A special thank you to NetGalley and Waitlyn Andrew’s for this advance copy of Yes, Chef in exchange for my honest review. This one published on 8/3/23 and is available today!

A romance meets foodie’s dream, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys romance (with very little spice) and is a bit of a foodie - our main characters are chefs and come from food families, and I absolutely soaked that all in. This is definitely one I’ve recommended to my mom as well, because she enjoys romance but doesn’t like a lot of spice - this one was very mild. I’m knocking just a little bit off because this one was the definition of a slow burn - we didn’t even get a kiss until almost 3/4 of the book! After that, things sped up and the two main characters fell in love HARD but it seemed a bit rushed - I would’ve liked to see them explore a little more earlier and then grow with each other. I liked that we didn’t have that stereotypical third act breakup, and we could just explore the characters.

A special thank you again to NetGalley and Ms. Andrews for this ARC in exchange for my review. Go pick this one up today!

I loved this book! It had me hooked from the beginning and was hard to put down. The characters were so lovable. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

This was a cute, cozy read. However, I am not a slow burn romance fan (my personal preference). I just didn't feel like I could get into the book for this reason. I picked it up, put it down, and repeated. I wanted to love and get into this but I just couldn't for some reason. My review of this book does not mean that you will not like it. Definitely recommend everyone to try!

The Bear meets romance novel. I loved it! A bit of a slow burn, but a fun love story. I enjoyed the kitchen terminology lessons that were provided at the beginning of each chapter, teaching me some of the cooking terms that were used. The characters were relatable and the main heart-throb was just perfect - part hard core boss, part romantic, protective, love interest, he was great!

This was such a fun read, not only did it make me want to really learn how to cook but it was such a lighthearted, sweet story, and it didn’t have a third act breakup which might have been the best thing ever

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback

This is a cute, fun read. My first time reading a book about chefs but I’ve seen a some shows about chefs so I was intrigued. This book did not disappoint as a fun rom-com.

Yes Chef is a heartwarming and romantic story about Claire, a young American chef who moves to Paris to work at a Michelin-starred restaurant. There, she meets James, the new head chef, who is everything she's ever wanted in a mentor and a partner.

The book is beautifully written, with Andrews's descriptions of the food and the city of Paris bringing the story to life. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and the romance between Claire and James is slow-burning and believable.

I especially appreciated the way Andrews handled the workplace romance trope. Claire and James are both adults who are clear about their boundaries, and their relationship develops naturally and organically.

Overall, Yes Chef is a delightful read that will appeal to fans of romance, food, and travel. I highly recommend it!

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. I enjoyed reading it very much and I am looking forward to reading more by Waitlyn Andrews in the future.

A book with a cute and yummy romance in the romantic backdrop of Paris - I quite enjoyed this book, especially the second half and really liked the characters as well. It was a refreshing change to delve into the world of food and chefs. The romance was quite tastefully done and I liked the side characters as well. I do think that the first half could have been more crisp as the slow-burn romance buildup felt quite long. I would not have minded even some conflicts in the beginning as well. Though I really like James, the male MC, and the way he treats Claire respectfully, I would have liked to see some more character/struggle on his end. Overall, I think it is quite cute and the dialogues were witty. Is anyone else craving Claire's mousse?

Thanks to Waitlyn Andrews and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

I’m someone who loves romance books, and this book did not disappoint at all. It was very fun and quick paced: every time i picked it up I read at least fifty pages. I really enjoyed the setting, both when they’re in Paris and when they go back to the States. I loved the characters, especially their banter. Yes, Chef was an excellent debut novel.

Cute easy read. This book felt like slipping into a classic 90s romcom where you know the guy will get the girl, but you live for the banter the whole way through. I loved that this was a clean romance, and it was still an enjoyable read, even without spice.

I liked the characters, especially the band of chefs at Teaks, but the best characters are the vendors at the small French market, and the two little sisters.

Clair, our main character, is a bit much for me. She’s an Intensely focused American chef in Paris, who has a goal to earn a Michelin star, all while avoiding family drama back in the states, and trying hard not to fall in love with her hot new American head chef. She loves to read. And she never lets you forget it. The constant references to romance tropes had me rolling me eyes.

James the male lead’s main personality traits were being intensely type A, and being obsessed with Clair. Nothing wrong with that, but he didn’t seem like a well flushed out character to me. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t fun, just not a ton of substance.

The main conflict of this story was left as kind of a mystery for most of the book, something she was ashamed to talk about, and I actually loved how the handled it. The lack of 3rd act breakup made this one a very enjoyable read for me. Nothing ground breaking but a solid workplace romance romcom. I read it quickly and had a lot of fun.

Claire is living abroad and working in a Parisian restaurant as they try to obtain a Michelin star. She’s got quite the routine down until new chef James appears. Despite his apparent indifference to her, Claire finds herself having to remember that she’s sworn off workplace romances.

What I loved:
-the character of James. He is the cutest book boyfriend
-beautiful setting (France, the restaurant)
-how the relationships develop
-no third act breakup!

This was such a sweet read that I enjoyed immensely. Thank you to NetGalley and Waitlyn Andrews for the advanced reading copy!

Claire, an american living in Paris, is a bright chef working in a soon-to-be Michelin-starred restaurant where her boss, Chef Elliot, is renowned as one of the greatest chefs in the world. So, this might be the perfect recipe for disaster. In addition, the pressure increases when James Sullivan, the youngest decorated american chef, starts working at the restaurant to wreak havoc in the kitchen with his unpleasant attitude. The bright side is that he’s a dream come true for the eyes. On this context, Claire and James get to know each other during the long nights working at the restaurant and on the walk home because they’re neighbors by chance.

A book filled with a fast-paced workplace romance featuring the grumpy-sunshine trope, will captivate any audience seeking for these elements. While at times, the use of these tropes tends to exaggerate sometimes, it’s not overly annoying.

The narrative immerses into Claire’s point of view, which is good to enhance the romantic plot by allowing the reader to see James through the lens of love, otherwise he wouldn’t have been as charming.

Waitlyn Andrews, the author, adeptly conveys the sense of anxiety and insecurity that come after starting a new job, fresh out of university, when no one has experience and everyone believes they’re a failure. In that regard, the book is realistic, however, the relationship development between the characters isn’t as grounded.

The relationship between Claire and James develops quickly, and the story doesn’t give many details about James for the reader to actually get to know him. This character works well as Claire’s romantic interest, but falls short as a well-written character due to his lack of personality, which only consists on tropes. Nonetheless, this remains a cute romance book that will cheer the day of anyone who reads it.

I’m grateful with NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity of letting me read this before its publication.

3.3 stars. So close to 3.5 but if you read my review, you’ll see why!

No spoilers here!

Romance level:
First, I want to say that this book is a slow burn and it has a clean romance. By that I mean, you’re not reading explicit details about love, and I personally love that.

Cover:
What attracted me to this book was the cover. The varying shades of blue was exciting and I liked the title as well. I enjoy cooking, and I am no official chef, but I’m familiar with the phrase "Yes, chef" from the few cooking shows I’ve watched. What a unique title for a book. I must say five stars for the title.

General plot:
Ask for the plot of the book, we already know that there is a romance, and it is a slow burn. It takes place in a couple of states in the USA as well as Paris enjoyed the details, and how the author describe scenery, as I was able to very clearly imagine what each environment the characters were in, looked like.

What I didn’t like:
Brace yourself for the next part of my review, because I’m the grammar queen and equity police. I mean, I did major in linguistics and am a part of multiple minority groups, so it’s only right,

There were very few grammatical mistakes, and some syntax or order of the plot that led me to be confused for some moments, but nothing major.

Chapter 29: "He’s sitting with the other boyfriends, no the surprise to no one."

There were also some points where it was hard to follow along with the dialogue because the speakers weren’t noted for 3+ lines in a row.

Some sentences were a bit lengthy. Note the Americana boy quote mentioned below.

Epilogue: "Ruby has taken his mother-henning to a whole new level, and if I don’t spit this out in the next twenty seconds, he’ll have me in the car loaded up on the way to the doctor." I won’t spoil who Ruby is but how she was introduced did not include proper context clues. Actually the whole epilogue seemed to be written in an unclear way.

I think this is my biggest qualm about the book, and why I will be rating it 3.3 stars instead of four. The other thing that really bothered me was the author’s perspective of a classic American guy.

Chapter 1 reads "And if his résumé and background weren’t enough ammunition to be on the cover of every food magazine in circulation, he is, unbiasedly, a looker. Not my type per se, but I can’t deny that six-foot-three, clean-cut blond, swoopy hair with insanely blue eyes doesn’t amount to the classic Americana-boy-next-door dream." Pardon??

So he’s tall, naturally blonde, has blue eyes, and doesn’t seem to have any disabilities or other traits that would put him in any type of minority group. Sure, this love interest was based off of the authors IRL husband, but I don’t appreciate that she thinks or described this a classic American guy. There’s no such thing (or shouldn’t be) a such thing as a classic American guy, especially one defined by his very Eurocentric physical features. Native Americans and Hawaiian people are the only people I can think of who were in the US in the first place, but a lot of people around the world don’t really acknowledge this, It might be a reach, but it makes me think what kind of bubble the author and her family live in, as well as her allyship and knowledge of what it’s like to not be a white cisgender, heterosexual woman married to a white, cisgender, heterosexual man with possibly all white children who may or may not be in a minority group (differently abled, etc). Just a very long thought I hope everyone considers.

Also, the seasons changing kind of help me to guess how much time is passed by, but it would’ve been nicer if there were months included because it did not seem like a year to me…

More plot:
There was also one point in the story where a character’s sister went on a date with a coworker of the main character. We new we learned how the date went or what either person decided for the next steps after the date, so the fact that we were never told was a bit strange to me.

SO. MUCH. CURLY. HAIR. SLANDER.

I kind of disliked the inner curly hair hatred that the author kept bringing up. As a person with naturally curly hair, I love mine but did not always. She never really fell in love with her hair and that was a miss for me. The love interest hyped her up about once and though self-love comes first, this was nice.

Chapter 7: "She left my natural curls alone, to my surprise, but that meant I had to have a healthy dose of bobby pins to keep everything where it’s supposed to be." TO MY SURPRISE?! Maybe she thinks your natural hair is beautiful and doesn’t need to be straightened??

Chapter 7: "Where Melissa is petite and fair-skinned with straight blond hair, I have a tall, athletic build. Where her skin looks like porcelain, I have freckles; and where she doesn’t seem to have a hair out of place, my curly dark hair dominates my appearance by flying out in a million different directions." Flying out in a million directions? That’s beautiful, girl.

Chapter 22: "Even the poor attendant dealing with my hair is battling my perpetual baby bangs that curl on their own accord. I didn’t cut these bangs, mind you—they’re just always present and continually growing out." Why is this attendant unlucky for having to do your hair ma’am?

Chapter 22: "It doesn’t help that I’ve got glossy Hollywood hair floating down my back." I’m sorry— "Hollywood hair?" What is that even mean??

Chapter 28: “I don’t know what kind of shampoo you use, but it f—ing kills me,” he says, burying his nose into my wild hair." WILD HAIR?!

Chapter 30: "…spent hours wrangling my hair into an elegant half-up-do that left me looking like myself, but a more polished version." ‘Wrangling?’ ‘More polished version?’ It’s giving Eurocentric feature obsessive and shaming curly hair…this isn’t okay with me and I had to knock off a few more points for this theme.

What I did like:
On the bright side, and the plot did have some twist interns that I did not expect and that were not predictable. I do really appreciate that.

The leg squeezing meaning was cute and I enjoyed the dress shopping as well as the party.

And lastly, I enjoyed the food definitions at the beginning of each chapter. Sadly, the font for these were extremely small.

Ending:
The ending was rushed, but for a first time book, this was pretty good! I’d most definitely get the author to write authentic, more unique characters while also not trying to hit a "minority quota" even though everyone in this book most definitely seemed white or white European…

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

First of all, a big thank you to NetGalley & Waitlyn Andrews for granting me access to this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the premise of working in this Parisian restaurant in the hopes of obtaining a Michelin star. The shopping trips to the market, the relationships among the staff and the concept of the restaurant were all positive elements of the story. I recently started watching “The Bear” so this story was timely for me. It did get a bit monotonous after a while, I was waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen already, thus the 3 stars.

That brings me to Claire and James. You could say their story was a slow burn but I didn’t feel their feelings for each other to ring true. I felt like they were good friends, no spark at all. The most disturbing part for me was when he just started calling her baby well before they were “together”. It was refreshing to not have lots of naughty writing which is normally where “baby” leads. The side characters added to the book and had more personality than our main couple.

All in all, not terrible but not great. For 279 pages, there should have been a spark between them.

This was a fun slow burn/enemies to lover's romance that was good! I enjoyed the characters and the plot.

I was immediately drawn to this book based on the premise of a love story between two chefs. This is a very slow burn and then feels a bit rushed at the end. Slow burns are probably my least favorite romance tropes so this book wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy,

Took me a while to get into the book but once I grasped the story, this book was a great read. The female lead was strong willed and independent and did not allow the opinions of others to deter her from her dreams. The story was well written and the author did a great job building character arcs.

Such a cute book!!!! Waitlyn Andrews... I enjoy your way of writing so much! I could feel and understand Claire's insecurity, I could imagine Paris and it's markets, I could imagine Teaks and all the dishes being served there. Yes, I imagined them before looking for images because that's me :)
James is... dreamy. I even like his OCD. Iwould have loved to have one chapter with his POV, but the guy is good expressing his feelings when he has to, so maybe it wasn't that necessary.
Couple goals. You worte what I imagine as couple goals.... Thank you so much

While I think this was overall cute and fun, it was difficult to get past the woman-hating and general misunderstanding of what OCD entails. A brief mention is enough for me to not care about, but it was every few pages.

What a great story. If you have watched The Bear then you will know and appreciate this story. The whole idea is such fun and I can’t wait to read more by this author.