Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for this ARC!

For Butter or Worse follows chef Nina Lyon and restaurateur Leo O’Donnell as they go from co-hosts on a cooking competition show where all they do is get under each others skin to actually getting under each other's skin... :)

For Butter or Worse is a delicious enemies to lovers story! It's the perfect read for those who love dual POVs, good banter, great smut, and yummy food. Through Leo, it also touches on the difficulties of living with anxiety.

The only reason I deducted a star is because the miscommunication trope is heavy in this book and it's just something I've tired of as a reader.

Overall, I highly recommend this book, especially if you have time to binge it!

The Hating Game meets Great British Bake-Off! Such a cute idea for a rom com. A good enemies to lovers story. I will say it follows a similar storyline as the other enemy to lovers, but its still a trope I love to read!

I really enjoyed For Butter or Worse. I was a little worried I wouldn't like the trope, but both characters were well developed and I ended up loving Nina & Leo's story! I also thought Leo's anxiety was an interesting part of the story, and dealt with in a realistic way. Loved these two and the ending was very satisfying!

I received a complimentary advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for this ARC!

I found this to be a really easy enemies to lovers rom-com! It also made me very hungry lol.

Nina and Leo are co-hosts of a cooking show and don't quite see eye to eye. Leo takes it too far and Nina promptly leaves the show. The two get caught in what looks like a steamy position and this has viewers going wild to see two people who previously were at each other's throats, apparently smooching.

This executed the fake dating trope well with humor and you were able to see Nina and Leo grow together. I will say, this book did feel like it had a lot going on that took away from the main plot. Nonetheless, a cute and funny read.

This was a cute story. If you enjoy the enemies to lovers type book, then I highly recommend this. I would definitely read this author again.

Chef Nina Lyon & Leo O'Donnell are head to head... constantly.
On their show, after the show, they're at each other all day long.
On live TV, Leo takes a joke way too far and Nina makes the rash decision to quit the show. Everyone is shocked and Leo is at risk of also losing his spot as a show host because of her departure.

Trying to save many parts of their lives, they find themselves in a "secret romance". Paparazzi go WILD over this and they end up finding a lot more than they realize.


I really enjoyed this book! The spice was there, the sexual tension was there.
Enemies to lovers trope and I loved the self-realization each character had! I'd for sure recommend this book if you're looking for a light, feel-good- kinda spicy- read.

For Butter or Worse is a delightful, quick read. This workplace enemies turned lovers through fake dating in a world surrounded by food kept me on the edge of my seat, and I will definitely be buying when the physical copy comes out this summer.

Fake relationship is one of my favorite tropes, and I'm always curious about how an author might try to pull off an enemies-to-lovers story, but this is one of the few that really pulled both off well, including the common but rarely-well done moment of being caught in a "compromising position" that wasn't what it looked like. One of the few times that both leads were convincingly not the asshole but had genuine friction and some really good development and adorable interactions.

Synopsis: All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she's had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene.
Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.
Thoughts: It had it's predictable moments. It was funny at times. It gave me enemies to lovers and fake dating. You get reality tv. You get celebrities. It all came together in a big fun romcom stew. I must say it was delish and you BUTTER believe it!

I enjoyed this rom-com from author Erin La Rosa!

A hilarious enemies to lovers novel with witty banter and fiery chemistry! Nina and Leo are so fun together, I enjoyed their bickering as they spent more and more time with each other.

I wish the side character were a little more developed, but overall this is a fun, fast enemies to lovers rom-com that will entertain!

Foodies, fake dating, AND enemies to lovers? Yes, yes, and yes!

Nina is a celebrity chef who has just about had it with her cohost. After Leo take a comment on air too far, Nina leaves the set in all her bad ass glory. With a failing restaurant and a brutal reputation, Nina’s publicist decides the only thing that can save her is a showmance with none other than Leo. Fake dating ensues, and cue the heart eyes.

The banter in this story was so crisp and I loved the awkwardness between our two love interests. The side characters were so lovely and I adored Leo’s family. Also, shoutout to the male mental health representation. I so appreciate that there are more books where male mental health is on the forefront. The food aspects of this story left my stomach grumbling and me staring at my pantry for some cooking inspiration.

Releasing on 7/26/22, foodies and rom com lovers unite!

~Special thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is GOUDA. Y’all, this book executed enemies to lovers SO WELL! The snippy comments and the actual dislike was shown through the alternating POVs and dialogue. The build up to friendship and eventual lovers felt realistic and perfectly paced. I LOVEDDDD Leo and Nina soooo much! Their vulnerability with each other and their friends and family was everything. I loved how Erin touched on sexism in the foodie world and how important filling up your bowl is. And can we talk about tension?! Holy cow, this book is spicy and the build up delivered! If you’re into enemies to lovers, fake dating, all the puns and jokes, add this to your TBR. PS can we get a book on Gavin?!

This was a very enjoyable hate-to-love/fake dating romance. These are of my favorite tropes, and usually, they fall for each other too fast. But in this, it makes a lot more sense. They've been co-workers, and at each other's throats, for three years before everything falls apart and they are forced to spend time around each other outside work as well as fake dating, and really get to know each other. So while it's only a couple of months, it makes more sense.

This book has good rep for mental health in this book. Leo has anxiety and panic attacks, I felt it was handled in a healthy and believable way. His character is interesting, his family owns a chain of restaurants and is looked down on by his peers in the food industry. He is painted, by Nina, as this smarmy egotistical jerk. But I never really got that vibe from him. He just wants his family's business to be taken seriously by other restaurateurs. And had hoped the show would do that.

That is something that I hadn't really thought of. What really is the difference between him and Nina who also owns more than one of the same restaurant? Is it only because she was "trained", is it because her restaurants are state-local and not nationwide? She has some of her own issues that I don't think were addressed. She does have this snobbish pride about her that pegged Leo as somebody to not take seriously from the get-go. I think had she not assumed the worst about him, he wouldn't have tried to make her time on the show difficult. Granted, he did take things too far rather than behaving like an adult and talking to her when the cameras went off about her treating him like his opinion is less than hers because she was classically trained, and he was family taught.

The romance was fine. I just find it really hard to believe that they spent three years in front of the camera and never learned a thing about each other. They certainly had done interviews together or something. I did like that they didn't really come together as a couple until after they reconciled the animosity towards each other, and Leo apologized for his role in the online hate she received.

This is a personal pet peeve, and it's just something that takes me out of a story. I don't really like it when in the narrative real-world things are referenced. As I said, it takes me out of the world, even though this is "modern-day earth", the same things and people all aren't the same. It also can date the book. Using the names of the current popular social media and streaming platforms puts the book in a very particular era. An era that might not be relevant in 5-10 years.

Enemies to lovers meets fake dating in the world of celebrity cooking shows. They hated each other on the set of the cooking show they co-hosted but now that Nina and Leo are rumored to be dating the business at both of their restaurants is seeing an uptick. Wanting to save their dreams is more important than the agony of being forced to spend time with someone you loathe especially when it suddenly feels the opposite of agonizing.
As Nina learns more about his anxiety and the pressure he puts on himself and he learns about Nina’s grief and the onslaught of sexisms she faces as a female chef they gain a new appreciation for each other. Leo is clueless but his bad puns are endearing and his brother is hands down my favorite character in the entire book. Although Leo grew on me, there wasn’t any sparkle in this one for me. I found myself checking the page count more than once which is never a good sign,

I received a opt of this book in exchange for an honest review..

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Wow! When we say 'enemies to lovers' these two are the prime example. Nina and Leo HATE each other at the beginning, but the journey from hatred to tolerance to love is very believable and organic. The author has done a really great job of making that transformation feel really believable and by the end you truly believe they belong to together and can go the distance.

This also gets bonus points for being super funny, especially if you love a good dad joke like I do. While most of the jokes come from Leo, I have to say the funniest moment for me was when Nina let Leo do all of those photo ops with his fly down, I was CACKLING!

If you love grumpy/sunshine, this is definitely for you. CWs for anxiety, panic attacks, and death of a parent.

Thank you so much for the arc! Enemies to lovers, the banter, the storyline...I really enjoyed reading this book. This book delivered the tropes SOO WELL. I loved Nina and Leo's story and i liked the representation of male lead with mental health. I loved their romance and the spice in this book was so good!! Can't wait to read more by the author!

If you don’t already know this about me, I love food-centered romances so when I saw that this was a story between a chef and restauranteur I knew I had to read it. For Butter or Worse has fake-dating enemies, a love for food, and all of the puns (it’s right there in the title!).

For Butter or Worse is a cute, adult rom-com about two co-hosts for a reality tv food competition that must fake-date each other in order to save their reputations after one quits the show on-air, sending the media into a frenzy. This was an adorable, witty, light-hearted book, with fake-dating, enemies to lovers, and dual pov. I loved each of the characters separately, and their chemistry on the page was palpable. The romance was cute, sweet, and everything you would expect out of two people intertwined in the high society food world. The author included some heavier topics for each other characters to deal with, such as anxiety, bouts of depression, and grief over parents who had passed on, but they weren't given too much story time, and didn't have any sort of plot behind them except to exist, which them feel slightly out of place. Nonetheless, if you're in search of your next rom-com packed with banter and spice, be sure to check our For Butter or Worse.

For Butter or Worse was actually pretty cute and delivered on many fronts related to the fake dating trope. However, there were a bunch of little things that were slightly off-putting for me, which is why I think I'd give this somewhere between a 3.5 to 3.75.

The story follows two public figures in the LA food industry, Nina and Leo, who are co-stars of a baking competition reality TV show. On and off the show, Nina and Leo *hate* each other. I think the quick, and sharp banter between them was really well done (probably one of the best I've seen in a hate-to-lovers romance) and thoroughly demonstrated how much the two can't stand each other. Even though it was delivered with animosity, the "Witch"/"Devil" nicknames ended up being so adorable.

That being said, I wasn't really a fan of the fact that Leo was involved in/triggered the sexist attacks against Nina. Of course, he apologizes profusely and Nina herself says that she can't 100% forgive him, even when they are together, but I still felt really uncomfortable with the idea of a woman getting together with someone who helped instigate those attacks. I also can't stand public apologies, groveling, and declarations of love in books, and this book had many of them. It kinda makes sense considering that both Nina and Leo are public figures and the whole point of them fake dating was to convince the public of their relationship, but I think it would have meant more if Leo had kept those moments private. I did like that the two spent 3 months apart before getting back together in the final act, giving Leo a chance to go to therapy and work on speaking to someone before pursuing a relationship with Nina again.

Speaking of which, I think one of my favorite aspects of the novel is the arc of Leo's anxiety, as well as Nina's grief. I really love when romance books break stereotypes of men dealing with their mental health needs, and I loved how Leo dealt with his anxiety--even if he didn't fully open up about it to the people around him. The support systems that both Leo and Nina have around them were really well depicted and I love how supportive Gavin, Leo's mom, as well as Sophie and Jasmine were.

I also do want to mention that there is a mention of Mother Teresa really early on in the novel that paints Mother Teresa in a positive light. Mother Teresa was nowhere near a good person, especially to South Asians, something a lot of white folks don't realize :( I'm not sure if it's too late for this mention to be removed from the novel before it's published, but it's definitely something I hope the author recognizes.

Overall, if you're a fan of romance books that deal with the food industry, you'll probably enjoy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

When I saw this come up as a book I should read, I was instantly hooked. Pun as a title, cooking competition hosts, ethnically diverse characters, enemies-to-lovers, and all of the food? Sign me up. And then every time I picked up this book, I giggled at the title. I really enjoyed that this was a solid enemies-to-lovers story, where both characters truly hated each other, but over misunderstanding rather than fundamental aspects of their personality, because it meant that the transition into love made a lot more sense. Plus! Fake dating! Who doesn't love fake dating with enemies to lovers!? The banter was fun, and overall I enjoyed it. It was a cute book, and I will definitely read more books by this author.