Whether you're a fan of romance novels or just seeking a poignant and beautifully crafted story, this is a must-read that will leave you with a warm and hopeful feeling, even after the final page has been turned.

Absolutely OBSESSED with this book. Something about it gave me all the warm and fuzzies while still have complex characters and like real world issues.

As I was reading, I did write out some of my loves and loathes:
- For the most part this was such a fun book to read, I loved the world of an up and coming Parisian restaurant Waitlyn brought us into. I think everything involving food and prep and the kitchen dynamics created a fun and unique read because I spend literally no time in the kitchen lol.
- I did find there were some pacing issues for sure. Certain time jumps, and I guess the quickness of Claire and James relationship for one. Sometimes the when you know, you know trope is a little hard for me to swallow.
- I did notice there were people and subplots introduced and then were left hanging or did not have a good flow or resolution.
- Additionally there were some grammar issues in the second half of the book which I hope are corrected before publication.
- LASTLY, the usage of “OCD” is thrown around quite lackadaisically to describe James’ particularities and idiosyncrasies. It seems to me poor form to keep referring to that actual disorder for a guy who is just a little picky about travel and his chef's table. I didn't really find the humor in those moments in the book -- they seemed to stick out like a sore thumb for me.

But other than those issues about he was an easy 4 stars because I couldn't put it down, I loved that it was in Europe specifically France, and I loved all the usage of food and culinary themes that kept the book together❤️

What a perfect summer read. I wish I had not read the book so quickly because when it was over, I wanted more. I connected to the characters so quickly and love the setting of a kitchen in France, and all of the wonderful places that they get to go maybe want to go as well. Well done!

Claire Richards has sworn off relationships after her last one ended badly, and she's off to Paris to live her culinary dreams. Until Chef James Sullivan waltzes into her space and criticizes everything she does.

This was a yummy food-focused romcom. I always love when romances are based on food! I wouldn't call this an enemies-to-lovers really, but I enjoyed the wordplay and energy between Claire and James. I really enjoyed the French foodie vibe. The romance was fine, but wasn't spectacular for me. Nice beach read if you like fun romcoms or the French food scene!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Yes, please! What happens when you put two brooding chefs together in the city of croissants? Magic. There is something so alluring about a good chef/culinary story. The fast paced kitchen, plus the descriptions of delicious foods and the egos of the chefs equals just the perfect book for me. I really enjoyed the balance of cooking, family baggage and romance. The love story developed slowly, but naturally and the MC’s internal conflict felt realistic and not too heavy. Overall, a really cute, quick read!

My only nitpicks would be the ending, which I felt was rushed. There is a very very late trauma that I think was unnecessary, followed by something that could have been an epilogue. And the actual epilogue really was pure cherry on top. I like an HEA, but I don’t love it to be overly done. 3.75 ⭐️

Thank you so much NetGalley, and to the publisher for this ARC, in exchange for my unbiased review.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me.
I really didn’t like the main character Claire - the way she CONSTANTLY judged and talked bad about anyone in James’ vicinity got on my nerves so bad. I also felt like these two had zero chemistry and the timing of their relationship was so awkward, which the pacing of the book didn’t help with at all. I just was not interested in anything that was happening. I did like the food descriptions and having this set in the food world was a fun idea but the execution left a lot to be desired.

This started off fairly strong for me but then it, unfortunately, completely lost me. The slow burn was terribly executed in terms of the couple coming together at the end and there was so much build-up for such a lackluster and rushed ended. In addition to that there were numerous typos that need editing and were distracting, which is understandable to a certain degree for an ARC but this felt excessive.

I thought this was so cute! I don't think I've ever found the main character being an actual chef (it's either a baker or they run a bakery), but this was so good! Paris, food, and love.

Three squeeing squeezes for this wonderful debut rom-com.

This book is perfection. While I don’t have my physical copy (yet), I absolutely cannot wait to reread (and maybe creepily hug) Yes Chef while eating a delicious croissant. The restaurant atmosphere in Paris is wonderful, the side characters are entertaining, but most importantly Claire and James are an amazing couple. We may have a serious contender for book boyfriend of the year. Can James Sullivan knock Jacob Maddox off his throne?! It’s a tight race and only time will tell.

Yes Chef has a little something for every romance lover. There is a slight sunshine/grump vibe, a caretaking scene, forced proximity, and a cinnamon roll hero. This is a closed door romance and for once, I do not mind. You read that right. There is a first time for everything and the story here was fantastic even with the door firmly shut. The end was slightly too cheesy, but it was exactly what I was in the mood for. Now excuse me while I impatiently wait for Waitlyn Andrews to publish another book. In the meantime, why don’t you pick up a copy of Yes Chef for yourself and fall in love with Claire and James? You won’t be disappointed.

*Thank you to Waitlyn Andrews and Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I throughly enjoyed this book it was super cute and I finished so quickly definitely so thankful that I had the opportunity to review and receive this arc !!

As someone who loves the food network as much as I do I was instantly interested by this book and was quickly sucked in to their story! Once I picked this book up I couldn’t set it down until I was done! Loved it!!!

3.5 stars

I very much enjoyed the majority of this debut novel. The food elements were fun and well-written and the family dynamics rang true. The MMC is delightful, but do not be fooled there is no enemies to lovers at play here, more like “man is bad at communicating and is standoffish until he’s not”. The switch from that to “now we’re in love” was a little like whiplash and didn’t really have a catalyst for the change. I also have to mention that the author’s use of “OCD/OCD tendencies” did get mildly grating after the first oh idk 50 times.

That being said I really did enjoy this! It’s incredibly cute with an HEA very much included. Charming characters, Parisian setting, (eventually) sweet MMC. Would definitely recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley for this advance copy of Yes, Chef!

Beware - this book will have you craving croissants and espressos on the daily, it will introduce you to an excuse to have a sweet pastry in the afternoon (le gouter is a thing, y'all), and it will make you swoon for a grumpy, handsome Chef.

Claire Richards wants to step away from her family wine business and make her own name as a Chef. She dreams of getting a Michelin star and loves seeing the faces of people she cooks for. She joins a restaurant in Paris who is on its way to get one - with the help of grumpy, handsome, and very successful chef James Sullivan, who just got a star of his own in the States. When the two start working together, forced to do the morning shopping in the local market, and living next door to each other, their proximity leads to a friendship. That friendship slowly becomes something more - if only ex boyfriends, intrusive mothers, and a Michelin star would get out of the way.

What first captivated me about this book was the title. Then, forced proximity in a hot kitchen, making delicious food, and giving each other looks in between tables sealed the deal for me. This book was so lovely! James and Claire are truly sweet and supportive of each other and I love a man who is not intimidated by a strong, successful woman. The ending felt a bit rushed to me, and I did not get to enjoy them as much as I wanted to, but all in all, this was truly just chef's kiss!

Read if you like:
Workplace romance
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
Closed Door Romance

I highly recommend this book.

3.5⭐️

I started off really enjoying this book. The setting was romantic and the premise seemed promising. It’s an extreme slowburn—we’re talking 70%. It was all well and good honestly until the slowburn started burning. The last 30% of this book felt rushed and a bit sloppy, unfortunately, which is such a shame because the build up and setting of this story was truly lovely. The MMC is dreamy but the last 30% of the book really weren’t well-developed or executed. I feel like the author should have allowed for a bit of a longer backside of the slowburn. Overall, a cute story that lacked a lot of the required structure that a 4 or 5 star read requires in my opinion.

This was cute! I'm not always a romance reader, and this felt a little surface-level, but that's sorta the point of this type of book. It's a feel-good story that distracts you from whatever else might be happening the world. Definitely and escapist read. I loved that it was set in paris and I also love food and learning about the food industry, so this hit the spot!

Thank you Netgalley and Waitlyn Andrews for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

Listen - I'm going to be 100% honest - do I think there are there some things that could be improved upon? Sure. At times it felt a little choppy - almost as though the author repeated herself one too many times, or jumped back and forth between things that felt a little unnecessary (and this is not a bash, it could totally just be me) - BUT....

The FEELINGS I got reading this book. I am giddy with them

I LOVE LOVE LOVE both Claire and James.

Claire is getting herself back on track - the focus is her, living in Paris, cooking the best food she can, and getting her first star.

James Sullivan - a star chef from the States shows up as her Head Chef and gives her *the* feelings. But she reminds herself of what she is doing in Paris - and although she welcomes friendship - she isn't ready for anything else.

And James Sullivan (I don't know why, but I feel like his entire name needs to be used when talking about him) is the perfect "grumpy-sunshine, you know he's pining for her, wants to champion her but also doesn't want to mess anything up" type of guy. And I LOVE HIM FOR IT ALL.

Waitlyn Andrews's "authors note" states that she loves Nancy Meyers films, HEA, a 90s rom-com and strong female characters chasing goals - and that is what you get. This is a story about Claire. The fact that James Sullivan is there is a bonus - but it's really about Claire finding her shine again after a couple of life changing events.

This is a closed door, slow burn romance - but it didn't feel like it. I usually get really annoyed with slow burn - but in this case it worked so well for our characters. Our side characters were also so entertaining - I REALLY want a book about Lucy and/or Evie Sullivan (perhaps with Martin Jr the fifth???) - I feel like there could be a little series in this. And then we could go back to Claire and James and bask in their love again.

This gave me all the feels. Like I said - it might read a little choppy - BUT the FEELINGS are all there.

Plus - it mostly takes place in Paris. And in a professional kitchen. And we get to go to the market almost every single day. And talk about cheese. And wine. Just the chapter titles - which are a description of a food/ recipe/ technique - will make you giddy.

Love this and can`t wait to read whatever else Waitlyn Andrews writes.

Recommended read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, it was a pleasant read with a cute romance storyline and interesting characters.

Pros:

Fast-paced writing style
Mysterious backstory of main character kept me engaged in reading further
Male love interest that was caring and sweet and felt real
Details were well thought out and connected the story in a meaningful way
Cute slow burn romance scenes


Cons:

Slow burn that burned way too slow and too fast
Romanticizing workplace relationships with power imbalance (employee and supervisor)
Characters seemed a little too flawless? Flaws were discussed but then positioned in a positive light that didn't affect them
The end plot was rushed, I could have used 20 more chapters really building that or have more of it built into the story

This was a cozy, closed-door, romance with two Chefs, who work together in a Restaurant in Paris.

I really liked the setting. I’ve been to Paris a few times and I loved seeing a little of the city through the characters' eyes. The aspect of the kitchen and work as a chef was interesting to read about.

I also can’t say anything negative about the main characters. I liked them and their banter was fun. The romance was very slow-burn, it takes a long time to even get to a friendship between the two characters and it takes even more time after that to progress from friends to more than that. This book is extremely closed door, when it comes to spice, something I’m not used to in the romance I typically choose.

Some things in this book felt very unfinished and rushed. There were some aspects to the story that were only mentioned and never made a real impact on the story, so I don’t really know why they were included at all. For example the article about Claire and James, which didn’t have any impact and nothing resolved out of it. Why mention it at all?

The same goes for the ending, there were so many things not really resolved that kept the reader just guessing. And, I know that’s a pet peeve of mine, but I hate it when characters [I’m spoiling the ending in the next part, so don’t read it unless you’re sure you want to.] <Spoiler> date for barely a month and then marry. Same goes for people in real life, too. This made me actually furious about this book. Especially since I left the impression they were only getting married so they could have Sex. I would never judge someone for setting boundaries, and that they want to form a real connection with someone before getting intimate, but at least stick to your guns and principles. I would argue it’s worse to marry someone you don’t really know, just to learn later that they weren’t the one you were expecting them to be than to have Sex with someone, and then later learn that was a mistake.</Spoiler>

I really enjoyed this book, it was a fun quick read. I appreciated the author’s attention to detail, the food scenes in the book were well researched and thought out.

5 star read FOR sure! Thanks for early access to the book!

I really really enjoyed this book! Characters are very well developed and I love the concept of a chef who not only cooks the meal, but also serves the meal.

The relationship between the main characters is really handled beautifully and without the angst that I've come to expect from books in this genre. Highly recommend reading the author's afterward -- SO good and a great explanation of why the book takes the turns it does.

I felt like the author really took care of me. I'd happily read any title by Waitlyn Andrews.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of this book - 5 star read for me.