Rubi’s family dreams of a big life for their daughter - a successful lawyer, who makes all the sacrifices of starting fresh in the USA worth it. But Rubi dreams in recipes, and her passion for baking is squashed by her mother in favour of more ideal extracurriculars that will get her into college. But Bake Off, a local baking competition, is what she really wants, and she gets in. Only Rubi has the ingredients needed, and only she can mix them up - even if she strays from the recipe laid out for her.

This book is a tribute to family expectation and the dreams you craft yourself. Rubi is such a sweet character, with so much passion, who is obviously crushed by her mother’s baking ban(in hopes that she doesn’t get distracted from school). Her intuition and craving to tweak recipes is so much fun to read.

Rubi sees everything through the lense of baking, and it’s fun to see her puzzle out her future in this context as she tries to fit herself into the role of studious future lawyer instead. The baking puns were fun, and the competition was a great atmosphere- I loved the judges and their enthusiasm for Rubi’s infusion of Cuban culture in her bakes.

The romance was sweet too, along with the friendships and rivalries in the debate team.

My favourite thing was the decadent descriptions of each bake - my mouth was watering, and I feel the need to procure some treats now! Would definitely recommend!

I loved this! This is such a fun book about a girl who has to figure out the difference between her own dreams and that of her immigrant parents who sacrificed for her to have opportunities they didn't. Many will relate to her struggle of wanting to pursue her own goals while also wanting to honor her parents.

The romance is very cute, but isn't as important to the plot as I expected. This is Rubi's story, not Rubi and Ryan's story. So, while they're adorable, the cover is a bit misleading.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I think it's a good debut. I look forward to seeing Jessica Parra grow as a writer!

I loved the premise of this and how Latinx and Cuban foods and ingredients are featured and praised. It’s exciting to see how our culture and food especially is given its due respect and admiration for its complexity, depth, and soul.

That said, I feel like this was a bit…disjointed. The bake off competition along with the college admissions plot line AND the romance, felt like they battled a bit for attention in the page and the segue from one to the other didn’t feel as smooth or purposeful. Adding to this is of course Rubi’s character arc as she struggles to really come to grips with what she wants for herself and her happiness instead of what she SHOULD want in order to feel like she’s honoring her parents sacrifices and making them proud.

The admission lies and scheming will feel familiar to the genre, yet with Rubi it felt like it added an additional layer of complication the story didn’t need. I feel like the story would have been the same and more streamlined had the Alma University decision been unknown, so Rubi could figure out what she wants without that as an added consideration. The main conflict and question for Rubi would remain the same: does she follow her own personal passion, or should she follow a path to law to better her family’s socioeconomic future?

Overall, I felt like this was fine but just didn’t blow me away as it just had a bit too much thrown in.

An absolutely darling YA contemporary about finding your place, following your dreams, and bring true to yourself. I really liked Rubi a lot. Hardworking, determined, and doing everything she can to follow the recipe for success and get into Alma University I love that she found support from friends and family as she navigated her challenges and the end of senior year while still making time for her love of baking! The audio is well done as well! Just prepare yourself for plenty of baking puns!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for my alc of this book. All opinions here are my own.

A coming of age story filled with beautiful prose, romance and hard choices between expectations and dreams. Oh, and lots of baking! Be prepared to get hungry while reading it!

While the romance part was very cute, Rubys struggle to define what she wants despite her families plans gave this book an amazing emotional impact. Combine that with Rubys journey in discovering her roots through baking and sharing her heritage through a baking contest, made it an amazing read. Also the narrator had a beautiful voice and really bought the characters to life. Definite recommendation!

Thanks NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my audiobook copy.

Warning: this will make you crave Cuban pastries

Absolutely wonderful coming-of-age story about the daughter of Cuban immigrants trying to balance her desires for her own future with her parents' desires for her and trying to stay connected with her Cuban heritage through baking.

Rubi's journey and her relationship with her parents was so touching, and I think it will be relatable to many readers.

I read that the author's parents were also bakers, which makes this story even more special.

Standout YA which I absolutely loved!

📖Review: Rubi Ramos’s Rules for Success by Jessica Parra

This deliciously delightful coming of age story is sure to warm your heart and tempt your tastebuds.

Rubi Ramos loves to bake, but her mom, nicknamed the boss, has instituted a ban on baking until Rubi can fulfill the Recipe for Success: get into Alma and become a lawyer. Despite the ban, Rubi is always doodling Cuban inspired recipes in the margins of her school notes. She secretly applies and participates in an opportunity to bake in the Orange County Bake-Off. Bending the ban, and being waitlisted at Alma, begins an avalanche of secrets, while she figures out how to navigate her parents’ plan for her life and her own.

Cheering on Rubi as she navigates her coming of age story is as easy as pie. She is a spunky, passionate protagonist, who stole my heart immediately with her smart remarks, love of her family, and smooth LOTR, Star Wars, and other pop culture references.

Her external struggle as a second generation immigrant to America from Cuba and her parents’ expectations for her future as well as prep school prejudice, are developed with care and highlight Rubi’s intricate identity and the struggles that she faces.

The secondary characters in the story are lovable and quirky. Her best friend Devon, her “boyftu” Ryan, and the staff at the bakery, bring depth to the story and highlight Rubi’s amazing community of supporters.

Finally, the bake-off is intense with quirky elements that made me laugh - baking puns and Rubi’s smart retorts. I always love when cooking or baking is used in stories to demonstrate passion and character development. This is no exception and perfectly advances the plot causing me to constantly be cheering and hoping Rubi as I read.

Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success comes out on May 16, and is a wonderful YA coming-of-age story that makes me look forward to Jessica Parra’s future novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Publishing for the digital ARC as well as the ALC in return for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own - I read it twice, which is pretty positive ❤️

This is such a fun, feel good book, an enjoyable read with a mix of bake off and adorable YA romance. This was a really cosy read an reminiscent of older more light-hearted YA's (which I love). I loved seeing Rubi follow her dreams and that this book also tackled her dealing with family obligations and choosing what she should do with her future. Overall this was relatable, cute and a really fun read.

Do you love watching the Great British Bake-off? Did you love the 2003 Disney Channel Original Movie Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off about the baseball boy who also wanted to cook? Do you love stories about the children of immigrants dealing with the generational trauma immigration often brings? This book is all of those combined into one!

Rubi Ramos is a Cuban first generation captain of her debate team who is following a plan crafted by her parents to escape the working class and launch herself into the powerful, rich, and assimilated society of Orange County. She is the only brown member of the First Leaders of Orange County (FLOC) and is waitlisted from her dream school while all her friends clenched their positions. While taking math tutoring from a way too hot redhead surfer, Rubi finds out she made it into a bake-off where she can show off her skills and reconnect with her Cuban heritage. Rubi will find herself town between her desire to prove herself in the bake-off and doing what is necessary to achieve her parents' dream for her.

One of the best parts of this novel is the tensions Rubi feels so intensely that many first generation immigrants face in America. We often are split between what our parents want for us and an obligation to meet those dreams because of the hardships our parents faced to give us these opportunities, and what we may discover is our true desire for our future. Through the beautiful descriptions of the food, recipes, and heritage, readers are pulled into Rubi's kitchen!

My only critique is that Rubi is only 17, and her parents could only be late 30s or early 40s. This would suggest that her grandparents would have been the ones to have fled Cuba after the revolution, but her parents seem to have the trauma instead. I understand this was done to create greater tensions, but it seemed a bit out of place since the book was set in the last few years, not a generation before. Generational trauma follows, sure, but her parents wouldn't have been old enough to experience some of the worst problems in Cuba that led so many to flee that country in the 1960s-1980s.

Overall, this book was so cute, cozy, and emotionally wrenching. The teen romance is perfectly inserted without taking away from the primary story, and Rubi thinking in cooking analogies are so perfect for fleshing out her character! What a joy it was to read this novel!

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an advanced reader copy to review this book before it came out.

This was a sweet YA novel! I found the romance to be a lighter subplot, but it was cute nonetheless. I really enjoyed Rubi’s narration and the cooking competition was fun with a little razzle dazzle (drama).

I do think most YAs I read nowadays have these kids trying to get into Ivy League schools which is just a little bit cooky to me. It’s got to be stressful for actual young adults reading them because EYE get stressed just reading about the application process lol.

I loved the narrator and would definitely read more from the author. Also the cover???? Gorgeous. A++

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

A ton of fun sprinkles involved in this young Cuban American teen clean read that is filled with all the pressure of decisions to be made with the dramatic help from family, surfer boyfriend and best friend for a successful future. The strongest part is the storyline with Rubi and her parents. The cover and description hint at romance and Rubi does meet a fiery-haired Irish-American surfer boy, Ryan O'Reilly. We've got a coming-of-age story about being a child of immigrants dealing with what feels like the weight of the world. A struggle between what Rubi wants versus her parents and how she can balance both is the recipe she finds the most successful. A wonderful debate, enjoyable and I really liked the baker portion.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley.

I absolutely love cooking competitions in YA Novels! Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success by Jessica Parra did not disappoint! It delivered on the cooking competition, delightful descriptions of Cuban cuisine, and of course some drama with friends and family. Bonus, there is a lot of debate featured in this novel both on stage and off.

Here's what I loved the most. Rubi is trying to figure out how to tell her family that their dream for her isn't hers. That's tremendously hard to do, especially when you know someone has sacrificed a lot for you. Rubi has this beautiful passion for cooking and everyone around her sees it, including her parents. The Boss (aka Rubi's mom) has put a ban on her spending time in their family restaurant to bake, because she wants her daughter's only focus to be getting accepted to Alma for college. The tension in this book is relatable; family obligation and personal satisfaction often butt heads and Rubi is a teenager. So, lots of her actions are a bit clunky and muddled, but her heart is pure.

If you like YA books, this one is a must read. It's got.fun romance sprinkled in too!

This was a really cute book. Sometimes YA books get super angsty and filled with an abundance of double think and emotional turmoil, and the author did a great job of keeping this one in check. It was well-written story about a high school senior struggling to decide if the path her parents have laid out for her is what she wants after going along with it her entire life. It is a classic story but had some unique twists that made it worth the read. Based on the description I thought the romance would be a bigger part of the book but it was a very minor side detail and not the main story. Overall a an enjoyable read/listen. The narration was great too. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishes for the ARC.

This book wasn’t originally on my radar, but I’m so glad that I picked it up! RUBI RAMOS is a heartfelt and fun coming-of–age story that looks at ideas around identity, love (in many forms), and living for yourself vs. others. The story felt fairly authentic for a teenager without being overburdened by pop culture references, and had descriptions of recipes so good that my mouth is watering just thinking about them. For me, it blends the elements of a YA contemporary with a dash of romance and some other plot points well, making a story that is uniquely about Rubi but also allows for the world around her. And I couldn’t recommend it enough!

The narrator, Karla Serrato was well-suited for this audiobook and definitely made Jessica Parra’s words come to life! I always found myself wanting to listen to more, and without feeling as if I was getting distracted along the way. There was one minor moment where the distinct character voices got a little bit mixed up, but otherwise I found it very easy to grasp the story, and if you’re an audiobook person I would definitely recommend this one!

This is a coming of age story following Rubi as she navigates college acceptances, her family's expectations, and a baking competition. It's a cute YA story as Rubi tries to define her own path and follow her passions without disappointing her parents. There's a little bit of romance thrown in too, though not the central focus of the story. I liked it, but not a favorite YA overall.

Thanks NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my audiobook copy.

A cute coming of age story. I thought the cultural influences and differences really set this book apart. You can tell the lies Rubi tells is because she feels so much pressure from her parents who just want her to have a better life than them. I think there are a lot of parents out there like that so it’s good to see how to get through it and overcome that pressure.

🌀Synopsis
Rubi is doing it all, well everything except what she wants to do- bake. She’s tackling debate and waiting for her acceptance letter from Alma College. She’s determined to get to graduation and hit her goals.
Until she finds and add for a baking competition and decides she needs to join it. She coincidentally also gets a letter from Alma letting her know she has been wait listed around the same time. Not able to break the news to her parents- she lies about her acceptance and also hides her participation in the competition.
Finally, the pressure gets to be too much. She makes it to the final round of the competition and, due to a string of events, needs to admit everything to her parents. She’s makes the decision to forfeit the competition in light of debate and a chance to get off the wait list for Alma. When it comes down to it though, she questions her choice and has to choose what her heart wants or what her parents want.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and Dreamscape Media for the free book.
This was a fun YA book about Rubi and her senior year. This book is perfect for the young adult that is from in immigrant family and is feeling overwhelmed by the desires their family has for them. Rubi not only was trying to figure out college - but dealing with the college her mother has chosen for her. She had to sneak around to bake because her family expected more from her. This book captured so many themes of this time and it'll be perfect for an overwhelmed and somewhat indecisive teen.
Karla Serrato captured Rubi so well in this story. She was able to capture her youthfulness, her indecision, and overall character so well. She really brought Rubi to life in this story. I highly recommend the audio if that's available.

What a darling debut! This YA was just delightful.
A great palette cleanser from some heavier reads I’ve had lately.
What I loved most were the family dynamics and how much Rubi and her parents loved each other even through disagreements.
I loved that the main story was Rubi’s coming into her own with a lot of moving parts with a busy senior year.
I definitely thought with the cover that the focus would be on romance. And it had some romance it definitely took the back burner and felt like a place holder before they went to different schools to meet other people.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an alc of this book.

This had everything that I want in a YA novel: the need for independence and finding yourself in the face of parental expectations, blossoming love, search for new experiences. When you add in the cooking competition, I am definitely hooked. Rubi is such a well-developed, fun character who you can’t help but root for. She wants to please everyone and is finding it is pretty difficult. I loved the mix of Cuban culture into everything she baked in the competition and how it is interwoven into the novel as well. This was such a fun, entertaining read and I loved everything about it

Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success is a YA debut that I didn't want to stop listening to!

Rubi is a high school senior trying to get into her parent's dream school: Alma. As a first generation college applier, her parents only want what's best for her, which does not include baking. Yet Rubi is drawn to the kitchen and enters a bake off contest as a secret. Rubi knows that she can prove that she can both bake and do well academically. Let the baking begin!

I could not stop listening to Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success, narrated by Karla Serrato. Serrato's voice brought this story to life and made it seem like we were baking right alongside Rubi. I wanted cookies while listening and couldn't stop rooting for Rubi to not let go of her passions. While this book may be a romantic YA, the romance wasn't featured throughout but rather Rubi's journey on loving herself. Overall, I cannot wait for what debut author Jessica Parra puts out next.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for my alc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.