You can throw a rock and hit at least a dozen enemies to lovers romance books these days. So, what sets this one apart? I'm not sure that there is enough here to say that it rises to the top. For Butter or Worse follows two chefs, who host a cooking reality show. They have banter and snark, but Nina is tired of being painted as the villain. She wants to leave the show and set out on her own. Leo is a restaurant owner who used the dynamic between the two of them to put butts in the seats at his restaurant, so he's put off by her wanting to leave the show. In an effort to make her more likable (because women are only seen as likeable when they're in love and being snuggly with men?) and make him remain in trending status, they start fake dating. What follows is the predictable romp of fake dates and social media posts that eventually results in them realizing they have loved each other all along. I liked the banter and I liked the spice, which made this read a fun time. Although my socks weren't blown off, this book was a fun read.

This was a fun steamy read. The enemies to lovers trope can be tricky but in this one it seems to happen just overnight. But I really did like the characters and the overall story.

This story was so-so for me. While I think the writing in general was well done and very descriptive, I just couldn’t get behind the characters, particularly Leo. Their tension was palpable but Leo unfortunately didn’t improve for me enough to care as much as I wanted to.

I love LOVED the banter between them! This was such a fun and entertaining read. The fake dating trope is one of my favorites and this book hit the spot for me!

Thank you NETGALLEY for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A witty and charming story of workplace enemies whose undeniable chemistry comes to a boiling point in their fake dating scheme.

What I loved about this book is the sharp and witty dialogue from Nina and Leo's charm, which could make you wickedly grin! It's no wonder that these two had chemistry that could spark a kitchen fire even when they both tried to deny it. I also really liked the food similies throughout the story, making it deliciously descriptive. Family, friends, and the pressures of media are in the background of Nina and Leo's relationship as they navigate their fake dating and the real feelings that begin to bloom.

If you like the enemies to lovers trope, mixed in with your love of romantic comedies, you'll love for Butter or Worse (and look at the pun in the title, I mean, c'mon ;))

I've tried to read this on many occasions and just can't get into it. I do apologies. I may go back to it in the future but it's unlikely.

This was a delicious and "spicy" enemies- to- lovers rom com. I would highly recommend that you add this title to your library's collection.

Fans of fake dating or reality cooking competition shows are sure to enjoy For Butter or Worse.

Nina and Leo go together like oil and water. As co-hosts thrown together on a new competitive cooking show, Leo’s banter gets under her skin and causes her to quit on live tv and then the paparazzi catch them in what appears to be a compromising situation. Oops. To save their careers, they hatch a plan to fake date each other.

This had several of my favorite tropes combined which I thoroughly enjoyed. The chemistry and banter between Nina and Leo was combustible; more than once their banter made me laugh. There was also good anxiety representation

- reverse grumpy / sunshine
- Fake dating
- Enemies to lovers

Make sure to keep some snacks on hand while reading because the food descriptions will make you hungry.

Free ebook from NetGalley. Review is my own.

I wanted to love this but just couldn’t stay interested. Took forever to get through. Nothing terrible just not anything great.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one!! 🧈🧈🧈

I’m actually quite surprised that it doesn't have a higher Goodreads rating. While I don’t think that cooking show hosts are really as famous IRL as the book set out to be, it was still extremely entertaining to view Nina & Leo as celebs that the people were obsessed with. I also thought their enemies to lovers banter was cute (and hello I was not expecting the spiceee 🌶️)!! I’m definitely excited to read the spin off continuation about Sophie!

Side note - I loved the Fall scenes. I really felt like Nina & I were channeling eachother with our love for Halloween lol 🎃

SO FUN. the banter was perfect. the romance was sizzling and i was hooked from the beginning. Would read another Erin La Rosa book asap.

For Butter or Worse was an interesting idea and I wish I like it better but the characters just weren't developed well and I had trouble connecting to their romance.

I thought this book was fun and I enjoyed the back and forth between Nina and Leo. I felt like this story could definitely happen in real life and people would probably really enjoy the tv show of it.

This book has so much potential. I just didn't enjoy the book. I usually love a mix of cooking and romance story but this just wasn't for me. I will give the author another chance though.

This was such an easy ready! Really enjoyed the banter and chemistry these characters had pretty much from the beginning, and the author makes it easy to delve into their world. Will be looking into more titles from them!

I love the enemies to lovers vibes between Nina and Leo, and their banter with each other was wonderful. But as for the actual romance, I just wasn't really feeling it. I don't know that I have that much more to say about it truthfully. As a romance book, the romantic chemistry needs to be on point, and it jus wasn't unfortunately :(

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

If you love enemies to lovers, you'll love this story! Nina and Leo were oil and water... but have to fake it to make it. A light read with some heartfelt moments. These two are a great pair!

Meh, this was fine! Nothing to write home about but a quick and easy read. I wanted a little more depth to the overall story as this felt very surface level

Romance and food? Sign me up!
Fake dating and enemies to lovers? I'm absolutely in.
Throw in a cooking show? Wait, where was that?

I really enjoyed this book, but definitely thought the cooking show might play a bigger role and I think that could have been an interesting plot point to be explored. The characters were likable, even when they weren't being all that likable. The writing style flowed well, and I didn't find too many portions of the book dragging on. All in all, definitely one I enjoyed and would recommend.

3.5 rounded up!