DNF @ 30%

I was really excited for this one since I love books about baking, especially bake-offs, but I was underwhelmed. Something about the writing feels more middle grade to me--some characters feel clichéd, and the dialogue feels childish and outdated. I was also not a fan of the insta-love and the way a big part of the storyline is based on a lie. While this one wasn't for me, I can definitely see many readers enjoying it, especially those who, like me, love a book about food.

Rubi Ramos’ Recipe for Success is a sweet coming-of-age story following a graduating senior as she grapples with her parent's dreams and expectations for her and her true dream for her future. The character's devotion to both her family and her passions was really evident which really helped to bring the character and the stakes of her story to life. She’d dealing with the pressure of holding what her parents gave up for her while trying to figure out in what way she relates to her culture and making big life decisions, which feel like really palpable, important decisions to make. I also really liked watching the character stumble through the decisions because it seemed really accurate to what it's like having to make huge life-changing decisions when you’re not even a legal adult yet and how tempting it can be to evade these decisions or responsibilities altogether.

That being said, I think it was fairly obvious what choice she would eventually make all along and I do think the resolution happened fairly quickly and painlessly after setting up a lot of roadblocks that the character herself didn’t necessarily have to conquer, and I wish that she’d played a bit of a more active role in the choice. I also didn’t totally feel that the romantic interest added anything to the story, so I wished they learned from each other or caused conflict for the characters a bit more.


**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Rubi’s parents are immigrants from Cuba who have worked so hard to give Rubi the childhood and opportunities they didn’t have.

This is Rubi’s coming-of-age story as she figures out what makes her happy, what her future should look like, and just how important her family is with many mishaps along the way.

And no story is complete without a romance, an awesome best friend, and an arch nemesis.

Such a cute & sweet YA read with a great narrator.

Rubi Ramos is such a lovable character! I'm a sucker for a good story about a baking competition and this one delivered! This is a coming of age story where we see Rubi navigate challenges as well as her first romance made for a very enjoyable read! Getting to watch her character grow while competing in a fun competition made for a wonderful story.

Honestly just a meh moment.
While I loved the writing, it didn’t seem to 1: fit in the book and 2: was over used. By over used I mean that when describing things (settings) the author used metaphors about baking and foods, which I liked, but it happened so often I got bored of it.
I liked the coming of age factor and that Rubi was waitlisted by her college, but there didn’t seem to be much plot.

A weird thing that is just a pet peeve for my in books is when the characters kiss and then it says (not exact obviously) ‘we kissed. And we kissed. And we kissed. Just so many kisses’

If you like cute romances about characters with big dreams, then this book might be for you!

This was a very cute read and I could see so many students or even adults who love cooking shows, a little family drama, and some good culture picking this book up.

i'm really late on writing this review and i read it so long ago now that i have honestly forgotten a lot about it but i do remember enjoying it! all the scenes describing the food she was making sounded really good and made me wish i could jump in the book to try them. ryan was adorable i loved him and the romance plot so much! the bake off and the debate team event (was it debate team?? i think so??) happening at the same time both on campus was very "audition callbacks + scholastic decathlon + basketball game" vibes from high school musical and i loved it ahaha overall this was a fun, fluffy, and delicious read!

This book was so adorable and sweet! I could not stop smiling the whole time I was reading. As a Latina, I was so happy to find a book where I felt I could identify with the main character and her struggles. From the family dynamics to the identity struggles, everything made me feel seen. It is very hard to find books like these. I am happy more of these books are becoming available to them. I would say the romance in this book was very minimal. The book's main focus is on Rubi and her self-discovery journey. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend having some snack available to you when you pick up this book because you will need them!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my gifted copy!

There’s something so refreshing and lovely about YA novels that are culturally-encompassed, full of girl power, and sprinkled with romance. Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success has all the perfect ingredients. It’s sweet and tender, empowering, and the bits of drama aren’t overly traumatizing. While this book itself isn’t a cozy mystery, it had many of those elements that made reading so fun and also so pun-y.

While there was a mean girl that incorporated a bit of girl-on-girl drama, Rubi herself rose above it. There were conversations about race and culture - Rubi’s parents immigrated to the US to escape harm and she has to deal with following her heart and making her parents proud. There’s also a lot of conversation about education and the college admissions process.

Working in higher education myself, I was horrified with pieces of the conversation Rubi had with the director of admissions, and how Rubi’s culture was really just a way to increase “diversity” for the college’s numbers. Seeing this in a fictional story really reiterated for me why I do the work I do, and I hope the students I work with don’t ever feel like just checking a box for the college’s DEI agenda.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved Rubi and seeing her relationship with her parents, friends, and others she interacted with. I also enjoyed the sweet romantic side plot and thought this story was very sweet while also being more than that. This was a wonderful novel, and I’m impressed it’s a debut novel at that. I would absolutely read more from Jessica Parra.

Thank you Wednesday Books for the gifted book.

Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success is a cute contemporary YA book about a Cuban girl who loves to bake.

I love that we’re seeing so many books on what it’s like to be a child of an immigrant. The high expectations we struggle with. (IYKYK)

This book celebrates the food and culture of Cuba. I’m not Cuban so I cannot speak on how much truth is in this story,

I enjoyed the story and the writing itself. The author did a great job at keeping this light despite some heavy topics.
I recommend this if you like diverse coming of age stories.

3.5 stars

This was a cute, baking-based YA book. I enjoyed meeting Rubi and learning about her culture and heritage through her bakes.

I thought the pacing was decent, though sometimes it felt like too little happening in one chapter. Still, it went by quickly enough and was engaging enough that I was able to finish this in one day.

The writing style was good and the dialogue felt authentic. However, despite Rubi being a high school senior preparing for college, the book feels geared toward a younger audience. This is partly because Rubi’s relationship with Ryan, while sweet and very clean, is pretty surface level. But I also wish that there had been a more robust perspective from Rubi’s parents and their journey from Cuba; I just feel like we didn’t get the whole picture there.

Cheesy references to baking and baking puns aside, this was a good read. I think it could be an enjoyable family movie, and I would recommend this for middle and high school readers.

What a surprisingly sweet story, both for the baking and the romance. I thoroughly enjoyed Rubi’s relationship with her parents and her internal struggle regarding her passion for baking. I’d been expecting a more straightforward story, so the added elements of competition and familial history really rounded out what could have been a plain story.

Sometimes YA doesn't work for me anymore and that's more depressing for me than anything else. I think I would've appreciated this way more when I was younger but mostly I was just bored.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC. This is my honest review.

Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success is an entertaining contemporary YA book. Rubi is a high school senior, the daughter of Cuban immigrants. Her parents grand dream is for her to attend Alma University and become a lawyer. Rubi's dreams are more complicated. Much as she loved debate and law, her first love is the family business: baking. When Rubi gets waitlisted at Alma and finds herself unwittingly constructing a web of omissions and outright lies to friends and family as she seeks to get herself off the waitlist and onto the admissions list. Along the way she meets a cute boy who may share a lot more in common with her than she initially realizes, and she finds herself in the running for a local baking championship that just may change the trajectory she's on.

Rubi is engaging from her first appearance on page. She's smart, direct, interesting and relatable. Ryan is a sweet love interest.

Overall the story is well paced and interesting, the action and plot moving forward well chapter by chapter. It held my interest and I found the author did a good job highlighting the immigrant experience and the yearning for something more for their children. It also deftly tackled the teen angst of parental expectations vs personal wants.

A strong, entertaining read. Kept my interest.

This is a book you should not read hungry. I definitely made that mistake multiple times! This was a sweet YA. Rubi has a plan her mom made for her but when she is waitlisted from university she can’t bare to tell her parents. Instead she comes up with a plan to get tutored from the cute and smart surfer named Ryan.
.
In reality all Rubi wants to do is bake but her mom wants more for her. She wants her to be a lawyer. Her mom has told her repeatedly that they didn’t leave behind their life in Cuba for her to be a baker. This is a book about expectations, finding your own path and becoming your own self independent of your parents.
.
Huge thank you to @berkleypub @libromfm and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
.

Amazing gorgeous and fun

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I appreciate what Parra tried to do here: make a very clearly Cuban story, but oh my I was so annoyed by how that was presented in the first page alone, 5 overt "I'm Cuban!" moments. Of course I want the Cuban character who's life is very Cuban, but the way it is written makes this feel like it's 2013 and I'm watching an MTV show with very clearly placed ads by my sponsor. There were so many ways that these same elements could've been presented without feeling like here's proofs 1-5 that Rubi Ramos is indeed Cuban. I want these things in the story, but why not write them better?

Overall, it is not a bad story the writing just wasn't my cup of tea.

Rubi Ramos's Recipe For Success by Jessica Parra was a solid young adult contemporary read - melding serious with fun. This book is about Rubi Ramos whose parents have set a recipe for her to have a financially successful life. They want her to get into prestigious Alma University which is an Ivy. Her parents own some bakeries and do not want Rubi following in their footsteps. And so, she focuses on school and debate team. However, the heart wants what the heart wants and Rubi secretly enters a baking contest judged by celebrity judges. She also happens upon a boy and well, Ryan might just prove to be a distraction as he goes from a crush to something more.

I genuinely liked Rubi Ramos's Recipe For Success. Jessica Parra does a nice job showing the conflict Rubi faces between the expectations of others and her own desires. Plus we add in the desire for her to know more about her Cuban heritage. This book is so interesting. Also, the way food is described made me super hungry. I enjoyed Rubi's creativity in baking as well as her skills as a debater. We also have a best friend too in this book. Rubi leads a well rounded life -- I never felt there was something missing or meh while listening to this book. The audiobook is 8 hours 41 minutes long. It is narrated by Karla Serrato who is new to me, but actually a fabulous narrator. The audiobook is pretty good for summer and driving around, getting things done.

Rubi Ramos’s parents (especially her mom) have made it clear what is best for her future: go to college at Alma University and become a lawyer. They’re both immigrants from Cuba and they’ve worked really hard running their own bakery for years. Rubi’s success in the white-collar world will be the culmination of all they’ve worked for.

The problem is that Rubi isn’t completely excited about law. What does thrum in her blood is baking: just what her mom and dad want her to get away from having to do.

So her mom (aka “the Boss” to Rubi and her dad) instituted a Baking Ban so Rubi would focus on debate team at school and getting into Alma.

She’s just a few months away from graduating high school, and just as she gets a letter in the mail from Alma, she finds out about a baking competition in Orange County, where she lives. It’s all she can think about. So she decides to go for it: in secret, of course.

At the same time, she meets a cute guy, a surfer who goes to another private school near her. Ryan is yet another distraction, but she can’t resist him either. He’s kind and supportive of her dreams — and cute.

Of course, the distractions do get distracting, and life gets complicated. Rubi has a lot of talents and a lot of dreams. Can she actually make them all come true, or will she have to disappoint either herself or her parents?

Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success seems to be one of a crop of recent YA books focusing on teens whose parents are immigrants to the US. Those parents have big expectations based on what they feel is success, while the teens just want to follow their own path. Each has its own merits while having similar stories. Here, I liked Rubi and her family, and the resolution works nicely. There’s not too much angst but things aren’t super-easy. It’s another window into the experiences of immigrants and their American-born children, which is always valuable.

Rubi is caught between her love of baking and meeting her Cuban immigrant parent's expectations. Although they own two successful bakeries, they want her to have absolutely nothing to do with the family business and instead have encouraged her to pursue a law degree. This is for all the first-generation, children of immigrants who are having to make their parents proud while simultaneously struggling with the weight of high expectations set on them from birth (IYKYK). I related to Rubi in so many ways and was frustrated on her behalf throughout the book (especially when she refers to herself as an investment). Although she has a hard time understanding what she wants for herself, Rubi does find her voice in the end and I applaud her for it! 3.5/5