I was taken from the very first page! What a fun, lively read. A great take on enemies-to-lovers with fabulous food integration. Nina is an ambitious heroine eager to make a name for herself in the cutthroat culinary industry, Leo is the well-meaning but gruff, needling hero that pushes her a little too far until she does something drastic on live TV. Their dynamic is fun and fresh through the book, with a great balance of heat and sweet.

Rating: 4 Stars

Enemies to lovers? Fake dating? Reality baking show? Friends, I have found my niche!

For Butter or Worse tells the story of two reality cooking show hosts Nina Lyon and Leo O'Donnell. Nina is a professional chef whose goal is to inspire more women to enter the male-dominated world of professional cooking. Leo, her sarcastic and charming co-host, owns a chain of family restaurants. When an on-screen joke goes a bit too far, Nina and Leo find themselves in a rather compromising position and realize that their careers could both do with a little publicity.

I'm a sucker for all things food-related and HAD to pick up this book when I saw the cover. It really is such a delicious read! The characters and wonderfully fleshed out and developed throughout the storyline. Both Nina and Leo are likeable characters (despite them both refusing to see the redeeming qualities in each other) with relatable real-world problems. It was so important to be able to see good portrayals of anxiety and panic attacks.

The storyline is as rich and creamy as a chocolate cake and deviates from your classic fake dating trope where they break up, solve the remaining problems and then HEA. For Butter or Worse shakes things up but still manages to give you that public declaration of love that we all want. It's quite refreshing to see issues not all resolve themselves the way you think they will and I'm so glad author Erin La Rosa chose to do so.

The food puns are quite honestly the icing on the cake, or the cherry on top for me. They add so much life and originality to the story and they make it so much more fun to read. I was worried they would be overdone but oh no Erin La Rosa does not disappoint.

Not a super-steamy read, but romantic and spicy in all the best places.

One place where For Butter of Worse fell a bit flat for me was the epilogue. So many authors push for the classic, artfully presented happily-ever-after when it might not be the best or most authentic ending for the specific characters. Sometimes it works and makes sense, but I found in Nina and Leo's case it appeared a little forced and rushed.

My only word of caution is to not read this book on an empty stomach, as it will leave you hungry (for more than just food ;) ).

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an early edition of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Review is posed to Goodreads and linked below. An edited version will be shared on my Instagram closer to the publication date.

The premise sounded amazing but for me unfortunately it did not deliver the way I was expecting it to. The banter was great at certain times and at other times I found Leo to be quite mean to Nina for no apparent reason. I did love the fact that Leo was a twin and I loved their relationship. I also really liked the relationship between Nina and her sister Sophie and her best friend Jasmine. The steamy scenes were one of the best parts form this book.

Read if you like:
Fake dating
Enemies to lovers
Reality cooking competition
Anxiety representation
Open door romance

I love a good cooking competition so as soon as I saw that For Butter or Worse was about co-hosts of one I knew I had to read it! Nina and Leo may host The Next Cooking Champ! together but they do not get along. Leo does nothing to help Nina break free from the sexist stereotype and nickname “Nasty Nina” he accidentally created in their second season. When he actually uses it on live tv during the finale that’s it. Nina can take no more and quite live on camera.

In a last ditch effort to save both their restaurants, after being caught in what looked like a compromising position, they cave to her publicists demands that they fake a relationship.

I truly felt for Nina. Being a female in a male dominated field is hard (something I relate to all too well in my career) Nothing you can do is ever right. Because I identified with Nina so much, I hated Leo as much as she did at the beginning, even when it was clear that his actions were not necessarily coming from a place of malice. I did enjoy the growth we get to see from Leo towards the end of the book.

I appreciate Erin’s candor about panic attacks and the relation to anxiety. As someone who’s suffered from them since elementary school it was refreshing to see them honestly written about. We get a lot of characters with anxiety in books but not necessarily panic attacks, which are a whole separate kind of anxiety.

All in all, a very enjoyable book!

“…but making Nina smile would be worth the humiliation.”
“But plenty of people dealt with anxiety on their own every day. How would burdening his family help anyone other than himself?”

Nina and Leo really gave it their all. Whether it was fighting each other, where they never missed taking cheap (and sometimes truly terrible) shots, or falling in love. I fully understand that there might be certain elements that might put people off, but with characters this well-written and a set-up this good, I could not care less. And where do I even begin with the spice…

MEN. DEALING. WITH. MENTAL. HEALTH. Albeit poorly in Leo’s case, but then I can’t honestly hold that against him. Aren’t we all just trying are best, and yet falling short from time to time? Already having dealt with panic attacks, Leo is objectively unfit to carry the weight of the responsibilities he burdens himself with while actively ignoring the severity of his anxiety. And with ignoring that reality, comes the distinct sense of loneliness that you desperately want to be rid of while refusing to actually take action, like reaching out and being honest with the people you love. I know exactly who Leo is and why he does what he does in this book.

Nina is such a powerhouse. As a sister, a friend and most importantly as a person. A woman in a man’s world. With a low threshold for bullshit myself, I marvel at the patience she has, keeping her eye on the prize and playing the long game… till she absolutely has enough and THAT I could absolutely relate to.

MVP: Sophie. I need her book right the fuck now.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Nina and Leo’s romance story is one that was hot and sizzly. The trajectory of their relationship was one that had me turning the pages, eager to soak up more of this simmering tension between them. Since both of their careers are centered around food, it makes sense that so much of their relationship has to do with food in one way or another. These two enemies had to find some common ground in order to fake date to appease their image in the public eye. This leads to some tense and entertaining moments as they grow closer than either could have possibly imagined. Not only was this an entertaining romance but it also had great humor. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read this great story. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

This one was a cute read but also one that didn’t hit all of the notes for me. I still found enjoyment out of it and liked how the story introduced both characters at the beginning. I wasn’t expecting the plot to go where it went which was a nice surprise.

The book is told from two point-of-views, Nina and Leo. They are very different from one another, especially on camera. Leo could be considered the sunshine and Nina the grump, as per her nickname “Nasty Nina”. I don’t blame Nina for the choices she made to better her career our the outcome that came from those choices. She was a bright chef who wanted more out of life. Leo was a decent guy and knew when he did wrong but still tried to get Nina to show that fiery side. Whatever floats your boat, am I right? haha. They did pair with each other well and I liked the banter that came from it.

The romance is very much a slow-burn but does involve the fake dating trope. They have much to learn from one another and so it was good to see the buildup that would eventually press them into much more than they bargained for. As with any romance, there comes a part where something happens to “break” them apart. This is no different for Leo and Nina. I do wish that it would have happened a bit sooner so that there could have been more time at the end of their happy ending instead of pushing it all into a short epilogue.

Some of the banter or words shared between friends was a bit on the cringey side. I felt that some things that were meant to be humorous just didn’t land as they should have. I’m not really sure how to best describe it. It honestly could just be me and my sense of humor.

Overall, this was a good read for in between my fantasy books. I liked seeing how the communicated with family and their friends. The social media posts were a nice touch to really add to them being celebrities in a way.

The story over all felt formulaic and the characters lacked chemistry. I didn’t care for the language, either.

4 stars!

This book did a lot of things right. the enemies to lovers was ACTUALLY enemies to lovers and it was a nice slow burn with lots of tension. Where it lacked, for me, was the last 30% of the book. It felt like it didn’t have a lot of substance and it just didn’t work for me.

Overall, really good, and I’m glad someone finally got enemies to lovers advertised right.

To say I loved this from start to end would be an understatement. This book has everything: smoldering chemistry between the leads, a peacock named Reginald, enemies to lovers, fake dating, and food references that are descriptive without being too much. Nina and Leo were easy to root for together and separately. I appreciated that this book took me on an adventure and I wasn’t sure exactly where the story would end up, but I so loved the originality! The banter was top notch. I laughed out loud multiple times and wished the author was my best friend in real life. My copy is preordered because I need this on my shelf ASAP. I can’t wait to read it again! I was gifted a free copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Things I will always be on board for: food and fake dating.

Unfortunately, neither were enough to keep me invested in Erin La Rosa's fictional debut, For Butter or Worse.

For Butter or Worse isn't the worst book I've read, but it also wasn't particularly memorable. It's unoriginal in the worst way possible. I don't mind overused tropes as long as they're done well. Unfortunately, For Butter or Worse brings nothing to the table. It feels like Erin La Rosa is going through the motions and checking items off a list instead of telling a story.

Enemies to lovers? ✔
Fake dating? ✔
Miscommunication as a trope? ✔
Friends-with-benefits? ✔
Grumpy and sunshine? ✔
Guy falls first? ✔
Kissing in the rain? ✔

There's nothing wrong with any of these elements (except for miscommunication as a trope, that one needs to go,) but they need to actually contribute to the story instead of being some kind of sad excuse for the actual story. I'm trying really hard to think of some redeemable quality about For Better or Worse, but the story itself is boring and bland. If you ask me a month from now, I don't think I'll be able to tell you anything about this book; it's just that forgettable. From the token diversity to the weak attempts at banter, it seems like La Rosa was more focused on trying to hit all the elements she thought she needed for a popular book instead of writing a story that readers could enjoy. The premise is shaky, the plot is all over the place, and the whole thing is just lackluster.

From the token diversity to the weak attempts at banter, it seems like La Rosa was more focused on trying to hit all the elements she thought she needed for a popular book instead of writing a story that readers could enjoy. The inclusion of mental health issues and grief attempt to give more dimension to a story that's sorely lacking substance, but its impact is about as substantial as air gives those inflatable men outside car dealerships. Could all these ingredients make a good story? Absolutely. But La Rosa just kind of dumps them all together, stirs them around for a bit and thinks her work is done.

The writing is amateurish. La Rosa overexplains EVERYTHING. It's like she doesn't trust her readers to figure anything out and feels a compulsive need to spell out everything. That or she got the axiom mixed up and thought she was supposed to tell not show. The overuse of food analogies feel forced (Nina is a Chef!!!!), and there is just so much cringe.

The fake dating is a horrendous disappointment. Nina and Leo are the blandest, most one-dimensional characters ever and have zero chemistry. They don't have any distinguishing characteristics and feel like caricatures of Ambitious/Driven Heroine and Mama's Boy Disguised as a Playboy. Their romance is uninspired. I love a hate-to-love romance, but this is not it. (Also, the Witch/Devil nicknames are not cute.) Nina and Leo's supposed hatred for each other isn't really established, but as soon as they start fake dating, they suddenly find themselves telling the other person stuff no one else knows even though they're supposedly emotionally scarred. The story isn't actually that bad, but it's written in such a lazy way, it's hard to take seriously. And then the rest of their relationship is this pseudo-friends-with-benefit arrangement that no one asked for (I see a lot of 4-5 star reviews, so maybe I'm the only one who didn't ask for this.) and miscommunication as a trope which La Rosa just uses to prolong the unnecessary drama and lead her readers around in circles until she reads the end of the book. The drama is painfully repetitive and definitely downgraded For Butter or Worse from 2 stars to 1 in my opinion.

4 STARS

First things first, I was given a copy of this book as an ARC, in exchange for an honest review. A big thank-you to NetGalley, HQN Books, and Erin La Rosa for allowing me to be an early reader!

Nina Lyon is a chef who owns her own restaurant. She is also a co-host of a reality TV cooking show. Lately, Nina has been in a rut since all of her restaurant locations have been shut down, except for one. She is working really hard to keep her restaurant open and to ensure that she doesn’t disappoint her workers and colleagues.

Leo O’Donnell co-hosts the cooking show with Nina. He is a business man that has a chain of family restaurants. Similar to Nina, his restaurants are also shutting down, and he is looking for a quick fix to ensure that his last few locations don’t close.

Nina constantly experiences sexism and discrimination as she is a woman, in a profession that is dominated by males. After being fed up of everybody’s antics, Nina quits the show and walks off stage during a live casting.

Since Nina has quit, Leo is also about to lose his job. Now the two of them must work together to save their restaurants and careers. And what better way to do that than fake dating?!

This book touches on grief and also mental health which are important concepts that need to be talked about often. I liked the representation in this book and it was done in a way that I, personally, have not seen done before!

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I think there were some parts that were a bit dragged out, which lost my attention. Fortunately, I was able to look past that and I would still recommend this book!

For Butter or Worse is set to release on July 26th, 2022 — definitely keep a look out for it! x

This was definitely one of those romance books I just couldn't put down, from the moment I started it until I finished it. The premise of the book itself is sugar and spice, and everything nice! You get to explore the world with two complex and amazing main characters who have so much between them it's nearly impossible to fall in love with them. Their love story is one I'll read over and over again. Plus who doesn't love a cute little baker romance!

Such a fun and easy read ! This book has one of my tropes— fake dating! I loved Nina and Leo ughhhhh; their chemistry, banter, just everything was executed amazingly! Would definitely recommend! *Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*

(4.25/5) This book was such a fun read! It has all the tropes I love combined: enemies to fake dating/relationship of convenience to friends to slow-burn lovers along with characters that actually have depth to them. I not only loved the two main characters, but I also loved Nina's best friend Jasmine (to whom I DEEPLY relate) and Leo's brother Gavin. I want them to both have their own books!! This book has great character development and deals with mental health, social media, and sexism really well; you can see the characters grow and learn from their mistakes in a way that feels really genuine. The dual POV did this book FAVORS and you can also definitely see how Leo and Nina's relationship shifts over time (this isn't your usual "enemies but not really enemies" romance book - they really are enemies and you can feel that at the beginning of the book). The pacing of the book was good and super easy to read with lots of humor, wit, and some juicy romance scenes. My only negative comment is that I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope, and I usually find that it's hit or miss. Overall, this book exceeded my expectations, and I will definitely read more books by Erin La Rosa!

Erin La Rosa is going to be an auto-buy author for me now. I can already tell. This book was surprisingly and pleasantly fantastic. I wasn’t expecting it to be so cute! Love the characters development throughout.

The only thing I was really not vibing with was all of the oral sex going on. Back to back to back chapters of it for just too much. (Also the use of the word “lapping”…. ick)

There were a couple of unanswered questions as well… did Nina ever realize that Leo visited her restaurant on his own volition and not because of Tom? Who won the bidding war and got the cooking classes from Nina?

Other than that, I have zero issues with this book and will be reading her future books as well!

I loved this book, the story of Nina and Leo, who work together on a TV show until his comments force her to quit. This leads to issues with both of their businesses, and a paparazzi photo leads to them fake dating. Can they admit how they really feel?
I loved how Leo watched all the Rom coms!

This enemies to lovers book was one that I could not put down. The banter between Nina and Leo was hilarious. The hatred between them was A+ and I enjoyed that the plot moved very quickly from the initial hate that made you hate Leo a little bit. The forced faked dating to save their businesses made this a delicious read. Seeing them both be in such denial over their love for each other was the gift that kept giving. A couple steamy scenes that were HOT. I really hope we get to read more books in this world. Nina and Leo's siblings deserve books!! I appreciated the light shed on women in the culinary world and the issues they face.

An author I will definitely want to read more of!

A fun, food based, enemies to lovers. It was giving the great British bake off vibes along with hilarious Twitter feeds that really made me enjoy the book that much more.

The writing style of For Butter or worse was the best part of it along with the social media comments. I quite enjoyed the social media interactions in books a lot and this book delivered.

Erin La Rosa did an incredible job for a debut novel and the fake dating aspect always serves.

I loved the family interactions and it was just a delight.

Some of the MC's interactions were told instead of shown and I would have liked them taking on page but I wasn't too bothered because I always LIVE for the outsiders pov on something's the main characters do