Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book had lots of potential. I love the idea of exchanging notes via takeaway delivery, and I loved the inclusion of multiple cultures… unfortunately, this fell flat for me. This is really not a romance, considering the characters don’t even discuss a date until the last few pages of the book. In my opinion, it was too long, and confusing at times.

Thank you for letting me read this arc. I had a hard time getting into this book. I wasn't a fan of the writing. I can see why others would enjoy this book but it just wasn't for me.

The idea was there but the execution wasn't.

First, I'd seen some other reviews that the formatting/editing was terrible, but my copy wasn't the worst. Sure, there were some grammar or editing issues here and there, and the ebook format I had wasn't the greatest, but that could be due to several reasons.

That said, I found it hard to connect to the characters. We jump straight into the storyline without explaining what is going on and who is who. I spent the majority of the book trying to figure out what, exactly, Gia did for her company, and what that company did in general.

And maybe it's because of the pacing or the way the characters were written, but I genuinely lost interest in them halfway through. After the first few chapters, the already-sluggish pacing stretches to be even slower, until it was practically dragging. And the extensive side cast was collectively forgettable, unamusing, and either confusing/mean/or dull. Jay, for example, was supposed to be Gia's friend? Although they said cruel things to each other at the beginning that were immediately brushed aside, Jay himself was a little rude and was portrayed as the "comedic" character even though he wasn't funny.

Little things like that, as well as the slight disorganization of the plot/what's going on/the characters made it hard to follow and uninteresting. Which is a shame, really, because I was looking forward to reading this book.

thank you Netgalley for the free copy

Love on the Menu by Mimi Deb is a romcom about a woman who makes a list of the things she’d like to do to improve herself after a disastrous night, only to lose the list when it sticks to the bottom of a takeout container. Luckily the guy who works at the takeout restaurant is basically a perfect match for her and so they end up communicating via notes on her takeout recipes. I thought this premise was really cute, but unfortunately the execution was poor. The action took way too long to develop and there were far too many will-they-won’t-they coincidences that ended in the couple JUST missing each other. It felt like both the main plot and several subplots could have been eliminated with one or two candid conversations. Ultimately I really wanted to like this and thought it was cute at the macro level, but didn't love the details and couldn't get attached enough to the characters to justify the pace.

Also worth noting, the formatting on the Kindle download was messed up throughout the book. In multiple cases the words had no spaces between them them or there were carriage returns where I believe there should have been (for example, in the notes). I recognize these will probably be fixed for the final version, but wanted to flag!

Firstly I'd like to say thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGallery for the opportunity to read and review.

I'm sorry to say I didn't finish this book at 50%

It took me 6 days to get to 50%s and I'm a book a day kind of girl.

The concept is great, and I liked the characters but the pace was just far too slow.

I wish I could say I liked it more, but too many side stories that didn't really add to the story or the character development slowed down the book and kept it from being as engrossing or fun as it could have been.

This book was so intriguing from the cover to the name, but it just fell a bit flat for me. I really struggled to even finish this book. I just didn't have any connection when reading, there was no emotion in the characters and the pacing was so slow at times and fast at others. I think the book was entirely too long and too many side stories and things happening that took away from the main focus.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Review for NetGalley:
The premise for this story is very rom-com - Gia makes a list of resolutions and it accidentally gets stuck to a take out delivery bag, her note gets read by Ben who sends a response via a delivery boy, cue a series of letters between the two.

From the jump, we see our main character is a series of really embarrassing situations. Some of which are due to her entirely terrible group of coworkers. Others are connected to the FMC drinking and partying in what feels like an excessive manner.
She then meets Ben via these letters and it transpires that he’s been sober for several years. At this point I really my thought Gia’s relationship with alcohol might be questioned - but no, she spends a large chunk of the story drinking to excess or nursing a hangover. Yikes.

In terms of plot lines we follow: dynamics with her work and co-workers, a bad boy CEO trying to have a family-marketed brand, an ex best friend who is getting married, sex-capades of Gia’s mother. Then there are side plots connected to Ben: his parents highly PDA relationship, relationships with all of his siblings, the sale of the takeaway, coaching the boys football team and the goal of a football academy.

It just feels like there are too many elements which as the story culminates, start to be shoe-horned together.

There are some fun moments, but overall this was not for me.

I received an arc of this from netgalley in exchange for a review.

3 stars - mainly cause at least everything was wrapped up in the end, but the whole book felt like it dragged on. And I’m sure it’s just the file formatting, but parts of it were alltogetherlikethisanditgavemeaheadachetoread. I’m assuming that’s not going to be like that in the final copy.

Gia and Ben were ok. I didn’t feel a connection to either really, and felt like they both made some pretty stupid mistakes. The ending colored how you see some of it (mostly with regards to Gia’s boss I thought, and her old friend), but overall it was an okay read.

Unfortunately like others I have struggled with the formatting and editing. Although I'm aware it's an arc, it really is off putting. In addition, I didn't really connect with Gia or Ben so had to abandon the book around halfway through.

Just finished reading 'Love on the Menu' by Mimi Deb and I have mixed feelings. The idea of Gia and Ben exchanging notes through food delivery was unique, but the execution wasn't as strong. The pacing felt off at times and didn't quite hit the mark for me. Despite that, I still appreciate the effort put into the story. It had its moments, but just didn't fully deliver. If you're looking for a light and refreshing read, give it a shot and see for yourself."

This was not for me. I immediately knew this when Gia was making remarks about the "bevy of bitches" and was describing herself as wearing a red velvet dress with gold sparkly tights. Unfortunately I did not finish this.

A delicious rom com that’s not too sweet and just a little spicy, Love on the Menu tells the tale of Gia and Ben, 2 very different individuals who unexpectedly find love one takeaway meal at a time. I loved this book! Utterly charming!

This book wasn't just for me.I loved the summary and the cover was too cute but I just wished there had been more depth throughout the story.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

But this is going to be my first DNF of the year. Title and Description promised me a cute rom-com ft food. But it gave me sullen environment, unlikeable characters and weird writing style.

I will say the format it came to kindle in wasn’t the best, but having said that the story it’s self was just so cute, I really enjoyed all the characters and it was laugh out loud funny. Thank you for this ARC it means the world to me!

The premise was so intriguing, but I unfortunately had to DNF. This books feels like it is still in desperate need of editing. There are so many long, run-on sentences. Some paragraphs really just feel like a stream of consciousness, and it’s difficult to follow. The dialogue between characters is awkward and cliche at times. All of those factors distract from the storyline, which really WAS promising.

I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, but it fell a little flat to me.
It's marketed as a rom-com, and I was really excited about it. I really love women's fiction, and I wouldn't normally have an issue with this, but I think other parts of the book also fell a bit flat for me.
There were several inconsistencies throughout the book that I hope get resolved, for example, Gia claiming she is not an alcoholic and then asking Ben how being sober is because she can't go a couple of days without alcohol. These were just funny, odd moments that left me scratching my head a little bit.
I liked the story itself, but the characters felt really young to me, and not their real ages.
I would love to read more by this author but I was hoping for more with this book.

"Love on the Menu" by Mimi Deb is an absolute delight to read! The characters are well-developed and their journeys are both heartwarming and relatable. The story is well-paced, with just the right balance of humor, romance, and drama. The descriptions of the food and the restaurant scenes are so vivid that I could almost taste the dishes being cooked. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves romance novels and foodie fiction. Five stars!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this at about halfway through. I couldn't connect with the characters, and there were just so many side characters that it became confusing. The story was hard to follow and I just didn't enjoy it, I'm sorry to say.

I opted not to review on Goodreads since I didn't finish the book in its entirety.