Loved everything about this! I had such an enjoyable time reading. Celebrity & chef, second chance romance—so cute and a little cheesy. Exactly the vibe I was looking for. The characters were so genuine and heartwarming, and I loved her relationship with her friends. The little Jewish food references were also a fun bonus. I definitely want blueberry pancakes now!

Book 26 of 2024 - ✅! Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and Lindsay Hammerof for an ARC of Till There Was You, by Lindsay Hammerof.

As I continue to my quest to get to 80% review rate on NetGalley (I was so close, then I request and was accepted to read 4 more books), Till There Was You was one of the ones up next on my list. This cute rom-com mostly takes place in the ultimate rom-com city: New York. Alexa “Lexi” Berman - budding chef - meet Jake Taylor: star on the rise, over karaoke. They spend a magical weekend together, Lexi becomes Jake’s muse, and then…poof, Jake is gone. After a year of no contact, Jake tried to make his way back into Lexi’s life, though he’s hit superstardom as one of the biggest names in pop. Through the highs and lows of both of their careers, they come back to each other in the end.

This was a quick read, and as other reviewers have pointed out - a bit reminiscent of The Idea of You (never read the book, but I enjoyed the movie). There are some steamy-scenes, but not as many as in other books I’ve read, and I suppose not as many as I was expecting. I was also hoping that we’d learn more about what Lexi was going to do toward the end of the book as her work situation changed, and while this is a romance and it’s very much the center of the book, I thought her work plans could have been added in a sentence or two to further flesh out her character’s ending. As far as rep goes, Lexi, the FMC, is Jewish, her best friend is a Lesbian and there’s diversity in the additional characters we meet.

3/5 ⭐️ overall, and 2 🌶️ - I would read Hameroff’s future books, and recommend this one to someone looking for a light romance. 🥞 🎤 🫐 #NetGalley #TillThereWasYou

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff!

This was cute! I really enjoyed the characters and the romance! This was my first story by Hameroff and I'm excited to see what she writes next!

4 stars! I will ALWAYS be a second chance girl!! Loved the plot and the characters were enjoyable! This was a super light and fluffy book and it was really good!

I try really really hard but I’m just not a fan of instalove or celebrity crush. But in this debut’s defense, it was still a cute and light hearted romance

The book is well written! But it took me several attempts to really get into. Lexi and Jake were cute; however, something was lacking for me to feel the real connection with them. It was a struggle to complete this book. There were times in the book that I thought everything was going to really start taking off, but I never got the full grab your attention, can't put this down feeling.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this arc.

Thank you Netgalley and Lindsay Hameroff for my free ARC of Till There Was You. It is a light-hearted, new adult, contemporary romance centered around Lexi, a culinary student with dreams of becoming a renowned chef, and Jake, a musician on the brink of fame. After a whirlwind weekend together, Jake leaves for Los Angeles to pursue his music career, leaving Lexi behind. A year later, with Jake now a famous musician, they reconnect and try to navigate a second chance at love amidst the challenges of fame, career ambitions, and personal growth.

It was definitely a bit insta-love at first; for my liking, but I do always enjoy a second chance romance trope. This was definitely a low-stakes read.

PS Jake is a total heartthrob.

Jake and Lexi were perfection!
While they did have some miscommunication, it was easily resolved.
I really enjoyed this book!!

This book is right up my alley as a fame-meets-regular-person romance. While at times the main character, Lexi Berman seems young, she is young and grows throughout the book. "Till There Was You" delivers something a story that recognizes her professional aspirations as well as her romantic ones.

The novel's strength lies in its commitment to Lexi's career aspirations. Her focus on becoming an executive chef never takes a backseat to the romance, and her decisions feel authentic to someone trying to establish themselves in a demanding industry. While the premise might be unlikely, Lexi's reactions and challenges remain grounded and relatable.

Hameroff's pacing makes this book hard to put down, striking a solid balance between the romance and professional storylines. It's an engaging read that doesn't sacrifice character development for drama, even when dealing with tabloids and celebrity gossip.

I am gonna start off this review by saying that I really enjoyed this book and oh boy does it have drama drama drama..
Main characters: Lexi and Jack. Lexi is working on being a chef and Jack is a drive bar musician turned famous and a popular song of his sounds very familiar to Lexie, is this song made from her encounter with him? Did he create a song for her?!?!?!
This is a sweet Insta-love type book. These 2 are adorable with each other but so many things happen that it keeps pushing them away from each other, just wait til you read all the drama.
I am not a fan of Lexi and her friends' conversations they are kinda immature and annoying but its all part of the story I guess. These characters are kinda young and this story def shows you that in so many aspects. I love how Lexi is connected to her family and that plays an important part in her life and life choices, and I love how she loves to cook and make people feel good with her food.
Now onto Jake, he is a bit more mature. He also has his immature actions, which are a bit funny. He is such a great guy and tries his best to do the right thing but he has a bit of anxiety I believe.
Still its a good book and I really enjoyed reading it.

This was an easy and cute read. Definitely predictable. I found myself not really reaching for it because it was a little cliche, but I still devoured it!

The characters felt cutesy and the storyline felt young and teenage dream like. Another one of those that you wish would happen to you.

Thanks so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.

2.5 Stars

I’ve been looking for a good foodie romance for a while and I was hoping this would be it. Unfortunately, I don’t know if I was the right demographic for it. It read a little young, and there’s a mix of insta-love and second chance romance, neither of which I’m a huge fan of. However, I can’t deny the chemistry that Lexi and Jake had and I would definitely read something by this author in the future. In the right hands, this is a five-star book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lindsay Hameroff for the opportunity to arc read this book!

It was a very cute palette cleanser but not necessarily one that will stick in my head for months to come. Overall, a fun time!

I love a foodie romance, and Till There Was You satisfied my every craving!

Lexi is a culinary student hoping to work in a Michelin star restaurant, when she ends up meeting Jake, after swearing off dating for good. I was interested to see how their relationship that started as a weekend of fun would turn out.

*many thanks to SMP Romance and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

[arc review]
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Till There Was You releases February 20, 2024

3.5

<i>“When I’m with you, I feel like who I am is enough.”</I>

After spending four years getting a college degree, Lexi is now pursuing her dream and attending culinary school.
A night out to drink with her friends at a bar leads to meeting a musician named Jake, and they end up spending the entire weekend together before he heads to LA to record his demo album.

What starts out as an all-in, soulmate connection between two strangers, soon becomes a distant memory once Jake gets his big break, becomes famous, and doesn’t reach out to Lexi again until fifteen months later when he shows up unannounced on her doorstep.

Can Lexi and Jake find the time to balance their demanding careers in order to make a relationship work with the person that makes them feel whole? Or will it be too much for them to handle?

Finally, a culinary romance that actually gets the culinary part right! I could’ve done without the OW drama, but it made sense for the story and the celebrity plotline.

I really hope Chloe and Mia get a book of their own!!

While I did enjoy this for the most part, it ended up feeling very middle of the road for me. In the end, it was all just perfectly fine. It was a quick read, but I often struggled to keep paying attention, because it just felt so average. I thought the romance, which was VERY instalove, lacked depth, even towards the end, and instead there was just a load of drama that I wasn't super interested in. I liked our main character and the way she spoke about her passion for cooking and her career, and the romance was very sweet initially, but in the end I wasn't the hugest fan of the romance.

Lexi and Jake hit it off immediately and once his music career took off, he ghosted her. Now he's back on her doorstep with a wounded puppy expression and wants her (and her pancakes) back.
I was really suckered into reading this by a friend and the adorable cover. Unfortunately, it just really missed the mark for me. I didn't connect with the characters or their problems, despite the fact that I adore a good celebrity romance and am generally such a sucker for books involving a good love of food.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Lindsay Hameroff wrote a compelling love story between two strangers who quickly become lovers. I loved Lexi and Jake's story and how sometimes love gives you second chances. This is the perfect fall weekend roadtrip book. I am excited to read more by Lindsay in the future.

Till There Was You has an absolutely adorable cover and a premise that reeled me in like catnip, but the plot felt a little flat and the characters read extremely young. Lexi and Jake have a weekend together where they build up this insane chemistry before Jake left to pursue his musical dreams. When they are reunited, it felt like the situation was forced. I was not a fan of their romance or the conflict in this novel.