Member Reviews
A cute teen romcom that checks all the boxes. Besides who doesn’t love a baking romance trope? I would recommend this to others!
Reese’s plans for the summer involve her marketing internship with Friend of Flavor…the widely popular cooking streaming service. Her goal is to get the fall internship leave all the drama from home and have a fresh start. Reese’s plan did not involve the culinary intern Benny or starting in a show with him.
First off let me say that I adore Benny and all main characters love interests need to be like him. Please and thank you. This book was such a cute read! I loved the relationship between the main character. It was super sweet and not at all insta-love at all. Reese got on my nerves at time but it didn’t fully take away from the story. Her 2 best friend were great and I love how supportive they were. The one thing that really bugged me was the miscommunication in the book and the fact that it went on much longer than it should have. That’s really the only thing that was a bit of a distraction from the story. Other then that I really enjoyed this book!
Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the digital copy!
*I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I just finished this and it was such a cute read! If you're looking for a book that is overall cute, fun, and light hearted then this is your book! Loved the characters and the plot.
A cute teen romcom based friend on reese and benny both competing for their dream internship at a food network. Both characters were very sweet and likable. It was a light easy read, and I would recommend to anybody looking for just that.
Two cooking interns hosting a show together and fighting for the chance to land the dream job. Reese Camden is a southern lady just waiting for the chance to take her internship to the next level as a permanent position at her dream marketing job at Friends of Flavor, a popular cooking channel in Seattle. Her competition is the extremely charming culinary intern, Benny Beneventi. Benny and Reese are thrown for a loop when they are both do a photo shoot that goes viral and ends up with them becoming the new viral sensation for the company. Soon the feelings between the two begin to get mixed in with job competition, and the insecurities and problems that come with going viral. Reese and Benny may be opposites but something just keeps drawing them together. This was a cute story filled with puns and a super sweet romance. Reese’s insecurities and past issues were relatable and the problems she dealt with were very relevant to workplaces today. Benny was a very sweet and charming love interest who was constantly trying to be there for her. Overall, a very cute story!
*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
Such a cute read!!! I am forever joining the baker romance trope lovers club. I would recommend this book to anyone who is in a book slump.
This was a great book. I loved reading about a cooking show romance. Reese was a great lead and Benny was a great romantic lead. It was funny, cute, and definitely worth a read.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Great romcom! The author really made me want to cry because of how adorable the two main leads are. Amazing read. Hands down 4.5/5
This is a super sweet teen rom-com centered around a pair of cooking interns at a food network. I really enjoyed the light hearted nature of the book while also still tackling some real issues related to workplace harassment. I thought that Reese and Benny were super realistic and likable characters and I will definitely be recommending this book!
I've heard so many great things about this book that I just had to ask for the review copy and dig in, and let me tell you, this book is FUN. Blend up a cooking show with a friends-to-lovers romance storyline, lots of puns and characters you can truly like and root for, and this is a book you'll want to spend your time with...then read everything by the author. It's a fabulous story. Thank you, NetGalley for letting me spend time with this one. I loved it.
Love From Scratch, is a cute teen romance with a sweet baking storyline. Reece and Benny are very funny and kept me turning pages quicker and quicker.
An adorably sweet story with realistic characters that remind me of people I know, with a dash of humor and awesome levels of feminism regarding workplace macro and microaggressions and navigating public reputations and personal comfort levels.
I absolutely loved the two main characters in this story! Two young people who are working as interns at a very popular food network couldn’t be more different. Benny is the youngest of four and was born in a true Italian family. He was brought up cooking and making things from scratch. Reese is a very reserved and quiet girl from Kentucky who would love nothing more to get to do more than patrol the comment section for the network on social media. The network needs to film the next episode for one of their shows but the normal cast is having to travel for a special episode. The network ends up grabbing Benny and Reese to do one episode, with neither of them having experience in filming a cooking show this could be a complete disaster. It turns out that the two of them have a chemistry that fans are going crazy over. What will happen after they become such a hit after their first time meeting and filming the show? This story also go over some major struggles that women face on a daily basis and I love that the character Benny stands up and fonts for Reese. I would give this book more than five stars if I could.
Thank you so much to Random House Children's for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I loved this book! I’m still grinning from ear to ear after having read it. This is a perfect YA rivals-to-lovers summer romance with such great themes of feminism, standing up for yourself, healing from past trauma, and living life to its fullest. I adored Reese and Benny’s dynamic so much and I honestly wish there was more in the epilogue because I can’t get enough of how cute they are!
Speaking of Reese, I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure if I’d like Reese as an MC because I have a history of finding white, blond YA female MCs in books to be super pretentious and ignorant. However, I really admired Reese and the strength she showed from healing from the horrible incidents that occurred in her high school to moving to Seattle and being determined to make herself known at Friends of Flavor and fighting for her spot for the fall internship. I also loved how diverse the supporting cast was in this book and how these supporting characters reminded Reese that even with her being a female intern at FoF, she still carries a lot of privilege that other employees at FoF don’t have. The representation among the supporting cast was handled really respectfully, and I appreciate Kaitlyn Hill for doing so!
As far as Benny, the entire time, I was picturing Jaren Lewison from Never Have I Ever as Benny, probably because his name is also Ben in the show lol, but just a more obnoxious version of Ben from NHIE. I wasn’t sure I was going to like him either, especially since I could already see hints of how uncomfortable the environment at FoF was for women. But, Benny was a TOTAL SWEETHEART and I honestly swooned at how caring and open he was about Reese’s situation of continually being sexually harassed, not just at her high school, but at FoF too. Also, the fact that he openly communicates with Reese and directly tells her how he feels about her right up front without playing any shady tricks or games? So swoonworthy. Guys really need to take notes. The way he would get so flustered around her IRL while pulling off this suave, cool, charming exterior whenever they were on camera was also so adorable.
Overall, this is such an adorable YA romance and most possibly one of my favorite YA romances of all time now. I highly highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of books by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Lynn Painter, or Michelle Quach and I can’t wait for everyone to read Love From Scratch when it releases in April!
The cuteness of this rom-com. Baking show? High school romance? Swoon-worthy young man (BENNY) that is practically perfection? Okay then this is the book for you.
Romance storylines with cooking competition shows is almost always a hit because it is just so fun and cute. This one throws in important issues with sexism and misogynic gross men, along with the dangers of fame. The chemistry is believable and it stands out above other novels in this genre that can easily be swept under and forgotten.
I'm learning it is the author's debut novel and that just sets high hopes for her future if this is what she starts with.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review
THIS BOOK WAS SO ADORABLE!! I fell in love with the cover when I saw it and I just wanted to read the book so much, but it had been on my tbr for so long. Now that I finished the book, I wish I had read it sooner. This book was so much for to read and I loved the characters as well as writing. I loved Reese and Benny's story. The nicknames were just adorable!! I can't wait for others to read this book.
I really did loved this book. It was a nice balance between a fun sumemr contempory with a summer vibes, baking/cooking and a compeition. This book also did deal with the dark side of fame and internert culture. I also thought this book was not balance with hate to love and friends to more. It was a fun read and i loved ben as main character. I would have loved to be in his head as well as resse. I loved the food network setting and just wish we saw more of resse family life. This book was a nice balance between YA and almost to college!! It was a fun read and I would def read more books by this author in the future.
I am a big fan of the Food Network, and we all know I have a soft spot for books that center around cooking and food. Basically, Love from Scratch is a book made just for me, and I thorughly enjoyed it.
Reese and Benny’s relationship is the heart and soul of this book. While Reese doesn’t initially have a positive impression of Benny, it doesn’t take long for her to realize that he is caring and compassionate and worthy of her time. I love that they can joke around and call each other funny nicknames (like “Reese’s Pieces” and “Benedict Cumberbatch,” but that they can also have deep and vulnerable conversations about the bullying Reese has faced and Benny’s complicated relationship with his family’s business. It is clear that their romantic relationship has a basis in friendship and caring that is pure and sweet.
Reese’s friends from Kentucky, Clara and Nat, are also a critical part of the story. Reese is presented as a pretty shy person, so it was nice to see that she has loyal and supportive friends to confide in before she finds that in her relationship with Benny. Also, since Reese is so far away from home, her conversations with Nat and Clara provide details on what her life there is like.
As someone who loves the Food Network, I enjoyed getting a behind the scenes glimpse into what goes into making a cooking show. Of course, it’s not just about those in front of the camera, and I appreciated that Reese’s initial role at Friends of Flavor is in marketing working on social media for the channel. I also wish that Amateur Hour, Reese and Benny’s Friends of Flavor show, was real because I would absolutely watch it.
I also appreciated that Love from Scratch addresses sexism in television. Reese reads inappropriate comments about her body on Amateur Hour and is essentially told that she should clean the kitchen instead of Benny because she is a girl. This puts Reese in a particularly uncomfortable position as an intern because she doesn’t feel like she can say anything about it. It was also nice to see Benny recognizing the sexism and making sure to check in and support Reese in these moments.
There are also moments where Love from Scratch addresses the issues that come with fame and being recognized. Not only does Reese face internet trolls, but she also has to figure out how to set boundaries when fans cross the line at a convention. It is important that Love from Scratch doesn’t shy away from these issues around being in the public eye and that it shows Reese receiving support from those around her.
Love from Scratch is Kaitlyn Hill’s debut novel, and I am excited to see what she writes next.
Love From Scratch is everything I've been looking for in a novel. A cooking show and a romance novel are always a hit. They're both adorable and cheesy. This narrative was produced by their banter and culinary jokes. I'd give anything to read them for the first time again.
Reese and Benny are both Friends of Flavor summer interns. Their marketing intern is Reese, and their culinary intern is Benny. When the two original people filming the video had to go somewhere else, they were both thrown into making a video. These two flirting teenagers have just gone viral, thanks to that video. They transformed their one-time arrangement into a series called Amateur Hours.
It's all fun and games until they start filming videos, which started as them cooking together to now forcing them to compete. They must now compete for the fall culinary position, as only one of them will be chosen. This isn't exactly fair because Benny has the upper hand over Reese, but Reese isn't going to let him win because of it.
Their chemistry is growing as the videos and competition go on, not to mention their fame is increasing. Even if everything is going well, one event can send it all crashing down. All of this fame has resulted in a slew of nasty comments. The hatred is always directed at the females, particularly Reese.
It's difficult to ignore when the hatred is directed solely at you. It's difficult when individuals who are sitting behind a computer and do nothing, try to put you down because of the way you speak, look, smile, or whatever. It's absurd, but that's how real life works. And I'm pleased it was included in this book. When I read this, I believe it's an eye-opener because we all probably send some hateful texts, but we don't think about how horrible it will hurt someone. And all of this hatred is difficult for Reese, and it hurts her, even more, to know that Benny remains unaffected. However, if she breathes in the wrong way, someone will come after her. I call bullshit.
This book featured wonderful feminist perspectives and voices. Because of the hatred, their relationship will face some difficulties. But, being the gentleman that he is, Benny always listens and understands how she is feeling and that she has every right to be upset. I mean, when she told him about the oppressive dress code that solely tells women to cover their bodies, he took away her cardigan because he believes the dress code is complete nonsense. He's constantly ready to rip men apart or launch vicious attacks upon those who hurt Reese. Benny is the picture of perfection. He is the type of man I wish every man on earth to be, but we don't always get what we want. Understanding men >>>>
Anyway, I'm about to scream at my parents for calling me Maddison because I don't have a cute nickname like Reese's Pieces/Reese's Cups.
Love From Scratch by Kaitlyn Hill – (YA/Romance, c/o Netgalley, April 2022) Reese and Benny are two high school students interning at an online culinary network. They end up doing a video together that goes viral, leading to a regular segment that they star in. But they are both competing for a job with the company in the fall, so despite the chemistry heating up between them, Reese wants to keep it platonic. As a food lover, I enjoyed the cooking and behind the scenes aspects of a culinary network. Overall, this was a cute read.