Honestly this has an eye catching cover that was an instant need to read for me. It was quite alright, the opposite attraction vibe was sweet and the characters were relatable. Overall a good story.

i was so excited for this, food and romance - what not to love!?

however the character development just wasn't there for me, and the pacing of the stroy felt a tad off.. i wanted more backstory tro the characters, yes we like the steam, but we like the story too. this felt laking in the story. There are some really cute scenes, that are quite heartwarming, but not only was there little character development, but i felt there were too many characters, espicially for such a short story. Just felt a bit sullen, imagine being stuck in the third act of the romcom where the characters life fell apart and she has to get everything together, except the whole book is the third act.
overall a good story idea, but poorly executed and a disliable protagonist

This was a fun read, a bit on the ok side for me. I did love the fact that Gia is a go-getter; despite her circumstances and problems she keeps trying to find her way and being persistent in achieving her goals. I did struggle to like Ben... But maybe that's part of the character; he plays it safe and doesn't like things to change. I like the banter, and the back and forth with the notes... The miscommunication is not my favorite trope and that kind of lowered my investment in the story. I also enjoyed the "not everything is what it seems" thing (both with people and situations). I'd say it's an enjoyable and cute read.

This book…I couldn’t feel anything for it. I wanted to give up on reading it many many times. I couldn’t connect to it. The main characters gia and ben both were two shaped paper cut outs in my head void of emotion. I only really started enjoying the book at around 70% mark.


Ben and gia start to exchange notes after gia accidentally sends her personal list to Ben in a takeaway warmer bag. I am unable to relate to why or how Ben feels so incline to reply back to gia note. I think if his character was better developed at the beginning his response to the note wouldn’t have felt unnatural , Gia’s character felt like the impulsive person who would respond to a stranger. That being said once I got passed the first 70% of the book the resolution and character growth was satisfying.
Thank you NETGALLEY for an advanced copy of Love on the Menu

THANK YOU AVON BOOKS & NET GALLEY FOR THIS ADVANCED COPY (in exchange for my honest review) ❤️

OK I loved Gia. She’s funky and different and overthinks everything which I found so endearing. I also liked Ben, with his maturity and care for others. This book felt like it was really onto something and I was excited to see it play out.

I just wish there was more? Not enough romance, although the last letter was very sweet. I wanted to see more interactions in person with Gia and Ben because they have such a genuinely sweet dynamic !!!!!!

There was a lot of side plots and a lot of silliness and the other characters were fun but this book just was hard to follow at times. It was still very wholesome.

TLDR: I wanted more romance and in person meetings and to see their relationship grow, rather than it occur through notes. I wanted to see how being abandoned impacted Gia’s relationship with Ben and how Ben’s addictive personality impacted his relationship with Gia. Definitely a lot of good but left me wanting way more!

Love on the Menu
by Mimi Deb
Pub Date 13 Apr 2023
Avon Books UK, Avon
Romance | Women's Fiction

Mimi Deb's Love on the Menu revolves around Gia, an insecure woman who makes a personal inventory of things she would like to do to improve herself. However, she loses the list when it sticks to the bottom of a takeout container that is returned to the restaurant. Ben (the restaurant's employee) begins communicating with Gia via notes whenever she places a takeout order. Will it lead to love?

There are a lot of cute, heartwarming moments in Love on the Menu. Several of the scenes are funny and relatable. The large number of characters makes it a bit challenging to keep up with, but the book has wonderful potential and I look forward to reading more from Mimi Deb.

Thank you NetGalley, and Avon Books U.K., for sharing this book with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

Generic, spoiler free review:
2.5 stars but I want to give it 3 because I think it has potential. I wanted to start off that I think that this book had a really good turning point and I love the last page so very much. However, the beginning was really bad. It was too much information in one place, and it was very awkwardly written, in both Gia's and Ben's POV. Also, does Gia have a last name? I came to this realization after Gia called Ben by his whole name. Additionally, since Gia is an Indian immigrant, I was very surprised that the only reference to her background was cuisine (the Indian food from the takeout and the turmeric latte shots). I wanted to give up this book after reading the first two chapters but persisted because I realized the author was a south Asian immigrant and I wanted to give them a chance. Also, it was weird that although they were exchanging notes with each other, Gia was not really thinking about Ben in her POVs until maybe halfway through the book, but Ben was thinking about Gia. I would have expected a little bit of thought from gia about those notes, but it makes sense if she was not thinking that much because she had a lot of stuff to deal with.

More detailed review (includes spoilers!)
I did enjoy the middle part, but I find that the part about Matt really drags on the story when it felt like it should have ended after her race. The Matt backstory felt unnecessary, but I understand why it was there. I do wish it was delivered differently, like if Matt visited her at her race rather than her traveling to the wedding. Also, going back to her South Asian roots, I was really hoping she would wear a cultural piece but she wore a shorts suit.. even though her mother was wearing a kurtha... It made sense since she was the best man, but I would have loved it even more if it was a cultural piece and it kind of explained how her current style was influence by the bold colours and fashion choices that are present in south asian culture. Additionally, I do not like Ben. He did not really have redemption like I thought he would have, especially after his comment about Eric. I am a first-generation South Asian person and I would not have let that comment slide after hearing how nonchalantly Ben delivered it and did not seem to readdress it back to Gia.

This book definitely has potential. I was eating it up during the middle, but it is a shame that it just fell very flat near the end.

Loved the concept, not so much the actual book.

The characters are hard to hope for - Ben is a recovering alcoholic that has let one dumb, drunk event ruin his whole life and can't hold a job, except for the takeaway. Gia should be a recovering alcoholic, she hasn't gotten that far - but she also has one dumb, drunk event that effects her life. The story is way too drawn out, not as interesting as I wanted it to be and the secondary characters aren't very supportive either. And it's kind of creepy how in the end, most of them seemed connected and trying to run Gia's life behind her back.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really liked the premise, but I did not completely like the way the story evolved. I liked its unconventional main characters, the notes exchange between Gia and Ben, and the brave way in which the author dealt with seriuous themes such as addiction and racism. What I did not like was the very slow pacing of the story, the lack of interaction between Gia and Ben (especially after their first problematic encounter), and the miscommunication between Gia and her boss. Finally, in my opinion, there were too many secondary characters and it wasn’t always easy for me to follow their stories.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This definitely has promise but it needs a little more help before being published! There were formatting issues that made it difficult to read.

Upon seeing the cover, I was immediately enticed to read this book, particularly since it's February and the subject matter of love is particularly fitting for the month. However, upon finishing it, I have to say that I have mixed feelings about it. While I didn't dislike it, I didn't quite connect with the overall mood of the book.

A significant portion of the book (around 60%) is dedicated to office-related dialogues and gossip, which, unfortunately, isn't really my cup of tea. The remaining 15% consists of an ongoing exchange of letters between the two main characters, while the last 15% delves into the other aspects of their lives. I can envision this story being adapted into one of those sweet, feel-good movies, but in terms of reading, it was a bit slow and, to be honest, rather dull.

Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and provide my honest feedback about this book.

I enjoyed the book, it was cheesy, fun and cute. I read the bulk of it within 3 days, and read over 200 pages in one day - definitely an easy reader that kept me engaged and wanting to read more. I’m sucker for romance, and this hit me in all the right places.

It felt like there was a lot going on at times for the characters, but the fast pace of the book and writing style kept me on track and I was itching to see how it would turn out and for our main characters. I really liked the concept of this book and how they came to know each other through letters delivered with a takeaway delivery - it was sweet.

“Mood is nothing but a state of mind.”

The idea of a fantastic foodie and romance novel to read on Valentine’s Day was what initially had me excited to read this one! The premise of an Indian woman, an immigrant to London, trying to balance life, love and work and forging an unlikely bond with a restaurant manager over home deliveries sounded unique. I’m also a big supporter of debut authors.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me.

The writing style, pacing, and character development were the biggest disappointment and ultimately caused me to lose interest. To a lesser extent the extensive supporting cast, the need for editing, the lack of transition cues, and the lengthy epistolary pieces added to my frustration. I wanted to see more of Gia’s background and Indian family dynamics, less of their sexual escapades. I wanted more from Ben and Gia; give me a reason to root for them. I wanted a rom-com, not a depressed girl who ruins everything by getting drunk.

I applaud the author for the multiple POVs, Ben’s character, and a unique protagonist. I enjoyed the theme of dealing with the past in order to move on with the present, and I was curious to see how it all ended.

Unfortunately, these positives weren’t enough to make this a book I’d recommend to others.

Please familiarize yourself with other reviews before using my opinion to decide if you want to read this book. This author won an award for this story.

I was gifted this copy by Avon Books UK and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This one was just ok for me. The story line was pretty basic and generic and not really memorable. The front cover was very pretty though.

This was a book that had a great premise but sadly the execution was just average. I liked the new year's resolution idea. The characters were unlikeable but I could handle that. The story pacing was off and the romance in general didn't feel natural to me so it ended up being an okay read for me.

I found Love on the Menu difficult to get into. It was past the halfway mark before I began to enjoy it and feel invested in the characters.

An enjoyable, easy to read book. Thanks for the opportunity to read & review this book. Will look out for more by this author.

Nope nope nope and definitely nope. I'm done. None of the characters are neither good or interesting. The writing style, characters, and world-building were not interesting or promising, or engaging. The cover was nice. I'm really disappointed. Because the synopsis was really intriguing. I wonder why this book has so many pages. Oh, well, I'm definitely not gonna force myself to read books I know I'm not going to enjoy.

⫷ The ARC copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Avon Books UK in exchange for an honest review ⫸

After a disastrous holiday party for work, Gia creates a resolution list. However, after receiving takeout, it gets stuck to the delivery bag and ends up back at the restaurant. Ben finds it and begins writing to Gia, which begins their correspondences. They use these notes to get to know each other, falling in love one note at a time.

Initially, I looked forward to reading this book. I really liked the basic premise of the plot. The epistolary elements of the story is where the book shined. I also surprisingly enjoyed Ben’s soccer team, especially all his motivational speeches to the boys. Also the SO-BAR was a cool concept that I could definitely see opening in real life.

However, the writing was difficult for me to get through. The pacing was off throughout the story, with events that felt kind of thrown in there for virtually no reason at all. I struggled to keep up with what was going on at times. Transitions between chapters felt weak at best. The story dragged a lot of the time. I feel like so much of it could have been cut and it would have helped with the pacing issues. Frustratingly, some characters weren’t properly introduced so I kept trying to figure out who they were. In particular, I couldn’t keep Gia’s coworkers or Ben’s siblings straight. I also did not quite understand what Gia even did for work. Her whole job really confused me. Further, the boss storyline with Gia and Juliet felt odd and confusing. I still don’t quite know what to make of it. Finally, the family and friend dynamics felt stilted. At times, Gia’s mom was too much, and Jay really did not feel like an actual friend. I also did not quite understand Ben’s family relationships, specifically sibling to parent. It just felt all over the map. This book simply was not for me.

Thank you Avon Books UK for the advanced reader copy!

The story had a great premises. But unfortunately, it fell short when it came to pacing. I initially DNF'd around the 55% mark. And then I picked it back up to skim the rest of the book. I did like the main FMC, Gia. And I appreciate the dual POV. But it was incredibly hard for me to keep track of the other characters.