Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin trade publishing for an arc of this book!

It was so good!! For Butter or Worse included my two favorite tropes. Enemies to loves AND fake dating! I gave it 4.5:5 stars.

Our two main characters are Nina and Leo, judges of a popular cooking show, that positively loathe each other. After Leo takes a joke too far, Nina quits the show while they’re live. After facing some backlash they have a private meeting to try to resolve their issues. They get caught in what is falsely assumed to be a compromising situation and the fans are going wild. Their publisher comes up with an idea to save face and fix the problems they’ve accidentally caused. Start fake dating.

This book was so funny and it was such a delight to watch characters that hated each other start to become friends and more. The side characters were great and really added to the book. And the diversity was wonderful. It talked about some mental health issues and covered these topics beautifully. The author did a phenomenal job! The spicy scenes were quite steamy. I’d say 3/5 for spice overall.

If you enjoy the tropes I mentioned above and cooking shows this book is for you!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I loved this book. I adored the enemy to lovers, fake dating, glamor, pop culture or references. This was the perfect read for me, it had me hooked for the very start, I enjoyed it so much I plan on reading other books by this author.

For Butter or Worse was an enjoyable read. I find that most romance books now purely will focus on the romance or relationship and forget to give its characters goals or a real personality. I am glad that in For Butter or Worse there was actual plot besides there romantic relationship, and that there were personal struggles that they had to deal with. I am glad that Leo had anxiety. Again I feel like most books don't give the main protagonist a struggle or personality outside of their love interest, and so it is nice to see a male character struggle with his family or mental health.
Overall this book was fun to read. Their were some cringe moments, but I think this book is four stars. Its fun, sexy, fast faced, and has a slow burn romance.

4.5 stars! This is a wonderful book. I went into it with no expectations, and I loved it! Here are a few reasons why. Both the enemies to lovers and the fake dating trope felt realistic. The fact that they’re both celebrities, made the fake dating much more believable than I’m used to in other books. As for the enemies to lovers, I really felt the hatred they had for each other at the beginning. The buildup to lovers was great, and I was really rooting for Leo after the first fourth of the book. I also thought the spice was good and well placed. There were a lot of scenes with the side characters, but I didn’t mind it! I liked all of the characters. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this wonderful advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This review was posted on Instagram and Goodreads on March 25th. Another post will be added on Instagram on release day.

Four Stars! ****

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!

This book was a lot of fun! It was my first read from Erin La Rosa and I went in without any expectations. Nina and Leo are co-hosts on a competition cooking show and hate each other. After a blow up live on air, they begin fake dating to save their individual restaurants.

The banter and dialogue in this book was top notch! Really funny and had a great flow to it. I loved that the main characters had ~nOrMaL~ names! In so many modern romance books, the main characters have the most outrageous, unconventional names and it really takes me out of the story so Nina and Leo was refreshing for me. Leo struggled with anxiety and panic attacks and I haven't read many books where the male character dealt with these very real issues. Loved that! I also liked that we get both Nina and Leo's perspectives.

Nina's individual storyline was a little too driven by her best friend's life. A lot of the time spent with Nina alone was really about Jasmine, her parents, and figuring her next career steps. I wish it would have been more focused on Nina since she was the main character.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what's next from Erin La Rosa!

This felt a little too much like if Buzzfeed wrote a contemporary romance for me at times (there was also a Buzzfeed reference in the book itself) but yknow what?? I didn’t hate it!!

The enemies-to-lovers was great and I’m always watching Food Network so I appreciated the cooking show aspect of it all. The dialogue was a bit cringey at times (some of Nina’s lines felt very much like someone trying to sound cool and witty when really they’re just over dramatic) and it took me quite some time to fully get into it but it was cute!

3/5… enjoyable but nothing to really write home about, unfortunately! Great for a very quick read that doesn’t make your brain think too much. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

PS: the fact that this eARC is formatted very strangely (or at least the copy that I was sent was) didn’t help… where were the separations for chapters?

Thank you to #NetGalley and #HQN for the ARC of #ForButterorWorse!

This book was a lot of fun! Fake dating, famous people, Hollywood glamour, enemies to lovers. I love it all!

I thought the pacing of the turning from enemies to lovers was really good. So many enemies to lovers books don’t handle this well, but I thought this was nearly perfect. (I would’ve even loved it if they were enemies a bit longer, but that is just a personal preference)

I also adored both Leo and Nina separately and as a couple, which is the mark of a great romance for me. I was rooting for them in their personal lives and in their relationship with each other. I thought they were a great match and they balanced each other really well.

But, this wasn’t a 5 star because I did find it a bit long. It started to drag for me around 60%-75% mark. I think some scenes could be edited out, especially the scenes revolving around Nina’s best friend, Jasmine. I like Jasmine as a character, but it felt like there was too much about her backstory and life when the novel doesn't revolve around her. There were also a few other side character moments that just didn’t feel relevant to the story and I did get bored during some of those scenes. I really just wanted to read about Leo and Nina and get more of their story!

Overall, a really strong romance novel. I will definitely be reading from this author again!

These cute illustrated cover books always pull through for me. It was a fun, easy read! I’m not usually appreciative of pop culture references but I’ll let the Bridget Jones quotes slide, since it’s one of my favorite comfort movies. A man who appreciates romcoms and the masterpiece that is Bridget Jones *chefs kiss* I hardly ever see a man with anxiety represented in media and it was nice to see that a reader who also has anxiety.
This book had me relating to man, shocking. He was also self aware and took accountability, which was stunning coming from a man. Such a shame he’s only fictional. But personally I could’ve done with a little less miscommunication and the third act conflict.

*Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing a copy of the book*

Thank you NetGalley for this arc
Easy one of my favorites, I’m pretty sure I’ll reread before it comes out. I love the enemies to lovers trope. And this book did not disappoint! So much chemistry!!!

This book did grumpy sunshine romance so well. I especially love when the leading lady is the grumpy one and our hero is the sunshine. Leo was an absolute cinnamon roll of a guy, while her and Nina did have conflict this was totally due to miscommunication. They each made assumptions about the other then never bothered to get to know each other and just held onto those opinions and treated each other unkindly. Obviously as the story goes on and we follow them on their fake dating journey they open up to each other and question all their assumptions. Miscommunication is a major trope in this book, every conflict and bump in the road between Nina and Leo both before the events of the book as during is due to miscommunication. It was frustrating at times because we have dual POV, so as the reader we KNOW and it’s hard when they don’t talk. However, that being said the humor and fluff really sell this book.

I love the representation of a male lead with mental health issues. I also suffer from anxiety and we hardly see male characters in books with this issues, so I loved that. Leo was charming, caring and a hopeless romantic, but he was also a little obtuse. He didn’t realize when he was making a mistake or going too far until after he did. I appreciated that he owned up to and apologized, he had major growth there. I’m glad he became an ally. I just really wanted more from his character in the end, I felt like his arc wasn’t tied up as neatly as Nina’s. What happened to his chain? Did he ever get the prestige he was after? Did he have to close down more stores? Did he ever go back to work after his break, what was his career move? I just had more questions about his personal journey. Nina, she is a darling. Tragic backstory and loss that caused her to be a more reserved person. Unfortunately when a woman is reserved and also honest, she is labeled as a unapproachable bitch. I loved being in her head and seeing how big of a heart she has and her own struggles she goes through. I loved Nina’s story as she is trying to save her failing buisness. Her overall character arc was fantastic, she grew into a more attentive sister, a better friend, and better chef and woman throughout.

Fake dating and grump sunshine and food related rom com is a recipe for a hit. I loved their romance; there was so much humor, just enough fluff, jealousy, and steaminess. Leo and Nina have always found each other attractive but their assumptions about the others personality stopped them from ever giving each other a chance at even a friendship. Watching them get to know each other and being put into these ridiculous situations by their PR team setting up dates for them was absolutely hilarious. My only critique here is that the presence of Nina’s ex-boyfriend was a lot. He kept coming back up, while I get why he was important for Nina’s growth, it did get frustrating to keep having him show up. He was reason Leo flipped on Nina, again because they don’t communicate. Then Nina comparing Leo to her ex after certain of his actions, it just wasn’t my favorite thing to have included so much of the ex and I wish we could have used different plot devises to further the story. They both have my heart. Leo has some grand romantic gestures throughout the book and he made me fall in love with him too. There was no way Nina could have resisted. Leo did make some mistakes, but in the end he did what he could to win her back and apologize.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for let me in read and ARC copy “For Butter or Worse. What can I say. While Fake Dating is not my preferred troupe it really has started growing on me lately. It also is enemy/rivals to lovers. Leo owns a chain of restaurants and is a co-host on a TV show with Nina the owner and Chef of Lyon’s. On the finale of the third season Nina quits. She is done with the comments and nicknames that have come from the show when all she wanted was for her career to blossom even more. She went in hoping that this would help her career and restaurants.
Leo has a passion for his family restaurant that he has turned into a chain his father started the first restaurant and all he wants it to do is succeed.. other people rely on him for their livelyhood. He wants to be taken seriously by the food community and was hoping that this TV show would help his business and connections grow.
On the last episode, which is live, Nina quits at the end. She will not be coming back. Enter the fake dating troupe when Leo shows up at her restaurant.
This was a fast pace read and I really enjoyed the growth of Leo overall. I definitely will be purchasing a physical copy of this to add to my library. 4.5 STARS.

A very charming, loving and a witty read that has the capability to get one hooked from the beginning and made my entire reading time enjoyable and super fun. I really loved and enjoyed it!

Ahh this is definitely going to be on the list of one of top favourite read of the year 2022. I really loved it. It served all of the fav tropes, like enemies to lovers, workplace dating/office romance and more. I really loved both the MCs, especially Leo. The story was interesting and engaging enough that I never felt left out from all the fun and bored haha. In a nutshell, it’s a full 5 stars read for me.

for butter of worse was a great mix of a sweet yet steamy read!

this book had many fan favourite tropes like, enemies to lovers, fake dating and workplace romance! and it’s was written extraordinarily well.

as someone who is not a huge fan of the fake dating trope i thoroughly enjoyed this story.

i liked how for butter or worse talked about sexism and had mental health representation.
nina and leo were treated very differently while they were both in the food industry.
nina was constantly being called names and judged while leo was being admired. i am glad this was added to the story to show how differently people are treated in the work environment and how it needs to change.

furthermore, both leo and nina were dealing with grief in this story, as well as leo dealing with anxiety. i feel like the anxiety representation was spot on and showed how much your anxiety can rule your life.

there were also steamy scenes that i know readers will be excited about ;) as well as a lot of wholesome and sweet scenes that will make you go “aww”.

the only reason i did not love this story is because it did have a number of miscommunication scenes and i am not a fan of the trope.

overall this was a enjoyable story and i’m glad i read it!

thank you NetGalley for an arc of For Butter or Worse in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much. They did enemies to lovers so right and so good! It was hot. It was funny. And so fun! This is a book I would definitely be recommending and rereading myself!

Thank you for the opportunity to read For Butter or Worse. I love the title!

For lovers of the miscommunication trope, this is a win. For me, there were way too many times of miscommunication. Toward the end, with the deleting texts and Nina freezing on stage, I was annoyed. It was too much of the trope. It could definitely be scaled back to create a better flow to the story while still playing into the miscommunication aspect that lots of readers love.

And speaking of tropes, I adored the enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes. Those were both so well-written and felt genuine and sincere. The spice, too, was great!

I very much disliked that Nina and Leo fought while Leo was in the hospital. Nina is a mature, self-assured woman and it felt out of character for her to be arguing with someone while they were literally in the hospital. It would have felt more in character for Nina to have the disagreement started and she coldly leaves Leo with parting words along the lines of “they can talk later” or something to that affect. Much like how she walked off set in the beginning when he hurt her. Just my thoughts!

All in all, this is a 3.5/5 for me. I didn’t love it, but I definitely didn’t hate it!

For butter or worse definitely falls into the category of a very well butter read. ‘Because we’ll, it was a smooth read for me to get into haha. It served fake dating and enemies to lovers, both are my most loved and adored tropes. And, I definitely felt served. Both the characters and the storyline was engaging and entertaining. Overall, it’s a full 5 stars read for me.

t r o p e s: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating, workplace romance, miscommunication
featuring: witty banter, women in male-dominated professions, and great mental health (anxiety) representation

2.5 stars

Both Leo and Nina are co-hosts/judges on the popular reality TV show based around a cooking competition. I feel like people throw around the category "enemies to lovers" without truly understanding what falling into this category entails, but rest assured: this is TRUE enemies to lovers. Like, the characters strongly dislike each other, and it grows into mutual respect, then love. I had a couple issues with the male love interest's borderline mysogynistic comments at the beginning of the story, but one of the main themes is sexism in this book, so I was willing to overlook it, as it served a purpose for the character growth and plot. In addition, the heroine's nasty behavior toward the love interest towards the end of the book when he had shown character growth was a turn off for me. I also wasn't a fan of the miscommunication trope and the presence of the typical breakup that happens at the 70-80% mark. However, this IS a light rom com, and it's not meant to have serious conflict or depth. Unfortunately, for all the tropes and themes I was looking forward to in this book (the ones I almost always seem to like and appreciate), there was a whole host of other tropes I just do not care for. Nonetheless, I would recommend this for fans of literally any reality TV baking/cooking competition show, or if you enjoyed the dynamic of Hating You/Loving You by Christina Lauren or The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.

As for the formatting, I hate to picky, especially since I am grateful I received a free edition of this book, but I was not digging the PDF edition at all. It was formatted very strangely, there weren't appropriate spaces or indents between paragraphs. And when I wanted to search key words featured previously in the story, I wasn't able to because it wasn't formatted correctly to be searched as a kindle edition would. It definitely took away from the reading experience for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This. Was. So. Good.

The excessive punctuation was entirely necessary because this was such a good enemies-to-lovers romance AND it was set in a personal favorite environment, culinary world.

Nina and Leo are co-hosts on the reality cooking TV “The Next Cooking Champ” and they, well, kinda hate each other. Nina accepted her host role with a mission – to make a name for herself in the culinary world. She’s already a celebrated chef; she just needs some of her own celebrity to make sure her flagship restaurant doesn’t shut down. Leo, on the other hand, the very successful CEO of chain restaurants; he wants the respect of the culinary bigshots and hopes that the being a host on the show would be his in. Nina deciding to leave the show triggers a number of events that ultimately leads this duo into a fake relationship.

This book is steamy. Often you’ll go into an enemies-to-lovers book expecting steam and the author, I’m happy to say, DELIVERED.

In addition to the steamy romance, it’s got some important dialogue about the misogyny of the culinary world as well in celebrity reporting and mental health, especially surrounding anxiety. I love that it’s the male character who deals with anxiety; we rarely see depictions of men with mental health issues that they are working through.

Both Leo and Nina had incredible character growth but Leo finally taking ownership of his unwitting perpetuation of misogyny was heartwarming to read. We also see a reserved Nina begin to flourish as she opens herself up slowly and she’s such a delight.

One thing I do want to say is that I’ve been seeing a lot of comparison of this book to The Great British Bake-Off and as a lover and fervent viewer of the GBBO, I have to respectfully disagree. Other cooking reality shows exist! I think it would have been more apt to compare it to one of those as while funny, it lacks the dry sarcasm that perpetuates British humor.

If you’re fan of fake dating, pre-order this book. If you’re a foodie, pre-order this book. If you love enemies-to-lovers, pre-order this book. If you’re a fan of grump x sunshine and cinnamon roll love interest, pre-order this book. Just pre-order this book!

Special thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Absolutely adorable! This was such a entertaining read! I really liked the characters and the plot was very cute!