Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I had a decent time reading this. The food descriptions were an absolute delight, literally my stomach growled several times throughout the book.

As for the romance... it fell flat. There's two main reasons behind this. My first reason consists of the sudden "move on" that Nazeli had over her ex. One second she's talking about getting back because she wanted to marry him and the next she's only got eyes for Vanya. The other reason was the lack of depth from Vanya (the love interest). I believe a dual pov would have been great for this book given that we barely get to know Vanya, we only get a few details but her character lacked depth.

Towards the end there's a weird time jump which I personally wasn't a fan of given how random it felt :/

Overall, this was a decent read, I didn't particularly love it nor did I hate it. I could definitely see this being others favorite book which I really hope is the case!

Voskuni charms yet again! (I adored ‘Sorry, Bro’, so I’ve been really excited for her sophomore release.) This time, our heroines are set in Chicago, which is so lovingly drawn, I felt like I was experiencing the gusty air, immersed in the beautiful art deco, and nibbling delectable Armenian dishes, like manti and falafel. 🥰

I’m a sucker for charming families in my romances, and that’s something Voskuni excels at in spades. Her stories always deftly explore family dynamics: how they drive us bonkers; how we’d do anything to protect them. I also really enjoyed seeing two sets of loving parents embracing their daughters with zero issues about their queer identity, their only disagreement being a long-standing cooking rivalry.

To say these two sets of parents HATE each other is definitely an understatement, which results in a lot of hilarious cloaked digs and competitive one-upping - even as our two heroines continue to fall for each other. Ellie and Vanya make sense because they’re different (hard-working, and sophisticated meets devil-may-care and quirky), and they’re alike (both would fight tooth and nail for their families.)

My favorite scene: a competition of chicken wings coated in hot sauce, Russian vodka, and endless insults as both families unload their rivalry in front of rolling cameras.

Reasons to read ‘Lavash at First Sight’:
✨Romeo & Juliet for food lovers!
✨Passionate protagonist, irresistible chemistry, and a willingness to own up to and learn from mistakes.
✨Hilarious hijinks
✨The sweetness! And oh, how I adore the banter!!!🤩🤩🤩🤩

Official blurb: “A beautiful story rife with food and family rivalry, LAVASH AT FIRST SIGHT is smart and sexy, inspiring readers to go after their heart’s desire. A dazzling romance.”

📣 foodie romance where Armenian American culture & family really shine

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 swipe to see my Instagram versus reality pics! Thanks to Leigh Ann @read_pair_share for the challenge—she always has the best! I’m tagging some friends if you want to join in!

Lavash at First Sight by Taleen Voskuni made me have such a big heart-smile.

I loved so much about it, especially:

🧡 how both Nazeli & Vanya are Armenian-American & this is something really important to them & to their families in general. I love how they are able to bond over that shared history & culture—their mutual respect for each others’ parents really got to me!
🧡 FMC Nazeli’s passion & drive to give everything her all. The tension between her demanding 9-5 (more like 24/7, as hard as she works) & the toll she grows to understand it’s taking on her feels relatable!
🧡 so much family love! I know I mentioned this earlier but I just love how the family is represented here. There are some hiccups along the way but also so much love & understanding & acceptance.
🧡 Romeo & Juliet vibes but make it queer & add a food competition
🧡 honesty & transparency & a willingness to admit mistakes. Nazeli doesn’t take the easy insult road earlier in the book but later, when she does make a mistake, she’s very self-aware & takes responsibility.
🧡 humor!

For my romance peeps, I wanna let you know this is closed door.

But I also want to shout to the world that this book is so sweet & lovely and I loved it!

4.5 ⭐️. Out 05/07.

CWs: Toxic work environment & Nazeli’s boss makes negative & harmful comments about her body. Reference to Armenian Genocide.

[ID: Jess, a white woman wearing a yellow coat & a red patchwork scarf, holds the ebook while sitting on a deck.]

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the free book! #BerkleyPartner

TLDR: There just wasn’t enough good character development for Nazeli for her to be redeemed in my eyes. She sucked from beginning to end.

Will Nazeli go down in history as the worst main character ever? Who knows. I could see where the author wanted to go with this one and it could have happened but sadly it didn’t. I enjoyed their first book but I think it was naive at the time and I am now realizing how much I do not enjoy the excess of description they add to their stories. I don’t care about the tech company, the main character Nazeli, worked for. There was just so much detail that rarely added to the story. Many conversations felt like either the characters were stupid or the author had never talked to another human in their life.

I can’t help but feel like Nazeli was another character who hated being Armenian much like Nar from Sorry, Bro. Nazeli allowed others to call her “Ellie” so she was more palatable to her tech company co-workers. (I couldn’t tell you the amount of times the tech company was mentioned by their government name and now I can’t remember it.) She also only wanted to go into tech because when she was a kid she “vowed to never do that type of honest work,” (her parents made and sold packaged Armenian food – they owned their own business), and she “wasn’t salt of the earth,” like her immigrant parents… Those are direct quotes. That just took a lot out of me as the granddaughter of immigrants who did everything in their power to make it in this country. I could only wish to be half the hardworking person my grandpa was. And it left a nasty taste in my mouth.

The plot was a cool idea but so many things that happened were just so wild. They go to a cooking/food conference where she meets the daughter of her parent’s rivals and ends up making a connection. So then you’d think starcrossed lovers, right? Eh, not really because they hang out and screw around and their parents are none the wiser. But they all enter a cooking competition and they're against each other and just so many random things happen?? Then their parents make up but Nazeli was caught on camera saying that the other family’s food is ass and that upsets Vanya’s (the love interest) feelings. Which, rightfully so!! Imagine someone you like and have already had sex with saying that your family’s food is bad and then they put it up on the big screen for everyone to see? Yeah, honestly idek what to say to the whole food competition and the family rivalry.

The romance felt so C plot. And when Nazeli was trying to reconcile, Vanya wanted nothing to do with her. Then, three months later Vanya is at her door being like, yeah you're right our food was ass, let’s date?? And Nazeli works so so so so fucking hard at her job to prove she’s the best and then she decides to quit and work with her parents?? Something she vowed to never do. I don’t know, everything just felt all over the place.

There just wasn’t enough good character development for Nazeli for her to be redeemed in my eyes. She sucked from beginning to end and that was hard to read.

I loved Voskuni's debut and her sophomore novel definitely delivered! I'm absolutely obsessed with Nazeli's parents, and the scrumptious food descriptions were a perfect cherry on top of this delightful read!

To be totally honest, this book was easy to read, but it was hard to emotionally connect to. It didn't know if it wanted to be a romance novel or a family drama thingy. The writing was good and I would have loved it if they were more dedicated to either of those plots.

This book was an absolute blast from start to finish. It's got everything: food, humor, family drama, reality tv shenanigans, and a swoon-worthy romance that hits the ground running. Nazeli and Vanya have excellent chemistry, and I was equally enthralled by the dynamic between their feuding families.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lavash at First Sight is a heartfelt and dazzling love story that's good enough to eat. Taleen Voskuni deftly weaves together multiple narrative threads as loyal, intelligent, and overworked Armenian-American tech employee Nazeli sets out to woo the beautiful and charming Vanya--whose parents happen to be the sworn enemies of Nazeli's parents. A competition at a Chicago food packaging conference provides an entertaining and dramatic setting, and the themes of family bonds, generational change, and finding a healthy balance in all aspects of life add poignant layers to the story. I devoured this fun, witty, and romantic book and can't wait for whatever Voskuni writes next!

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

This is the second book I've read by Taleen Voskuni, and I really enjoyed it! I love the descriptions of food, of family, of culture, and of Chicago. As in the last book, Sorry Bro, the protagonist, Nazeli, is a young Armenian American woman struggling to find her place in life (be it in romance or work) while balancing her complex feelings about her family and heritage. Also like in Sorry Bro, Nazeli makes some questionable choices that lead to drama and heartache, though honestly I thought the big crisis moment would be somewhat more momentous than it was. Frankly, the fact that it wasn't was relaxing, as I had been feeling the tension of waiting for the "other shoe to drop" while reading. Also, this is not a slow burn romance by ANY stretch of the imagination, which I think for the purpose of the story is just fine. All in all, a sweet if occasionally emotionally sticky sapphic romance with a deep sense of love for Armenian American culture and the city of Chicago.

For sensitive readers, there are descriptions of a toxic work environment, racism, difficult family relationships, and some sexual innuendo with no actual graphic content (fade to black).

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I think this book suffered from similar issues to the author’s previous work. Gorgeous cover, but it doesn’t have the gorgeous writing or depth I was hoping for. I may have to concede that this author just isn’t for me.

When you read this book, make sure to have a snack nearby! In addition to the delicious romance, there was so much love of food that my mouth was watering while reading. Nazeli and Vanya were a pair I rooted for the whole book!

The way Talern Voskuni blends knowledge of Armenian culture with a touching love story never fails to make me smile. Nazeli and Vanya were both so fun and their love really came through in the end.

very romantic and amazing tension! I really enjoyed the the development between the families and I loved how rich in Armenian culture this was! Overall the pacing towards the end lost me but I really enjoyed the book!

What I loved:
• the super sexy vibes between Nazeli and Vanya
• summer in Chicago
• cooking and food competitions
• daughter/parent relationships
• Armenian food and culture
• the cover! 🤩

What I didn’t love:
• the explanation for the families’ rivalry didn’t entirely add up
• the pacing toward the end- some events were told that I wish could have been shown

Overall, a delightful romcom!

LAVASH AT FIRST SIGHT is such a sweet and lovely look at family and identity, love and the importance of staying true to oneself. Vanya and Ellie are wonderful, fully-realized characters, and their doting parents--even when they are squabbling with each other--are a delight. (Some of my favorite laugh-out-loud moments, in fact, involve their parents rehashing elements of their decades-long feud). As a side note, I think one place where this book especially shines is the masterful way in which Voskuni weaves in details about Ellie's and her family's experiences as Lebanese Armenians. I finished the book wanting to learn more about the history of Armenians both in Lebanon as well as in the United States.. (I also finished the book wanting to try, like, ALL of the fabulous food described throughout the novel! But then again, I'm always hungry. :))

Thank you Taleen Voskuni for writing another amazing queer Armenian story. Both Lavash at First Sight and Sorry, Bro will forever be books that I hold close to my heart, not only for the incredible storytelling but the representation as well. Never did I think I'd be able to see myself in a romance book as completely as I have here.

This was a delight to read. From the first moment Naz and Vanya meet, I was sold. Their relationship progression is great and the conflict felt real. I absolutly loved the dynamic with their parents and the cooking competition as well.

I'd highly reccommend this book to any contemporary romance fans.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

A hilarious and heartwarming romance about finding your authentic self while celebrating where you came from. The chemistry between Ellie and Vanya sparked and sizzled--they were an absolute joy to read.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for this eARC. I'll tell you what, you must be snacking while you read this book. There are just so many delicious dishes described, it cannot be enjoyed properly on an empty stomach. I'm a person who has never had a lot of Armenian food but now I have to search it out and try one of these dishes. The romance element of this book was nice! It was a sweet relationship that came with it's own hiccups. There was good communication up until the 3rd act flubs, even then it was pretty good about avoiding the tropes of cutting each other off. There is no spice level romance wise on this read. It's fade to black and for the story they are telling it works. I think one intimate scene may have had me a bit more invested in the relationship but it wasn't wholly missed. Overall a nice quick tasty read!

Taleen Voskuni’s sophomore release was such a fast-paced pleasure. After reading Sorry, Bro last year, I knew I wanted to snatch up her next sapphic release! I was so excited by the reality show set up and all of the nods to Armenian Lebanese food culture. Definitely check this one out!