This was such a cute contemporary YA novel. It's a coming of age story with one of the most interesting set-ups ever. Baby born in a pizzeria bathroom - sold! I thought the author did a fantastic job balancing the humor and relatable teenage fears and insecurities with the more serious message of being true to yourself. I normally enjoy a heavy dose of romance in my books, but I don't think I would have minded if that part had been left out. I understand the purpose Tristan played in driving the story forward, but I thought the clashing of Beck's "two worlds" should have been the main focus.

The typical teenage angst and drama does pop up, but I appreciated Beck's character arc and how she really came into her own. I think everyone has struggled at one point in their lives to find their place and to feel comfortable in their own skin. In many ways, it's a lifelong effort. I liked how the author addressed this issue in subtle and also more obvious ways. The ending brought everything full circle and was satisfying, but I did feel that the romantic aspect of it wrapped up very quickly. I would have loved to get an epilogue a little further down the road. Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable read!

CW: cancer, death of parent, fire destruction

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

What a fun and at times heart-warming book.

Beck had the unfortunate/fortunate luck of being born in the local pizza restaurant HnC. Due to this she's gotten free pizza for life, has her birthday there every year, and has a job promised to her if she wants it. She's always felt an aversion to HnC, but after taking the part-time job she was ensured Beck finds that HnC and the staff are more like a second family to her.

I enjoyed going along with Beck on her journey of finding who she is besides the "pizza princess" and seeing how her relationships changed and formed. Her struggles with her pre-job friends and her aversion to letting them know about her job friends is so very real. The addition of the pizza crew added so much joy, I loved Julianne and Tristan (honestly I love any character with that name). I think they pushed her to see her true self.

I highly recommend this feel good book.

This book was definitely cheesy, but I like cheesy. It has a broody love interest, a nerdy group of friends, and an ever-evolving main character.

Perhaps my favorite part of this book was the character development. There were many things to love (as I'll discuss later), but the change we see in the main character is probably my favorite part. Beck is so unsatisfied with her life at the beginning of the book and we get to watch her change and grow as she learns more about herself and what's important to her. I loved being able to witness this shift in her.

I also liked the relationship changes we see with her two groups of friends. At first, I was already writing off her first group of friends because they were popular and rich, but the author really surprised me. Both groups of Beck's friends had value and things to add to Beck's life and I'm so glad Morrill showed me that. Not all popular and rich characters in books have to be snobby and mean and judgemental and I'm glad that was shown to me here.

Beck's other group of friends are also super great and we see the author break another YA friend group stereotype with them. Not all kids who work part-time jobs and sit alone at lunch are losers. Beck's group of friends who worked with her at the pizza shop were nerdy and quirky and a perfect addition to her life. They were exactly what she needed to show herself that it was okay to be herself. And that who she was was good enough. I loved that.

Now, one thing that made me dock major points on this book was the plot. I love romance. Love, love it, but I like it more when the main character is doing something more than trying to win over their love interest. The main character didn't have some kind of end goal to be reached by the end of the book. She just was living and falling in love and changing. I had hoped for more sustenance.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book for those who are looking for a chill and easy romance to read.

I cannot emphasize HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS BOOK. not only was it a well rounded story that addresses the awkwardness and hilariousness of being in high school, the slow burn romance felt real and authentic and SO FUN. If you're looking for a read that is so satisfying and sweet AND makes you grow a lil bit as a person, this book is for you!

We interviewed the author and her episode where she talks about her book and what went into it comes out the week her book comes out, so read it and then listen while we spill the tea and listen to this AMAZING WRITER discuss her book and all the perfect little moments.

Hint: our favorite scene was the drive in scene. So cute.

Novelboundpodcast.com

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It’s Kind of a Cheesy Love Story is straightforward, in that it’s exactly what you see on the tin: it’s a cheesy love story (with some semblance of a self-discovery narrative), but it also involves literal cheese, because pizza. It’s cute, it’s fun, and it makes use of its premise without delving in too deep.

I did like the overall narrative of Beck having to figure out how to be herself when she’s split between two very different groups of people, and having to reckon with the fact that she does need to work because of familial financial struggles, even though her parents are very supportive of her emotionally.

And the romance with Tristan is cute. It’s not epic or anything, but I think it’s nice to have a teen romance that is just normal and allowed to have all the awkwardness mixed with the good moments, as suits a YA contemporary.

I did feel that the story lacked real depth to the characters. I was able to finish the book quickly, but in spite of the issues it attempts to deal with, I just felt very detached from everyone and like it felt fairly superficial.

I enjoyed this book, but I do think this was a case where I’m outside the target demographic, and perhaps someone it was more suited for would appreciate it more.

Beck couldn't wait to escape her town and leave her "legacy" behind. Born sixteen years ago on the floor of a pizza parlor bathroom, she was forever known as the "bathroom baby" and the "pizza princess". She spent a lot of energy trying to play down her Hot 'n Crusty side, but after accepting the long promised job at the HnC, she started to see the pizza place in a different light.

When I saw "love story" in the title, I was expecting a boy-meets-girl sort of thing. There was some of that, but for me, this was about Beck figuring out who she was, who she wanted to be, and loving herself. She desperately desired to be someone else. She spent time with people she considered friend-adjacent and hid parts of herself in order to fit in better with them. She tried, but never really felt like a full member of the group. When she started working at the Hot 'n Crusty, she easily bonded with her co-workers. She found she could set her inner geek free with them and be her true self.

Morrill did a great job exploring the friendship dynamics in both Beck's groups. It seemed like a lesson in contrasts, but there was more to that story. I actually loved where she went with it. These friendships really challenged Beck at times. She was forced to see her role in the relationships, and it was wonderful to see her grow as a result of these challenges.

Nights at work were some of my favorites! The vibe at the pizza place was fun. Beck had a boss, who I kept seeing as Eugene Levy, and a bunch of quirky co-workers, who I enjoyed getting to know. It really took me back to my food service days. Getting through tough shifts would be impossible without the friendship and support of the rest of the staff. But it wasn't all work, there was fun, games, hijinks, and pizza too.

Let's hit the highlights!
✅ Fantastic friendships
✅ Adorable romance(s)
✅ Fun hijinks
✅ Present parents
✅ Personal growth
✅ The "table game"
✅ Alternate post high school plans
✅ Baked goods
✅ Community
✅ Embracing your true self
✅ Pizza

This was a really sweet story about friendship and being your most authentic self. It was a bumpy journey for Beck, but she definitely was the winner at the end of it all.

It’s Kind of a Cheesy Love Story is a cute novel. The main character is a type of girl I'd want to have as a best friend. She was funny. I love hearing about her day at the pizza shop and the fun things her and her friends did together. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

This book really WAS cheesy! It was an adorable YA story all about finding who you are and who you want to be. I would've loved this as a teen and I loved it now as an adult!I loved the pizza shop setting and the whole entire history with the pizza shop was so funny and such a fun addition to the story. It really made you love beck for wanting to find herself and not be known for being born in a pizza shop bathroom. This was an overall adorable book with fun, quirky moments that an YA fan will enjoy!

4.5 cutest stars

I flew through this fun, quirky book so fast, I read it in two sittings, its quite easy and fluffy read. Beck the MC of the book enters the world quite dramatically- she is born in a bathroom stall of a local Pizza place making her an instant local celebrity, however she can't wait to get rid of her "pizza princess" tag. Beck is like every teenager trying to figure out things, when she is offered a part-job at the pizza place she is reluctant to take it because all she wanted is to run away from this spotlight, however she is forced to take up the offer because of the situations. What she doesn't see coming is Hot n Crusty pizza becoming more than a family in no time

I loved how the book showed the relationship dynamics- Beck with her parents, Beck with her rich friends and Beck with her middle class friends, the way Beck adapts to each of these contrasting dynamics struggling to maintain a separate persona for each of those is quite realistic, the romance between Tristin and Beck is so adorable and its nice to see how Tristin brings the best out of her. How Beck owns her life forms the crux of the story. Overall it is an adorable YA contemporary to pick up as a rainy day read

The premise of this story is awesome. Beck was born in the bathroom of a pizzeria known as “Hot n’ Crusty.” Everyone knows her as the Hot n’ Crusty baby, and Beck hates it. She’s guaranteed free pizza for life as well as a job when she turns 16. When Beck starts the promised job at the pizzeria, she has to juggle her longtime friends with her new geeky pizza shop friends.

The story has a great message about growing and coming to accept who you are as a person. There’s a cute romance that I appreciated. The characters are relatable, and I loved the accurate descriptions of the pizza and pizzeria.

I received an advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this book!!!! It was so good and so cute!! I loved the pizza shop, it made it so unique to the story! The romance of Tristan and Beck was so cute! The friends reminded me of my friends. A must read for anyone who is fans of Jenny Han, John Green...etc. It would be so cool if they made this into a movie!

Beck was born on the bathroom floor of Hot N’ Crusty, a local pizza shop, and all she wants is to go off to college where she will no longer be known as the Bathroom Baby—where the pizza shop won’t be what defines her. But once she turns sixteen and begins working there, she realizes it is, in fact, part of her, and it isn’t all bad. The employees are like family.

I loved how Morrill explored how difficult it can be as a teen figuring out where you fit in, who you fit in with, and the struggles that come with feeling like you can’t be yourself—or not knowing yourself. In short, I really liked the portrayal of the complexities of high school relationships (and feelings!) I loved how Beck came to embrace the pizza shop as part of her identity, and ultimately, saving it was more important to her than escaping it. I really liked the discussions around kids not having to nor wanting to go to college, despite that seeming to be a societal expectation now. Having said all this, when it came to Tristan, I didn't think there were enough good moments to make me root for him (and them), I just wish there were more moments like when he tells her he really wants to kiss her, moments of vulnerability... and moments of romance (but this is probably a personal preference!). But I did love how he wasn’t putting up with Beck’s crap and helped her to see the issues she was having personally.

Overall, I would certainly recommend reading this! It was an adorable book about embracing who you are with a dash of teenage romance.

I brake for books like It’s Kind Of A Cheesy Love Story by Lauren Morrill. It is everything I wanted in a book and more. There is pizza and wonderfully written parents and class and obviously romance. This was the perfect book to pick up for a pick me up. Honestly, I was just so happy by the end of this book and thrilled with the outcome and developments within.

It’s Kind Of A Cheesy Love Story opens up with Beck’s birthday celebration. Every year she celebrates her birthday at the Hot N Crusty pizzeria. There is usually a photo taken for the newspaper. You see, Beck Brix was born in the bathroom of the Hot N Crusty. The owner who is just fantastic, Del, gives Beck free pizza for life as well as the guarantee of a job when she turns 16. Only, Beck doesn’t care for her local fame. She doesn’t love being known as the Pizza Princess and Bathroom Baby. She doesn’t even like pizza all that much. So, as we open the book, Beck is turning 16.

She would rather work anywhere else over the summer, or actually not even have to work like her friend group – essentially the popular rich kids. Alas, Beck needs to work. She was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Everything, however, seems to be coming together for Beck. Her crush Mac seems to finally be noticing her. Working at the Hot N Crusty will put a dent in her plans to get with Mac. She’s dreading her upcoming job. But, it turns out, it isn’t as bad as she thought it would be. Beck is getting paid a few dollars above minimum wage. She also really like her coworkers. And well, something just might eventually develop between her and a certain delivery boy.

Like I said, I just LOVED It’s Kind Of A Cheesy Love Story. I’ve read all of Morrill’s books and this is my favorite so far. It gave me real Emma Mills vibes which is such a high compliment. I loved that Beck wasn’t super sure about her future and which college to go to and what to major in. She also is having insecurity regarding her friend group and feels like the odd woman out because she’s not in dance and she’s not wealthy.

I love that Beck grows so much as a character. OH and her parents when they do pop up are wonderful. AND DEL the owner of the Hot N Crusty, he won me over too. And okay, I am not going to spoil the romance for you, but the trope is one of my favorites and I am so over the moon in love with how everything played out in this wonderful book.

I finished reading this book and loved it. I loved that she finds her place. This book actually had friendships and working as main plot --the love interest was more on the side. I loved the parents were there . I liked that she found her place in the world even while being the pizza baby.

This book drew me in from the very beginning. 16 years ago, Beck achieved local celebrity status by being born in the Hot and Crusty pizza restaurant. That singular moment has defined so much about her life, and as Beck struggles to find out who she is and who she wants to be, the H&C is right there along the way. As the title suggests, this is a cheesy love story in a couple of ways (yay pizza puns!!). Morrill rights about the high school experience in such a fun, fresh way, with a cast of characters that you see in every high school. The twists and turns that you go on with Beck as she struggles to find herself are so honest and real. I've long been a fan of Lauren Morrill, and this book is quite possibly her best yet. I highly recommend it.

This was a cute story set in a pizzeria. We follow our main character Beck who was actually born in a pizza restaurant and when she's 16 she starts working at the exact same place she was born.YA
It's all about her meeting new friends and learning she doesn't have to act like someone else and of course it has a cute romance.
A cute YA contemporary that you can fly through...and makes you want to devour all the pizza.

I love the premise of this story. LOVE. Girl born in a pizzeria and doomed to spend the rest of her known life as the Hot n' Crusty baby? I'm in. It's straight of out a wholesome Buzzfeed article and the author really manages to capture the magic of it. You see our main character, Beck, struggle with her public persona, but also come to grow into it and accept it as part of her story.

That said, I feel as if this story would've benefited *without* the romance (I know, I know, I'm clutching my Hallmark-loving pearls too) and was written as more of a self-discovery journey with quirky characters and a potential a love interest to keep things interesting. Instead, we're given the complicated love triangle (GET IT? TRIANGLE? BECAUSE PIZZA? nvm) with dashing Mac and polar opposite Tristian. I never found myself swooning over either of them and actually thought Tristan to be more grating than endearing (GET IT? GRATING? I'll stop now.)

The 'us VS them' storyline between Beck and her two friends groups felt tiring after a few chapters though most of the blame on that falls yet again on Tristian and how little his motives are fleshed out. The tension resolves by the third act following a pretty major event, but it would've been nice to see the two groups come to understand one another naturally as opposed to being forced into unity for Beck's sake.

Overall, this is a lighthearted and fluffy read (just how I like them) and definitely made me wanna go and grab a slice of pizza more than once. Beck is one of the most realistic and likable YA characters I've read in a while, and while I wish the story was more about her and focused less on her love life, this is a kind of cheesy love story after all.

Being born in a local pizza joint's bathroom is something that Beck Brix has never been able to live down. Yet, its hard to distance yourself from names such as Pizza Princess or Bathroom Baby when everyone in your town considers you a local commodity, kind of how people from St. Louis feel about toasted ravioli or gooey butter cake: something only we've got that makes us special. The last thing Beck wants is to accept the job that has been waiting for her since birth at Hot 'n Crusty but her options are pretty limited and having just gotten her drivers license means she is in need of some cash. As Beck starts to change as a result of working at Hot 'n Crusty, she'll have to start to reconcile who she wants to be with who she truly is in a delightfully snarky and sweet Rom-Com that will leave readers laughing, crying, and wanting so much more.

I'm not sure I have the vocabulary to be able to fully express how much I loved this story. I appreciated how imagery coated this book from front to back (kind of like pizza grease) and it wasn't just reserved for scenes considered important. That kind of attention to detail just made the story so much better. I also enjoyed all of the snark, jokes, and humor that constantly left me giggling, as well as the sweet moments that resulted in swooning. Beck was so relatable and I know that I can definitely understand the need to get away from a label that others have stuck you with, yet not ever really being able to because it means so much to those who gave it to you in the first place. Reconciling that part of yourself with who you feel you are and want to be is a challenge, and I loved experiencing Beck's journey through that. The romance and friendships were also fun to explore and I appreciated how even though there was a difference in friends groups, neither one was made out to be the bad guy. Finally, I know many readers will be able to understand how a building and the people in it can begin to feel like home. Whether that place be a pizza joint or a library, a bowling alley or a community center, there is a place where we all feel we belong.

I'm more than happy to give It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story 5/5 stars, and I recommend it for all ages groups middle school and up. I promise you won't be disappointed as this is the fun and fluffy, yet deep and meaningful read you didn't know you needed in 2021.

A cute, fun read almost as delicious as Beck’s mom’s petit fours. I love all of Lauren Morrill’s books, and It’s Kind of a Cheesy Love Story filled the “I-haven’t-gone-on-a-date-in-11-months”-sized hole in my heart. Lauren is great at writing characters that you want to root for, and I was on Beck’s team from the start. I’m also Aggressively Attracted to any boy with a leather jacket, so you KNOW I was smiling ear to ear when Tristan was introduced.

This was such an adorable story!! It definitely reminded me of Tweet Cute by Emma Lord in some ways which is another YA contemporary romance that involves a lot of time spent in restaurants. I loved the premise of this, imagine being known as the girl who was born in a pizza shop! Not very glamorous but definitely has its perks as Beck is set with free pizza for life.
It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story was a cute romance with a main character who learns to love herself and accept who she is without feeling like she needs to change for other people. I definitely appreciated Beck and her relatability as she navigates her food service job in order to get her own car.
I think some of the side characters could have been developed a bit more but this was still a super enjoyable and quick read! What you see isn't necessarily what you get with this book; it is in fact kind of a cheesy love story, but it also has a great message that I think a lot of people will really enjoy reading about.