First of all I am dumb and thought this was a sapphic romance until I started reading and she started flirting with a man. Also despite this cute cover HER MOM DIED and she is still very sad about it almost 10 years later. Which is valid and makes total sense, but this is being marketed as a ROM COM? And the whole reason she became a chef is because of her mom and she will not redecorate her living room because her mom picked out all the furniture. It is mentioned in the blurb but I also don't read synopses because they always give too much away. So while this is entirely my fault, I did think it would be lighter in tone based on the cover. (None of this is why I DNF'd)

This is one of those "they have a magical weekend together" and then don't see each other for a while set ups. Which works for me usually, but here it went on a bit too long and it didn't seem believable. Also they both had the other's phone number and he ghosts her and her friend deletes his number. The author tries to explain it, but like ... if he wanted to he would? It also is very insta love-y which kind of bothered me since they felt SO MUCH and I just did not see it. I don't have an issue with the instalove but the way it was presented made it not very believable.

I am not sure how the love triangle panned out, but I really was not here for that.

These are all minor complaints, I really did not hate my time reading this, but I think for a debut the setup was a bit too much for this author to tackle and while it was very readable (I would read her next book) it just was lacking on all fronts.

I read a third of this book and it felt like the action should've been spread out over more time. I decided to DNF simple because I got bored and knew where this story was going and I didn't really have enough interest to follow their journey.

I have too many books on my TBR to keep reading books are are mediocre.

Till There Was You was a cute celebrity romance that I enjoyed! I really liked Lexi’s character, who was a twenty something trying to figure out her career, her relationships, balancing everything and what really makes her happy, which was very relatable. I also loved some of the side characters in this one, particularly Lexi’s friends who were supportive and added lots of humor. Another aspect that I really enjoyed was the culinary and chef backdrop — the food talk and Lexi’s journey to becoming a chef was so interesting. I thought this book started off so strong for me but then I could feel the conflict building and building and didn’t necessarily love where it was heading. I think I would have loved a little more to the ending as I didn’t care for the third act breakup or how things were mended.

Overall, I liked this one and rated it 3.5 stars. If you are looking for a celebrity and chef romance with humor and great side characters, check out Till There Was You.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy, out now!

This book is a stack of love with a syrup kiss that I devoured in one sitting. It was truly a delight, like taking a warm bite of some blueberry pancakes—the sweet, buttery melt in your warm feeling. Run guys. Request at your library, borrow from your friends, find one in my little free library, and do whatever you can to read this. ‘Till There Was You is out in the local bookstores today!

Tropes:
-Foodie
-Second Chances
- Chef/Musician

I was provided an ARC from the publisher. I have purchased multiple copies of this novel since. All thoughts are my own.

Lexi is an aspiring chef and Jake is an aspiring singer. They meet cute in a bar at the beginning of the story and after a great weekend together, Jake becomes a star and ghosts Lexi. After a year or two, Jake is thrust back into Lexi's life and they try to fight to be together. This story was really fun and a great read but I had a few problems with it. One of the overarching messages seemed to be that you could either have a great career or you could have a great relationship-some of this could be chalked up to their youth but I wasn't fond of that message. I also didn't like that the characters' insecurities created the big conflict here. There weren't any and then a casual comment seemed to create them. That being said, it was still a fun read.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Thank you St. Martins for Till There was You (review copy via netgalley).
I really enjoyed this romcom from Lindsey Hammeroff. I admit that I am a sucker for a romance that is second chance vibes, hollywood/celebrity themes and this one has an MC who is a chef, another theme/setting that I love. So there is a lot in this book that is just a recipe (sorry not sorry) for a fun read just for me. I always dislike the expected miscommunication/break up scenarios later in these books but overall that's just part of a romance trope kind of read. I had a lot of fun with this one, loved the themes about grief and family, loved the secondary friend characters and restaurant setting, and really wanted to have some blueberry pancakes.

Recommended for a fun romance read with some hidden depth, which is just what I want.

Thank you to St. Martins Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

Lexi is determined to become a chef in a Michelin starred restaurant and make her late mother proud. She meets Jake at a dive bar and is swept up in his chocolate brown eyes and smooth singing voice. After a perfect weekend, Jake goes to LA to record his demo and promises Lexi that she’ll see him again.

Cut to a year later and Jake is now the next big thing in pop music and Lexi is working at a restaurant and making strides toward her culinary dreams. When Jake shows up on her doorstep, Lexi has to decide if he is deserving of a second chance and whether the possibility is even in the cards when they have such different dreams for the future.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the first half especially, but I appreciate that Lindsay didn’t make the stars magically align for Jake and Lexi. A pop star/chef romance is not a seamless fit. Limited days you can be away from the restaurant doesn’t mesh with a global tour, and a chef’s hours are brutal. Many books don’t show this “messy middle” where things are hard and you can’t just coast on feelings.

There were some great, funny moments in this book, and I highlighted so many quotes that I absolutely loved. I really enjoyed reading this and can’t wait for more from Lindsay.

THE TITLE. I was absolutely tickled when I realized why this book is titled Till There Was You. 🥹

Thank you to the author Lindsay Hameroff, publishers St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of TILL THERE WAS YOU. All views are mine.

I'm definitely in my closed-door romance era and I have good reasons for that. I'm trying to make that no one's problem but mine, but it's largely impossible to choose a romance and be sure I'm not going to land eyeballs first in some characters' genitals. Of course I skip it when I find it. But the point is, I don't like being surprised by it.

I say this with all due respect to creators of this content. Right now, romance authors are very vocal about how readers should just skip what we don't want to read. But in books and in posts, skipping what's already whalloped me over the head doesn't do me much good.

Perhaps this doesn't sound much like a review, but it is. This book hit me with a sex scene I wasn't prepared for and woke up the twisted beast of trauma inside me that I am always working on. Will always be working on. Right now I can't tolerate sexual content. After the first sex scene in this book, I was too put off to connect with any of it. I had to put it down.

I should be given the chance to avoid a triggering book or prepare myself. One little note in the front matter can make a huge difference.

Three (or more) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I really hate that I never know if I'm getting a romance with elicit material or not. I saw no content or trigger warnings in the front matter. I don't like that kind of content right now. The community of authors who write it admonish critics of it to just avoid it, but they don't make that easy.

2. "Calm down, Lexi. I'm not going to fall apart in front of some guy I barely know," the fmc chastizes herself, the morning after sleeping with said "stranger."

3. The plot struggles logically when Lexi pushes Jake away. "Maybe we shouldn't ruin this," she says, because she "wasn't looking for a commitment to begin with"? This plot point is so weak, the author spends a whole eight tiny dialog-filled paragraphs on it. Any more and the bones would've shown.

4. Lexi gives Jake a parting gift of "a foil-wrapped package of leftover pancakes" ? Sounds gross.

5. The reader really doesn't need to know what happens every single minute. The author should use the transitions to naturally progress the story forward, because as it is, it is really slow, and who cares that Lexi is pals with the security guard in her dorm?

6. "You will spill this tea," Lexi's friend Ali says when she wants the details about Jake. Tea tends to refer not just to gossip, but dirt, or at least gossip of a sensitive nature. And use of this phrase in this context is appropriation, if I want to get snippy about it.

7. "dine alfresco in Central Park..." Dining alfresco or al fresco dining does not technically refer to picnicking in the park, but to eating a meal outdoors, such as at a restaurant or family patio table.

8. Why did the fmc and mmc go through the dramatic breakup if they were going to continue an emotional affair, just so he could bust her heart to pieces? That plotless mess is for real life, not fiction.

Rating: dnf @ 17%
Recommend? No
Finished: Feb 16 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
💖 romance
❤️‍🩹 second chance romance
👩‍🍳 foodie fmc
🎸 rock'n'roll mmc
🚪 open door romance

I adored this book. In addition to being witty, sweet, and relatable, it also touches on some heavy life events.

Through the course of the book, both the characters as individuals and as partners developed greatly. There was something precious and frustrating about their love for each other at the same time.

I really enjoyed the character that was Jake. His charm and down-to-earth attitude made him stand out even after he had quickly risen to stardom. He was fun to read and had a lot of great humour written in.

In the beginning, Lexi, our FMC, appeared a little bland. The way she lived seemed fairly safe, and she didn't seem to take many risks. In the story, I noticed she was stepping out of her comfort zone and adding depth to her character. Ultimately, I enjoyed her character as well.

🫐 Strangers-lovers
🥞 Second chance
🫐 Insta-love

Till There Was You was thoroughly enjoyable, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is a debut. Easy 4.5 stars out of 5 for me. If you are looking for a meet-cute rom-com that will put a smile on your face at least once, I highly recommend it.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A new adult rockstar romance for the win!

Following Jake and Lexi you get a behind the scenes look of rockstar fandom and the world of NYC restaurants. Lexi wants to be a chef and Jake wants to be a successful musician., while it looks like both of their dreams are coming separately, they get a chance at a second chance romance.

You’ll be rooting for these two to succeed both love and career-wise.

As special and sweet read for sure!

Lexi meets Jake when she is a culinary student and he is a struggling musician. They have a great weekend together and then part ways. When Jake comes back, he is a phenom on the rise and Lexi is starting at the bottom rung of a restaurant job. Lexi struggles with balancing Jake’s new celebrity with her job and responsibilities. I liked the story, but the conflict seemed too formulaic and obvious. I was happy that Lexi realized that she wasn’t giving Jake a chance after breaking it off with him, not the other way around. The ending was a bit unbelievable, but I was happy they found their HEA.

This was a cute read.
If you like insta-love or second chance romances, I recommend giving this one a try.
I gotta get the recipe for those pancakes - they sounded so good!
The characters came off as quite young, but the bedroom scenes were definitely not YA.
Told from Lexi’s POV, this story takes place in NYC.

This book unexpectedly had me in my feels - there’s a scene where Lexi is in The Pierre hotel and is escorted by a man in security named Tony.
Friends, I knew a man named Tony who worked in security at The Pierre!! He passed away a few years back, but he was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. I know it was likely just a coincidence that the security guy was named Tony, but that scene led to me reaching out to a few of my family members and us reminiscing about our Tony.

Thank you @smpromance for sending me a @Netgalley widget for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am a sucker for second-chance romances, so I was definitely excited about reading this book. I’m also a big Broadway fan, so I loved that the many references to classic musicals began with the title itself. I also loved the Jewish representation

Lexi is a delightful protagonist. She’s already following her dreams by going to culinary school when she meets Jake. She’s certainly not looking for anything serious, so their weekend together is totally out of character for her. Even so, she doesn’t really fall apart after he ghosts her: she moves on with her life, graduates culinary school, and gets a job at a NYC restaurant. She is not perfect, and there were times I was shaking my head at her naivete.

Needless to say, she doesn’t know what to expect when Jake reappears after achieving success in the music industry—but she’s willing to give him a second chance, which gives them both the opportunity to get to know each other better.

The narrative is single-perspective, which works well because if the reader was aware of Jake’s thoughts, that would eliminate a lot of the tension. And frankly, we don’t really need Jake’s perspective because he consistently shares his innermost thoughts with Lexi and he doesn’t have a hidden agenda. That’s not a spoiler: who would want to read a romance with a shady character who lied to the protagonist?

Speaking of spoilers, I’m going to have to keep this vague to avoid giving too much away, but I appreciated that getting a man didn’t “fix” Lexi and that she needed to put herself first and figure out what she wanted to do with herself. I also love that the perceived villain of the piece ended up not so villainous.

I would absolutely recommend Till There Was You. This book was sweet and funny and full of feelings. I loved the secondary characters, and the musical references, and I even loved that Lexi lived in a “classic six” in NYC. This is a spectacular debut and I can’t wait to read more from Hameroff in the future.




I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley

Till There Was You was a delightfully delicious story of second chance love.

Lexi and Jake spend a fantastic weekend together. They reconnect after some time has passed and the spark is still there. But can they reconcile their lives and future goals with each other's?

I loved the character development, I loved the steamy scenes, I loved the humour. I devoured it in one sitting and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy.

Student chef Lexi and musician Jake meet at a bar and have a fantastic weekend right before he hits it big and disappears from her life until one day over a year later he suddenly appears at her door. Can she trust him or is he back to use her? Read this wonderful story to find out.

Within the first 20 pages of TILL THERE WAS YOU by Lindsay Hameroff, I knew I’d enjoy this read! A sweet rom-com about a chef and a musician. Only the musician disappears after an intense weekend together. I enjoyed how this didn’t focus on the romance, but the friendship and other connections (family). There was more that I loved: Jewish rep, blueberry pancakes, the nostalgia (pop culture references/Golden Girls) and NYC setting. I adored it so much that I’m planning to get a physical copy of the book!

I received an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I loved the first 1/4 of this book, it was fun and romantic. The rest of the book was a struggle that I wish I gave up on sooner. The pacing was so odd and the entire middle of the book was incredibly slow. The occasional entertaining moment mixed in with a whole bunch of predictable moments. Plus I ended up strongly disliking the guy.

In Brief
Pairing food and music, Till There Was You had the makings for a fun, sweet, and mature romance, but it missed the mark with an overall lack of communication and a naive female lead. Lexi, a culinary student trying to make her late mother proud, and Jake, a rising musician, meet by chance in a bar, but, after a weekend together, Jake leaves to record his demo in LA, and Lexi never really hears from him again. Until his hit song that rockets him to fame turns out to be about the blueberry pancakes she made him. Eventually, he does walk back into her life, essentially wanting to pick up where they left off, but now Lexi is working her way up the kitchen ladder, and Jake’s new lifestyle threatens to tip over her professional and personal lives. Till There Was You had strong promise, offering an excellent and sweet start to both the book and the romance. But, by the second half, Lexi’s character begins to fall apart, and she never really turns to the friends who could really help her out despite one of them being perfectly poised to do just that. As she and Jake deal with his rising star and the demands that come with that lifestyle, Lexi proves herself to be naive and Jake proves he could be annoyingly mopey and sometimes little more than a puppy when it came to her. Unfortunately, where the standout characters were Lexi’s friends, this failed to offer a satisfactory romance, though Lexi’s culinary career shone.

Extended Thoughts
It’s no secret I adore books with food. It was the pancakes on the cover that did it for me, and only later did I realize Till There Was You is a romance between a young chef and a musician with a rising star. Having lived most of my life in LA County, and living several years in an area where people are constantly trying to break into the entertainment industry and where filming happens now and then (there’s currently what looks like a filming site less than a block from where I live and it’s definitely disruptive), I enjoy books with celebrities once in a while. Till There was You is set in New York City, which was a nice change of pace for me. I enjoyed all the food and Lexi’s journey to becoming a chef, but the romance itself suffered from communication break downs and a naive female lead.

After losing her mother, Lexi is determined to get her culinary degree and work her way up to become an executive chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant. But, one night, she walks into a dive bar and strikes up a conversation with a young man, who turns out to be a talented musician about to head to LA to record a demo. After spending a weekend together, Lexi wishes Jake well, and is later surprised to see him rocket to fame with a song about her blueberry pancakes. But Jake never really gets in touch with her again. As time passes, Lexi graduates culinary school and starts her slow climb, entering a cutthroat kitchen that doesn’t allow her to innovate and truly showcase her skills. And then Jake walks back into her life and they start a slow dance around each other, Jake wanting more than anything for another shot and Lexi warily letting him back in her life, creating havoc in her personal and professional life.

As a romance, the focus is on the characters. Told from Lexi’s point of view, the reader is given a deep dive into what she feels and thinks, which should be particularly interesting once she figures out Jake’s hit song is about her literal pancakes. Unfortunately, after a strong start, I was not a fan of Lexi. I liked her at the beginning, and I enjoyed her culinary journey, but, by the second half when Jake is back in her life, her naivety just tasted sour in my mouth. She had such a good head on her shoulders during the first half. I did like the commentary on what life might be like when one is dating a huge celebrity, but she never really stopped to consider what her life would be like and the sacrifices she might have to make or the sacrifices she’d have to ask him to make. Despite being in her mid-twenties, she felt much younger and always seemed to expect Jake to either be there for her or understand everything she was going through, and completely ignored everything he was going through.

I really have to hand it to Jake; he really tried when he was given the opportunity to. Of course, he could have done more, but I thought he did a decent job of balancing Lexi and his career. I liked him. He seemed like a decent sort of guy, and that shone through now and then throughout the novel. But things broke down between him and Lexi because of his lack of communication. During the first half, he never really tried to reach out and prove to Lexi she was important to him, so I understood her misgivings and demands, but he did try as much as he could later on. Again, thanks to Lexi’s naivety and inability to think about someone other than herself, she made things harder on the both of them than they had to be. I liked Jake better than Lexi, but he also tended to be annoyingly mopey and sometimes came off as more of a lost puppy, so I was really torn by the end.

The part that did shine for me, though, was Lexi’s friends, especially Chloe. She’s in PR and really did her best to do damage control and take care of Lexi, but it was also just her job that was a lot of fun. Being in PR, the reader gets a glimpse into her life and career, and a part of it was just really fun as she had to deal with one of her clients. I adored her. She was smart and fast, but I wish she’d done more to help Lexi prepare for a new life as the girlfriend of a popular musician. Ali was a bit forgettable as she was little more than just a friend (though she did have quite a bad streak with dates), but, together, the two of them kept me entertained and I really liked when they were on page.

Till There Was You started off really strong. I loved the point where Lexi and Jake met. It was a very sweet, albeit brief romance. I also appreciated the focus on Lexi’s career. I liked how working in a kitchen didn’t turn out to be what she expected, but she powered through it the best she could. But, once Lexi and Jake reconnected, the story fell apart for me. Lexi suddenly switched from having a good head on her shoulders to being annoyingly naive even though her friend probably could have, and should have, helped her navigate the celebrity lifestyle. Jake was fun and sweet, but things went down hill with their communication problems and his mopiness. The second half was littered with instances where they could not get on the same page, could not communicate, and could not mature to become adults who knew how to compromise and have discussions. If it weren’t for Lexi’s friends, I don’t think this book would have ended well, and, honestly, they saved the story for me when Lexi and Jake couldn’t but should have.

As a book about food, I really enjoyed this one. The food shone for me, and, even though I don’t like blueberries, I really loved the idea of Lexi’s blueberry pancakes being so heavenly. I also appreciated her journey throughout the book, and how she tried so hard to make her late mother proud of her. Unfortunately, the romance left a lot to be desired. There was far too much miscommunication and overall lack of conversation. I also was not a big fan of Lexi and Jake, but I thought Jake’s celebrity life and all the trials that come with that to be well-described and plausible. Overall, though, this had too many problems for me to truly enjoy.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Quick Summary: A rock star romance

My Review: Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff is a standalone romantic fiction novel.

About the Book: After a chance encounter, Lexi and Jake experienced one of those rare moments in time when you unexpectedly find your soulmate. Unfortunately, celebrity, the pressures of life and work, and insecurities separated them. When they are given a second chance at being together, they grab on with both hands. No one ever said the road to true love would be easy, however. Will it take a great loss in order for them to find their way back to their forever love?

My Final Say: This novel gets a hidden gem rating. It was sigh worthy. I confess that I dropped a few tears while I read. Lexi and Jake were so sweet and so innocent. I couldn't help cheering for them. In my opinion, the story had tones of The Happily Ever After Playlist (which just so happens to be one of my absolute favorite romances of all time). I loved it.

Other: Readers who enjoy emotional pieces and/or stories with second-third chances will adore this book.

I would love to hear this via an audiobook. It would be incredible!

Rating: 4.75/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: NA to A
Status/Level: 🍬💞💎
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Favorites Shelf: Yes

Sincere appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin), and to NetGalley. Thank you for granting access to this title in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful for the opportunity.

I started out loving this book with the instant attraction between Jake and Lexi, their amazing weekend together, and him making up a cute song about her blueberry pancakes. But then he goes to LA to record his demo promising to keep in touch... and then totally ghosts her for a year. To make things worse, that cute little song he wrote for her becomes a number one single!! After a year he shows back up on her doorstep, all apologies and I never forgot yous with a really lame explanation of why. I just couldn't feel the same about their second chance and it felt like it just dragged on after that.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for the advance copy of this book. The opinions in this review are my own and given voluntarily.

It’s a cute and sweet story about a couple that meets right before they go off and begin their adult lives and adventures on opposite sides of the country, but never forget the weekend they spent together… and the blueberry pancakes she made for him (he even writes a hit song about them and her).

It’s a fun read and a good debut - a solid 4-star. A new rockstar and a struggling chef - a very different story than most out there! If you’re looking for something quick and cute to read, this would be a good one. It’s sweet but nothing too exciting.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin), and this is my honest feedback.