Til There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff

Release Date: February 20, 2024

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lexi is a hard-working culinary student who has sworn off dating so she can work towards her dream of becoming an executive chef. That is until she meets Jake, a dreamy dive bar musician, who swoons her with show-tunes. After spending an entire weekend together, filled with romance and lots of home-made blueberry pancakes, Jake leaves for LA to record a demo album. Lexi assumes she will never hear from him again and returns to focus on her own dreams. Little does she know that Jake will become an overnight success after recording a song about blueberry pancakes. Several months later Jake returns to find Lexi, to continue what they had previously started. But how can a normal person fit into the life of a rockstar? Lexi isn't so sure she wants to give up her dreams for some guy, even if she still has feelings for him.

Til There Was You was a cute, quick read! I really enjoyed the character development and friendships within it. It even had me wishing I had besties like Chloe and Ali in my own friend circle. And Jake will definitely be making it on my list of favorite book boyfriends! Tropes included insta-love, meet cute, second chance romance and celebrity drama!

thank you NetGalley for the ARC

the things I liked:
that cover!!! SO gorgeous and would look amazing on any bookshelf. their career choices were actually pretty unique for a romcom which I appreciated. the foodie elements was also really nice to read about.

the things I didn't like:
the pacing was extremely off. this is a insta lust turned insta love trope. i didn't expect them to already hook up at 9% and 11% with a sweet cover like this lol. then by the time it was 27%, it was their first fight already. you two don't even know each other's last name so why is Lexi so "hurt" by him? Unfortunately, I didn't feel any connection to the characters or have any desire to root for them. Us as the readers don't have time to root for them before they get into a relationship with each other that's how quick it is.

overall, this story was entertaining but not what I was expecting.

Though I liked the premise, unfortunately it took me a long time to get through this romance. I liked the idea of Lexi and Jake more than the execution, probably because the story leaned so heavily on miscommunication in a way that rang false for a couple of supposed adults. It's as if the author had to paint over the fact that there really wasn't much of a conflict--not enough for an entire novel. Also, it didn't help that the characters, especially Jake, kept reacting in overused ways: shadows or clouds pass over Jake's face; when he's happy his eyes have their own personal LED lamps and light up. Lexi feels "something" twist or shift or whatever inside her. Add in a two-dimensional villain, and nothing really quite meshed, though there were some good lines, and some promising side characters, making me feel that this author has promise.

4.5 stars. What a delight!

This book was so unexpectedly good - I couldn’t put it down and read it in 3 days!

I’m a sucker for any romance book featuring a musician and/or set in NYC, and this book has both. It’s an intriguing story about an aspiring chef (Lexi) who crosses paths with an up-and-coming musician (Jake), and what happens with their friendship/relationship as time goes on.

Their whirlwind romance is accented by quirky side characters (Ali was my favorite, although Chad was so funny he was up there too). It was romantic but also emotional and had depth as Lexi and Jake each navigated their own personal growth.

Highly recommend it! 💗 I can totally see this as a movie too.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. It was just what I needed for my mood. If you love a famous/normal person story I think you'll love this one. It was the perfect blend of sweet rom/com with enough angst to it to not be boring. My only complaint is that I didn't get the pancake recipe!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cute romantic comedy! It had so many charming and funny moments, but also deep and heartfelt ones. Highly recommend for a quick and cozy read. I thought the characters could use a little more development, but overall fun debut from the author!

Til There Was You is cute, but not deep. The characters are likable, but I never felt like I totally knew either of the main characters. “Misunderstandings” throughout the book (that seemed to be pretty easily resolvable) served as the main source of conflict. It was hard to watch them just not communicate- there wasn’t enough actual conflict. Also there is a two dimensional villain which I hate. Other than that, it was a fun book- the secondary characters were more interesting to me than the primary ones, and there was a good amount of humor. I would try this author again! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

If you need to turn off your brain and cleanse your palate then I highly recommend this one. It’s cheesy and predictable but in the best way possible.

I love this book! It was adorable and also made me want to become a chef and move to nyc. Love it and I can’t wait for the next book by the author.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Lindsay did a wonderful job of bringing to life the love story of Lexi and Jake. There were so many moments where I caught myself smiling so big with the conversations and moments between the two. I loved the mix between her as a baker and him as a pop artist. I am so happy I had a chance to read this debut novel. I cannot wait for it to be released, so I can grab a physical copy for my bookshelf. I look forward to reading other books Lindsay will write.

If you’re looking for a very very fluffy book, this is it.

📖 The Details:
Til There was You by Lindsay Hameroff

⏱️Quick Summary:
Lexi has her future planned out - finish culinary school, get a job at a restaurant, and become an executive chef - none of which includes dating. Then she meets and spends an amazing weekend with Jake Taylor, and plans change.

💁🏻‍♀️ My Take:
This was ok. It was predictable and basic, but entertaining and sweet. I couldn’t really relate to the characters or their relationships but it kept my attention and I was happy with how it all turned out. Unique plot, cute dialogue, well written.

Would recommend as a palate cleanser.

This book was cute overall, although a bit surface level for me. However, I was quite surprised and disheartened to immediately notice a scene was directly PLAGIARIZED. The scene where Lexi meets Jake at the Pierre is copied, almost word for word in some parts, from the same scene in The Idea of You by Robbine Lee. This was a book released by the same publishing house, so I can't fathom how it got past the editors. I truly hope this scene is removed before the book's February release.

This book is *chef's kiss* (pun intended).
Heading into this book, I was unsure since I'm not usually crazy about celebrity romances or second-chance romances, but this may have convinced me to change my stance! I have read an ungodly amount of romance books, and I have to say, this is the first book where their love felt realistic. It had hardships and insecurities and those little bumbling mistakes you make when you fall in love, coupled with the intense giddiness and butterflies that come with it. I love that no matter how much time went by, there was always a little invisible string tying them together. One of the biggest parts I appreciated that this book highlights is the reality of being a young adult and spending so much time working towards a dream to realize that it may not be the right fit for you after all and having to pivot. This book felt just as much about the character's individual growth as it was about them falling (and staying) in love. I loved getting to experience their love and the process of becoming each other's home. However, this is a four-star read for me rather than a five-star because the ending felt a little rushed. I would love a few more chapters or even an epilogue about what life looked like for them a few months into the future- I wasn't ready to say goodbye to them! I will be recommending this to all my book friends, and I look forward to seeing more work from Lindsay in the future!

I was sold reading the blurb for this one, however the execution of it fell flat for me. Lexi and Jakes relationship was very insta-love. They spend a weekend together and then don’t talk for over a year and then when they reunite, Lexi immediately offers to let him move in with her. It just seemed super unrealistic and at times corny. I lost interest the last half of this book and the third act conflict was super predictable and lame. This one just wasn’t for me.

A charming romance with vibrant voice and charming characters. I felt like both Lexi and Jake were believable characters and from their first date, I was rooting for them! An adorable cover, too.

So so cute! i really loved this book.
Lexi, an aspiring chef, and Jake, an aspiring musician, fall in love over achieving their dreams and blueberry pancakes. A one-night stand turned into a weekend leaving them chasing the dream of a career or relationship.

i loved that the fmc grew outside of the relationship. i loved that the story line was not just about overcoming the ultimatum of their career of their relationship. I'm not the biggest fan of second chance romance but this one really took my heart. Lexi and Jake's chemistry was just perfect. It had me rooting for Jake to get the girl but also Lexi fall into the person she was meant to be.

my heart ached for Lexi when she talked about her parents. I could feel her emotional turmoil and understood her feelings of living the life her mom wanted for her.
Seamless and quick read.

Oh man. I did not like this. I honestly didn’t think a romance about a rock star and a chef could be boring, and yet! So many people kept saying rock stars can’t have relationships! Chefs can’t have relationships! That was the main issue was that everyone kept saying they were never going to work out. It felt so silly!

A lot of things happened off page that I was like “hey I want to read more about that.” It just fell flat for me.

till there was you did not disappoint. this book was about a beautiful but hard relationship between a chef and a overnight hit sensation musician.

i connected to lexi a lot. she was a very relatable character and i found myself being able to understand her more as my relationship with my father is the same.

i like how this book shed light on how quickly one can rise to fame and the difficulties it can bring to relationships, because it's not going to always be easy. but i loved how much they loved each other. what they needed was better communication and to figure out what they wanted for their careers before they could get back together, which is understandable.

overall i really enjoyed this book as i'm an avid cooking show watcher and huge music fan, so thank you netgalley and st. martin's griffin for this arc in exchange for an honest review <3

Why was this actually such a good and cute read?!?! Both of the main characters were very charming and their meet cute has become one of my all time favs now. The chemistry kept me flipping the page and not wanting to stop reading which is why I know this is a 5 star book. It didn’t have anything new or groundbreaking but it still teleported me to another world which all I have asked from a book. While there some decisions that made me annoyed, it didn’t affect my feelings after closing the book. Would recommend for anyone looking for a cute romcom with celebrity love interest, lots of cooking and scenes that WILL make you giggle.

Well this was a wonderful little read!

So many things to love about this book: great pacing, awesome characters, second chance romance. The romance was sweet and swoony. My only complaint was the end resolution, it felt a bit quick to me but other than that, it was great!