***Thank you to Netgalley and HQN for sending me an e-advanced reader copy of For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa! All thoughts are my own!***

So there are many things I loved about this book. The anxiety representation and breaking the sigma for mental health, the enemies to lovers relationships, and the fake dating aspect. This book is perfect if you are a foodie and love cooking competition shows.

You get to see Nina and Leo go from hating each other, to tolerating each other, to realizing that their fake relationship might not be so fake after all. Having the book duel perspective also shows both of their culinary backgrounds, Nina having an upscale restaurant and Leo inheriting an Italian restaurant chain his father started.

There are also some heartfelt moments in this book. Both Nina and Leo have lost a parent, Nina her mother and Leo his father and you see how their grief keep them motivated through each of their business endeavors.

For Butter or Worse is on sale now!

2.5 rounded to 3 stars
This book had some funny and sweet moments but overall it wasn't my favorite romance. Neither Nina nor Leo were particularly likeable or even memorable. I also hated the third act breakup- it was over something really silly and could have been resolved much sooner than it was.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade and NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Nina Lyon agreed to co-host the reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ! to make a name for herself and her restaurant, not to be branded the female Gordon Ramsay and exchange barbs with her handsome co-host Leo O'Donnell. It's hard enough as is to be a female Chef in a man's world, but during a live taping when Leo let's Nina's vile nickname "Nasty Nina" slip, she fires back with quitting the show.

When Leo tries to remedy the situation, his own name being dragged through the mud, the paparazzi catches them in a seemingly compromising position. There's only one way to navigate this PR nightmare and save both of their careers, fake a relationship to stay relevant. But as they start to crack each other's crispy breaded shells the line between fake dating blurs into very real feelings. Can they set aside their first impressions and healthy helping of pride to make things work or will it all go up in flames?

This reads a lot like a Hallmark movie, but with a few major differences. Nina isn't a caricature of the strong unfeeling woman who is changed by the end of the movie, she is career driven and has her priorities straight but also allows herself to be vulnerable, not as much as she'd like but it's hard for anyone who has been in her position. While Leo is seemingly self absorbed it's all a carefully curated façade to feel like he's in control to keep his anxiety from skyrocketing. He's the likable one, he grew his father's chain restaurant with his great personality..

I have to say that Leo is one of my new favorite heroes. He's got the swagger of a playboy, but is surprisingly wholesome and sweet, very misunderstood.

I really liked the way that they were tossed together and the whole fake dating aspect. I seriously couldn't put this book down and read it one sitting.

If you're a fan of competitive cooking shows and rom-coms with cinnamon roll heroes and strong spicy heroines, you'll enjoy For Butter or Worse.

Give me any romance that involves food and I will fully devour the entirety of the book in a matter of hours. This was a true enemies-to-lovers with a dash of fake dating and I am here for it!
Nina is a famous chef who was the host of a cooking show alongside the ever-annoying Leo, business owner for a franchise started by his father. The chemistry between these, while it may have started off as literally water and oil, slowly started to turn into warm and gooey feelings and it was so fun!
I also loved all the rep that this book had, including Gay, Pansexual, Anxiety, and Panic Attacks, just to name a few. I thought they were addressed really well (although I don’t have a whole lot of experience with it) and found that it was discussed in a way that made sense, especially in the pressure of being either a female chef OR taking over a family’s entire business.
Another thing, do not eat this book on an empty stomach. Literally, everything they described while they were cooking sounded amazing and now I have a craving for homemade pasta!

This was so cute! A wonderful romance, filled with witty banter, delightful characters, and just enough steaminess. A must read for romance lovers!

I had to DNF at 37% :(.

Enemoes-to-lovers, fake dating, and workplace romances are usually tropes I love, but it did not work in this book for me. I’m also typically on board with TV shows as a workplace, but again, it just did not work.

I had a hard time connecting with the characters as the story jumps feet-first into the plot without giving the reader a good picture of the environment or the characters. The whole “enemies” piece didn’t fit and the way the fake dating starts was a total miss for me.

If you’re considering this book, look through the reviews as others seemed to enjoy it and you might too. Unfortunately, it just was t it for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

This book was cute. I really enjoyed the banter between the two main characters. I loved the whole cooking aspect. The main female character was super strong and independent which is nice to see in books lately. It was also nice to see a male character who was dealing with some things, I think we don't see that often enough in the book. LOVED the fake dating trope! Overall an enjoyable read.

I wanted to love this, but between the half dozen miscommunications and the fact that I'm not entirely sure these characters actually liked each other, I was just missing something - chemistry or banter that wasn't mean-spirited. It wasn't clear why they were so at odds at the beginning aside from a throwaway comment, especially because it seemed like their beef started before that. I never quite felt the connection between them, so when their relationship got physical, it just seemed more out of convenience than attraction.

Overall, I wanted more of a foodie romance and less drama, but there was a loooot of drama. Way too much drama. The same scenario where they'd have sex, fall out, then make up, happened over and over again. It got to the point where I wasn't sure I wanted them to end up together. The side plot with the douchey ex could've been either more fleshed out, or taken out completely. I don't think it added anything to the story.

Basically, i just wanted these two to have a reasonable conversation where they both said what they wanted and didn't bite off each other's heads.

The first 2/3rds of this book was a frustrating read. They start of with immature bickering, abruptly switched to self-deprecating introspection, to the typical “if they just talked” trope. It finally evened out and got some traction so I enjoyed the end. The side characters were great. I would happily read a book about Leo’s brother!

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An underwhelming enemies to lovers romance. The book doesn't take long to read which is nice but the male love interest isn't an enemy, he's just manipulative and abusive.

For Butter or Worse follows Nina Lyon, a celebrated female chef in LA. She's a judge on a cooking show, and absolutely despises her co-host Leo O'Donnell. When snide comments, online hate, and a miscommunication between them and the press causes Nina and Leo to pretend date to save their restaurants, and their reputation - how long until one kills the other?

To start - I found this book extremely putdownable. However, when I did pick it up and read, the writing was smooth and I flew through the book. Compared to other Romance books I've read this year, I really did enjoy most of La Rosa's writing. There were a couple of cringy commentaries from the MMC that gave me "men writing women" vibes when he was thinking about the FMC's breasts. The food references were also a little much for me. I understand this book is extremely food centred, so I'm not really holding it against it, but food metaphors for everything the FMC felt got a little tiresome.

I really enjoyed the first 50% of the book. The banter between both characters was good, and I really enjoyed the tension. I also liked the pace at which their relationship progressed, it definitely felt quite authentic to me. However, in the second 50% I found that suddenly the themes of sexism, online hate, and the MMC's treatment of the FMC during the cooking show filming was suddenly the main point. Whereas, in the first 50% I found that the themes of sexism and "women in a mans world" took a backseat. I'm not really sure how to explain it, it just felt like the author suddenly remembered that the FMC was meant to think that the MMC was a sexist, mean man, rather than a multi-layered family man.

The whole book has themes of miscommunication - but I found it to negatively effect the storyline in the last 50% of the book. It felt like there was miscommunications, just to have miscommunications. The main crescendo, the fallout, was lacklustre in my opinion. The reasoning behind both MCs behaviour really didn't make sense to me, and felt quite surface level. The whole book they'd been learning these things about each other, and I just felt that the fallout didn't hit as hard as I thought it could've.

The first 50% of this book definitely saved everything for me. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to other readers. The food descriptions will make you hungry, and the tensioning spice scenes will definitely satiate you. This was a very quick, easy read, and Erin La Rosa's writing is smooth like butter. I know I said I disliked the food references, but I couldn't not put one in.

Thank you for providing me with an eARC of this title.

Erin La Rosa's For Butter or Worse was a pleasant read although it does have its faults and flaws. I wasn't always a fan of the dialogue, especially during certain scenes... Speaking of scenes, there was one in particular that I would've loved to have had spent more time with.

Overall, For Butter or Worse was a breeze and yields a solid 3.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the arc.

4/5 -

This was such a good book that fits all my favorite tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Fake Relationship (to repair their professional careers).

Brief Plot: Nina and Leo have hated each other through three seasons of their cooking completion show. When Leo continues to paint Nina as the villain, she ha enough and ends up quitting the show. But this decision leads to Leo losing his job too. To try to repair both of their careers, and save their restaraunts, they enter into a fake dating relationship for publicity sakes. But as they grow closer together, their feelings become real, but Nina is always left struggling on whether she can get over her villain persona.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This was so cute! I loved the banter and chemistry between Nina and Leo - I am such a sucker for an *not so* enemies to lovers. The dual POV in this book made such a difference in their characters. I really enjoyed the celebrity chef storyline and how each of them had their own reasons for opening their restaurants. I am excited to see what other books we get in the future from Erin La Rosa!

Thank you to Harlequin for this advanced copy!

My favorite romance trope is enemies to lovers. The banter cannot be beat and neither can all the 🔥🔥🔥. So it’s no surprise that I enjoyed FOR BUTTER OR WORSE!
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About the book: 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.

Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It's part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.

To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.
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I’m a sucker for any book that talks about food, and I got so hungry reading this book! This book had me laughing, but also had some very steamy parts (you are warmed!). Loved reading both POVs and their banter was funny, but also very witty! I cannot wait to see what Erin La Rosa writes next!

This book had a little bit of my two favorite tropes; enemies to lovers and fake relationship. Nina and Leo have great chemistry that seemed to jump off the page and was palpable. Their smart banter kept thing in testing and made this a quick read.

Nina and Leo are the hosts of the popular cooking contest, ‘The Next Cooking Champ!’, and behind the scenes are brutal to each other. Nina resents how easily charming Leo can be, and Leo is intimidated by Nina’s skill as a chef and often feels out of place on the show. Both accepted the gig to bring more patrons to their respective restaurants; Nina to the restaurant she built from the ground up, and Leo to his family’s chain restaurant legacy.

During the last episode of their third season, Leo steps over the line in his banter with Nina during the live season finale and Nina addresses the cameras and quits the show. Without Nina, the show doesn’t want to use Leo and would prefer to get two totally different hosts. With both of their restaurants falling on hard times, they try to rectify the damage done by staging a fake relationship between them. But will it be enough to save what they’ve both worked so hard to create?

This book was a dream for this enemies to lovers fan! The chemistry between the two is super charged. Each secretly enjoy pressing the others’ buttons, but come to understand where the other is coming from, and why their critiques are often so hurtful. Leo has panic attacks and isn’t taking care of his mental health. Nina struggles as a woman in a male dominated career and has issues with critical and hurtful comments on social media that are sexist in nature.

There is so much more to this book than simply a love story. There are so many mistakes made by each character in making assumptions about the other, and so many missteps that come about unintentionally. It was a joy to watch them learn more about themselves, and to admit their failings and their own mistakes in their treatment of each other. Add in some amazing supporting characters, and I was immediately hooked on this book.

Thanks to Harlequin Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Not for me. As much as I like the idea the overall execution wasn't my favorite. I didn't like Leo as a character and the entire plot dragged. I wouldn't be opposed to reading something else by Erin La Rose, perhaps this particular story wasn't for me.

3.5 stars

The thing that drew me to this book was the concept. I mean, two co-stars on a cooking reality show that hate each other that now must pretend to be dating? Sounds absolutely up my alley. Overall, I would say I did enjoy this book but there was something missing for me that made it hard to stay engaged in the story.

I like how both Nina and Leo are not perfect and both have to do a lot of growing throughout the book. I found Nina's "no second chances" sort of attitude really relatable and I could understand why she was the way she was considering the way the media has treated her (unfairly so). I liked getting to know Leo, who had a lot more happening under the surface and at the same time, doesn't always fully understand how his words or actions can affect the people around him. While I liked both of them together and thought they had great chemistry together, I just didn't care as much about their individual life or friendships outside of each other. Which is a strange thing to say considering side characters are usually the characters I pay the most attention to and always want more. I found myself wanting to skim multiple times while reading just to get to a scene where Nina and Leo were together and I could get more romance. As the story progressed I definitely got more of the romance and found myself eagerly flipping the page but it took a little too long for me to get there to fully be in love with this book.

All in all, I'm glad I read this book and I'd definitely be interested in future books by this author!

This story was not for me. I wanted to love it. I really did, but it fell flat. This was supposed to be an enemies to lovers, fake dating story but none of it was believable.

The saddest part for me was that there was some serious potential here.