I like the enemies-to-lovers trope. The fake romance trope is not one of my favorites, but I was willing to go along with the set-up. However I thought that Leo was just too obnoxious with how he was always trying to undercut Nina on the cooking show where they were co-hosts. Sure he had his own problems, but enemies who are going to eventually fall in love shouldn’t try to ruin the other person’s career. We’re told in the beginning that two of her three restaurants have had to close at least partially due to how Leo has made her seem like the mean judge on their show. Well, obviously, part of that is her fault, but he bears some of the blame and I just didn’t like him. And she wasn't that great either.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Nina Lyon and Leo O’Donnell, co-hosts of The Next Cooking Champ! (and mortal enemies) need each other. 🧈 She needs a reputation overhaul and he needs an “in” to the food world. Not to mention, they both have restaurants that need saving. 🥣 Their fates all hang on the whether they can convince the public that they’re happily dating and undoubtedly in love. 💋

I liked that this book covered both the enemies-to-lovers and fake dating tropes. I always enjoy a dual POV, and Nina and Leo’s quick banter was also fun to read. Unpopular opinion: I didn’t love Nina’s character. 😬 Like how could she leave Leo (whom she was in love with) when he was in a hospital bed? This one had a LOT of spice 🌶 but not much swoon, and I just wish there had been more swoon-worthy moments.

Lovely book!! I adored all that characters and the development was great throughout. Kept me wanting more. The push and pull between Nina and Leo was addictive and so fun to read. The internal dialogue was so nice to read and helped the progression of the relationship. I would definitely recommend!

Nina and Leo are frenemies hosting a cooking competition show until Nina has had enough… and quits on live television. Both of their lives blow up and the only way to save their careers is to fake date. I was obsessed with the banter in this book. I also really enjoyed the narrative of a male main character with anxiety. I definitely recommend this book!

2.5

The first half of the book was interesting and showed promised. The characters were nuanced and had potential to make a great pair. However the second half of the book was a feat to get through. Things just started slowing down and repeating… they would do the same exact things and feel the same way over and over again and it just got boring to read about. The last 20% of the book was just ridiculous to me to be honest.

** This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review**

3.5 stars. I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book had a lot of potential. It’s got my favorite trope of all time, enemies to lovers, so I was ecstatic to give it a try. That being said, unfortunately I feel like it fell a little flat. I enjoyed the premise and the setup between the characters but I think the actual romance aspect is as lacking especially when you take a step back and see what little happened between the characters and how everything was paced. I think Leo was a great character and I was rooting for him, but Nina just kind of made me roll my eyes the entire time. I think if the romance and chemistry between them has been paced better and was stronger I would have liked it more. That being said, I didn’t hate it, it definitely had its good moments, and I could see a lot of people enjoying it.

Loved the concept in theory, felt like the execution left a lot to be desired. The writing was fine but I think the plot could have been fleshed out a lot more.

I received a advanced copy of "for bu!tter or worse ". It was a enemy to lover romance. I really enjoyed this story.
Steamy and spicy parts as well as some topics on anxiety as well as cyber bullying.
Recommend this book!

First things first, let me just get this out of the way. I am so sick of cutesy illustrated covers and books being labeled rom coms that are hardly ever comedic and sometimes, not even romantic. This is not the author’s fault usually, it’s the publishers, especially when it a debut author who doesn’t have the clout to make any kind of cover requests.

I wanted to love this book. There’s a lot to like about it but a lot of felt uneven and missed the mark in ways that couldn’t overcome the stuff I liked. There’s also a lot of heavy issues being dealt with in this book (and again, that lighthearted cover does not give any indication of what’s in the pages).

For example, there’s the fact that both Nina and Leo have grief issues - Nina’s related to her mom who died of breast cancer and Leo who lost his dad, never properly dealt with his grief at all and now has panic attacks that he hides from his family.

I’m not going to sit here in judgment of how Leo handles his anxiety and his panic attacks but I will say there is a deeply uncomfortable scene where Nina is in his bathroom, snooping and comes across his Prozac prescription which leads to her connecting some dots and I felt that was a gross invasion of his privacy. She also accuses him of lying to her about his mental health and I’m going to be honest - I didn’t love that because he didn’t owe her that - they clearly weren’t at the point where he felt comfortable enough to divulge his secrets.

However, lets be clear, Leo isn’t the saint here either. Leo and Nina cohost a reality cooking competition show and Leo basically charms everyone and Nina is the strict judge, the actual bonafide chef, and Leo makes snide comments to her and while Nina always gives as good as she gets, the public and social media paint Nina to be the bitch and based on an unfortunate comment from Leo, nickname her #NastyNina. Leo doesn’t care and is oblivious to the blatant sexism happening here and eventually, he does catch on and is apologetic about it.

This is obviously an enemies to lovers trope and normally, that’s one of my favorite tropes. But here, it falls flat. Normally it works because even when the main characters are slinging insults at each other, it lacks an underlying sense of meanness and cruelty. But here, several times, both of these characters go just a little too far and it feels mean and it feels hurtful to the point that I don’t ever know for sure if I really do want these 2 characters to be together.

It’s not that they do anything that’s truly unforgivable but they come so so close to that line that it makes me question how they could possibly fall in love .

All that to say, I wanted to love, a lot of it was good, but a lot of it made me feel deeply uncomfortable and I couldn’t fully get invested in their HEAs.

CW: Nina’s mother died off page of breast cancer, Leo’s dad died, off page, grief issues, on page panic attacks, anxiety, on page therapy, sexist behavior, online bullying;

• Enemies to Lovers
• Fake Dating
• Forced Proximity
• Foodie Romance
• Celebrity Romance

I’m always a fan of a cooking / foodie romance – add in a reality cooking show element and you’ve got me hooked! I was excited for the premise of this one, and it felt a bit more unique in that our mains were not contestants, but rather the judges of said reality competition.

I thought the story was really solid, and was a fast and easy read. I enjoyed both Leo and Nina – who were definitely both flawed but interesting and likeable characters. I enjoyed the dual POV and the banter that developed between Nina and Leo. Highlights for me included some great mental health representation, the slow burn relationship, and a great look at the harmful biases against women especially in the media.

As to wishes – while I enjoyed the secondary characters, they were given a bit more focus than I felt entirely necessary. I really just wanted the focus to be on Nina and Leo throughout personally. Definitely an enjoyable read and one I’d recommend to others to try. Looking forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and HTP Books for the opportunity to read an early copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This had a nice plot but it didn't resonate with me much. I think others will enjoy it though.

I really liked the blend of enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes in this contemporary romance set in the foodie world of LA. Nina and Leo have been co-hosts of a cooking competition show for three years and have a very snarky, negative relationship. Leo inadvertently started a smear campaign against Nina by calling her Nasty Nina on the show, which got a hashtag and everything. That was years ago, but on the final day of filming the current season, he brings up the nickname again, and Nina decides right then to quit the show, which she does on air. Leo, not used to looking like the bad guy, tries to smooth things over with Nina by going to her restaurant, and the paparazzi catch them in an accidental fall that looks like an embrace, sparking all sorts of rumors and giving them both a lot of press. Both restaurant owners with financial concerns, they're convinced by Nina's publicist to fake date, even though they still basically hate each other. Of course, this is a romance, so they realize pretty quickly that they maybe don't actually hate each other and become friends, which becomes something more complicated. I really appreciated the representation of Leo's anxiety/panic attacks, and the portrayal of the grief they both share by having lost parents. I also really liked the unflinching way that La Rosa addressed sexism both on social media generally and in the food world specifically. I can't wait to read more by this author.

3

Leo and Nina are cohosts of a cooking competition show. On the show, they banter and throw digs at one another, which is part of their appeal as hosts. Nina feels very frustrated with her job as a host because she seems to get a lot of hate online in addition to the stress she already feels because one of her restaurants had to be closed. This frustration is made worse when Leo calls her "nasty Nina" while on their show's live finale, which prompts her to quit. In an effort to save both of their careers Leo apologizes in person and the paparazzi captures him leaving her restaurant. This sparks rumors that they could be dating. Tom, Nina's publicist, and friend, feels that this is an excellent opportunity to salvage both of their careers. Thus begins their fake relationship, which then becomes real.

I know that I am supposed to like the main characters and root for their relationship, but they make it difficult. Leo is rude, even in moments when he is not trying to be rude. For example, when he was trying to convince Nina that she should rejoin the show, he tries to manipulate her by saying that she may be getting an influx of customers now, but they will soon fade away and start disliking her again. It felt like his character was driven by his fear that he wasn't good enough to the point that he was self-sabotaging. There were so many moments when I began to like his character, but then he said something rude and I would start to dislike him again.

I like the enemies to lovers trope, but if it's rooted in the love interest being misogynistic towards the main character, I'm out. I'm not going to like him or root for the romance in any way then, so I decided to DNF this.

This was a lot of fun - celebrities fake dating x enemies-to-lovers (with the added bonus of being set in the celebrity chef / TV reality show cooking competition world).

Nina is a talented, ambitious chef and co-host of The Next Cooking Champ! The show is just wrapping up its third season and while Nina figured it would offer her credibility and boost her recognition as a top-notch chef, instead viewers see her as the show's "bad cop" judge. The show's viewers call her "Nasty Nina" and constantly post negative, demeaning comments to her social media. Meanwhile, her co-host, restauranter Leo (aka, the show's "nice guy" judge) does nothing to dispel the public's disparagement of Nina. In fact, he seems to encourage them. When Nina unexpectedly quits at the end of the show's live season finale, Leo wonders whether he has played a role in her decision. After a paparazzi photographs Nina and Leo in what looks to be a romantic embrace, fans go wild. Soon, Nina and Leo embark on a fake romance to rescue their respective businesses. But as the fake dates continue, will the fake feelings turn into real ones?

I enjoyed this - sure there is a bit of miscommunication here or there or misreading of feelings, but there is plenty else to enjoy including the descriptions of food, the spotlight on harmful gender norms and treatment of women in media, discussions of mental health, and the chemistry between Nina and Leo. If you like contemporary romance (and especially fake dating, forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers tropes), give this a read!

Thank you very much to the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC via NetGalley.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: July 26, 2022

This is gratuitously everything you want in an enemies to lovers and fake dating trope romcom! Good chemistry and banter throughout—definitely a fun page turner!

This wasn’t for me. I couldn’t get into the main characters at all and the side characters were also blah. What does waffle iron abs mean anyway.? Who wants abs that look like tiny squares? Nina and Leo were both equally annoying.

Solid rom-com, if a bit formulaic. Leo and Nina had excellent chemistry, but there were some parts of this book that I just had trouble looking past. Maybe I'm vindictive, but if someone did to me what Leo did to Nina, he would be dead to me.

There was recently discourse in the Romance community (when is there not?) about illustrated covers on adult romance. Some claimed illustrated characters weren't sexy enough for steamier books. And to that I argue, have you seen the cover for For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa?

I mean, just look at them! Leo and Nina are some of the most tastefully attractive (see what I did there?) illustrated characters I've seen on a Romance cover. I wanted to read this book SOLELY based on the cover, and luckily Netgalley gave me a chance to review this sweet read by an equally sweet author, Erin La Rosa.

So, what's it about, you ask?

For Butter or Worse follows a rivals to lovers arc of two cooking competition show hosts. Nina's the chef with the expert opinion, and Leo's the business-savvy owner a local family eatery turned restaurant chain. But these two are far from friendly. With constant jabs on and off camera, it doesn't seem possible that these two could possibly be in the same room together for more than five minutes, let alone achieve a happily ever after.

There's nothing a little fake dating trope can't fix!

Now remember, I'm not in the business of spoilers, so below you'll find some things I loved about the book that won't ruin your first time reading experience:

Anxiety/panic attack representation
No fade to black in the spicy scenes
Food descriptions to make your mouth water
Dad jokes AND plant puns
Women taking on a male-dominated industry

There's so much more to love about this book than what I've listed here, and trust me--you'll gobble this romance up. And you don't have to wait too long. For Butter or Worse is set to release July 26 at most places you can buy a book. Interested in supporting a small business? Order your SIGNED, personalized copy from The Ripped Bodice for the same price as unsigned copy!

Happy reading. <3

xoxo, Katie Rose

- Grumpy Sunshine
- Fake Dating
- Cohosts
- Enemies to Lovers
- FOOOD

NIna and Leo were cohosts of a cooking show , until everything goes south during the live telecasting of its finale, causing her to quit on live tv. This creates problems for the her restaurant chain. A unfortunate turn of events when Leo came to meet Nina forces them into a fake relationship .

I loved the book . It was definitely five star read . I loved how fierce and bold Nina was . It had dual pov which is always a plus point . I would definitely recommend this book

OUT 26TH JULY