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Rating 4/5
Hardback
367 pages
Pub day November 7, 2023 - out today!!
Inkyard Press
Gr avg. 3.60/5⭐

I just finished this book this morning and I am still smiling like a fool.

This was such a cute and fun read. Love a Romeo and Juliette retelling but with a twist. All the Philly steak sandwich foodtruck talk had me wondering why I've never tried one. My hubby and I will be on the hunt to find a place nearby this weekend.

Suggest picking it up if you enjoy YA

3.5/5☆

I'm a big fan of food, secret romances, and reality TV. It's set in Philadelphia. The story revolves around Cindy and Jordan, two teens working on their family's rival food trucks. Cindy's family puts a healthy twist on cheesesteaks inspired by their urban farm in Boston, while Jordan's family sticks to the classic Philly recipe, drawing on their diner roots.

The families are like modern-day Montagues and Capulets, with their trucks parked close by and the kids playing up their rivalry for tourists. But behind the scenes, Cindy and Jordan are secretly in love. This twist of fate catches the eye of a reality TV producer who decides to feature their rivalry in a food truck competition show.

The book is a fun read, switching between Cindy and Jordan's perspectives, complete with mock reality TV confessionals. Eric Smith's writing style is engaging, making the characters' experiences in the reality show setting both amusing and insightful. The story explores the challenges of being on reality TV, showing how it can distort reality and impact personal relationships.

The ending brings everything together nicely. The final chapters provide a sweet wrap-up to the main story, leaving me satisfied yet wishing for a bit more closure on the reality show front. Overall, it's a delightful read, especially if you're into food and reality TV drama.

I loved this book! The writing was great and the characters were wonderful! The author has great imagination and I love a good romance novel!

This book has such a fun premisse, but I didn't feel like the execution was quite up there. The writing felt somewhat dry to me, which made the book feel a lot less fun than it could have. The confessionals as part of the reality show were really fun inserts, and I wish the rest of the book had held on to the same level of fun. There was just so much potential that I don't feel was reached.

I am obsessed with how brilliantly Philly-centric this book was! I truly felt like I was *there* at all times. And the food! I loved it. This is a fun book with a deeply satisfying ending!

I love this cover and this author. I will read anything they write! You had me at food truck war. This book has so many things that I love: food, secret relationships, and reality TV. I am a fan of them all. I just loved the drama of the families of these two food trucks even if some of the it was fake. I will say this book will make you hungry for sure! Cindy and Jordan are kinda a modern day Romeo and Juliet. There story is so true of life though. How you love and grow and have to figure out what is best for you and how you can fit your relationship in that. It was written so well. I had all the feelings while reading. I just loved this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

The song reference and joy With or Without You gives me every time is unparalleled. This fake enemies and rivalry, fiction and reality TV book was always destined for my TBR. Dual POV, Smith hits it out of the park again. The characters are established so clearly, so quickly, that you fall in love. I fell in love way harder and faster for one of them - I won't say who - but by the end I came around. In many ways With or Without You is about traditional versus modern and reality versus fiction.

“All’s fair in love and (food truck) war.

Everyone knows Jordan Plazas and Cindy Ortiz hate each other.

According to many viral videos of their public shouting matches, the Plazas and Ortiz families have a well-known food truck rivalry. Jordan and Cindy have spent all of high school making cheesesteaks and slinging insults at each other across their shared Philadelphia street.”

But the truth? They’re in love, and it’s all just an act for the tourists.”

This was such a quick, cute read. I always love a book with dual POV and getting both Jordan and Cindy’s views throughout the story did not disappoint. Each character was likeable, even the side characters and I know, sometimes it’s not that easy to do. The characters were thought out, well developed and you could really see their personalities rise through the story

If you’re looking for a quick, sweet read with great characters, definitely pick this book up!

Thanks to NetGalley, Inkyard Press, and the author for the ARC copy of this novel.

This made me want a cheesesteak so badly! Warning for getting hungry while reading lol.

This is a cute premise and I liked the pretend feud at the beginning to get more attention to the trucks. I also thought Jordan's friends and family were great, his parents pushed college on him but they just wanted him to have a good life.

Cindy was not my favorite and I felt like she was acting like a victim when she chose to not voice her thoughts and goals and made some choices I didn't agree with. This is one of those times that I thought the couple might be better off not ending up together.

The book was an easy read overall and had some fun scenes in the food trucks.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the copy.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book follows Jordan Plazas and Cindy Ortiz, two teenagers whose families both own food trucks that sell Philly cheesesteaks and are at “war”. Jordan’s family sells the traditional cheesesteak while Cindy’s sells cheesesteaks with healthier options. On social media they hate each other but in private a budding relationship between the teens is happening.

This was such a cute read. I loved all the time we get to read about when Jordan and Cindy spend time together. It was soooo cute. I loved that Jordan and Cindy’s families stories of past hardships that led the families to running food trucks was shared. It showed while they both had hard times they didn’t give up after one thing didn’t work for them.

Thank you Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Eric Smith and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Plazas and Ortiz families are in a food truck war! Many people will tell you from their public shouting matches that usually go viral. Why such the rivalry? The families both own cheesesteak trucks on the same street in Philadelphia.
The truth though? Cindy Ortiz and and Jordan Plazas are in love and it's all just an act.

Soon that act lands them a reality show pilot that have to decide what is most important. Will the possibility of money tear them apart?

A cute and fun YA read! It alternated between Jordan and Cindy's POV. I also loved the Romeo and Juliet vibe. I will definitely recommend this book to others!

This will be a short review!

The book is told from two point-of-views and they come from Jordan and Cindy. I thought they were decent characters and the plot covers the struggles they face with relationships and what happens next after high school. I thought that the author did a good job with these topics.

Their relationship was something that I struggled with. There wasn’t much backstory for it and it seemed that it was rushed through to get them to the point of dating. Hiding the relationship from others due to the rival they had at one point was fun at times but they did go to great lengths and it felt a bit too much at times. They had their cute moments together though so it wasn’t all bad, but definitely not a favorite part of the story.

All of the talk that dealt with food made me hungry! I love seeing what food trucks come up with so that part of the story really got my attention.

Overall, this was okay. It had its moments but wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.

I really wanted to like this book but the more chapters that went by I was slightly annoyed. the FMC was so unlikable. She as constantly judging Jordan and his food truck dreams while chasing a dream of successful podcast for a realty tv. The fake rivalry between lovers was an interesting addition but this book lacked execution.

I am a sucker for YA romances and when you add family rivalry with a secret love affair, it's the perfect recipe. Jordan and Cindy are the cutest couple and their dedication to each other is so sweet. I, also enjoyed the reality TV elements, sometimes it can be hard to use modern terms in story, but this is done so well. This is a fun, funny, and heartwarming YA.

Jordan and Cindy have the biggest foodtruck rivalry in Philadelphia. They run their parents food trucks on weekends and through the summerl and show . But they have a secret, they've been dating for a year and their families are actually best friends. However even friends can harbor secrets and maybe not all of their viral rivalry is for show only. When a production company reaches out to the family about a reality tv show featuring the trucks rivalry, it only takes a little prodding to convince them to shot a pilot, culminating to the food truck competition that Jordan wants to win so he can buy a food truck and take a cross country trip with Cindy before she goes off to college.

This book is so cute. Secret relationships, reality tv, and amazing food. It's the perfect combination. I absolutely love Jordan's character, he's so sweet and knows exactly what he wants and is willing to work hard to get it. I didn't love Cindy so much though, she actually really grated on my nerves as the story went on, I related to her a little at first, especially when she said she wasn't good at asking others to make space for her, but it went downhill from there and I can't really explain all of the why. She just seemed very wrapped up in herself and being in her hometown with her friends versus her relationship and her present life in Philadelphia. Though I did really enjoy her friendship with the girls, I love that they found something like the podcast to bring them together when they were so far apart. And I loved Jordan's friend Steve, he's a really great friend and I enjoyed every scene that he was in. I can't wait to see what Eric Smith comes out with next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley and Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review.

With or Without You is the latest YA romance novel by Eric Smith, set in Philadelphia, PA. Two competing food trucks have a rivalry that’s newsworthy, both making cheesesteaks. Plazas Steaks is run by a purist family. All you need are steak, cheese, and onions. Asking for mushrooms earns customers the bell of shame. Across the square, Ortiz Steaks offers more choices and healthier options. The families fought over the plaza corner, but the rivalry really kicked in when Jordan Plazas and Cindy Ortiz started working at the food trucks. Their vocal animosity amuses customers and fuels social media. It brings business to both trucks, but it’s all fake. In fact, Jordan and Cindy are secretly dating.

Smith beautifully captures the feeling of being young, with your whole life ahead of you, dreams so close you can taste them, and being able to reach for the life you want. Jordan Plazas has a simple dream - one no one seems to appreciate but him: to buy his own food truck and spend a year traveling the country with his girlfriend. He’s been saving all his tip money toward this dream, but what will really fund his dream is winning Truck Off - a food truck competition coming up in ten days. That twenty-five-thousand-dollar prize will make all his dreams come true.

Cindy’s dream is a little different. She wants to move back to Boston where she grew up, where her best friends are, and go to Northeastern University for television production. And even though she’s agreed to take a gap year with her boyfriend, she applied to college for the fall and is saving her tips for college. When a reality show producer swings by Cindy's truck and says she wants to talk to her and her family about a reality show, Cindy is thrilled. All four parents love the idea, too, but not Jordan. Cindy has to talk him into the idea, reminding him that both their families could use the money.

The producers tell the Ortiz family they need to enter Truck Off, too, and things go downhill from there. The whole basis for the show is the rivalry between the two trucks, specifically between Jordan and Cindy. It means more lying, more hiding, and more chances of getting caught out. When Cindy is accepted into Northeastern with a scholarship, she has some major decisions to make, ones that could break their relationship.

Philadelphians and food lovers will love the details. All readers, will, actually. There’s a scene in a bookstore that's so beautifully written it's like slipping into a bookstore in real life. With food, music, romance, and more, it’s a delightful book. I love Smith’s previous book, You Can Go Your Own Way, and look forward to more.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
With or Without You has a unique premise that flips a few common romance tropes on their head in a delightful way. I loved the idea of the family food-truck rivalry that isn’t as bitter as it initially seemed, with no outright enmity between them, and the children of the two families even being in love without having to hide it. The reality-show twist, meaning they have to play up the rivalry and that being the reason Jordan and Cindy actually have to hide their relationship is a nice twist, and is an interesting commentary on how the artificial nature of reality shows can impact people’s true reality, including relationships they treasure.
I did like both Jordan and Cindy, and rooted for them to figure things out. But there were a lot of complications due to the changes going on in their lives, and they didn’t always communicate, whether it be because the show kept them apart and required them to put on a pretense, or because they felt they couldn’t risk disappointing the other person. However, it felt realistic, and like how teens would act in this extreme situation.
The main issue I had with the book was the pacing. With Jordan and Cindy being together already, there was only so much that could keep me invested as they continued to keep secrets for the cameras. It felt very drawn out, and there wasn’t much that kept me invested, beyond the occasional hiccups from other issues, like Cindy getting into college when she didn’t think she would.
But this was otherwise a pretty solid execution of some subverted tropes. I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy YA contemporaries, especially if you enjoy the reality-show backdrop.

Wanna book about food, relationships, angst and Philadelphia? With or Without You is a love letter to all of those things! Also, prepare yourself to be hungry while you read!

This tells the story of Cindy and Jordan's foray into reality TV, a food truck competition and plans for after high school. It will make you smile, grimace, sigh, and smile again. Check it out. It's worth your time.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Well, I read it. It was a really cute concept but it was not executed well at all. Cindy is supposed to love reality tv and literally has a podcast about it but is still somehow surprised at how it all works. Jordan and Cindy just didn't talk to each other at all and I don't think they should have ended up together. Maybe they can be together after she graduates but right now they just don't fit.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This had a good mix of details about running food trucks, family dynamics, and planning for a post high school future that will still appeal to readers who are not quite ready to think about leaving home. The representation of families dealing with financial difficulties is good to see, and there's a lot of vivid local flavor and descriptions of cheesesteaks. This put a nice twist on the enemies to lovers trope. There were plenty of things going on with the competition, family finances, and plans for the coming year to keep readers turning the pages.
This wasn't that much of a romance book. There's a nice date in a book store, but most of the time is spent arguing and worrying about the future instead of enjoying the moment. This book felt very scripted, as a reality show would. It didn't lend itself to being very likable, through its dialogue or its characters.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!