Not only was this of the best rivals-to-lovers contemporary romances I've read in a long time, but it also included FAKE DATING. Nina and Leo are both interesting, well-developed characters, and the progression of their romance was perfectly paced and felt believable. I was glad to see Leo realise how his behaviour had come across at the beginning of the story and apologise fully to Nina for it, and I found their chemistry excellent.

I loved this, enemies to lovers and baking and family and friends who were also well drawn and developed.

Solid 3 star read. I enjoyed the relationship between Nina and Leo. I really liked the other characters, and found them to add a lot to the story. I wish there had been more cooking and food focus in this book, since it was advertised that way. I also found it to be a little more explicit than I’d expected.

Enemies to fake dating. Reality cooking contest but barely (just in the first chapter), sort of celebrity.

This is a great enemies to lovers, fake dating romance! I absolutely loved Nina and Leo's relationship from the start (even though it was rocky) and seeing it progress through the book as they learned more about each other. I thought it was hilarious how they kept messing up the fake- dating!! You'll understand that once you read it hehe. There was just the right amount of spice for this book too. There was a slight miscommunication, but not where it is a full-on trope. It looks really well within the storyline and the author does a great job honestly of maintaining their relationship throughout the whole book. I also really appreciated the accurate representation of mental health issues and anxiety too.

Fake dating trope is elite!!

I would definitely read this again! I struggled getting into this one at first, and now that I finally have, I can say it's definitely worth the read. If fake dating is your go-to, you need to add this one to your list.

The unfortunate thing, and the main reason for me giving it 4 stars instead of 5, is it relies heavily on miscommunication. And not just between the mains... but also between the mains and side characters. Which, frankly if this were any other book, I'd normally knock down a few more stars for BUT within the context, it does kind of work... I just wish it wasn't used SO heavily. Moderation was key here, but alas, here we are. On the flip side, I loved the mental health representation that this brings. Plus, I loved seeing the struggle of a female in a male dominated field finally be acknowledged by the male. That was very refreshing! Now just more of that in reality please!

If you can get beyond the miscommunication like I did, then absolutely have at this book! The rest was really fun to read and the characters developed really well by the end (in my opinion).

This was a fun and light read. I instantly loved the TV setting and behind the scenes look at a reality cooking show. I felt chemistry between the characters and loved the tension between the two. Such a great read for the summer!

(2.75 stars, rounded up)

I really wanted to love For Butter Or Worse, but it somehow it never really grabbed me. We have a couple of big romance tropes here: enemies-to-lovers, and fake dating. We also supposedly have a a workplace setting but we really don’t - the TV reality show based on aspiring chefs is over before you get very far into the book. The rest of the book is about how Nina and Leo have a fake dating relationship to help both of their careers after the show ends. Nina is a high-level chef and Leo is a restauranteur of a string of family-oriented Italian restaurants. Both of their businesses are in a bit of trouble.

The problem was that I found the main characters and their story kind of boring. Neither Nina nor Leo was particularly appealing either - although the author makes sure we know that they are both physically gorgeous, over and over. Nina reacts to Leo like a high-schooler might. Leo has anxiety and hides it, so that did add something a bit different to his character. But they both seemed to have a problem with communication.

Warning: several very descriptive sex scenes

Thank you to NetGalley and HQN for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I am rather late to it. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, Mela Lee, did a good job with the various voices. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

OH, BOY, WAS THIS A DELICIOUS BOOK!
Alright, I won't lie, I hated Leo initially, but damn, did he switch that around. Nina was a star throughout the book; I knew I adored her, and even if Leo had not become another character to love, she would have 100% carried this book to 4 stars. Also, I was ready to FIGHT those rude #nastynina promoters!

Their chemistry, the scenarios, FREAKING TOM and the side characters were the perfect ingredients (cooking pun) for this book. I laughed out loud so many times. The added social media pages we got were so fun.
Something else I adored & genuinely appreciated about this rom-com was the human, vulnerable & realistic element; losing a business, the mental health aspects, grieving the loss of a parent, how toxic social media/stardom is & bouncing back after failure.

This was genuinely perfect & I'm all for more from this author.

The story fell just a bit short of my expectations. That being said, I loved the main characters banter. It's antagonism with a hint of underlying chemistry.
Thank you Erin LA Rosa, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

Love the cover and the representation in this romance, however....not really my cup of tea. Didn't care much for the characters and thus I never saw the chemistry between them.

As this title is published by Harlequin, an imprint of HarperCollins, I will be withholding my review of the title in support of the HarperCollins Union strike. I look forward to reviewing this title once HarperCollins has met the union at the bargaining table and agreed to a fair contract.

This was cute, but not one of my fav romances. I liked the MC enough but the romance fell a little flat for me. Enjoyable, but ultimately not super memorable.

This one was so cute!

I loved the dual perspectives and the enemies to lovers banter. I was interested in this title mainly due to the celebrity chef storyline and goodness I loved that aspect!

All in all it was a cute, fun, and enjoyable read!

This was a good read. It’s enemies to lovers, fake dating, need to save their restaurant businesses. Content warning for anxiety and panic attacks, which the main male character, Leo, has.

I love the food talk. I like the banter and the tasks that they had to do to make the relationship seem real.

4.5 stars!!

This was such a good book! I loved all the tropes in it, but the background stories of both MCs is what hooked me even further. While some reviewers felt that the chemistry felt forced and unbelievable, I didn't feel the same and quite enjoyed it. This is the first time I came across Erin La Rosa, but honestly, I can't wait to read more books by her.

Nina and Leo share a lovely, cheesy, filmy bond, which is perfect for lovers of the enemies to lover trope. Personally, I love how everything just fits in perfectly after all the ups and downs.

If you're looking for a combo of friendships, family, pain, loss, heartbreak, love, comfort, understanding, trust, (food), and so much more, For Butter Or Worse may be the read you're looking for.

I really enjoyed this story. From the beginning, it was hard to get a read on how the main characters really felt about each other because their thoughts were so wishy washy. It was overall a fun read, but nothing groundbreaking.

Oh, I really enjoyed this one. Romance plus food plus a TV show - I am IN!. Would love to read more from this author.

this enemies to lovers romance was very entertaining. the banter, witty-ness of this romance made it very enjoyable for me. but i did find that the characters were harder to connect to. i enjoy the build up on the characters as well as the story because it allows me to feel the story more.

overall, it was an easy and fun read. there were some funny moments, that i think made the book for me. fake dating is a great trope for me to read, so this was a nice nice rom com.