For Butter or Worse is a five star read!

Major rom-com vibes, good food, a great enemies to lovers story and swoon worthy writing. I really enjoyed the cast of characters - especially Nina and her direct, sassy exterior and vulnerable inner monologue. This story was a perfect romance, did the enemies to lovers trope perfectly, and was not a fade to black in the spice department. But it was so much more. The discussion of mental health, the impact of social media and familial pressures, and the real struggle to be vulnerable with others when you’re experiencing mental health concerns felt very real and relatable. I could recognize myself and others in those parts of the story - which made me love the characters and the plot even more. I’m looking forward to reading more from Erin La Rosa in the future!

We love a good pun! Leo and Nina are co hosts of a cooking show competition where the fire not only comes from the burners, but also their distaste for each other. After Nina quit on live TV, and after being caught in what people think was a semi compromising position, fans of the show believe they are an item and, in order to save Leo’s family business, and Nina’s well known restaurant, they start fake dating as a way to garner interest and crowds.

Solid strong start to the story. I really enjoyed the dual POV but it would be frustrating at times knowing that both characters were thinking the same thing but no one would say anything. The side characters were OK. We did spend a lot of time with Nina’s friend but it didn’t really add much to the story.

They do make a big deal of the reason Nina left the show to begin with, but only when it happened, and then at the end. The whole middle kind of ignored it, then it was brought back up the last 30% as an excuse to [ have Nina have an excuse to ignore Leo. At least, that is how I read it.

I struggled with the last 25-30%. [ the book really dragged when it separated Nina and Leo for that remaining percentage. I did not care enough about her friend or sister. I know she had to take some time to herself but there must have been a better way to do it.

A solid 3.75

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review

xposted on goodreads.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title before publication!

This was a mixed bag for me, but ultimately a fun read. It includes a some very fun tropes: celebrity fake dating & enemies to lovers, and folks, this is an enemies to lovers that you will really feel and believe. I so frequently find that this particular trope is over done and not often well executed. This one really is believable, especially on the side of our FMC and her reasons for not liking the MMC.

I really, really enjoyed Nina as a character. She’s strong and witty and unapologetically herself, even though the patriarchy has been working overtime to bring her down. Leo, despite his earlier mistakes, really grew on me too. The picture of his struggle with mental health is really believable and resonant, and it was fun to get into his head as we had both perspectives.

I think I wanted more palpable chemistry from these two, but it is certainly there. The way they grow to open up to one another feels very real, and the pacing of their actual first *real* romantic encounter was fleshed our well. Despite that, it still felt like something in their actual conversations with one another as they realized their feelings just felt a bit flat to me. Their inner monologues about their feelings were the most recognizable parts of their attraction, and I wanted to see more of this coming through in the dialogue and body language.

Regardless, I did enjoy this book and it was a quick read. It’s light and moderately steamy with some good insights into mental health & sexism in the culinary world. I would ultimately give this 3.5/5 stars! And I’ll definitely keep an eye out for this authors releases going forward

Thank you to Netgalley & Harlequin Trade a publishing for this advanced reader copy . This review will be published on instagram ( username : @nats_bookventures) at 2:30pm on June 14th,2022.


Summary: Nina is a famous chef who dreams of making it big with her restaurant; Leo is a business man who helps run his family owned business. They both cohost a cooking show while simultaneously hating each other. Leo takes it too far one day and Nina ends up quitting on live television. During Leo’s attempt to apologize and win her back to the show, they get caught in a compromising position ; this inevitably forces them to fake date when the fans go crazy for them. As real feelings start to emerge, will it be enough or will try past come back to bite them.

This book hooked me from the start and the banter between Nina and Leo was amazing. Both had so much growth and I enjoyed watching them.

This book tackles so many real world issues such as Nina’s battles with sexism in her field as well as online bullying. She also battles learning to let people in while also feeling like she is good enough to be loved and also to be a chef.

I related to Leo a lot because anxiety can be a real pain. I love seeing men written in books battle mental health issues because it is not talked about. Also bravo for going to therapy too because that is hard. Leo really learned to figure out how to put himself first while also letting people in to see the real him flaws and all.

Overall this book was so enjoyable to read , and I kind of want a book for jasmine and Sophie top because I’m not ready to leave any of those characters. 4.5 stars for me

Enemies, like true enemies, to lovers. So much food. Chemistry off the charts. Adorable, heart warming moments. Food festivals. Celebrity status. Cooking show. Aggressive peacocks. Crappy exs. I cannot wait for the next book.

Two cooking show hosts on a mission to save their careers from a certain failure team up to fake date to avert the attention the show received after a disastrous live taping, only to realize that the tension between them isn't hatred, but something more.

Leo and Nina have years of pent up frustration leading to excellent banter and even more explosive relationship. I really enjoyed their chemistry and growth together, in particular as Leo begins to understand how difficult the food world can be for women.

I'm always a sucker for a dual POV and hilarious side characters, especially Nina's sister Sophie made me giggle like a maniac. And I know a lot of people aren't a fan of texts and emails in a book but I think they fit in seamlessly to describe how such big swaths of communication take place these day.

All in all, this is an accomplished romcom, that delivers both on romance and comedy.

This book was an addictive experience for me. I loved all the tropes and the characters. The book managed to deal with serious topics yet still having the rom-com feeling. I will say I would’ve loved it more if the third act went a bit differently but I really enjoyed the plot and the storyline.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!


Nina is the star of a reality cooking show alongside her nemesis Leo who has a knack for making her look bad while he looks like Prince Charming. But once she leaves the show to save both of their restaurants they have to fake a relationship.
I appreciate how the topic of mental health was brought up. Sometimes leaving a job is what’s best for you.

“And the symptoms of a heart attack were virtually indistinguishable from those of a panic attack.”
This line alone deserves a freaking spotlight. Because YES.

I also appreciate how Mental health was brought up and it manifested in scenes with the characters but it wasn’t their entire personality, it didn’t define them.

I love how strong Nina is and the fact that how women are so easily painted the villain online and in real life was a strong theme in this book.

I also enjoyed Leo. I liked his character development and how he took responsibility and owned up to his crappy behavior.

We need more men standing up for women who are being torn down famous or not. This novel is a fun read but also loaded with messages that should be taken to heart. I definitely recommend this. ♥️♥️

Thank you to Netgalley and HQN for an e-arc of For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa.

Nina Lyon and Leo O’Donnell are co-hosts of the hit reality cooking show The Next Cooking Champ!
Nina and Leo don’t get along behind the camera, but the back and forth is always edited out so the audience doesn’t know. That is until they try out a live show and it goes horribly wrong. Leo jokes around but takes it too far, hurting Nina’s feelings and damaging her reputation and quiet possibly both their businesses. Nina, quits on the spot and leaves the show.

When fans of the show begin spreading lies about Nina, her once popular restaurant is hardly visited. She begins to fear having to shut the doors for good on her business. That is until a paparazzi catches her and Leo in what looks to be a compromising situation. With the hopes of fixing Nina’s reputation and bringing happy crowds back to both their restaurants. Nina and Leo begin fake dating. Things never run smoothly though when fake dating is involved. Will they be able to keep their feelings in check or will they fall for someone they previous hated.

I really enjoyed this one. I love the fake dating trope. It was an emotional roller-coaster and I enjoyed it. Sometimes Leo was so frustrating, but I really enjoyed seeing the character development that happened.

I would recommend this one if these sound like tropes you like and if you liked this genre.

This book has everything I love!!!

• Enemies to lovers - BEST trope
• Fake dating - I love when two people hate each other and have to fake it to make it.
• The arguing!!! I love witty arguments between the H and h.
• Explosive chemistry. These two combusted my kindle with their attraction to one another… Before they even knew it was happening.
• And most of all…SPICY!!! I don’t wanna give anything away but wooooweee!

Such a good book!!!! And it features the food industry! Another A+ in my book.

Steamy scenes, fake dating, and enemies to lovers oh my! Couldn't put this book down. Absolutely loved!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions expressed are my own.

This was spicy hot!! A perfectly executed enemies to lovers that was actually two characters who genuinely disliked one another and fake dating! *chef’s kiss* well done, perfection!!

Fake dating 𝘢𝘯𝘥 enemies-to-lovers trope in one?
You bet I'm here for it.

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 centers Nina Lyon and Leo O'Donnell. Both are are sworn enemies but they have more in common than they realise - both their respective businesses are waning, they enjoy their banter more than they care to admit and the accidental touch sends them both into a state of frenzy. So when a fake dating arrangement is added to the mix to improve their public reputations, things are bound to explode except their feelings weren't supposed to? Right!?

- ~ -

While I'd argue that most often rom-coms feature rivals-to-lovers trope in place of enemies-to-lovers, this book actually had characters who acted like they wanted nothing more than to throttle each other. Even their initial insult hurling period was intense. Some insults were direct, others off-handed but they were all creative and I found them hilarious.

These two were stewing with tension right from the beginning so it's safe to assume the ending was just as satisfying.
I don't usually acknowledge this but the spice here was better than most (I mean it is a book about the food world duh).
Their banter was without a doubt the best part of the book.

Ps. The proposal was so cute and on brand for them! I'm so glad the author crafted it perfectly to fit them.

- ~ -

3.54 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I love a good enemies to lovers book especially one that incorporates food. It entertains me and gets me ready for my next meal! The characters have great chemistry and I found myself laughing quite a bit! Solid read

DNF

I Couldn’t continue after about 30%. I tried but it was not holding my interest after trying for over four weeks. At some point as a reader you have to let some books go.

Honestly, I think it comes down to marketing because this book seemed great on paper for this romance-lover but wasn’t executed well In my opinion.

This was okay, but not great, and I sort of slogged my way through most of it. It has all the components that I usually love in a book, enemies to lovers and foodies, with fake dating. Unfortunately I had issues with all of them.

The enemies lasted way too long for me, with the ‘banter’ being mean comments back and forth, because these characters really being out the worst in each other. Not a great foundation for a relationship. Leo has anxiety, which is touted as the reason for his rude comments to Nina, but we never really get to dive into that in the moment. We are told about it, rather than feeling it alongside him. That’s actually the root of all of my issues with the book. Telling, not showing.

I never believed the characters attraction or relationship, mostly because they didn’t seem to have many redeeming qualities beyond the superficial. I never really warmed up to either of them, and never felt like they were better together than apart. And I never really understood why they liked each other, except that we were told they did.

Overall, I was disappointed in this one, but they can’t all be winners.

It was stated that this was an enemies to lovers romance...I just didn't get the romance. I got the enemies part - boy did I!! I thought the hero was a little passive aggressive and not in a good way. I couldn't see this relationship lasting or having a HEA. Seriously, you just can't have a downright mean hero and from reading other reviews - I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought that.

This definitely fit the enemies-to-lovers trope but the negative comments from Leo when he was upset were pretty aggressive and it made it more challenging for me to see the relationship progress. Enemies to lovers needs to have a more playful feel. You can't fix mean.

4.5 starts for the book For Butter or Worse

I thoroughly enjoyed myself with this read. Romance is obviously the focus, but the book also deals with some pretty serious topics. These discussions and sue of some unpleasant situations really elevated the book from three to four and a half stars.

Nina is an inspirational character. She doesn't try to fake who she is, in fact, even while being trolled for not being the "ideal" female and being too headstrong, she stays herself. This is simply amazing too me because I am generally a people pleaser. I seriously would have never forgiven Leo for all that he did to her. The grudge would stay for life if I was Nina. But alas, she is better than me. Leo wasn't a bad character, but he made Nina's situation worse with the public.

This book had a great plot. It was fast-moving, but also allowed for great development, plot and character wise. The ending was satisfyingly also.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I had a hard time connecting with the couple. We got dropped into the action and didn’t know why they hated each other or their history. And the premise for fake dating-one of my favorite tropes, fell flat for me. As they got to know each other, I didn’t feel as though Nina and Leo had much in the way of chemistry. Unfortunately, the book fell flat for me.