After suffering the loss of her mother as a teen, Lexi was left to process her feelings on her own. Her mom’s love for her cooking inspired her career goals of one day becoming a chef and opening up her own restaurant. When she graduates from culinary arts school, she meets Jake at a bar. They quickly hit it off and spend the weekend together, but all good things must come to an end and for Lexi and Jake, things abruptly ended when Jake found fame.

There are parts of this book that I could enjoy - Lexi’s besties being supportive and great, Leo, and the very real criticism of what being a woman in the culinary world is like. HOWEVERRR, there were other parts that were just hard to read through - Lexi’s obsession with opening her own restaurant (it felt like it was something she only wanted to check off her list because it made her mom happy), Jake’s holier-than-thou vibe that gave me the ick, and Vinny.

If you’re looking for a quick read that has an instalove trope, this is for you. It’s enjoyable enough that you can read it, but not a must-drop-your-current-TBR-list-and-pick-up-instead vibe.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

A sweet (get it??) enough romcom but it ultimately left my dissatisfied. I’m not huge on celebrity romances, and while that wasn’t the main focus it mostly felt juvenile and not like a book meant for me specifically.

This was beyond good. Great if I must say. I can’t wait to rave about this to everyone. If you are looking for a good book, pick this up.

I enjoyed this cute, mostly lighthearted romance featuring Lexi and Jake who meet as they are on the cusp of significant career advancements. They spend an amazing, whirlwind weekend together. I loved seeing this couple experiencing the best weekend of their lives.

“This thing between us. It’s been perfect. And maybe that’s all it was ever meant to be. One brief, perfect affair that we’ll remember fondly when we’re old and gray.”

Lexi and Jake are reunited over a year later. Jake’s music career has taken off and Lexi is working in a top NYC restaurant. They face the realities of their very different lifestyles and past baggage. Most importantly, both Lexi and Jake experience personal growth.

In addition to Lexi and Jake, there’s a wonderful group of side characters. I really liked them all, especially Lexi’s best friends and Jake’s mom.

While I’m not a fan of the third act break up, I enjoyed everything after this one. If you are a fan of over the top grand gestures, this ending is for you. I was cheering for them and smiling throughout.

✨ PRINCEMAN REVIEW ✨

📝 Lexi is a culinary student and wants to become an executive chef at a Michelin Star Restaurant. In order for her to meet these dreams, she's sworn off dating. Until she meets Jake Taylor. Jake is a rising musician. After wooing Lexi one night, he writes a hit song about their time together. His hit song has everyone wondering about 'WHO IS THIS GIRL.?" When Jake arrives at Lexi's doorstep, things quickly heat back up, along with the paparazzi. Can these two make things work? Or, is being in the spotlight a little too much for Lexi?

What I 🤍:
🎤 Celebrity Romance
🧑‍🍳 Chef X Musician
2️⃣ Second Chance Romance
🥞 Foodie Scene
🚕 New York Setting
💞 Whirlwind Romance

What a fun story! It was exactly the type of romance I'd want to read about! These two had the most adorable banter. It was a near perfect read for me except for the third act breakup. I just felt it was unnecessary to the story, and didn't add more to the plot.

Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff

Does she choose the flame in her heart, or the heat of being an executive chef?

This little debut novel packed a big punch; the way that the FMC has a daunting choice to make when she’s on the cusp of finally realizing her dreams, really added the gravitas to this whirlwind weekend romance. Lindsay is expected to have another book out as early as February next year, and I’m so excited to see what she cooks up next.

Culinary student Lexi Berman, 24, has one goal: to make her late mother proud by becoming an executive chef in a Michelin-star restaurant. And she isn’t going to let anything–or anyone–get in the way. But when she meets Jake Taylor, a dive bar musician who charms her with show tunes, she makes a rare exception to her no-dating rule. After a steamy weekend together, Jake leaves for L.A. to record his demo, and Lexi never expects to see him again. And she definitely doesn’t expect him to become an overnight celebrity, with a breakout single that’s almost certainly about her famous blueberry pancake recipe.

As Jake’s star rises and the world speculates about the subject of his song, Lexi keeps the affair to herself. After all, she’s finally found her footing at her new restaurant job, and even has a prospective romance with her coworker. But when a distraught Jake turns up on her doorstep late one night, her carefully-laid plans are thrown for a loop. Though she and Jake try to be friends, things between them soon reheat faster than a bowl of Lexi's matzah ball soup. But a relationship with Jake means risking her face in tabloids, withstanding cruel internet comments, and worst of all, jeopardizing her career. As Jake’s upcoming tour approaches, and rumors swirl about him and another pop star, Lexi has to decide if holding onto her meticulously-planned future is worth walking away from what could be the perfect recipe for love.

Set both in the chaos of fame and the high stakes world of New York City restaurants, this novel sprinkles in a second chance at love and a dollop of celebrity drama to create a romantic romp that will make even the most jaded reader smile.

I want to start by saying that this was such a cute romance! I am honestly very shocked by how much I enjoyed this book. Lexi and Jake had such great chemistry and their romance was literally the cutest thing ever. It was also the perfect mix of sweet & spicy.

I loved the tropes throughout this book. We get a little bit of insta-love, some friends-to-lovers action, celebrity romance, and a second chance romance.

The only thing that I wish this book had was Jake's POV. I feel like adding his POV could have given us more insight into who he is and would have allowed me to grow a better connection to his character.

For this to be a debut novel, it exceeded my expectations! The humor was great, it was sweet yet spicy, and just an all-around great contemporary romance. I would definitely read a book by Lindsay Hameroff again!

This was so cute!! I love second chance romances and this was exactly what I was hoping for. Lexi and Jake’s relationship was so cute and when his career takes off, Lexi has to decide if she can handle everything that comes with it. Super cute!!

A little insta lovey for me. But overall entertaining. I would have loved a little more character development.

This was a great book. I connected with the characters. I felt engrossed with the plot. I would read another book by this author.

Very cute read. I love celebrity culture and this one with the main character becoming a big pop star lead to an interesting twist to that. I thought they were a very cute couple and seemed to have a good written connection despite the small stretches of time they are actually together.

This one was not for me. Dnf.
(I don't know what else to say, since the review requires 100 characters at the very least, this part is mostly filler).

I picked up this book solely because I went to school to be a chef and it intrigued me if this would be a romcom I would get into and love.
There was many parts I adored and loved and others I did a scrunching nose face at.
The plot had a lot of promise and overall was okay. The characters development was slow paced and some of the characters were down right ick.

So, without spoilers: did I enjoy the story? Mostly. Would I recommend it for avid romcom lovers no. It didn’t read like a Rom-Com to me. More Dramatic, second chance love story.

An excellent romance story. I enjoyed the culinary aspects and the popstar world.

Read if you like:
-second chance romance
-celebrities
-insta-love

excellent book. was so excited to receive this ARC. it became one of my top favorite reads. cannot wait to read more from this author.

I love how Lexi and Jake meet, and I love how the conspire between them later. The premise and setting is pretty original in the romance world, and not your typical meet-cute, and the way they keep bumping into each other was fun. I thought it made for a more exciting story than your typical rom-com.

Till There Was You
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Lindsay Hameroff

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Culinary student Lexi Berman, 24, has one goal: to make her late mother proud by becoming an executive chef in a Michelin-star restaurant. And she isn’t going to let anything–or anyone–get in the way. But when she meets Jake Taylor, a dive bar musician who charms her with show tunes, she makes a rare exception to her no-dating rule. After a steamy weekend together, Jake leaves for L.A. to record his demo, and Lexi never expects to see him again. And she definitely doesn’t expect him to become an overnight celebrity, with a breakout single that’s almost certainly about her famous blueberry pancake recipe.

As Jake’s star rises and the world speculates about the subject of his song, Lexi keeps the affair to herself. After all, she’s finally found her footing at her new restaurant job, and even has a prospective romance with her coworker. But when a distraught Jake turns up on her doorstep late one night, her carefully-laid plans are thrown for a loop. Though she and Jake try to be friends, things between them soon reheat faster than a bowl of Lexi's matzah ball soup. But a relationship with Jake means risking her face in tabloids, withstanding cruel internet comments, and worst of all, jeopardizing her career. As Jake’s upcoming tour approaches, and rumors swirl about him and another pop star, Lexi has to decide if holding onto her meticulously-planned future is worth walking away from what could be the perfect recipe for love.

My Thoughts: This was a cute, fun romcom that I enjoyed very much. Lexi is a culinary student working at her first restaurant job with one goal, to become an executive chef in a Michelin-star restaurant to make her mother proud, who has passed. She is out one night for a drink and meets Jake Taylor, a dive bar musician, they hit it off right away. They spend a steamy, magical weekend together. Jake leaves to make his demo and becomes an overnight celebrity, with a song about her. Jake then shows up at her doorstep, at first they begin friendship but rather quickly, things steam up again. She has to be able to handle the pressure of dating a celebrity without losing her footing at her restaurant. Will she be able to balance both? Or can she walk away from her career or the love of her life? This follows the tropes of celebrity romance, friends to lovers, second chance romance, and insta-love. There is a third-act breakup, but I think for this novel, it was necessary and enriched the storyline.

This is narrated by Lexi in her POV. Lexi is independent, strong, but needs more confidence in her cooking abilities. Jake is a brilliant song writer that needs a break from a producer, that ends becoming an overnight celebrity sensation. While I would like to have had a deeper dive into the characters, I think we got good character development, even on a surface level, that had witty banter, chemistry, and were intriguing. Lexi’s character did have a good amount of personal growth throughout the story. The author’s writing style was closed door, steamy, heartfelt, and creative. The characters were built up (I would have like to seen a deeper character enrichment) and the plot was developed with the right flow, the pacing was a little slow. The supporting characters of Ali, Chloe, and Mia were fantastic and really elevated the story to another level. There is a tad bit of belief suspension required, but it is well worth it.

For a debut novel, this was stellar and I cannot wait to see what else this author does. This sweet romcom will melt your heart. While this read a little on the New Adult / Young Adult spectrum, more geared towards readers in their twenties, I still enjoyed it. The only cons for me is I would loved to have seen Jake’s POV mixed in and a deeper dive of the characters. I love the message that the author was conveying, you can balance your career and love life and sometimes your dream changes. This was a great debut novel that I would recommend to other readers.

As a massive Harry Styles fan, this book made my heart sing because it feels like a novel version of the song "Carolina." I mean, two people hook up and then he releases a chart-topping song about her? LOVE. I especially recommend this to people who love books about celebrities dating real people.
This one almost had an origin story-esque spin.
This book was loaded with fun pop culture references and really great detail work, especially in the food! We all know I'm a sucker for books with lots of foodie details, and this one really nailed it for me.
I've seen some criticism that this book felt a little too insta-lovey and that the conflict felt repetitive. While I'd somewhat agree, it didn't hamper my reading experience.

Till There Was You is Lindsay Hameroff's debut novel and it was a cute one. I really enjoyed the plot and to see how everything turned out between Lexi and Jake. They are both dealing with their own demons but manage to come together. A+ to Lindsay for a great start.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Lindsay Hameroff for the e-ARC of this book. This review is my own opinion.

Sometimes I finish a book I got from NetGalley and ask myself why I thought I’d like the book. For this one, I’m thinking it was the debut author description that snagged my attention.

Sadly, this one fell pretty flat for me. I mean, I did finish it. But it took me over a month. And when I dragged my feet on writing the review and couldn’t remember if I had actually finished, it took more than a quick skim of the last several chapters to refresh my memory.

While the writing in Till There Was You is decent, what you’ll find story-wise is filled with cliche:
➤ The bar meet-cute
➤ The rock-star hero who ghosts the heroine, then goes back to her when the celebrity lifestyle becomes too much for him
➤ The heartwarming visit to the hero’s home town
➤ The evil manager who manipulates the hero behind his back and continually orchestrates drama
➤ And the worst of all…the BIG other-woman-drama-caused misunderstanding that results in a third-act breakup

At this point, I think I’m mostly just a jaded reader. I keep having the thought that there’s no new stories being told, I’ve read them all. Nine times out of ten I can tell you what’s going to happen two chapters before it happens. And that was very much the case with this story. I may be willing to read this author’s next book, but I’ll definitely cut out much sooner if the story doesn’t pull me in and keep my attention.

* thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review