I read this towards end of 2023, and will I tell you loved it so much that I got a physical copy of it not too long ago! It was an absolute gem of a story. Lindsey did a fantastic job of writing Lexi and Jake and their whirlwind of their life! I promise you won't regret this book if you picked it up.

Sorry to report but this was just not for me.

The writing is very childish and I could not connect whatsoever to any of the characters. The intentions of the two main characters are nonsensical, and the relationship is built off an early hookup which doesn’t always bother me but in this case it just did not work.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

This is an enjoyable romance story! A little insta-love, second chance romance, and celebrity love story all mixed together. I enjoyed the casual Jewish rep too!

This was an adorable romance featuring an aspiring musician and an aspiring chef who have one great weekend together before he leaves for LA and makes it big. A year later, they see each other again but can their feelings overcome all the hurt and obstacles in their way? This was a swoony read with such delicious food!

Lexi is aspiring chef who wants nothing more than to fulfill her dream and make her late mom proud. That is until a one night stand with Jake Taylor changes her plans completely.

This was a really cute book! It was interesting seeing the relationship between Lexi & Jake evolve from one of normalcy to celebrity. Lexi's insecurities did get a bit annoying towards the end. I also thought the ending was very abrupt. Overall, it was fun and will be looking forward to reading more by the author.

Now this story was a lot of fun. It's a celebrity/chef second chance romance. The story follows a 24 year old Lexi, a culinary student. Since she's started school and her mom's passed away, she's had dreams of becoming an head chef in a Michelin-star restaurant. This means no dating. But when she meets Jake at a dive bar, a musician who dreams of making it big, she decides to make an exception to her no dating rule.

After an amazing weekend together, Jake leaves to LA to record his demo, promising to keep in touch. What Lexi doesn't expect is for him to become an overnight celebrity, and to never hear from him again. Time passes and she finishes school and starts to work in a restaurant. And then a distraught Jake shows up at her doorstep. They try to navigate what this means between them, trying it as friends.

Of course feelings keep bubbling to the surface and things continue to get more complicated as Jake deals with his fame and Lexi deals with her own personal issues. I really liked this one! The cover is super cute, and I breezed through the whole story.

Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff is a contemporary romance debut novel. Till There Was You starts off feeling a bit like an insta-love trope but it slowly grows into a second chance romance over the course of the story.

At twenty four Lexi Berman is well on the way to her dream job of one day becoming a Michelin-starred chef. For now though Lexi has to start somewhere and that somewhere is prepping in the back of the restaurant while she waits for her time to work her way to the top.

In Lexi’s plans to get to the top there just isn’t any room for romance and she’s sworn off dating and relationships. That is until one night at a bar she meets a guitar slinging crooner that ends up turning from one night to a magical weekend. Of course Lexi wants to see Jake Taylor again but little did she know he’d ghost her and she’d only see him on billboards when he becomes super famous after their time together.

Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff is one for the foodies and the music lovers out there who also enjoy a few laughs with their romance. Despite the whirlwind insta beginning I really enjoyed where this one went and diving into the drama that came with such an unexpected coupling. Since this was a debut novel I’ll have to wait to read more from this author but I’ll be looking forward to seeing what her future holds.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book was so different than any others I have read lately, and it was SO fun to read! Lexi and Jake falling in love while navigating fame was so interesting and I loved watching Jake rise to stardom. It was so swoony - I can't believe this was a debut! So excited to see what Lindsay Hameroff releases next!

When Lexi has a steamy weekend with a musician she meets a bar, she doesn’t expect it to go anywhere. But she also doesn’t expect to get ghosted completely. But, all of a sudden, Jake is a huge celebrity and Lexi is still just a culinary student. But when Jake shows up on her doorstep over a year later, she can’t deny the pull she still has for him.

There are so many things that I wanted to love about this book but their relationship felt both too easy and too hard at the same time. It moved so fast and then very slowly and all wrapped up very quickly again at the end. I didn’t feel very connected to either of them and wanted more depth from them both.

However, I loved the look into both the restaurant world and being a superstar. I also loved the friendships.

If you like books with food and celebrity/normal person romances, this one is for you!

Read this for
-Food. Soo much food.
-Jewish rep
-Celebrity romance
-Low steam, mostly closed door

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a cute read! Celebrity, opposites attract, second chance romance with fun banter and based in NYC. This was a fun premise, and I’m excited to see more by this author!!

I honestly loved this book. It was just what I needed on a bad day. It was cheesy, sweet and very easy to read. Lexi meets Jake at a dive bar and they have one weekend stand. They click immediately and promise to keep in touch. The problem is Jake is a musician about to travel and Lexi is in school to be a chef so their lives are going in completely different places. Things get even more complicated when Jake becomes an overnight celebrity and disappears from Lexi's life. A year later, Lexi is moving on and trying to forget about Jake even though his name is everywhere. Then he shows up at her door and everything changes. I loved reading about Jake and Lexi. I thought their chemistry was good and the story was fun to read!

Great celebrity romance with all of the elements that you would expect to find (gossip, paparazzi, a possible relationship with another celeb). This was a fun one. I wouldn't say there was anything to make this stand out but it was well written and enjoyable.

I’m currently binging my NetGalley’s trying to catch up and even though I might go cross-eyed from all the fictional romance, this one hooked me. I loved the premise, the realistic timeline of the relationship, and the challenges that we would all face while trying to absorb the sudden and swift change to a person’s lifestyle when overnight stardom finds them. The supporting cast of characters were wonderful (even Madison at the end…). I especially loved the visit to Georgia and the small-town southern touch that Jake gives us. I don’t feel like I have clear picture of the full cast of characters though, so I’d like to have seen a few more physical descriptors there as we were introduced. Also, all the “eye darkening” was so redundant it was distracting and the third act miscommunication breakup was predictable. But, the story itself is good, so I pushed through and I’m glad I did. The book was enjoyable and heartwarming, Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Till There Was You was a perfect quick weekend read, with solid plot and a lovely NYC setting. There were for sure some gaps in character and plot development, but as a debut novel, checked many of my boxes for a contemporary romance! I would have liked to seen a more genuine connection between the MCs, which would have made me more likely to really root for them.

This was a good adult contemporary romance novel, and I love the cover of it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

This book was sooo cute! I honestly didn’t expect to like it so much. I enjoy a celebrity romance, and this one hit all the right notes. Lexi and Jake gave me Wade and Zoe vibes from Hart of Dixie which I loved! Such a fun and sweet couple. Both MCs were such likable characters, and I loved that they both had their own lives going on and didn’t sacrifice that for a relationship. The side characters were so fun too! I loved Lexi’s friends! Overall such a cute romance and I would def recommend.

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. It was cute enough but I found it overly repetitive, and I never really rooted for the couple. It was a bit too insta-love for me as well.

Beautifully sweet, and wonderfully addicting. I couldn't put this book down. Page after page I wanted more and more. I truly loved it, and reading a romcom after so much fantasy recently was so refreshing. Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book.

Till There Was You has a lovely premise, a few of my favorite tropes, and some genuinely hilarious moments, but at the end of the day it read like a debut novel.

Synopsis:

A chef named Lexi and a musician named Jake meet and fall for one another quickly. Jake leaves to record some songs. She had not heard back from him for a long while. He rises to fame using a song he wrote about her. He comes back into her life and tries to win her back.

My Thoughts:

After reading this book, I immediately added blueberry pancakes to my breakfast menu. I cannot wait to try out the secret ingredient mentioned in the book by the FMC Lexi. I loved Lexi's character for her ambition, passion for food, and kindness to others. Jake is laid-back and charismatic. I loved Jake's character for his charm and his ability to push Lexi outside of her comfort zone.

Lexi and Jake's chemistry was off the charts. The intimate scenes were enough to keep me interested but not too spicy. I liked how they were portrayed as loyal and accepting of one another for who they were. Most importantly, they respected one another's career paths.

I adored the bond between Lexi and her two best friends. They supported one another one hundred percent, no matter what. I hope her two friends will get a book of their own one day. I would love to read about how their lives unfold. There were hints of them meeting someone, but I wonder how it turns out for them.

Lindsay Hameroff did a great job ensuring all characters' career paths were understood. I understood their jobs' realities and the conflicts separating work life from personal relationships. It was evident that sometimes we can't always separate the two and must figure it out. I learned that sometimes, what we think we want for ourselves, we can grow out of it. Go after what makes you truly happy in life.

This book is for you if you like:
Instant love, Musician + Foodie (chef), Second Chances, Serenades, Blueberry Pancakes 😉, New York Life, Career vs. Love, and low spice.

Love Always, Catherine