it was a cute quick romance but i wish it was more of a slow burn than insta love for jake and lexi. i enjoyed the chef aspect of the book because i haven’t read a lot of romance books with a chef so i thought that was fun and different for me! i felt the love between them fell a little flat at times and could have been developed more for being insta love. overall, it’s a cute fun fast romance read that i enjoyed.

thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Till There Was You follows Lexi Berman, a young woman with aspirations of becoming an executive chef at a Michelin-star restaurant. Lexi does not date. However, when Jake, a charming musician in a dive bar catches her attention, they spend a whirlwind weekend together before going their separate ways. Lexi graduates culinary school and gets a job in a fancy New York restaurant while Jake goes to LA to start his music career. Lexi does not expect to see Jake again, especially after he becomes an overnight music sensation. When he shows up unannounced at her door months later though, everything changes. Till There Was You is Lindsay Hammeroff’s first novel.

If I were to describe Till There Was You with one word, it would be charming. This is a cute romance that references a lot of feel-good things. Food, music, musicals… blueberry pancakes. Reading this book felt a little like the literary equivalent of a warm hug. The writing is easy to get into and holds your attention. Truthfully, if I hadn’t known Till There Was You was Hammeroff’s first novel, I wouldn’t have guessed it. The story fits together in a way that makes the plot progress quickly and smoothly, and the characters are well fleshed out and feel three-dimensional in ways that not all first novels pull off.

This is a second chance romance with an excellent meet-cute that exceeded my expectations (and warmed my musical theater heart). I was cheering for Lexi and Jake from the start and continued to do so throughout the rest of the book. With that said, there were aspects of the romance that I didn't love from time to time, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the chemistry between the pair.

Till There Was You is a cute, feel-good romance that’s hard to put down. I gave this book 4-stars and will be recommending it to my friends when it comes out in February.

If you want to read something sweet, joyful, and fun, this book is for you! I had such a wonderful time reading this romcom, and it gave me all the giddy feels. I think the achingly sweet cover represents that story well! Lexi and Jake are so charming, and it's just a feel-good, heartwarming book that will have you smiling throughout.

A culinary student meets a struggling musician in a bar and so begins Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff. This book was fantastic and I would highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys reading feel good, rom-com type books.

One thing I really enjoyed was how the book had a clear voice throughout. Even though I am past my early twenties, the author employed the voice and feeling of a character in their early twenties struggling to make peace with the past and find themselves.

Lexi and Jake are likable characters who you are cheering for to be able to make it work despite all the obstacles in their way. Despite the fact that he is the world's biggest pop star and newest sensation, the author manages to keep him grounded.

This book also had so many fun pop culture references in it that made reading it easy and fun!

This started out really cute! But by the midway point, I was already over it. There was so much unnecessary drama and all of the characters and plots started to annoy me. I ended up skimming the last half because I just did not care about what was happening. I loved Mia though, she was def my fave!

I fell in love with this Harry Styles-inspired novel about an aspiring chef who falls for an up and coming pop star. After they meet, everything changes, and she unknowingly inspires his first album, a smash hit.

I had such a blast escaping into this charming romance. It made me forget about the fact that I’m pushing 35 and constantly dripping with kids. Who wouldn’t want to imagine a whirlwind love story with a gorgeous musician?! The writing is polished, detailed, and strong. The author’s workshopping and many edits on this book come through in the final draft. The story never stops moving, and there’s a lot of humor, especially in a dopey D list celebrity character named Chad. Lindsay Hameroff is a funny, highly entertaining writer to watch.

Great book, read it in a single day. The author did a great job, I did not want to put it down. I will definitely put her on my TBR list for any future books.

This book was perfection! I found myself with a cheesy grin plastered to my face as I read through this romcom, surprisingly emotional through the final chapters as this story came together beautifully in a happily ever after. The chemistry between Jake & Lexi was effortless and I couldn’t help but root for their second chance at love!

Till There Was You was heart warming with so many lovable characters, and I’m kind of hoping for a continuation of some of their stories! Lexi’s besties all deserve the world.

I was able to read an advance copy of Till There Was You thanks to NetGalley, and I can say this will likely be one of my favorite books of the summer! The cover is just as cute as the story inside.

There is something fulfilling about a book with a strong hero and heroine, and then a bunch of supportive side characters that are supportive no matter what. I also like when there's a shift and a bad character goes good. This book was fun, made me smile, and was so much more than just a rockstar/chef falling in love book.

Lexi, who is an accomplished chef, has some abandonment issues after her mother's death and her father having remarried quickly. Lexi is pretty much on her own, aside from a small group of friends. At a bar she meets Jake just before he takes the stage. Almost as soon as they meet, he becomes an overnight sensation and is catapulted into stardom.

This book was fun and engaging 1st and then 2nd chance romance. It's filled with angsty moments designed to keep them apart. My favorite part was was the come-to-Jesus meeting someone who needed to explain himself. Hit me right in the feels.

Five stars

Ooooh I devoured this. I think Lexi and Jake were cute and those sparks were going crazy. I think their meet was adorable and the song about her blueberry pancakes was fun. This was just a fun and entertaining (kind of) high stakes romance.

Super cute, quick, quirky summer romcom read! Perfect book to make you chuckle. I really enjoyed reading this book and found myself cheesing at certain parts.

The writing style was cute, the NYC descriptions were super spot on. Lexi was funny and enjoyable and I really loved her personality develop in the kitchen and out. She was a very relatable character. I somewhat wish the romance was a little slower and we got to see some more work being put into Lexi & Jake’s relationship in the beginning. I wasn’t necessarily a huge fan of the insta love. Overall 4 stars!

This was a quick, very easy, light read. Always love to see Jewish rep in romance. It was not my style - hero was a little too perfect and the romance a little too saccharine - but I can see how others would appreciate it.

I loved this book! I enjoyed the heroine's arc and was interested throughout. The relationship is extremely cute and it grows nicely.

This was a cute, fluffy romance! Would've been 4 stars, but I didn't feel a real connection between Jake and Lexi throughout any of the book. Their entire relationship felt fairly flat for two people who found instalove. That being said the story itself was pretty good!

The ending was so good, though! By the last 10% I was in tears 🥹

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this e-ARC!

I wrote this book and I'm a pretty big fan of it. Then again, it's basically an amalgamation of all my favorite things (Sound of Music reference intended), so I guess it's sort of a given. I hope you'll enjoy reading it too!

."Till There Was You" by Lindsay Hameroff was a joy to read. I had 15 full-body laughing fits throughout this story, along with a couple of heartfelt tears. I'm so glad I read this. As a Jewish woman and the wife of a chef, I related so much to the main characters but with a role reversal. My favorite part of this story was that the main female character didn't lose herself in order to please a man. The side characters, the "3 Musketeers", were so relatable and fun; they added the perfect comedic backbone to this story. This book should be on everyone's summer reads list.

Please feel free to reach out and ask me to turn this review into a tiktok closer to the launch. I know my followers will love this book. Social handle lifted_pdx

Cheers!
Kat Darby

This was adorable! Insta love isn’t my favorite but for some reason it worked here. It was swoony and relatable.

4 Stars Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff was such a sweet and emotional romance, and I loved every second of it!

Driven culinary student Lexi Berman won't let anything get in the way of making her late mother proud by becoming a Michelin-starred chef, and that includes a relationship. But after a whirlwind night, which turns into a whole weekend, with musician Jake Taylor, Lexi is rethinking her stance on relationships. But then Jake disappears after going out to LA to record a demo and he suddenly becomes an overnight celebrity after a smash single inspired by Lexi and her blueberry pancakes. Finally working in a restaurant, but at the very bottom, Lexi is on her way to making her dream come true, even though it's not all it's cracked up to be. Suddenly, Jake turns up at her apartment again and Lexi's carefully laid plans are thrown through a loop. Lexi yearns for control, something she seems to lose around Jake. They agree to try to be friends again, but as their deep connection resurfaces, Lexi knows that she could never just be friends with Jake Taylor. Lexi has to decide what to hold on to--her carefully laid plans to fulfil the dream she shared with her late mom or her relationship with Jake.

This was a great second-chance, rockstar romance. Jake was an absolutely adorable southern boy who simped hard for Lexi. Lexi was beautifully flawed, but also courageous and inspiring. The only thing I didn't like about this one was that the HEA was too short. I wish we could've gotten a glimpse at Jake and Lexi in the future, especially to see if Jake's dad came around to support his son's career and how Lexi's new venture worked out. Such a good read though!

More like 2.5 stars. Very much a quick insta-love romance with no real depth. Very cheesy/cutesy at times. I think if I was in the mood for a quick romcom this would have been great but I always like my books with a little more slow-burn and with fleshed out storylines and characters.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an arc in exchange for an honest review!