I love a good strong female lead and that's exactly what this gave me. I really enjoyed the plot and the other characters as well.

3.5-4 Stars

This book is a Great British Bake Off lovers dream! Rubi Ramos is a first generation Cuban American who is following her family’s prescribe recipe for success: get into Alma, go to Law School, be the product of their wildest dreams. Growing up working in her family’s bakeries in California, Rubi has a massive love for creating recipes and connecting to her Cuban roots via the kitchen. So when a baking competition comes to her town, but collides with her waitlisted acceptance to Alma, she finds herself juggling two sides of herself while also navigating changing friendships and first love.

I adored Rubi’s complicated relationship with each of her parents and how the author didn’t shy away from the struggle of being your own wildest dream while fulfilling the dreams of parents who have sacrificed so much for you. It was inspiring to watch Rubi (messily) navigate her future while learning to be bold and stand out and stand up to subtle racism.

I really enjoyed the audio narration of this book, and felt like it truly helped drive the story! You felt like you were truly watching a live baking show and made the whole experience rich!

This book had great Latinx and first generation American/daughter of immigrants representation. Rubi is a very smart, kind and likable character and the way she connected to her roots through food was very fun to experience. The love story felt a little rush but that’s teenagers for you I guess, and the love interest was adorable. The side story with her best friend was really sweet too.
Her relationship with her parents although I understand it, did bother me a little, I mean the fact that Rubi and the dad called the mom “the boss” said enough, so that did annoy me more than it should have because again, I understand why they put the pressure they did on Rubi, but I just wanted to intercede and protect her the whole time.
If you love YA you’ll love this one for sure.

I received this book for free for an honest review from Netgalley.

Adorable. I loved this audio book. The setting was perfect for a summer read the characters were diverse and very entertaining.

I loved the story and the narrator!!
The story was coming of age, fun, pulls on your heart strings a little, and it kept me engaged the entire time!

This book was wonderful. I loved the message.

I also loved the characters. They were wonderful. They felt real. The story was perfect, and the reveal at the end...

I always say that if the characters feel real then the book is a million times better, and this is no exception.

A wonderful job. I can't recommend it enough.

Rubi is torn between the expectations that come from her parents (go to college and become a lawyer!) and the love she has for Cuban culture and food. Her application to college is waitlisted and the solution is math tutoring. Rubi can't be mad when it means that super smart, super hot Ryan is there to help. A baking competiton also comes to town to further complicate Rubi's priorities.
I loved the familial exchanges throughout, particularly with Rubi's dad, and the ending was all I could hope for. There are several thoughtful moments that I really liked. And! Because I grew up in Orange County, the setting was really fun for me as it all was in my backyard. The only thing I wanted more of was moments between Rubi and Ryan. This book is a great summery beach read for a young teen audience
The narrator, Karla Serrato, is new to me, but I found her performance to be bingeable. I really loved her as a choice with her pronunciations and an auditory reminder of home.
Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Ruby's recipe for success is off track when Alma University, her parents' dream school for her, waitlists her application. She must keep them from finding out, which means falling for her cute surfer-slash-math-tutor, Ryan, definitely won't work. And neither will breaking her mother's ban on baking to join the First Annual Bake Off. But some recipes are begging to be tampered with.

I loved coming along for the journey towards her self-discovery. She was torn between following the path that her mother wanted for her, for a white-collar job, and the life of a baker, creating recipes from scratch and filling people's bellies with sweetness and spice.

There were a few bumps on the road to finally getting there, and moments of self-doubt and self-sabotage, but she got there. Of course, getting a hot surfer math tutor for a boyfriend didn't hurt 😂 All the baking and recipes had me craving some dessert too 😋

It might be a YA book, but it definitely taught me something about just going for what you want and being willing to let others in to support you along the way.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC. The narrator did an amazing job.

Rubi Ramos is on track to successfully follow the recipe for success that her parents have laid out for her for years, but when she gets waitlisted at the university that will complete the ‘recipe’ Rubi has to find her way through uncharted waters. As Rubi starts to question the life her parents have laid out for her and while she works to get herself into the school she’s been waitlisted for, Rubi starts to discover things about herself that she never let herself admit before.

This is a great coming of age story where a first generation American girl explores the pressures set on her by her parents to succeed. I really enjoyed following along with Rubi as she found her way and discovered what she really wanted and found a way to have it all. The characters in this story are great, especially Rubi, Ryan and Rubi’s dad. This book hits on all kinds of pressures that can be put on kids by parents who only want their success. Rubi’s parents mean well, but they aren’t letting Rubi be herself and succeed, because both are fully possible. I listened to the audiobook version of this book and I think the narration added to my enjoyment of this story. This was a great YA romance and coming of age book and I definitely recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC audiobook version of this book!

Rubi Ramon’s Recipe for Success by Jessica Parra is a fun young adult story about a girl figuring out what her dreams are.

This story follows Rubi, the daughter of Cuban immigrants who successfully run two bakeries in Orange County, California. Rubi has her sights set on going to an Ivy League University. Her parents have encouraged and supported her in pursuing a career as a lawyer. Rubi has worked very hard to accomplish her academic goals. Rubi is captain of the debate team and gets good grades (other than trigonometry). Rubi and her father share a love for baking, and trying new recipes. However, her mother feels like her baking hobby is getting in the way of school. Her mother bans baking until she gets accepted into college. Other than helping out at the bakery she is not allowed to bake at home. When Rubi sees an advertisement for a local Bake-Off contest she decides to enter regardless of the baking ban.

As the story goes you follow Rubi as she tries to balance school, family, romance, friends, and her love of baking. The food descriptions will have hungry and wanting to get in the kitchen. I liked the relationship between Rubi and her parents, and how much love they had for each other.

If you are in the mood for a fun, light-hearted, coming-of-age story with some baking fun, this book is for you!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

This cozy YA romance has a bunch of ingredients, but somehow they meld together beautifully like all of Rubi’s recipes. Seriously, I was dying to eat pretty much every item of food mentioned in this book. Though Rubi’s struggle to balance her parents’ expectations with her own goals is nothing new, her story is peppered with the weight of being a first generation American and navigating the microaggressions (and straight up racism) that threaten to undermine everything she has worked for. The Bake Off scenes with all of their glorious puns along with some heartwarming moments balance out the heavier topics.

Rubi is a smart, ambitious character that I really connected with. She makes a number of mistakes that are believable for a teen trying to ‘do the right thing’ or even piece together what the ‘right thing’ is. I love the way Parra depicts Rubi’s parents as well. It is clear that they are both haunted by their pasts in Cuba, but are affected by it differently. Despite their high expectations, busy work life, and her mother’s strict demeanor, this is clearly a close knit family. Rubi’s actions and struggles have more to do with her desire to protect this bond rather than trying to escape it.

Though everything mixes together so well in this book, there were a little too many ingredients. Though I love Ryan, Rubi’s love interest, their romance quickly falls to the wayside. I was constantly waiting for a big reveal from both Ryan and Rubi’s best friend Devon, but neither really had an impact, especially in light of the challenges Rubi faced. As a result, both characters lacked the same depth. In the same vein, the book jumps from one thing to another very quickly and there are some elements that I feel would have been more impactful had they been more carefully crafted and/or been given a little more time as the story unfolds. However, I love how the fast pace helps highlight the sense of being overwhelmed, so this didn’t really make or break the book for me.

Rubi is the daughter of Cuban immigrants who have worked really hard to succeed with their bakery (now two bakeries!) in wealthy Orange County, California. Rubi’s parents are firmly set on her going to college to become a lawyer (their American dream) and she has worked hard to make that happen. She’s gotten good grades, although she’s struggling with trigonometry, and is the captain of her school’s debate team. She shares a love of baking with her dad but her mother in particular is dead set against her following in her dad’s footsteps. In an extreme move, which honestly didn’t sit right with me, Rubi has been forbidden to bake at all. She tries hard to get around their rules, while helping in the prep area of their main bakery, but she’s really not the kind of girl who will flat-out disobey her parents. She’s very inventive, while still being true to her culinary heritage.

One day she notices an article in the newspaper about a local Bake-Off contest and she enters without telling her parents.

Will Rubi follow her heart or make her parents happy?

There’s a lot going on in this book, not just baking, although the food descriptions are mouth-watering. We have issues of haves and hove-nots, striving immigrant families and wealthy families who have been in the area for generations. We have academic competition, seasoned with a bit of “mean girl” action. We have prejudice and assumptions. But we also have wonderful friendships and a blossoming romance with Ryan, a red-headed surfer who is also a math wiz and tutors Rubi in trig. And of course, we have the exciting bake-off action!

A few things bothered me, in addition to the extreme Ban on Baking:
-How Rubi dealt with the wait-list letter - she acted impulsively (as many teens tend to do) and her lies had to get bigger
-One of her good friends came out to Rubi as gay but this subplot didn’t go anywhere at all
-The gorgeous cover was something that attracted me to the book in the first place but I think it gives the wrong idea of what the book is about. There’s romance and I liked the Ryan character but this book is really Rubi’s coming-of-age story, not a romance novel.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Karla Serrato. I loved hearing the Spanish words spoken with her wonderful accent. (While most of the words were not explicitly translated, you could always tell what they meant by the context.)

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I thought this was a cute debut book, but I did struggle with it a bit. I loved that Rubi's Cuban culture and food were an important part of the story. I also loved that baking was a huge part of the story and it made me hungry. That being said, I thought it was a bit underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time. There were a lot of story plots going on with the baking completion, getting admission into Alma, and a little bit of romance thrown in there. With all these plots happening at once, none of them got the full attention that they deserved. I think I would have loved it so much more if it had just been the baking completion along with the romance. The admission plotline didn't do it for me. I get why it was important with Rubi being a first-generation Cuban American and the first in her family to go to college. So it's an important storyline that I would have loved to have appreciated more but it didn't work for me in the context of this story. All that being said, I do think it was an enjoyable read and I do recommend checking out this debut and deciding for yourself.

audio specific: I liked the narrator, but she was a little slower than I would have liked, but it was still a very enjoyable narration.

content warning: racism

Thank you to Netgalley for a free earc in exchange for an honest review

RUBI RAMOS'S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS follows Rubi as she navigates the complications of being a first-generation Cuban daughter in Southern California and the weight of expectations that accompany that title. Her family have pinned their hopes and dreams on her, pushing her towards a white-collar future in academia, but her hopes and dreams smell more like sugar and butter.

I enjoyed the romantic subplot that didn't overtake what this story was trying to do, as some YA romances are know to do. I enjoyed Rubi's determination and loyalty to her family, but also the loyalty that she shows herself.

This book was so stinking cute. Highly recommend.
It's about breaking generational binds but also bringing yourself closer to your family by being your most authentic self.
I loved it so so much

This is such a good teen read that nicely balanced soul searching and romance in one package. I enjoyed experiencing Rubi’s conflicting priorities, trying to embrace her forbidden passion for baking with the necessary commitments for getting into the school of her dreams as a first-gen college student. There’s plenty of secrets and a lot of baking as Rubi tries to work out what she wants from life and what she’s willing to give up to get it. With her parents resting their dreams on her shoulders, it’s not an easy road and Rubi has difficult decisions to make and honest conversations to have. She navigated a tricky path and I was absorbed with her story and happy with the ending. We see the world through the eyes of the daughter of Cuban immigrants and not only the culture and Rubi’s connection to her grandmother through baking, but also the darker past her parents had and the pressure placed on Rubi as a result of their hopes and dreams and it was great to understand more about Rubi in this book.

Rubi is tenacious and bold, with a fantastic group of friends and a supporting new boyfriend in Ryan. She overcomes a lot in this novel and she’s an inspiration!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

I really enjoyed listening to this coming of age/finding yourself story! I loved Rubi as a main character and found her decision making very realistic, while also coming across as a strong woman.
While the cover suggests its a romance and there is a meet cute element to the story I liked that it focused more on the relationship Rubi had with her parents and her heritage, how she grew from this and how it impacted her decisions and life.
There were some parts that I felt didn't quite flow and I found myself going to check I hadn't accidently skipped a section but on the whole it was a great YA novel and I would definitely pick up this author again.

This is the typical contemporary young adult novel: the protagonist Rubi Ramos is trying to balance her own dreams and passions as a first-gen and her parents' dreams and expectations for her.

I really enjoyed the writing style, it kept a good even pace throughout the entire book and it was never boring or dull, it definitely didn't read like a debut novel.
The characters are well-described and I really liked how everyone's intentions were clear and understandable.
The romance is more of an afterthought than anything, but I like it, too. It's sweet and charming and it made my heart full of joy.

I loved all the baking puns and analogies, as a fellow baking enthusiast it was really fun to read.

I'll be back for more by this author because I had a really good time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gosh, I really loved 'Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success'!
The cover suggests that this book's plotline is mostly the romance, but it's actually family - which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I loved Rubi's character: fun, adventurous and not afraid to pursue her dreams. It was very fun how she came up with ideas and how she developed as a person

The Cuban recipe's used in this book made my mouth water, it all sounded so delicious!

I would definitely want to read more books by Jessica Parra, whenever she writes more.
And the narrator was really good, too!

This is a fun entertaining story. It is a meet cute story filled with great relationships with friends and family. The story tells of struggles teens go through making it relatable.