For Butter or Worse

I read the sequel to this book first and found For Butter or Worse a bit lacking. I didn't care as much about the leads growing romance and found it all a little blah.

I really love “fake dating” stories and this one did not disappoint!

3.5 stars rounded up

sometimes this book felt like it was written by someone who's chronically online and other times by someone who never owned a twitter account

If only they could talk. Oh, wait... How non- and intentional miscommunication not only derails a decent story but an entire novel.“[b:For Butter or Worse 59040889 For Butter or Worse Erin La Rosa https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648414406l/59040889.SX50.jpg 93007167]”? This amusingly cheesy title (and [a:Helen Hoang 17147855 Helen Hoang https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1505925131p2/17147855.jpg]'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 [a:Erin La Rosa 15071204 Erin La Rosa https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1638849502p2/15071204.jpg] 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.Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

2.75/5

The fact that the author talked and showed the anxiety the male mc suffers through made it more realistic for me. I liked that he was aware that despite talking shit that he was overstepping a stone.

I didn't like the fact that he only apologized for being dismissive toward all the sexism and misogynistic shit Nina had to go through because they got into an arrangement that benefitted them both and it took him so long to come forward and publicly apologize. Had he done this before, then there wouldn't have been any hate between them.

I didn't particularly like the female mc, her personality wasnt intriguing enough for me. The only thing i felt being pointed out was that she's bossy, blunt and reserved. I felt no connection between the MCs even though i liked the male mc.

The story itself in general was meh. It could have been better. There was zero chemistry, zero yearning. The smut itself was meh as well.

I feel really disappointed because this book was high on my tbr for this year. It was one of the few books i've been anticipating and it let me down :/

Deeper Than Usual Rom-Com. This is one of those rom-coms that starts out light and fluffy and fun - even in an “I'm gonna kill you for that!” way - and then hits on several more substantive issues along the way. And yet, it never feels overly weighed down by any of them, though as with the comedy itself it is very likely that your mileage will vary there. For me, I loved the “behind the scenes” look at the “real-life” stresses of being a TV food show host/ judge... while also running your own restaurant empire off camera. And the constant twitter / google/ other social media feeds were an interesting spin as well, particularly used how they were. Great for foodies or really anyone just looking for a good time - though on that note... maybe not so much for the “clean” / “sweet” romance crowd. Very much recommended.