This was a cute book, but it didn’t keep me on my toes or felt that I needed to find out what was next, there was not a lot of tension and not much romance either, which with love in the title you can of expect.

I LOVE chef romances, and I especially love queer chef romances. That being said, this book is a bit light on the romance. However, as a food focused novel, it absolutely holds its own. It's incredibly detailed when writing about the actual baking and elements of the baking competition. I also truly adored both Kendra and Tori. They were genuinely wonderful and passionate people and they both drew me in so quickly. I do wish there were more elements of romance, but overall a wonderful story.

Just wonferful! A charming romance too.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm a sucker for reality television baking show romances and this debut by Lisa Peers was such fun!! Tori is a recently divorced chemistry teacher whose two kids sign her up for the show, Bake-o-Rama without telling her.

When she gets selected Tori decides to compete on a whim and finds herself making new friends, gaining a newfound confidence in her baking abilities and falling for one of the judges along the way. Highly recommended, especially if you like sweet, dual POV, Sapphic romances with characters that are super likable and relatable.

This was also great on audio narrated by one of my favs, Barrie Kreinik and perfect for fans of books like Love and other disasters by Anita Kelly, Chef's kiss by TJ Alexander or Rosaline Palmer takes the cake by Alexis Hall. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this book. I love when a book follows a competition and this books did it spectacularly. My only downfall of this book is that I wanted more of that romance vibe. Because of the clause in the contract I don’t feel like we got enough of the chemistry or love story flourishing between our 2 female main characters. Overall as a book it’s wonderful, as a love story I think it’s lacking a bit.

first of YAY SAPPHIC! That being said this is marketed as a romance but the romance is like 1/5th of this book. I do love the banter between main characters though. Good book but should be marketed differently.

Tori is a soon to be empty nester who has been a home baker since her twins were little. Her previous spouse cheated on her and left her and their dreams for someone else. Imagine her surprise, when she finds out she is a contestant on a baking reality show, especially since she didn't enter her. Her devious twins did. Once Tori gets over the initial shock, she thinks this may be an opportunity of a lifetime to win the money to open a bakery, like she always envisioned. While on set, Tori is immediately attracted to judge, Kendra. Kendra is a celebrity chef and owner to Chippy Chunk, a cookie empire, and a popular local restaurant. Kendra is dealing with her own struggles around her companies, her perception on TV and what she wants from her life. All she knows is she finds Tori intriguing. Tori seems to bring out Kendra's softer side, but they cannot be together, it is against the rules. Will love give in or will they do what they have to, to get where they need.

This book had a bit of everything - a mystery, self discovery and growth and a touch of romance. I went into this book expecting romance, but really it is a book of personal growth of two women and the crushes they have on each other. They have an attraction, but both know they must follow the rules. This is a competition book, with mystery and a tiny bit of romance. Kendra and Tori barely spend any time together and NEVER spend time alone, but they develop a friendship that is made deeper by the notes they share with each other.

I thought that Tori and Kendra were great characters. They had many layers, many struggles and really worked toward what they are wanting for themselves. I also liked that they were 40 somethings, not something that you often see in romances, which I appreciate. I find, often, books don't focus on life after mid-thirties, and there is still plenty of life to live beyond that!

This was a solid read for me, but didn't do anything that "wowed" me. I found it interesting and loved the baking competition aspect. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

Look, I love books that take place on a cooking competition show. The foodier, the better. I want to feel like I'm there. I want to taste the food. I could probably do without the stress of the competition piece, but the food parts? I always want more of that. And Love at 350° really delivered on the food.

Love at 350° is about a cooking competition, American Bake-O-Rama (yes, it's GBBO). There are 6 weeks, and each week contestants make a sweet and a savory bake to meet the theme (custard, bread, cakes, etc.). And occasionally, the judges do a "bake and switch" (ha ha ha) where instead of bakers getting to make what they prepared, they have to bake whatever the judges tell them. This is really the main plot of the book -- Tori is the main character baker who we follow as she goes through the competition. She gets a little ~ flirty ~ with Kendra, one of the judges, who is also struggling with what she wants from her career, as she hosts Bake-O-Rama, oversees a cookie bakery empire, and runs a restaurant that's an homage to her grandmother. But Kendra's career dilemma is the primary subplot. There's a little bit of hint at a romance between Tori and Kendra (that takes the forms of flirty letters), but the romance is much further down on the list of plot points. Not necessarily a bad thing! I just don't know that I'd classify this as a romance.

Two more details about the food that I love: 1) There's a recipe in the back for one of the bakes from the food! And 2) at some point, there's a holiday cookie challenge. But they really meant *holiday*! So yes, someone makes Christmas cookies. But there are Chanukah cookies, Halloween cookies, Dia de los Muertos cookies -- we love representation for holidays other than Christmas!

There is another subplot, that's mystery and intrigue and ~ sabotage ~ which was unexpected. I did figure out what was going on, not that it was that hard to figure out. It definitely added an extra stressful (to the bakers, but also to me as the reader -- not necessarily bad!) layer to the competition aspect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for providing me with an eARC of Love at 350° in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you PRHaudio and Netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!!

This seems like a fun romcom, but it was mostly women’s fiction with a little bit of romance on the side. I loved this though!! The audio was perfect. I’ve read some baking competition books before and they can drag somewhat. This one was entertaining the entire time! The dual pov was great and really helped to feel the connection between the two women.

I would love a follow up novel because I want more of this relationship outside of the baking competition!!

I loved this adorable and cozy romance. There is no spice, except for in the baked goods, but the forbidden love slow burn will still capture your heart.

This book was cute and a chance of pace from what i normally read, although i do enjoy a fun book (compared to my usually thrillers and horror). I love the great british bakeoff and was thrilled to read a book that had that as the basis of the setting.

This book was SO fun! I am a sucker for romance books set in a similar format to Great British Bakeoff, and this was especially fun to see an imagined version of what this show might look like in America. But maybe more so than the setting, I loved the main characters, especially Tori. I've never read a F/F romance where the main characters were older than 20/25ish years old and it was really refreshing. I definitely recommend if you're looking for a fun, lighthearted read to cheer you up. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I've become trepidatious with food romances. I love <i>Great British Bake Off</i> as much as the next person, but every baking competition book I read just doesn't live up the expectations I have for it. So many of them are more about the drama behind the scenes of the show and less about the competition itself. This one had the detail of the actual process that I craved from other baking show books. Yes, it had all the behind the scenes drama (judge and contestant falling for each other! Favoritism! Sabotage!), but it really ran through the mechanics of the challenges and what each contestant chose to bake, and I so appreciate it for that. I also appreciate that all the contestants are evenly talented so it's not a guarantee that the character we're following and rooting for will win.

It was exactly what I'd been looking for.

I do agree with other reviewers, however, that this isn't the romance it's marketed as. Yes, there's a romantic subplot between Kendra and Tori, but it's much more about their respective journeys and discovering for themselves what they want from life and how to accomplish those dreams that they've kept dormant for so long.

My only real complaint for this book is that I wish it had an epilogue. I like epilogues, especially where we've jumped so far ahead that we get to see how all the conflicts and decisions from the whole book have panned out. I wanted to see how Tori and Kendra's relationship was going. I wanted to see how the twins were doing. I wanted to see the show contestants have a reunion.

Love at 350°
Lisa Peers
Pub Date: October 10, 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love at 305° was an absolute delight! I went into this book blind, and I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I loved Tori and Kendra and the entire premise of this book! This is one I highly recommend and I hope you will check it out!

Tori, soon to be empty nester and current Chemistry teacher auditions for a popular baking competition, at the suggestion of her teenage twins. The prize money would allow the divorced mom to open her own bakery, a dream of hers for as long as she can remember. Thinking the competition would be nothing but a dream, Tori is shocked to find out she actually made the cut and will need to head to Sonoma for the competition. There, she meets Kendra, one of the judges of the show, and known for being ruthless. Kendra, with a failing restaurant and a lot on the line, she is told to soften her approach on the show to appease more viewers. Kendra, reluctant to change her ways, especially when she is so used to fighting for everything in a male-dominated industry, agrees, and is surprised to find that the shirt is quite rewarding. Tori starts to appreciate Kendra’s encouragement and approach on set and beyond, and it becomes increasingly more difficult for the two of them to keep their distance during the duration of the cooking challenge. Who will win the American Bake-o-Rama competition, and which prize will be better: the money or a chance at love?

Read If You Like:
⏲️Grumpy x Sunshine
⏲️Slow Burn Romance
⏲️TV Baking Competitions
⏲️Second Chances
⏲️LGBTQ Romance
⏲️New Beginnings

I alternated between listening to the audiobook and reading Love at 350°. The audiobook, narrated by Barrie Kreinik, was amazing! Barrie is a favorite of mine and I was glad to see she was the one narrating this book! I felt like she was perfect for the role and I loved my time listening!

Thank you #partners @PRHAudio and @netgalley for the free copy of Love at 350°! #PRHAudioPartner #PRHAInfluencer

Posted on Goodreads on September 2, 2023: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Mini Review - Mid to Late September 2023 http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- October 10, 2023: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on October 10, 2023
**-will post on designated date

Not me crying multiple times at this baking competition romance?!?! This is not your traditional romance and there is no spice. I would almost say romance is a subplot to the main character’s self journeys but I thought that was really beautiful and it really worked for me.

I had a great time reading this book, especially following along with the competition and the different bakers who were partaking in it. But the romance between the two protagonists took a bit to convince me; it felt like it went from 0 to 60 in terms of development and feelings, and I didn't really buy it until the second half of the book. It could've been so good as a secret, forbidden love kind of relationship, except they were both sticklers for the rules (understandably so, given the context). Overall, I still had a great time reading the book and would recommend it.

This was a sweet book about a teacher, Tori, whose children enter her in a television baking competition very similar to The Great British Baking Show. There she meets Kendra, one of the celebrity chef judges of the show, and the two fall for each other over the course of the filming.

The Good:
This was a sweet, well-written book with likeable characters - reading this felt like sitting down with a group of friends. I also love books that feature fictional shows based on real-life shows that I frequently watch. It's fun to see how the authors put their own unique spin on them while giving readers a fictionalized account of the behind-the-scenes drama.

I appreciated that the two leads were around 40, instead of the usual 20-somethings that often lead the rom-com genre. And, because of that, they could reasonably be dealing with career issues like both Tori and Kendra in this book. Also, I obviously love a happy ending!

The Bad:
I feel the book had realistic points that, unfortunately, held up the plot. The prime example being that, because of the no fraternization clause in Tori and Kendra's contracts, they weren't allowed to see each other socially in an effort to keep the judging fair. I'm sure this is typical of actual contractual obligations on reality competitions, but it left the "romance" between Tori and Kendra to develop primarily through notes that they would slip each other. I get they may have developed a crush, but it seemed so unrealistic that they would fall for each other given their very limited interactions. My recommendation would either to have given the characters more time together, or take the romance out altogether and make it more about Tori finding out who she is post-divorce and after her kids are away at college.

The plot gets an 8 out of 10 and the characters get a 6.5 out of 10. Overall I give this a C.

A cute love story. I love how the two main characters grow throughout the book. The plot is interesting and kept me engaged with the book.

This was very different from what I expected, and another case of a "romcom" where the romance aspect is more of a subplot. At this point I'm BEGGING publishers to market their books honestly. Because this was actually a pretty good read, but I kept waiting for the romance to become more prominent, and it was just barely there.

Like I said, this was a pretty good read. It's hard to dislike a book featuring a baking competition, and the competition is described in a lot of detail. Quite frankly, I found myself a little bored at times, and this felt like too long of a read. But I did like seeing so much of the competition at the same time.

As it is, this was very middle of the road for me, and I'm disappointed that the romance wasn't more present. This would have added some much-needed variety to the baking competition plot as well.

Love At 350°

Publication Date: 10/10/23| read 8/24/23.

Format: e-ARC

Source: Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Page Count: 336

Setting: Sequoia and Sonoma, CA

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction

Tropes:
✅ grumpy/sunshine
✅ sapphic romance
✅ slow burn
✅ reality tv show/ baking competition
✅ clean romance/forbidden romance

Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: standalone

HEA/HFN ending: HEA

Character(s)POV Spoken: Tori and Kendra

BOOK DESCRIPTION
Synopsis/Plot Summary: 2 women on reality tv baking show American Bake-o-Rama, 1 a judge Kendra and one a contestant Tori. There's an instant attraction but they have strict non fraternization policy for the 6-week competition and 1 year after the show ends. Prize money is $100,000 and starring in your own show on Food and Drink Network.

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: F/F

Contains Cheating: yes, Tori was cheated on 3 years before.

Contains Children: yes, Tori's twins Mia and Milo just graduated high school, going to University of Colorado

Amount of Sex In The Book: none

Overall Smex Rating: 0

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Heroine: Tori Moore

Heroine Description: 40+ divorcee, 20-year career as a high school science teacher and enjoys baking. Always wanted her own restaurant. Her twins submit an application on her behalf for the show.

Heroine Likability Rating: 5

Heroine: Kendra Campbell

Heroine Description: 40, a celebrity chef. Has a restaurant Gamma Raye's and cookie empire Chippy Chunk. Has a mean and ruthless persona for the show (think Simon Cowell) she's been on for 4 years and needs the money in order to keep businesses afloat.

Heroine Likability Rating: 3


Secondary characters:
Alden Ross-Kendra's older brother and business manager
Trevor Flynn-Senior judge on the show, British
Anika-the show's host
Natalie- a contestant on the show
Cassie and Lee Anne-Tori's bffs
Joey and Johnny-Tori's cats
Julia-Kendra's French bulldog


H /h RELATIONSHIP INFO

OW/OM/Exes: Tori's last relationship was w/ ex-wife Shelby. They were married for 10+years. Kendra's last relationship was 2 years ago and lasted 4 months.

Look out for:
⚠️ past cheating, artificial insemination(mentioned), adoption(mentioned)

AUTHOR OVERVIEW
Lisa Peers

New or read before & any favorites: debut author

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Overall Rating: 3.5


COMMENTS/NOTES:
If you love Top Chef or the Great British Bake Off (which I've never seen) you will love this. Its opposites attract with angst and pining away for each other until the very end of the book. Most of the focus is on the challenges and disasters within the competition. Kendra and Tori don't spend much time together other than cute notes and quick parking lot chats. There's a little mystery as someone is sabotaging Tori, and she and Kendra work together to find out who it is. This was a nice palette cleanser- its light w/ family friendly entertainment.