This was such a cute story and the perfect read if you like women's fiction with romance. The dynamic between Claire and James was funny yet antagonizing. And I really loved all of the background in the kitchen! Watching Claire learn to trust and let go while also doing what is best for her was inspiring, and the eventual relationship between Claire and James was **chef's kiss!** I adored this book!

4.5 rounding up to 5
This book sat in my to-read pile waaay too long. What a lovely read. Yes, Chef is the story of Claire and James who work together in a Paris Kitchen as they pursue a Michelin star. Claire has a more complex back story that becomes evident over time as she and James go from coworkers to friends to......

I especially enjoyed the family dynamics and felt the author's storytelling came alive as they visited James' family. I liked that the story was a bit more complex than your typical romance and the kitchen background was a fun one. I recommend this story and will look forward to future books by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an advance copy of Yes,Chef. This book is available now.

4.5 stars — A hilariously addicting, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, slow burn workplace rom-com that will make your soul and your stomach growl.

Equally talented and competitive, Claire and James, go toe-to-toe behind the scenes in a trendy Parisian restaurant vying for a sought after Michelin star rating. Claire is a passionate and uniquely gifted sous chef with big aspirations in life that don’t have anything to do with her family’s famous Napa Valley vineyard or toxic ex. James is a young, hot, renowned New York chef with a Michelin star already attached to his name, who was brought in to ensure Teak’s success. Even with the same goal in mind they still find it annoyingly impossible to avoid each other since they work in the same kitchen, frequent the same (and only) café, and share adjoining apartment balconies.

Perfectly cliché and appropriately repetitive, allowing their friendship to bake and love simmer as we walk through their daily routine of coffee and croissants, menu planning, ingredient shopping, and cooking up a storm. I loved how they bonded over books. It was fun to follow Claire through her creative process and interactions with local vendors. As well as watching James’ hard exterior melt like butter with Claire, patiently giving her space as he acknowledged her talent and encouraged her to explore her culinary intuition. I enjoyed their exchanges while visiting each other’s families, which couldn’t possibly be a more different experience. And really appreciated that the story effectively built to the very end without a third act conflict!

❝...if you need time, then you need time. Just know that I don't need time, but I'm willing to wait.❞

This is for all the hopelessly romantic foodies out there. A true laugh-out-loud, clean, feel good rom-com. I devoured this book! I don’t even mind that any steam or spice was solely dedicated to kitchen creations (read: zero smut). Oh, but the effect of that first 'baby' was evidence of the slow burn that had been climaxing. Still plenty of sizzle that left me feeling giddy and marking it as one of my most memorable reads of the year. I am eager to read more from this debut author.

I hate to rag on a book, but this book was kind of a struggle. The overall plot was full of potential, but there were some things I found annoying and a few that I found slightly problematic, making it pretty impossible for me to rate this book any higher than two stars. Before getting into what I didn’t like, I’ll share the high points! The concept of this workplace romance was unique (at least to me). It gave me Iron Chef vibes and I found myself wanting to google things specific to the fine-dining restaurant experience to learn more. The head chef and a sous chef are working together in a restaurant trying to earn a Michelin star and they slowly (very slowly) fall for each other. I knew what Michelin stars were before reading but felt like I grew in my understanding throughout the book, which was cool! I also really liked both Claire’s and James’ sisters! They were much better characters than the leads, and I think I would rather read about how Claire’s sister met her fiancé/husband Caleb, because it seems like it could make a good story. Unfortunately, these parts I enjoyed weren’t enough to counteract what I found annoying. First being, the MMC’s name is James Sullivan. Like… he may as well be a large, furry, blue monster with purple spots, because that’s all I could picture every time his first and last name were on the page together (if you don’t know the reference… idk how bc Pixar feels popular enough to me). Another thing that annoyed me was the FMC’s internal dialogue. She was very repetitive and there would be full paragraphs where the beginning or ending of each sentence was identical. And she said the word “dadgum” literally 5 times. It’s a word best not used at all, so maybe drop it to once. Not five times. It got to a point where I was wondering if the editor was trying to be nice and wasn’t willing to give constructive criticism. And last, for what I view as problematic (there are a few things so hold steady)… first of all, the emphasis on no sex was beyond cringey. I have no problem with waiting until you’re ready to have sex, but the connotations in this book were that you were “giving all of yourself” to someone when you have sex with them, and that line of thinking is why there are so many women and girls that grow up placing too much emphasis on a corrupt view of purity. I hate this line of thought. Sex isn’t “everything.” Treating it like it is, is part of why there’s such an emphasis on abstinence culture. But teaching abstinence in isolation doesn’t work and gives women and girls the idea that their body is their most prized possession, and that when you have sex once, you no longer have a gift to give. But that’s entirely FALSE. Physical intimacy doesn’t make someone impure. Along these lines, the FMC also took part in slut-shaming another character. While the character did do something inexcusable, it’s never okay to call names and use derogatory language about someone’s sexual practices. I’m shocked to see this in a book published in 2023. And last but not least, the MMC was extremely Type A (not at all a bad thing) and the FMC constantly made fun of him for it. Like, she would intentionally make something look less organized or would remove something from its spot in a pattern just to mess with him. I guess that’s not huge, but if this were someone with true OCD, that would be incredibly difficult for them to deal with, and I can’t imagine making a space less inviting for people with any form of neurodivergence. I really think this book could have used some beta readers that read for triggers. For me, these issues really detracted from what this book could be, because it really had potential. (Plus, there were a ridiculous amount of typos, like way more than I’ve ever seen in a book.) I think if this book had spent more time being edited, there’s a chance it could have been way better.

Sweet, slow burn! I loved our heroine and the way our hero loved her here. I love how much we got to see of them becoming friends and spending their time together.

3.5 stars, but closer to a 4 than a 3 so raised to refect!!!

I'm not much of a romance reader, but I am a chef in real life so I felt like I needed to give this a try. This book was so easy to read and I felt like I was flying through it, which is abnormal for me when I read a book with my eyes without an audiobook. I was very torn with what to rate this because I was having so much fun until the last portion of the book. It would be a spoiler to go into detail as to what bothered me enough to lower the rating but the ending just felt rushed to me. I tend to find most romance books to be in the middle ground for me, but this book was an exception. I liked the slow burn, I liked the grumpy sunshine it was for majority of the book, and I liked the characters together. The characters did feel a bit flat for me but I can forgive it for a debut novel. Overall, I had a very fun time reading this and was giggling when cute things where happening between the two main characters, but by the last 80% I was groaning over their decisions and waiting for it all to be over.

Very awesome and adorable romance. Think celebrity chefs, closed door, squeel when they touch, enemies to lovers. It is the perfect vibe for a good, enjoyable romance, without extreme heartbreak. Recommend!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

A fun, laid-back rom-com that is perfect to read after a long day. It will also make you hungry and give you the urge to bake and try some new cheese.

The concept for this book sounded amazing. I think I expected more out of it and it didn’t live up to that. The story was cute, but maybe it just wasn’t my style of book overall. Other readers out there will love this, but it just wasn’t something I liked.

I liked the buildup of their friendship in this book. Overall too cutesy and not for me. Fun fluff if you are in the mood for it.

A cute little romance wrapped around food and set in beautiful Paris! Two chefs come together to try for a coveted Michelin Star for their restaurant. I enjoyed seeing their hard work and dedication behind the scenes. Watching the kitchen strive to produce, not only, great food, but great food that gets you noticed is no small undertaking! I liked seeing the different relationships from the vendors to the hero and heroine. I liked the chapter heads giving us a dish and what ingredients are needed to make it. While I appreciated the complicated relationship between Claire and James, I felt it could’ve been wrapped up much sooner.

Overall if you enjoy food, this is a book to delight in and maybe even learn a few things along the way.

DNF at 54%
Wow this was a disappointing one. You wanna talk about inconsistent writing, just check out this book.

We started so solid with a fun premise and cute, quirky scenes. But the first red flag was the fact the female main character couldn’t describe a woman unless she was “petite.” And of course the woman was beautiful because she was “petite.” It comes across fatphobic especially when the main character is described as “athletic.”

Then the scenes completely disappeared. It became pages and pages of internal dialogue of the main character listing off everything she did that day with one or two pieces of dialogue sprinkled in. Major scenes (like her family coming to town) were completely watered down and skipped over. The chapters were awkwardly broken up because clearly the writer had no idea how to finish the dialogue so they just skipped to a new chapter.

I’m so disappointed because I had high hopes with the beginning of this book. It felt like the author started rushing things and gave up on quality scenes and dialogue.

ARC provided by Netgalley.

Andrew’s writing is SO FUN to read. In one scene, you’ll be chuckling to yourself because of some wittiest comment, and in the next, you’ll be screaming at both characters to just confess their love for each other. They had such natural playful banter, their chemistry just flies off the pages.

This book was so good!! I am swooon for James, he is the perfect MMC. He was so sweet and always looked out for her. I also loved the cooking aspect and journey for a michelin star. the author clearly has knowledge about the area!

3.5 stars rounded to 4 for the sake of this rating system.

This book was just 'okay' to me. It was a cute, surface level romance that is great for foodies and those who have worked in the service industry. It was supposed to be an enemies-to-lovers workplace romance between two chefs in Paris but it just came off sort of wishy-washy. There was no reason for tension between the two MCs and the slight tension that did exist melted away quickly due to forced proximity at work. There was a mystery element tied to the FMC that was mentioned so infrequently that I forgot about it until it was mentioned the next time. The writing is alright but not spectacular, and all around a very forgettable read, which is unfortunate because it had a lot of potential.

thank you for a copy of this book!

this was a cute, fun and a slow burn book!
I was giggling over the fact that the MMC was based of her husband and I found the little food info at the start of every chapter kinda cute! i liked the simple writing as it helped me get through the book quickly, I was a bit disappointed in the sort of enemies to lovers vibe as I just felt they wouldn’t communicate and were left to their own thoughts instead of hashing things out through talking about their feelings. I think the ending was a bit rushed, but I loved the first 70% of the book as the scenes were well set and described, allowing me to get a good picture of things in my head!

for a debut author, I think there’s a lot more to come from here and I’m really excited!

This book had my favourite tropes- enemies to lovers, strong FMC and food. Lots and lots of food. I enjoyed the book but it seemed a bit slow at times but did pick up later on. Definitely a good read.

Can I just say... yes, chef! I read seven year slip and another romance novel with a chef mmc and just needed more! This came at the perfect time, and for the setting to be PARIS, FRANCE! What more could a girl ask for.

Waitlyn Andrews writes a story that is the perfect blend of romance and a little Julia Child. This book will make any reader become a foodie on the side.

Yes, Chef is a look into the elite food world where you are transported into the high end kitchen of Teaks. You feel as though you’ve become part of the kitchen staff trying to pull together the best flavors and variety to earn one of the highest culinary achievements. A Michelin star.

Claire is trying to learn as much as she can working in the kitchen at Teaks before she is forced back to the world she came from. Trying to navigate what she left behind in California Claire is savoring every moment she has in Paris and finds just what she didn’t know she needed.

James is a well known Chef who’s already helped one restaurant earn their Michelin star and he’s hoping to be able to provide the same knowledge and techniques to Teaks. Sometimes, James doesn’t like to stray away from what works but maybe Paris provides him with the secret ingredient?

This slow burn romance novel is one of my absolutely favorites and I can’t wait to see what else Waitlyn Andrew’s has hidden in her apron pocket.

Thank you to Waitlyn Andrew’s and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of Yes, Chef. This is one book I wish I would have read sooner!

I was initially really interested in this book because it was based in Paris and was described as a rom com. I would describe it was more of a sweet romance. I enjoyed all the little bits on different French foods and types of cooking, and the Christmas scene was also pretty cute. But overall, I found the book a bit too sweet and predictable for me.