This was a cute and funny rom-com that incorporates cooking and the beloved enemies to lovers trope. I love cooking shows and rom-coms so I was excited about this one. I love how the male main character fell in love first but didn't know how to show he cared without picking at the female main character. The writing was good and I felt the pace of the book was a nice one, it didn't drag.

Overall, I rated this book 3.5 stars. I had a hard time getting into it for some reason. It's hard to put my finger on exactly how I feel about the book - the tropes were well defined: enemies to lovers with a fake dating sub-trope. The pacing of the second half was more engaging for me than the first half. I felt a little disconnected from the characters in some portions of the story line and Leo's redemption arc was a little muddled to me. I think this was a well written book and have already added the second book in the series to my TBR list on Goodreads. Thank you to NetGalley and HQN for this review copy for me to read and provide thoughts on.

I absolutely loved Leo and Nina! Their banter and energy were great. I also loved that they both had very real problems that they were working on outside of their own conflict which provided a lot of body to the story. The build up to their romance as perfect and had me literally squealing. Can’t wait to see what Erin La Rosa comes up with next!

This book was just what I needed to get out of a reading slump, meaning it was fun and the chemistry was on point. Nina and Leo were a riot to read about, though the dialogue was a little over the top sometimes. Over all, it was a super enjoyable and fun read.

I love a good Belgian waffle, and on that waffle, I want to see the butter. Just a tiny bit of syrup, but visual butter. I love butter. 😂 For Butter or Worse is such a good title for this foodie rom com and Erin La Rosa’s fiction debut.

Nina is a trained chef trying hard to climb the culinary ladder in a male-dominated field. She’s currently a co-host of the reality show, The Next Cooking Champ. This may be her ticket to recognition. Leo, a restaurateur, is in her orbit on the show, and he’s always joking with Nina, which she doesn’t appreciate. This last joke makes her quit the show. The paparazzi catch them in what looks like a “secret romance,” and this may be what’s best for their careers to get a media boost, so they play the role. Their feelings come next, though.

The story is centered on fake dating and enemies to lovers tropes, which I enjoyed, as well as both Nina and Leo and their chemistry and banter. I also appreciated how anxiety was addressed. A steamy, entertaining love story!

I received a gifted copy.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

For Butter or Worse
by Erin La Rosa
Pub Date: 26 Jul 2022

I actually liked this a lot more than I thought! This was an enemy to lovers storyline with both heart and heat. Nina and Leo were so fun with the bickering and witty banter, and all their "non-dates." I was highly invested in both of them and loved watching the progression of their relationship. And all the food talk was a bonus!

I look forward to reading more from this author!

I’ve observed an emerging subgenre of romance defined by the presence of men apologizing. In many ways, this is refreshing and much appreciated; for eons tropes have revolved around women coming the see the correctness of a man, of eventually succumbing to the always-right man, of being educated by the much more qualified hero of the story. Not only does this “wear her down” trope play out spectacularly problematically in sexual contexts, but it also is just so tired. Romantic leads recognizing they’re wrong? Apologizing? Fantastic.
I think, however, as the novelty wears off, that this trope may lose its substance, and I’ve perhaps reached that point with For Butter of Worse. I wanted to like it. A long time issue with the enemies-to-lovers trope is the fake-enemies-to-lovers out there; you bait me with a little bit of initial rudeness, a meet-ugly, so to speak, but the protagonists get over this almost immediately, and they are really never enemies at all–I cry. Such is not the case here; Nina and Leo are aggressively enemies, that is for sure.
I’ve flown too close to the sun, it seems, though, because Nina and Leo are so brimming with hatred from each other (diction chosen intentionally–it's not dislike, it's not annoyance, it's hatred) that they are irredeemably horrible to each other. They are so horrible to each other that, by the time we get around to the lovers' part, the slow warming to each other and recognition of the other’s good qualities, rings hollow and unromantic. It seems that La Rosa is so set on making her love interest apologize she’s willing to have him commit pretty unforgivable acts just to warrant it. The accompanying apology train necessary to right the wrongs that occurred before they viewed each other as actual human beings left a sour taste in my mouth. Misogynistically slandering someone’s name? Ruining their career prospects? I don’t care how cute the apology is, you don’t belong together.
So I amend my prior wish. Apparently, I do not want just enemies–I want enemies who still have moral boundaries. Hold the knife to their throat, sure, but don’t actually stab them in any vital organs. I suppose La Rosa is to thank for this realization.
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC, gifted in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought I was going to love this one. A baking show with enemies to lovers co-hosts? Sign me up. That said the writing style really threw me off (was not a fan) and the pacing was not there. It was literally chapter one and barely had an enemy interaction when her internal monologue was already shifting to the lovers point of view.

I did not buy their relationship at all and the characters fell very flat for me. I also felt the use of the miscommunication trope in the last act caused unnecessary drama and forced a very rushed resolution.

Things I did like though: the representation of a man with anxiety/therapy. The interaction between the FMC and MMC after her dizzy spell was endearing. The hospital scene at the end was well written and I felt the emotion there.

Overall had to force myself to finish this one.

This was a really fun and well executed enemies to lovers romance! The celebrity aspect of it was really fun as well. It took me a little bit to warm up to Leo, but I really like him at the end. Nina was badass and strong - loved her!

For Butter or Worse is a contemporary romance following workplace rivals who fake a relationship for public relations reasons, only to find themselves actually enjoying the charade.

Nina is a female chef in a fairly male-dominated industry, and the last thing she needs is her coworker throwing her under the bus on live TV. Nina knows Leo hated her on sight, and she has no interest in placating his ego, especially given that he isn’t even a chef.

Leo is a businessman trying to keep his family’s restaurant legacy afloat. He’s proud of what his father built, and wants to keep its foundation strong, but he fears he’ll never be respected in the food world. Being on a cooking show was supposed to help the brand, but Leo can’t help sniping back when Nina needles him. Unfortunately, this clash only escalates, culminating in an on-air fight that makes Nina look really, really bad.

When the paparazzi mistakenly believe the caustic coworkers to be a couple, Leo and Nina decide it will be mutually beneficial to fake a relationship to generate good publicity. Their plan just might work, as long as they can keep their mutual loathing under control.

I loved this book, which contains so many of my favorite things: mental health representation, rivals to lovers, reality television and well-written secondary characters. In particular, the depiction of anxiety is poignant and important and I found the families of the main characters to be very real; they add to the narrative without drawing too much attention away from the plot.

The workplace animosity works really well here. It’s sometimes difficult to pull off a realistic antagonism without assigning too much blame to one character, but I really enjoyed the way the characters’ conflict plays out. Both of the main characters experience a lot of growth, though Leo probably takes center stage at times. I really loved him, though, he’s deeply complex, and it’s easy to like him when reading from his perspective. Nina is also really special; she goes through a lot but never fails to advocate for herself. I loved that she’s unapologetic about her ambition and her desire to succeed. Her frustration with how she is perceived is super relatable, even if you’re not a reality television host.

For Butter or Worse is a delightful read with both humorous moments and serious notes that make the happily ever after all the sweeter.

This book was just okay. I didn’t find myself caring a whole lot about the story and definitely didn’t feel interested in the parts of the book that didn’t feature the main characters. The writing quality was fine, but something about it was just missing for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

i love the enemies-to-lovers trope as much as i love fake dating… so you can imagine how excited i was to find out that this novel combines the best of both worlds! as someone who loves cooking, i also enjoyed the descriptions of nina and leo’s creations and the foodie comparisons (like how nina and leo are oil and water!) being celebrities, the two hosts have a following on social media and the chapters are occasionally broken up by their posts and tweets. i found myself looking forward to these pages of the novel because you get to see how their “followers” react to their relationship.

a few chapters in, i didn’t think i’d come to like leo. i found him disrespectful and rude (especially towards nina) but i gave him a chance… and i’m glad i did. as the novel unfolds and you get to know nina and leo, it becomes clear that they’ve had rough patches in their past. but i loved watching their romance and trust unfold. although their dates were staged for social media, i found them super romantic. it pushed nina and leo to act reasonably in front of a crowd but it also forced them to get to know each other. i was extremely happy with how things turned out in the end and would recommend “for butter or worse” to fans of “meet you in the middle.” these two have been some of my favorites this year because of their banter, dates, and HEA

Erin La Rosa’s For Butter or Worse is a cute, if predictable, entry in the kitch lit genre. Chef Nina Lyon finds herself where she never could have imagined: successful restaurants and a gig on a Food Network-esque cooking competition show have made her a household name. But her nemesis and fellow cooking show judge Leo (of mass-market restaurant fame) gets under her skin.

When both find themselves off the show, Nina’s publicist suggests they enter into a mutual arrangement in which Nina and Leo keep up the pretense that they are dating. The fake dating trope is a well worn entry in the romance world. The begrudging chemistry between Nina and Leo is palpable, and the story plays out - no spoilers - as you might expect. La Rosa imbues Nina and Leo with the standard qualities but brings depth by trading points of view each chapter and letting the audience into each of their minds. That technique leaves room for the reader to exclaim in disgust, ‘you’re both getting it all wrong, just be honest about your feelings!” as all good romance novels do.

Cooking and kitchen puns abound and I pride myself on having enough background knowledge to understand them without the help of the google machine. La Rosa has a keen eye for building tension, even if, at times, it feels as though it goes on a little too long. You cannot help but root for happily ever after. Or, beautifully baked after all.

I enjoyed this at times and despised it at others. Leo and Nina are co-hosts who hate each other when the cameras aren't on. They take digs at each other constantly making it almost unbearable to work with them. Nina quits the show after seasons of bullying, passive aggressive comments, and just blatantly sexist comments. Suddenly Leo is seen as the bad guy, which he absolutely was.

The 2 decide to capitalize on the idea of fake dating to get their reputations back in the positive, and save their respective restaurants. It's marketed as an enemies to lovers, but Leo is just an a$$hole. A misogynistic jerk who used panic attacks as an excuse for his behavior. I did not feel sorry for him at any point in the book. He couldn't stop making cracks and jokes and comments and really didn't get much punishment for it. He should have been dragged through the mud at some point but wasn't. And for Nina to just let it all go as quickly as she did, I didn't like it. They had some chemistry but it all felt very rushed. Let alone that I never rooted for them once, I was even rooting against Leo.

The steamy scenes were just okay. Their relationship that developed was also just okay but the fact that it fell apart because they didn't talk about how they actually felt about each other was super aggravating. Just talk like adults who want to continue having consensual relations and be emotionally available to each other! Ugh.

For being very food-centric this book wasn't too heavy on including too much. Some cooking/baking/food related stories get bogged down by too many food descriptions and this was luckily not an issue here.

I adore this book. I loved both main characters as well as the side characters. I am a sucker for a cooking romance and having the two be hosts of a cooking show just made it even better.

The characters were both well developed, and their hatred and growth felt valid and realistic and shown very well through their dual pov. The plot arc is well paced, and I was happily surprised with the resolution. Important topics like mental health, and the media portrayal and treatment of women is interwoven elegantly and treated with respect and gives the book even more depth.

I love this book and I can't wait to read more by this author.

I had a rough time getting into this book. The concept and idea is really interesting, but I wasn’t a fan of the execution. I liked the main relationship of the book and the way the two characters met.

I think I would still recommend this book to others because there’s still a good chance they’ll love it! For some reason, I just couldn’t get into it.

I absolutely devoured this one! I'm not the biggest fan of books with a reality TV trope but I wanted to try out Erin La Rosa's writing and I can 100% say now that she is an author I will be looking out for!

On page, this would be the type of romcom i would usually love but it just didn't click for me. like
if you like dual POV's- CHECK
reverse sunshine grump trope - CHECK
strong willed female leads - CHECK

but it just fell...flat.
it's one of those things where i can acknowledge that objectively its not a terrible book, it just didn't happen to work out for me.

I really enjoyed this one and found their relationship very realistic and relatable! Add in a reality tv cooking show, enemies to lovers, and some groveling…sold!

While there was some miscommunication in this book, it felt more like secret feelings and it was done well!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Ok here goes: I like the sound of an 'enemies-to-lovers' romance, until I am reading and realize all the reasons why I don't. The banter is always so great, and funny, and sassy, and sexy.. but the buildup is just too much for me. The back and forth is so annoying, JUST COMMUNICATE ALREADY. There's no way people in love are THAT bad. Am I wrong??

Having said that, I did enjoy the majority of this book. I chose it as a palate cleanser in between thrillers, and it did just the trick. The food references were cute, such as, "feeling as deflated as a cake that had failed to rise". They are sprinkled throughout and I thought that was an appropriate thing to do, considering the title.

As infuriating as it was reading from both Nina and Leo's POVs, I still liked their inner monologues and thoughts. They were both very likable characters, and (an obvious spoiler alert) it made me happy to see them get their happy ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for my eARC of FOR BUTTER OR WORSE, out now!