This book felt like an enormous banquet with an excessive number of dishes, many of which looked deliciously appealing but ended up tasting flat, without salt or spice. I was intrigued by the idea of food containing magic but found almost everything about that magic system disturbing, almost gratuitously so, even before the parallels to veganism came up. (As someone who has tried veganism, I can see and sympathize with some of the points made, but it still felt painfully obvious and gratuitous.) The characters for the most part felt like stock characters with not a whole lot of complexity even by the end. The pacing was really uneven, especially a rapid and thoroughly unsatisfying finish that made me feel like the author had just given up and decided, nope, I'm done. And there was so much telling instead of showing, I almost felt like I was reading a treatise on the Five and Chefs and such, not a fantasy adventure.

There was SO MUCH I wanted to love about this book, and yet every time I picked it up, I cringed and heard myself whine, "Do I have to???" What a disappointment.

Two stars -- some good ideas but painful execution.

Thank you, 47 North and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

This was such an interesting concept to me, I love an original book premise! A magic system that revolves around food is so creative and new that it was refreshing to dive into something unlike the norm. Some of the characters bothered me a bit but it didn’t take away from the story for me. The world building was done well and overall an interesting, unique read.

Presently surprised by this one. I was thinking it would read more like a cozy mystery but like a cozy fantasy If that existed? It was confusing at first between the two many characters POV, but after awhile you got used to it. Great depth and story telling, I just wish the end had better clarity.

*I've received an advanced digital copy of this book, courtesy of the author and publisher, via Netgalley.*

I DNF'd this book early on, which is a shame because I was really excited to read it. I found the concept to be very intriguing and I was very attracted to the cover. However, I found the dialogue in this book to be bulky and difficult to get through at times. I also found that the world-building felt a bit forced and was not organically introduced. My favourite part of what I read was the system of magic, I found it to be very interesting and unique. This book did not hold my attention but I am sure that there are many people who would enjoy this book. There is a lot of potential, it just wasn't personally for me.

I’ve read a few of these ‘food based’ magic systems and whilst they make for an enjoyable enough read, I didn’t find this one different or unique enough to hold my interest.

I got half way through and decided to skim the rest as the characters just weren’t well drawn enough to hold my interest.

The world building was overly complicated and there were a lot of characters introduced in the beginning, which made it

1. A bit difficult to keep track of people
2. Hard to relate and therefore care about any of the characters.

Overall I think there are probably better examples of this kind of book already on the market.

It also had a very YA feel to it which I don’t believe was the intended market.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

To be transparent, I DNF'd at 48%. I did not like this book. I found all the characters to be annoying, it was either incredibly boring or incredibly over emotional and...cringe. It is a unique concept, with chefs beinh highly regarded in this world and the world building was fantastic...it just...I couldn't get into it.

Brilliant, fresh and intriguing, the food-centered world of A Thousand Recipes for Revenge brings a new fantastical perspective on something anyone can enjoy… food!

Chefs are the most highly-regarded lifestyle in this book, as only those who are blessed by one of the five Gods with a special ability can claim this title. The world revolves around Chefs and epicurea, a special substance made from fantastical creatures that can give it’s diners certain attributes.

I was hooked from the first chapter, and I have to admit I read this ARC very fast! The plot was fast-paced and exciting, the characters were interesting and unique, and the world building was extraordinary!

I will say there were some long and windy passages and over-emotional scenes. I wish there was more introduction to some of the characters so that I cared more about them, but instead I felt too distant from the relationships of the book. However, towards the end, I appreciated the sweet, sentimental relationships created and found myself excited for a sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book.

Different story and a unique universe. Though I enjoyed the premise and the story somewhat, the themes of what amounted to veganism were a bit heavy handed and that is coming from a vegan. I also hate stories with no real conclusion and instead just reads like half the story. It's ok but could have been more.

Wow! What an amazing book!!
Would love to read more from the author.
Thankyou netgalley for the Arc!