Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of this book!

This book is very light and fun--centered on a teen reality TV cooking competition, our main character is Peyton, a girl from a small town looking to earn a cooking scholarship. Peyton is imperfect, and is relatable as a result. While she has a father in prison, and a mother who is described as depressed and reliant on her sister, Peyton doesn't want to earn a scholarship through playing up her background--she wants to use her cooking skills. As it is centered on a reality TV set, there is lots of drama, and many little twists, but all around it's a solid book and quick read for students who are interested in cooking at all.

The only complaint I would have is that the pacing and character development feels odd at times. For example, Inaaya, who is described as Peyton's closest friend on the show, is cut from the show without the reader being able to see the how or why behind the decision, and is then barely mentioned until the closing scene--would love to see more on their friendship and more humanizing of each character! The pacing towards the end also appeared rushed at times, but the moments of food description helped slow it down and give the reader a sense of closure.

I do not see myself teaching this text necessarily, but I would love to keep a copy in my classroom for students to access.

Thank you to Netgalley and Perseus Books, Running Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I am not a big contemporary reader, but when I saw words 'reality culinary competition', I knew that I had to read it! I wasn't disappointed. Sarah J. Schmitt creates a cute story which shows how the competitors feel and how the 'reality' aspect can be quite fake. I really admired that the main character Peyton Sinclaire didn't want her story to be portrayed as a 'sob story' even though it would have made her life easier.

The main character was fun and sympathetic, but I wish that the other competitors also had more spotlight. Peytons backstory is developed, but we only get crumbs about why the other characters are taking part in the game and their history.

The storyline was quite fast paced and easy to follow - a good read when you want something cute!

Cute and fast paced appealing to a very foodie audience. I enjoyed the 'Chopped' like FoodTV premise. It is appropriate for YA readers and very much about building identity and making one's own way in the world.
A cute YA food competition book.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Sarah Schmitt sets Where There's a Whisk in the competitive world of cooking shows. But,...this show is specifically for teens. The teens competing are swept away to a huge suite in New York City, treated to tours of the city and then challenged to create meals and desserts based on their sightseeing adventures.

Peyton Sinclaire sees the show as her opportunity to escape from waitressing in her small town in northern Florida. She wants to win the scholarship to culinary school.. Seven other entrants want the prize as well. How far will they go to win?
In the course of the contest, Peyton runs the gamut of emotions from embarrassment to pride, sadness to euphoria and even a small crush or two thrown in to liven things up. The behind the scenes machinations of the producers are a total shock to Peyton, as is her progress and prowess in the competition.

Teens who liked With The Fire on High will enjoy this as well, though it is more light-hearted than Acevedo's book.

In a reality TV show slash cooking programme mashup, a group of witty teens must go head to head to win a scholarship to a leading culinary school in this YA Contemporary. Each teen has their own angle and story which they have to play on to win hearts, whether that be their socioeconomic background or their family connections. To win, not only do they have to cook up a variety of baked goods and full meals in some pretty wild challenges but also boost the network’s ratings.

It’s a great concept for anybody who likes watching food programmes. As somebody who regularly watches Masterchef (the UK version) and spends too much time flicking onto the Food Network, this was right up my street and made me realise that cooking shows in the UK are definitely less cutthroat than they are in the US…

But what did I think about it?

If we were to judge this book like one of Peyton’s dishes, I’d say that the concept is brilliant. The individual components are even quite good. The overall execution may need some tweaks but it’s still enjoyable enough to read the whole book. Schmitt would be staying for the next round.

The Blurb

Peyton Sinclaire wants nothing more than to escape her life as a diner waitress in her small, North Florida town and attend culinary school. Top Teen Chef, Food TV’s new show that pairs reality TV drama with a fast-paced culinary competition, is her ticket out of her boring future. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make her dreams come true and Peyton is determined to prove to herself, and the world, that where you’re born does not determine where you can go. However, once on the show, Peyton quickly discovers that there is more to the competition than just a well-seasoned dish.

As things start to heat up on and off the set, Peyton will have to prove to the judges that she deserves to win while trying to untangle what is real and what is scripted drama, and decide what she is willing to risk to win before her dreams end up on the chopping block.

What I Liked:

Creative Ideas

This book is enjoyable to read and also quite creative, which suggests that the author should start directing food TV shows. From Landmark Challenges in New York City where you have to spend hours running around a zoo and then create a dish inspired by it, to advantages where you can turn somebody else’s kitchen into a miniature version of one, it’s fun to read about. Peyton reacts well to the challenges and I liked how Schmitt knew her characters enough to see how they would react to these obstacles.

The Characters

There were some three dimensional characters here, though given how brief the book is, they weren’t always developed enough. But I did enjoy learning about the cast from Paulie who has to play the angle of being a good, young Italian chef to Hakulani who uses his Hawaiian influences to run his successful food truck with Peyton. Every cast member had their own motivations which made the book special.

References To Musicals

I’m a big fan of musicals and I liked how Schmitt used the plot from Waitress to inform Peyton’s story and how this influenced her character arc. I must have listened to a dozen versions of She Used To Be Mine and I thought that including the moment when Peyton sees it at the theater was a clever way of diving into her emotions.

My Qualms:

Pacing

Where I felt this book lost some of its genius was how quick it was. It felt like we raced through stages of the competition and the relationships that form so that by the end, it’s like you’ve read a (very nice and totally enjoyable) summary of the plot. It would have been nice to have more description: what does the kitchen look like? Let’s see Peyton’s life beforehand so we know what she’s running from. If Dani is going to be mean, then let’s capitalise on this. I think that this book, if slowed down, really could be infinitely better.

Suspension Of Disbelief?

There was a lot of this book which was centered around the romantic relationships between the characters on the show. Whilst perhaps this is reasonable enough given their ages, I felt as if for them to be believable, they needed some more work. For me, this would largely be cleared up if Where There’s A Whisk was longer, so in some way, these qualms go hand in hand.

Overall

In summary, this was a sweet, light-hearted read that capitalises on a brilliant concept, though may slightly lack in the execution. I recommend it for anybody who loves reading about food or just clean teen fiction.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Perseus Books, Running Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.  

This book was so adorable! I love watching cooking shows, and the idea of a YA book set on the set of a cooking show was too tempting to pass up.  

This story is about Peyton Sinclaire a teen chef from a very poor area of the Florida Panhandle.  She's one of 8 contestants on the show Top Teen Chef and and she hopes winning the show & getting a culinary scholarship will be her ticket to a better life.  However, once she's on the show, she realized how much more difficult the whole process is.  She gets mixed signals from a number of other contestants and finds herself the inexplicable enemy of another contestant.  As she cooks, she learns about herself, and must decide who she wants to become, and what she will to if she doesn't win the competition.

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a reality competition shows, food and NYC fan, I shouldn’t be surprised at how much I liked this.

I started this during exams week because it seemed to have a fun and easy to follow plot, and I wasn’t wrong. It’s super fast-paced and entertaining, I actually had to force myself to stop reading and study.

The characters were great but I still think that, being such a fast-paced book, I would have loved to see more details into their relationships and dynamics, and even some further depth for some characters.

Some scenes, like the elimination ones and the ending, did seem a bit rushed, but I guess this is also what made the book such a fast, refreshing and lighthearted read.

First tysm netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this ARC.

Okay if you know me you know I love books about food. This book is probably the best food themed book I've ever read.

This book is so unique because its about 8 teens going into a baking competition but instead of hating each other they become friends which is such a wholesome spin. Some of the things they said were kinda cringe but I feel like that really represents teens accurately. So it was refreshing seeing a realistic portrayal of teenagers in YA. Also this main character didn't let her "tragic" backstory define her like I've seen so many other times. She was her own person and worked for what she had, which I really admire.

THE DRAMA! I have watched my fair share of reality tv and this book did such a good job of capturing the drama. I was literally gasping and giggling as things happened. I read this is one sitting. It was captivating and I felt myself so invested on what was going on. It was really cool to see the perspective of what happens behind the scenes in reality tv. Although I felt like there was lacking LGBTQ+ rep that could have been added easily I did really enjoy all the romance. Also the diversity I think was nice to see included even if it wasn't touched upon a lot.

I am not from the south, but if you are I feel like you could really connect with the main characters better and find yourself relating even more. I loved the incorporation of some southern things.

The amount of plot twists this book had shook me. I was so surprised because i'm not used to them in contemporary. BUT THEY WERE SO GOOD. They kept me invested and interested as the story kept unfolding.

I really enjoyed how the author added consent into the romance. I feel like it's always over looked. Even the small details of "I want to kiss you right now" matter so so much to young people. So I really respect Schmitt for that.

I loved how there was so many layers to this dramatic book. (I feel like this would be an amazing buddy read). The parts where it kind of expanded about how things in reality TV aren't usually real and etc. I think its also important to realize that in our society today.

I won't say which troupe exactly (bc spoilers) but one of my favorite troupes was added into this book and I approve.

I am actually obsessed with this book and will be getting a physical copy as soon as it comes out [although if I was sent one I wouldn't complain ;) ] Also I really did enjoy how this book was concluded and how I felt satisfied after reading. So read it!

I really, really enjoyed this book! It's lighthearted, quickly-paced, and has some really fun characters that laces its pages. Schmitt has such a fun, engaging writing style that I truly could picture everything that was going on in the story and often found myself lost in it. I would keep telling myself, just one more chapter and then I'll go complete whatever task I needed to for the day, but that repeated itself so many times because I couldn't put the book down!

I really loved Peyton as a main character. Her backstory is really interesting and I felt for her so many times when she struggled with the scars of her past. I do wish we could've dived a bit more into that part of her character, but I also feel that it was handled appropriately considering that Peyton didn't want to rely on the "sob story" of her family throughout the show. I also really liked how strong Peyton was and how she often took the high road when other people were trying to bring her down. It brought such a great spirit to the book! I also loved so many of the side characters. They really all have their own personalities and places and very few felt like easy placeholders for the competition. I have to admit, I even felt sad when some of them were cut throughout the story.

I also had so much fun reading about the challenges and cooking descriptions. I often found myself hungry in the middle of reading! The competitions and twists kept me so engaged during the book and I really couldn't wait to see what happened next. The addition of the reality TV aspect of the book added even more intrigue and color and I found myself fascinated by the ins and outs of being behind a camera and what goes into making a show like Top Teen Chef. So much imagination went into this book and it really shows.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and the intricacies of the cooking challenges. I loved that we were given a final chapter to see where some of our favorite characters ended up. It's such a nice, lighthearted, bubbly book which I feel is a welcome addition to the contemporary genre. If you are a fan of Chopped or MasterChef Junior, you won't want to miss picking this one up!

Highly enjoyable and fast paced with a good blend of narrative and characterization. This novel would appeal to multiple audiences. I am firmly and adult but also a 'foodie', so I enjoyed the 'Chopped' like FoodTV premise. It is appropriate for YA readers and very much about building identity and making one's own way in the world.

thank u to netgalley and the publishers for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review!! where there’s a whisk follows peyton sinclaire, who joins a cooking competion show in hopes of winning a scholarship and a way out of her life back home.

okay positives first

malik was the cutest i loved him so much. he was written well enough that there werent even that many interactions with him and i still felt super connected to his character.

inaaya! so sweet i loved her.

the premise was so fun i love anything with reality shows not being as they seem.

plus this was enjoyable and quick enough i finished it in a few hours which i always like.

okay, my critiques

some of the dialogue was kind of forced? this happens in a lot of books where teens come off sounding much younger than they are.

some of the pacing was off. characters left super quickly and i wish there had been more time at least saying goodbye. this happened with the romance too, it came down to the very end of the book which made me not that interested.

—

overall, i enjoyed it!

Rating: 2.5 stars

As someone once binged Top Chef the the point it influenced her dreams, I am the kind of reader that should've loved this book. I love baking and (apparently) make snide comments under my breath, so Peyton is exactly the type of protagonist I should've connected with. Where There's a Whisk should've been a recipe for success, but instead I finished the book feeling underwhelmed and hungry for more.

Where There's a Whisk is all style and no substance. We're given the barebones of a story that reads more like an outline than anything approaching publication. If it were a contestant on a cooking competition, it would be the average home cook in a line-up of seasoned chefs. Judges would use words like "lacks creativity," "underseasoned," and "amateurish" to describe the story, and I can already hear the one persnickety judge bemoaning the need for "depth of flavor." The characters are bland, and the overall story is one-note. The book is, in my opinion, mistakenly categorized as young adult, but I think even middle readers have a sophisticated enough palate to want more.

There's a lack of focus as Schmitt tells the story, so the plot lacks any kind of meaningful direction. Ideas are introduced but never really developed, so it just feels like we have a bunch of half-baked plot points instead of a cohesive story. (I still don't know what the point of the Ellis island passage is supposed to be.) The descriptions of the competition, which take up most of the book, are heavily inspired by actual shows and aren't particularly exciting, The concept of Payton's past is never really explored, so her overall arc feels incomplete. Her friendship with Malik is virtually nonexistent after it's introduced until it's conveniently needed toward the end. The quirky humor which should've been so on brand for me feel flat. The descriptions of the food were the main reason I read this book, but even those were disappointing. I mean, at one point Payton actually makes fruit kabobs--fruit kabobs--for what is supposed to be a high-level cooking competition. All these disjointed pieces thrown together make the book's pacing horribly awkward and end up making Where There's a Whisk an extremely dissatisfying reading experience.

Because Schmitt spends so much time walking readers through the different parts of the competition, the characters end up taking a backseat. For a story that's ostensibly about self-discovery and friendship, you'd think more time would be spent developing some of the characters, but even Payton is pretty one-dimensional. The "romance" feels like it's just thrown in there and isn't particularly compelling since all parties involved are about as flavorful as stale white bread.

With its diverse cast, nods to Food Network competitions, and quirky humor, Where There's a Whisk had all the ingredients needed for a successful story, but with its lack of creativity and poor execution, it wouldn't make it past the appetizer round.

**I’d like to thank NetGalley and Perseus Books, Running Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

I read a few intense books in a row and was looking for a palate cleanser. I picked up a copy of Where There’s a Whisk and it did not disappoint!

Peyton Sinclaire has just joined the cast of Top Teen Chef. If she wins, she gets a scholarship to the American Culinary Institute. If she loses, she goes back to her life as a diner waitress in small-town North Florida. Peyton is competing against a diverse cast of teen chefs from across the county in a variety of surprise cooking and baking challenges, many of which are inspired by the show’s New York City location. The reader is along for the ride as Peyton navigates drama on and off-screen to determine what is real and what is “made-for-TV” while also bringing her A-game to the competition.

Schmitt really captures the energy and atmosphere of reality TV. The reader plunges into the competition right from page one and that energy continues throughout. Sometimes the pacing was a little off, but overall Schmitt makes sure not to drag out the competition. I was worried the storyline might get repetitive, since reality cooking competitions have the same structure each episode, but Schmitt handles it very well. I absolutely loved hearing about the different challenges, especially the ones that were on location in NYC.

Where There’s a Whisk gets a solid four stars from me. It’s entertaining and you’re rooting for Peyton the whole time. I will say that the book is very plot-driven so there isn’t much character growth; however, given the reality TV setting, it wasn’t a deal breaker for me.

I would highly recommend Where There’s a Whisk for anyone in a reading slump looking for a light, fun read, for contemporary YA book lovers, and anyone who loves the energy of reality cooking shows.

So. I took over 4,000 words of notes for this book. That’s not really a good thing.

There is a really good, cute, quirky story here. It’s just buried under info dumps that rival wikipedia and surrounded in summaries that add nothing to the story. Which is a shame.

What this book delivers on in weird summaries about cooking and long internal monologues about how sad Peyton is all the time because she’s poor or whatever.

We never get a full picture of any of the cooking challenges. We might get an idea of the ingredients Peyton wants to use or one of the other dishes another contestant made but that’s it. We get a random, quick summary of who won and them we move on to the next sene. Usually of Peyton whining about how unfair it is that she keeps losing.

A lot of what I want to talk about is spoiler-y so I’m going to be as careful as possible.

There were so many aspect of this book that had me scratching my head and wondering why anyone bothered to include the details. There’s a private interview room that’s only used twice (once for non-interview purposes). The contestants seem to pick and choose when they care about the cameras watching their every move.

And the love triangle. OH GOOD HEAVENS THE LOVE TRIANGLE. It’s a joke. A literal joke. I hated everything about it. I didn’t like either of the boys all that much. I liked Peyton even less. She didn’t deserve either of those boys.

And I hated that this specific reality competition show was so focused on drama. So many aspects of the show had me rolling my eyes and hoping someone else caught on as soon as possible. Peyton hated how the show wanted to focus on her specific upbringing, but she never thought that maybe everyone was playing a role of some kind?

This review is going to be all over the place. I finished this a few days ago but I still feel annoyance to everything.

Let’s talk about the scene where I realized Peyton was selfish and didn’t care about anyone else. The show has the contestants do these Landmark Challenges. They go to an iconic place in NYC, have a tour, and are supposed to be inspired to cook something later. (I’ll complain about these ‘challenges’ later). For one of these challenges it’s to go up to a pretty high location and get a view of the city. One of the boys in the triangle tells Peyton that he is afraid of heights. Instead of sticking by the guy, offering support, or even just being a friend she decides to leave him alone because he looked like he needed it. Then later, when they’re preparing to start the tour she considers going to the guy but someone else steps in and offers support. Then THEN at the top of this landmark she still can’t go over to the guy and congratulate him on facing his fear or anything. Basically she NEVER says anything to him. BUT at every turn every single person is defending Peyton from the mean girl, or offering her words of encouragement, or telling her how great she is. But the ONE TIME someone needs her she’s selfish and keeps to herself.

That’s not even true. Peyton is selfish throughout the entire book. She hardly ever gives anyone encouragement or well wishes. She hardly cares what anyone else might be struggling with. She never goes out of her way to get to know anyone. She’s a horrible MC. I would have preferred the mean girl to be the MC. She actually had an interesting story line.

Also. There were so many weird things that were brought up then dropped and never spoken of again. At the very beginning of the book <spoiler> Malik </spoiler> and Peyton make a kind of silly pact to help each other to the finale. This is never mentioned. There is never any kind of bond between the two of them and when it is brought up it’s so late in the story you’ve probably forgotten about it.

Peyton is stupid. Straight up stupid. I’m sorry. I’m sure she’s supposed to be likeable and relatable, but she just isn’t. She’s poor. Fine. Nothing wrong with that. She whines all the time. That’s just annoying. She’s trying to keep her entire background a secret. That could have been relatable but by the time she finally opens up it’s so late in the book I don’t care any more.

Peyton basically thinks she can’t afford to leave her stupid poor town. She keeps whining that she has no future and she has to win the competition. It’s annoying. I would have had more respect for her had she been making plans and saving money and doing whatever to better her life. People move all the time. People go to new cities with no job and make things work. Peyton is just lazy.

Peyton is also an idiot because she hasn’t realized that the competition is a cooking competition. She hardly ever cooks (and if she wanted to bake everything why didn’t she enter a baking competition?) During two of the Landmark Challenges she doesn’t bother to do any research of exploring. She gets sidetracked by dumb things no one should care about. These pages of weird info dumps take valuable word space from the actual competition. I’d rather read three pages about the competition and what everyone made that three pages about lemurs or about an abandoned hospital. But, no. And of course, even thought Peyton used her time badly she still finds inspiration to make her dish.

Peyton can’t cook. Straight up can’t cook. For one of the rounds she makes fruit kabobs. That’s not cooking. Or baking. That’s something a literal child could construct. There is no skill there.

Peyton doesn’t have a functioning taste bud in her entire body (yes taste buds are in the mouth. I don’t care). Peyton puts weird-arse ingredients together and I’m pretty sure the only people who might find them appealing are pregnant ladies who have lost all control of their taste buds.

Peyton never should have made it as far as she did in the competition. She should have been eliminated the very first round. I said it. I’m not taking it back.

The thing is. Since we never see what happens during any of the challenges we have no idea what Peyton is up against. We have no idea if everyone else sucks as much as she does or if the show is rigging things to keep her on. It’s dumb. It’s beyond dumb. It’s infuriating that this book is pitched as a reality cooking competition with some coming of age lessons and you get none of that.

What should have happened:

Peyton should have bonded with someone who gets eliminated early on (maybe even first). This makes her hesitant to want to open up because she is ashamed of her family’s history. She needs to throw herself into the competition. She can practice a specific recipe she’s struggled with. Remake a dish that got bad marks. All while getting to know the other contestants outside the studio.

As Peyton slowly begins to bond with the other contestants we have the confessional. She’s poked and prodded into admitting things she doesn’t want to admit. This is where she begins to wonder if the show is manipulating everyone else, or just her? But she has nowhere ‘safe’ to talk to anyone else. She starts to pay a lot more attention to the other contestants and realizes that the mean girl isn’t always mean. That the player is kind. That the Hawaiian guy hates being the stereotypical guy in Hawaiian shirts, etc.

As Peyton learns more and grows closer to the two guys in the triangle she’s not sure who she likes more. Then she can stumble into the overheard phone call and play along with the producers ideas (no spoilers, if you read the book you know what I’m talking about).

As more contestants get cut the more Peyton is determined to learn all she can and prepare as much as possible for the next challenge. She has feelings for both boys and they both have some cute moments during the challenges.

The ending can more or less pay out the way it did in the book.

Basically I wanted a point to this book. It all seemed so weirdly paced and the descriptions were so off.

I think the book can be fixed. I think it’ll take a lot of work and a really critical eye. But right now it doesn't work for me in any way, shape, or form. I don’t care enough about Peyton to want her to succeed. I don’t believe the love story. I don’t think the cooking parts of the book are interesting enough to hold my attention.

But there is potential.


P.S. Please don’t ever serve rambutan raw (the seeds and skin are incredibly toxic). And why were we giving teens an ingredient that no one knew how to safely prepare. That sounds dangerous.

This was a cute, funny, wholesome story that I read in one afternoon. It tells the story of Peyton going through a Food TV teen cooking competition in which she could possibly win a culinary academy scholarship. Peyton coming from meager roots sees this as the only opportunity to get out of her hometown and make something more of her life. What she soon realizes is she had those tools all along and just needed to find the courage to use them and the cooking show has very little about how they can cook. The contestants and the reader enjoy a journey to the landmarks of New York city and the challenges of the competition. Friendships are made, romances started and some enemies are fought but in the end its about Peyton learning who she is, growing through the struggles she endures (and there are plenty) being the sweet, funny person she is and taking every opportunity she has. Can Peyton come to terms with where she comes from and be able grow from it or will she continue to be embarassed by it? I have already set this aside for my teenage daughter to read who is a budding young baker herself as I know she will love this book as much as I have. It will be an easy read for a novice or advanced YA reader; it's written well and throws some history lessons in there too. Thank you Sarah Schmitt and Perseus, Running Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Running Press Kids for the ARC!

All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was so stinking cute! I absolutely adored it. We follow Peyton who wants to escape from her small town in Florida and become a chef. While she’s on Top Teen Chef, she realizes that the competition isn’t just about the cooking.

I loved the New York setting for this book. Reading how the characters were exploring the city made it feel like I was actually there with them.

Only thing that I didn’t like about this book was how unrealistic some of the challenges were, especially since we’re following teenagers.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It has romance, drama, and obviously food. If you’re looking for a sweet, fast paced read then I highly suggest picking this up. Book releases on October 5th!

Spoilers Ahead!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

3.5/5 stars.

At first glance, this book seems like its right up my alley: YA contemporary set on the backdrop of a Top Chef style (its literally called Top Teen Chef) cooking competition?! You are speaking my language!!! But sadly, it was lacking in flavor (pun intended). I was actually surprised to see the page count was 400 pages, because it didn't feel nearly fleshed out enough to be that long. Peyton was a great MC, and I really liked her, but I feel like we barely scratched the surface of her compelling story, which just added to the bare-bones feel of the plot. The side characters were also great, and the concept was fab, but I just wanted MORE. More depth, more connection, more seasoning.

Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of Where There's a Whisk! This story follows Peyton, an aspiring chef who is competing in the reality show Top Teen Chef as the ticket out of her small-town life. But the competition requires more from her than just cooking, and Peyton has to decide how far she's willing to go to win the competition.

This story was so fun! As someone who loves watching cooking/baking competition shows, this was a blast. It's a super fast-paced story (I flew through it in one sitting) with fun friendships, some romance, and yes, there were some cheesy moments too. I loved the New York setting and watching the characters explore some popular tourist areas in the city.

I also loved the entire cast of characters, but sometimes I did wish there was a little more emphasis on them. The characters that are immediately established as Peyton's friends--Malik and Inaaya--pretty quickly take a backseat to the romance arc, which was a little disappointing. And though I loved how fast-paced it was, there were some elements of the competition itself that I wish we had spent more time on. Though the book would've been much longer if it had gone through all the challenges and eliminations in detail, sometimes it did feel like the competitions/eliminations were sped through in order to get to the next. A little more balance there would've made this book even better.

And obviously, this book was pretty unrealistic to what actual cooking show competitions demand from their contestants, especially since they were all teens. But that didn't take away any of the fun for the book for me--I didn't come to this book looking for realism, I came for a good time, and that was what I got.

In the end, I really enjoyed this story. I loved seeing Peyton grow as a character and challenge her beliefs about herself. If you're looking for a fun, fast-paced story with a bit of romance, I'd definitely recommend checking it out when it's released in October!

This was a super fun, light read. I've always loved reality competition shows, whether fictional from a book or in real life, so this went straight with my interests. I think the whole two sides of reality tv was so well done, as many of the reality tv books I've read tend to glamorize the entire experience.

I really loved Peyton as a protagonist. She was strong-willed, and grew to know her worth in the process. I liked her complicated background and the way she wanted herself to be perceived by others.

I think that with a storyline like this, it's really easy to fall into the cliché, but this book did a good job of not doing that. It combined the duality of reality tv very well, and portrayed the character's emotions in a way that made it very clear how taxing a show like this can be.

I also liked that it was pretty character heavy. In a book like this, making it plot heavy tends to create a slow, dragging read. In comparison, this book was fast-paced. I couldn't put it down.

One thing I will say is I felt that many of the characters were not developed enough. I liked how the author spent time developing friendships and not just romances, but even then, the characters were pretty 2-dimensional. I felt that especially for Paulie. I loved the romance he and Peyton had, but as a character by himself, there wasn't too much there.

Overall, I really liked this book. It was a fun, fast paced read.

I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Believe me, the entire buddy read thread was just me complaining about everything. Yet somehow, I cane out of this book with a positive memory.

My favorite thing about this was definitely the cooking show aspects. I love watching cooking shows in my free time, so this was right down my alley. I liked the challenges that were used, and how they explored New York City. I did feel like all of the advantages/sabotages were incredibly unrealistic, which disappointed me.

I also hated the way some of the characters acted. We're never given an explanation or apology from a character who made some vile comments about and to our main character. What's even worse is that the bully was an adult, and was insulting a teenager.

The romance in this was completely unnecessary as it developed in the last 15% and was between Peyton and an underdeveloped character. If there had been more setup for it, I mightve enjoyed it, but that wasn't the case.

Despite this entire review being me complaining, I did enjoy this book! I binged it in a day, and didn't want to put it down. Its an enjoyable book, just one with a lot of problems.

Thanks to Sarah J. Schmitt and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!