk he was.
So overall, my likes and dislikes kind of balances out to a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating.
June 21, 2022
Ehhhh this wasn't anything special, in my opinion. The writing was a bit cheesy and too on the nose and I definitely felt like this book was written for TikTok.
July 19, 2022
First, I have to say, as soon as I saw this title, I knew I needed to read the book. I love a catchy title, and knowing the book had a culinary element made me even more eager to dive in. For Butter or Worse didn’t disappoint. It’s an entertaining enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance with a lot of tropes I love.
This is a great story for readers who enjoy enemies-to-lovers, miscommunication, fake dating, or a grumpy-sunshine relationship. Leo and Nina are rivals and enemies who antagonize each other constantly. Their banter is fantastic, and even though they are constantly hurling insults at each other, their chemistry is off the charts! Nina comes across as a bit of a snob, and Leo appears to be a carefree ladies’ man. However, both are very different from what they originally seemed.
The premise of the story is pretty entertaining. Leo and Nina are co-hosts and enemies when Nina reaches her breaking point live on the season finale of the show and quits on air. A social media frenzy ensues, and Nina and Leo enter a fake relationship after receiving a ton of bad press. Both want to enhance their reputation and keep their fledgling restaurants afloat, but neither expected their fake romance to start to feel not so fake.
Nina and Leo have a complicated relationship, and they have to confront their misunderstandings, hurtful comments, and sabotage-like behavior before they can move forward. I was a bit put off by Leo considering he was the one who perpetuated a particularly degrading and sexist nickname that went viral, but I appreciate his regret and his steps to change. They both change a lot as they realize that their antagonistic behavior might actually be hiding their true feelings for each other. I like that, as they go on fake dates, they start to not only understand each other but respect each other. Both have great character arcs, and their romance is tumultuous, funny, frustrating, sexy, and steamy!
I also really liked Leo’s family. They remind me so much of my own family in the way they tease and banter with each other. There’s a lot of love there, even though they can be a bit meddlesome and overbearing. There are also some great messages about sexism, mental health, work-life balance, and online bullying, which I think most readers can relate to. I thought the story realistically portrayed anxiety and panic attacks and liked the messages about the benefits of therapy and self-care.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me with an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
This is a great story for readers who enjoy enemies-to-lovers, miscommunication, fake dating, or a grumpy-sunshine relationship. Leo and Nina are rivals and enemies who antagonize each other constantly. Their banter is fantastic, and even though they are constantly hurling insults at each other, their chemistry is off the charts! Nina comes across as a bit of a snob, and Leo appears to be a carefree ladies’ man. However, both are very different from what they originally seemed.
The premise of the story is pretty entertaining. Leo and Nina are co-hosts and enemies when Nina reaches her breaking point live on the season finale of the show and quits on air. A social media frenzy ensues, and Nina and Leo enter a fake relationship after receiving a ton of bad press. Both want to enhance their reputation and keep their fledgling restaurants afloat, but neither expected their fake romance to start to feel not so fake.
Nina and Leo have a complicated relationship, and they have to confront their misunderstandings, hurtful comments, and sabotage-like behavior before they can move forward. I was a bit put off by Leo considering he was the one who perpetuated a particularly degrading and sexist nickname that went viral, but I appreciate his regret and his steps to change. They both change a lot as they realize that their antagonistic behavior might actually be hiding their true feelings for each other. I like that, as they go on fake dates, they start to not only understand each other but respect each other. Both have great character arcs, and their romance is tumultuous, funny, frustrating, sexy, and steamy!
I also really liked Leo’s family. They remind me so much of my own family in the way they tease and banter with each other. There’s a lot of love there, even though they can be a bit meddlesome and overbearing. There are also some great messages about sexism, mental health, work-life balance, and online bullying, which I think most readers can relate to. I thought the story realistically portrayed anxiety and panic attacks and liked the messages about the benefits of therapy and self-care.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me with an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
June 3, 2022
DNF @ 38%
I just wasn't feeling this at all. I didn't get any chemistry between Nina and Leo and we just got to their fake dating plotline before I ended up giving up on the book. This is primarily a fake dating story, with a dash of foodie goodness sprinkled in. It felt like it was taking too long to get the plot moving and actually have the characters talking and at this point, I've read so many cooking related romances, this one just faded into the background.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
I just wasn't feeling this at all. I didn't get any chemistry between Nina and Leo and we just got to their fake dating plotline before I ended up giving up on the book. This is primarily a fake dating story, with a dash of foodie goodness sprinkled in. It felt like it was taking too long to get the plot moving and actually have the characters talking and at this point, I've read so many cooking related romances, this one just faded into the background.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
December 22, 2021
Let me start by saying that I have read For Butter or Worse at least three hundred times. (Likely more, but it's hard to keep track.) I also wrote For Butter or Worse. So I'm a bit biased, I suppose!
Here's what I can tell you about why this book is so special to me. This is my debut romance novel, and I genuinely feel that romance books have helped me at various points of my life. The romance community and genre are so incredible. I feel very much in debt to some of my favorite authors for pulling me out of some severe anxiety and bouts of depression through their writing—Helen Hoang, Talia Hibbert, Abby Jimenez, Rosie Danan, Lyssa Kay Adams, Mia Sosa, Alexis Hall, Alisha Rai, Kate Stayman-London, Alexis Daria, Tessa Bailey, Christina Lauren... the list goes on.
The initial idea came from watching The Great British Baking Show. I love how cozy I feel every time I'm watching an episode, but was also horrified/fascinated by the fact that women kept leaving... Mary Berry, Mel, Sue, Sandi. And then there's just a lot of coverage of how he treats female bakers. Which got me researching women in food, and I found a study that showed only 7% of kitchens in America are run by women. Further digging revealed countless stories from female chefs who'd experienced rampant sexism in their careers, many of whom left the food world altogether as a result.
I knew then that I wanted to write a book about a female chef. And I was interested in exploring the idea that Nina, my lead, would speak her mind, give critical feedback and, in general, wouldn't be the stereotypical nurturing type we often see on TV (ie Mary Berry, even though I absolutely adore her). I wanted her to skew more Paul than Mary, and see how people would treat her, and if she'd be allowed to exist in that world.
And her co-host, Leo, was going to play the nurturer (on the show, at least). But I also wanted to talk about mental health in a very real way. I've been dealing with anxiety since... middle school? Maybe even earlier? And had my first panic attack in my twenties. I wanted Leo to be someone who went on a journey from ignoring his mental health to having to face it head on, which has been my experience as well.
On top of the above, enemies to lovers is my favorite trope (hello, fellow E2L fans!). And this dynamic between two rival co-hosts felt perfectly suited to some fake dating as well. I pre-heated the oven to 350, combined all of the things into a bowl, topped the dish with dashes of witty banter, sex, and longing looks, then baked it for roughly two years before I took it out and discovered I'd finally finished the book.
I hope you enjoy your helping of For Butter or Worse. And I love the opportunity to connect with fellow romance fans, so please do reach out and tell me what you think! xo
Here's what I can tell you about why this book is so special to me. This is my debut romance novel, and I genuinely feel that romance books have helped me at various points of my life. The romance community and genre are so incredible. I feel very much in debt to some of my favorite authors for pulling me out of some severe anxiety and bouts of depression through their writing—Helen Hoang, Talia Hibbert, Abby Jimenez, Rosie Danan, Lyssa Kay Adams, Mia Sosa, Alexis Hall, Alisha Rai, Kate Stayman-London, Alexis Daria, Tessa Bailey, Christina Lauren... the list goes on.
The initial idea came from watching The Great British Baking Show. I love how cozy I feel every time I'm watching an episode, but was also horrified/fascinated by the fact that women kept leaving... Mary Berry, Mel, Sue, Sandi. And then there's just a lot of coverage of how he treats female bakers. Which got me researching women in food, and I found a study that showed only 7% of kitchens in America are run by women. Further digging revealed countless stories from female chefs who'd experienced rampant sexism in their careers, many of whom left the food world altogether as a result.
I knew then that I wanted to write a book about a female chef. And I was interested in exploring the idea that Nina, my lead, would speak her mind, give critical feedback and, in general, wouldn't be the stereotypical nurturing type we often see on TV (ie Mary Berry, even though I absolutely adore her). I wanted her to skew more Paul than Mary, and see how people would treat her, and if she'd be allowed to exist in that world.
And her co-host, Leo, was going to play the nurturer (on the show, at least). But I also wanted to talk about mental health in a very real way. I've been dealing with anxiety since... middle school? Maybe even earlier? And had my first panic attack in my twenties. I wanted Leo to be someone who went on a journey from ignoring his mental health to having to face it head on, which has been my experience as well.
On top of the above, enemies to lovers is my favorite trope (hello, fellow E2L fans!). And this dynamic between two rival co-hosts felt perfectly suited to some fake dating as well. I pre-heated the oven to 350, combined all of the things into a bowl, topped the dish with dashes of witty banter, sex, and longing looks, then baked it for roughly two years before I took it out and discovered I'd finally finished the book.
I hope you enjoy your helping of For Butter or Worse. And I love the opportunity to connect with fellow romance fans, so please do reach out and tell me what you think! xo
March 17, 2022
For Butter or Worse was such a well-written romance! It had all of my favorite tropes - workplace romance, fake dating, and the classic enemies-to-lovers. If you're a romance lover like me, you'll really appreciate how the author executed all of these tropes in one book and created a masterpiece! Ohhh, and let's not forget! The book is foodie-themed, so make sure you have a snack by your side while reading this book. (Trust me, you'll thank me later)
The enemies-to-lovers romances that I have been reading don't have that "I hate you' feeling between the main characters, and they always leave me with the feeling that the hate-to-love theme was for show only. But, boy oh boy, for Butter or Worse DELIVERED the BEST enemies-to-lovers vibes. Nina and Leo are co-hosts of a reality food competition show, and they really couldn't stand each other. This made reading about the changes in their relationship so much better for me. I could clearly see when the dynamic between them shifted.
Nina and Leo started fake-dating for their fans because it would boost their public image and in turn bring in more profits for their respective restaurants. The banter between them was "chef's kiss", and it was so fun to see them bickering all the time 😂😂😂 I wish I could come up with comebacks like them omg. Seeing Nina and Leo open up to each other made me feel a lot more better though. I loved seeing little fragments of their blooming friendship. They realized that they could be vulnerable with each other without any sort of judgment involved - WE LOVE TO SEE THAT.
One of the main themes of For Butter or Worse is sexism. I really admired how the author wrote about the differences between how the public treated Leo and Nina. Nina faced a lot of criticism because of her outspoken nature (Patriarchy and Misogyny 101), while Leo was adored by everyone because of his comedic side, even though he made some very questionable comments. CUE Leo's character development. Everyone makes mistakes, so it's important to learn from our mistakes, and to (physically) show that you've changed. That's exactly what I got to see from Leo's character. I won't spoil the plot for you, but seeing Leo understand how tough the food world was for Nina as a woman was my favorite thing ever.
FBOW also has an amazing mental health representation! Grief is one of the main things that connected Leo and Nina. Anxiety was one of the driving forces behind the last few chapters of the book and the representation was accurate. The author didn't sugar-coat how difficult living with anxiety is, and made Leo a better character because of it. ALSO OMG, the female friendships!! LOVE LOVE LOVE. Nina's relationship with her best friend, Jasmine, and her sister, Sophie gave me life. Literally. The way they cheered Nina up and supported her melted my heart!!! I also adored Leo's brother and mom. The supporting cast in this book >>>> Everything. The book is dual POV too (YUSSS) and has a lot of text and Twitter interactions that made reading the book so joyful!
I honestly can't stop talking about my love for For Butter or Worse, and I am going to keep screaming about in the months to come! Please go and make me the happiest person ever by pre-ordering the book!
P.S ~ I received an review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. ❤️
The enemies-to-lovers romances that I have been reading don't have that "I hate you' feeling between the main characters, and they always leave me with the feeling that the hate-to-love theme was for show only. But, boy oh boy, for Butter or Worse DELIVERED the BEST enemies-to-lovers vibes. Nina and Leo are co-hosts of a reality food competition show, and they really couldn't stand each other. This made reading about the changes in their relationship so much better for me. I could clearly see when the dynamic between them shifted.
Nina and Leo started fake-dating for their fans because it would boost their public image and in turn bring in more profits for their respective restaurants. The banter between them was "chef's kiss", and it was so fun to see them bickering all the time 😂😂😂 I wish I could come up with comebacks like them omg. Seeing Nina and Leo open up to each other made me feel a lot more better though. I loved seeing little fragments of their blooming friendship. They realized that they could be vulnerable with each other without any sort of judgment involved - WE LOVE TO SEE THAT.
One of the main themes of For Butter or Worse is sexism. I really admired how the author wrote about the differences between how the public treated Leo and Nina. Nina faced a lot of criticism because of her outspoken nature (Patriarchy and Misogyny 101), while Leo was adored by everyone because of his comedic side, even though he made some very questionable comments. CUE Leo's character development. Everyone makes mistakes, so it's important to learn from our mistakes, and to (physically) show that you've changed. That's exactly what I got to see from Leo's character. I won't spoil the plot for you, but seeing Leo understand how tough the food world was for Nina as a woman was my favorite thing ever.
FBOW also has an amazing mental health representation! Grief is one of the main things that connected Leo and Nina. Anxiety was one of the driving forces behind the last few chapters of the book and the representation was accurate. The author didn't sugar-coat how difficult living with anxiety is, and made Leo a better character because of it. ALSO OMG, the female friendships!! LOVE LOVE LOVE. Nina's relationship with her best friend, Jasmine, and her sister, Sophie gave me life. Literally. The way they cheered Nina up and supported her melted my heart!!! I also adored Leo's brother and mom. The supporting cast in this book >>>> Everything. The book is dual POV too (YUSSS) and has a lot of text and Twitter interactions that made reading the book so joyful!
I honestly can't stop talking about my love for For Butter or Worse, and I am going to keep screaming about in the months to come! Please go and make me the happiest person ever by pre-ordering the book!
P.S ~ I received an review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. ❤️
April 21, 2022
Thank you so much to Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Okay this was actually pretty cute and delivered on so many fronts related to the fake dating trope. However, there were a bunch of little things that were slightly off-putting for me, which is why I think I'd give this somewhere between a 3.5 to 3.75.
The story follows two public figures in the LA food industry, Nina and Leo, who are co-stars of a baking competition reality TV show. On and off the show, Nina and Leo *hate* each other. I think the quick, and sharp banter between them was really well done (probably one of the best I've seen in a hate-to-lovers romance) and thoroughly demonstrated how much the two can't stand each other. Even though it was delivered with animosity, the "Witch"/"Devil" nicknames ended up being so adorable.
That being said, I wasn't really a fan of the fact that Leo was involved in/triggered the sexist attacks against Nina. Of course, he apologizes profusely and Nina herself says that she can't 100% forgive him, even when they are together, but I still felt really uncomfortable with the idea of a woman getting together with someone who helped instigate those attacks. I also can't stand public apologies, groveling, and declarations of love in books, and this book had many of them. It kinda makes sense considering that both Nina and Leo are public figures and the whole point of them fake dating was to convince the public of their relationship, but I think it would have meant more if Leo had kept those moments private. I did like that the two spent 3 months apart before getting back together in the final act, giving Leo a chance to go to therapy and work on speaking to someone before pursuing a relationship with Nina again.
Speaking of which, I think one of my favorite aspects of the novel is the arc of Leo's anxiety, as well as Nina's grief. I really love when romance books break stereotypes of men dealing with their mental health needs, and I loved how Leo dealt with his anxiety--even if he didn't fully open up about it to the people around him. The support systems that both Leo and Nina have around them were really well depicted and I love how supportive Gavin, Leo's mom, as well as Sophie and Jasmine were.
I also do want to mention that there is a mention of Mother Teresa really early on in the novel that paints Mother Teresa in a positive light. Mother Teresa was nowhere near a good person, especially to South Asians, something a lot of white folks don't realize :( I'm not sure if it's too late for this mention to be removed from the novel before it's published, but it's definitely something I hope the author recognizes.
Overall, if you're a fan of romance books that deal with the food industry, you'll probably enjoy this book!
Follow me on TikTok | Instagram | Twitter for more book reviews & recommendations!
Okay this was actually pretty cute and delivered on so many fronts related to the fake dating trope. However, there were a bunch of little things that were slightly off-putting for me, which is why I think I'd give this somewhere between a 3.5 to 3.75.
The story follows two public figures in the LA food industry, Nina and Leo, who are co-stars of a baking competition reality TV show. On and off the show, Nina and Leo *hate* each other. I think the quick, and sharp banter between them was really well done (probably one of the best I've seen in a hate-to-lovers romance) and thoroughly demonstrated how much the two can't stand each other. Even though it was delivered with animosity, the "Witch"/"Devil" nicknames ended up being so adorable.
That being said, I wasn't really a fan of the fact that Leo was involved in/triggered the sexist attacks against Nina. Of course, he apologizes profusely and Nina herself says that she can't 100% forgive him, even when they are together, but I still felt really uncomfortable with the idea of a woman getting together with someone who helped instigate those attacks. I also can't stand public apologies, groveling, and declarations of love in books, and this book had many of them. It kinda makes sense considering that both Nina and Leo are public figures and the whole point of them fake dating was to convince the public of their relationship, but I think it would have meant more if Leo had kept those moments private. I did like that the two spent 3 months apart before getting back together in the final act, giving Leo a chance to go to therapy and work on speaking to someone before pursuing a relationship with Nina again.
Speaking of which, I think one of my favorite aspects of the novel is the arc of Leo's anxiety, as well as Nina's grief. I really love when romance books break stereotypes of men dealing with their mental health needs, and I loved how Leo dealt with his anxiety--even if he didn't fully open up about it to the people around him. The support systems that both Leo and Nina have around them were really well depicted and I love how supportive Gavin, Leo's mom, as well as Sophie and Jasmine were.
I also do want to mention that there is a mention of Mother Teresa really early on in the novel that paints Mother Teresa in a positive light. Mother Teresa was nowhere near a good person, especially to South Asians, something a lot of white folks don't realize :( I'm not sure if it's too late for this mention to be removed from the novel before it's published, but it's definitely something I hope the author recognizes.
Overall, if you're a fan of romance books that deal with the food industry, you'll probably enjoy this book!
Follow me on TikTok | Instagram | Twitter for more book reviews & recommendations!
July 23, 2024
Fake dating 𝘢𝘯𝘥 enemies-to-lovers trope in one?
You bet I'm here for it.
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 centers Nina Lyon and Leo O'Donnell. Both are are sworn enemies but they have more in common than they realise - both their respective businesses are waning, they enjoy their banter more than they care to admit and the accidental touch sends them both into a state of frenzy. So when a fake dating arrangement is added to the mix to improve their public reputations, things are bound to explode except their feelings weren't supposed to? Right!?
- ~ -
While I'd argue that most often rom-coms feature rivals-to-lovers trope in place of enemies-to-lovers, this book actually had characters who acted like they wanted nothing more than to throttle each other. Even their initial insult hurling period was intense. Some insults were direct, others off-handed but they were all creative and I found them hilarious.
These two were stewing with tension right from the beginning so it's safe to assume the ending was just as satisfying.
I don't usually acknowledge this but the spice here was better than most (I mean it is a book about the food world duh).
Their banter was without a doubt the best part of the book.
Ps. The proposal was so cute and on brand for them! I'm so glad the author crafted it perfectly to fit them.
- ~ -
3.54 / 5✩
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.
You bet I'm here for it.
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 centers Nina Lyon and Leo O'Donnell. Both are are sworn enemies but they have more in common than they realise - both their respective businesses are waning, they enjoy their banter more than they care to admit and the accidental touch sends them both into a state of frenzy. So when a fake dating arrangement is added to the mix to improve their public reputations, things are bound to explode except their feelings weren't supposed to? Right!?
- ~ -
While I'd argue that most often rom-coms feature rivals-to-lovers trope in place of enemies-to-lovers, this book actually had characters who acted like they wanted nothing more than to throttle each other. Even their initial insult hurling period was intense. Some insults were direct, others off-handed but they were all creative and I found them hilarious.
These two were stewing with tension right from the beginning so it's safe to assume the ending was just as satisfying.
I don't usually acknowledge this but the spice here was better than most (I mean it is a book about the food world duh).
Their banter was without a doubt the best part of the book.
Ps. The proposal was so cute and on brand for them! I'm so glad the author crafted it perfectly to fit them.
- ~ -
3.54 / 5✩
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.
December 23, 2023
I was going to rate this 2 stars but since this is my 365th book of the year so I'm feeling nice and it's getting 2.5. I was expecting so much better from this, based on the funny title, pretty cover and interesting blurb. And it wasn't that bad, but not all that good either. Just average.
The audiobook helped, but sadly it couldn't make me like the characters or make me want to see them together. Leo was such an ass, he shouldn't be with ANYONE let alone Nina. I didn't feel any chemistry between them and I'm glad I'm finally done with their story. Hopefully the second book will be better.
The audiobook helped, but sadly it couldn't make me like the characters or make me want to see them together. Leo was such an ass, he shouldn't be with ANYONE let alone Nina. I didn't feel any chemistry between them and I'm glad I'm finally done with their story. Hopefully the second book will be better.
August 4, 2022
For Butter or Worse features Chef Nina Lyon and a chain restaurant owner, Leo O'Donnell. Nina dreams of cooking her way to culinary stardom and becoming a household name. She thought she would achieve this by hosting The Next Cooking Champ! but she and her co-host Leo O'Donnell go together like water and oil. Nina has enough of his remarks and obnoxious behaviour, and quits on live TV so she can focus on keeping her restaurant open. Leo approaches her to apologize, knowing he has overstepped, but he trips and falls into her, and a photo is taken of what looks like a passionate kiss. The next thing they know, they are an internet sensation and everyone thinks they are in a secret relationship. A plan is hatched to help both of their businesses. They will pretend to be a couple in order to help each other.
This book has two of my favourite tropes: enemies to lovers, fake dating. When there is as much emotions between two people as there was with Nina and Leo, you know it will sizzle when changed from hate to attraction. As this book began, I really didn't like either of the main characters. They were both a bit obnoxious and closed up. As they get to know each other, they begin to open up and share things from their pasts and feelings and emotions they are dealing with. This made them relatable and much more likable. There is some humour in this book and a lot of witty banter, but there are also more serious issues. Themes include sexism in the world of cooking and chefs, mental health issues, parental issues (interference, expectations, not letting family down), hardships for business owners, as well as friendship, romance and cooking. The food in the book sounds amazing, so I recommend you not read this when you are hungry. My one issue (it is a personal one) were the rather descriptive bedroom scenes. I did fast forward through them and it didn't diminish the story at all for me. The audiobook was narrated by Mela Lee, the author's cousin. I thought it a bit funny when she apologized to her for having to narrate the sex scenes. She did a nice job with the book and it added to my enjoyment of the story. If you enjoy women's fiction, with some romance and steamy scenes, then I definitely recommend you pick this one up!
This book has two of my favourite tropes: enemies to lovers, fake dating. When there is as much emotions between two people as there was with Nina and Leo, you know it will sizzle when changed from hate to attraction. As this book began, I really didn't like either of the main characters. They were both a bit obnoxious and closed up. As they get to know each other, they begin to open up and share things from their pasts and feelings and emotions they are dealing with. This made them relatable and much more likable. There is some humour in this book and a lot of witty banter, but there are also more serious issues. Themes include sexism in the world of cooking and chefs, mental health issues, parental issues (interference, expectations, not letting family down), hardships for business owners, as well as friendship, romance and cooking. The food in the book sounds amazing, so I recommend you not read this when you are hungry. My one issue (it is a personal one) were the rather descriptive bedroom scenes. I did fast forward through them and it didn't diminish the story at all for me. The audiobook was narrated by Mela Lee, the author's cousin. I thought it a bit funny when she apologized to her for having to narrate the sex scenes. She did a nice job with the book and it added to my enjoyment of the story. If you enjoy women's fiction, with some romance and steamy scenes, then I definitely recommend you pick this one up!
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