Chef Amelie meets a cute guy–who professes to hate weddings, marriage, and everything they stand for–at her friend Barb’s wedding, but Amelie is soon-to-be-engaged, so she and the handsome, charming Ian develop a not-so-long distance friendship instead, in this culinary romance.

Their texting is a welcome respite from things unravelling in Amelie’s real life: waiting to see if her father, a famous chef, is going to retire and leave his restaurant to her; the ongoing rivalry with the only other local (a few hours away) French styled establishment, that is extending to an online and more public forum; the deterioration of her relationship. When she pressures her boyfriend of fifteen! years to propose, he asks to open their relationship for the six months he will be commuting out of state for a job. Oh, and, Martha, Amelie’s sisterly best friend, is stealing all of Amelie’s wedding ideas for her own upcoming nuptials. It’s a lot, and as the pressure builds, with encouragement from Ian and Barb, Amelie starts to stand up for herself and what she needs. When things go south, Amelie and Ian end their friendship. Their paths cross six months later when they are both invited to present at the culinary conference ICCE, which is where a revelation about one another’s parentage results in them becoming instant enemies. The narrative pivots from the past timeline to the present.

Because I just binge-watched The Bear, I couldn’t help but picture Jeremy Allen White’s portrayal of Carmen Berzatto as the lead, as Ian was described with unruly hair and very blue eyes, black tattoos and firm muscles. The title doesn’t pay off until almost the very end, which is frustrating; the back and forth from present to backstory can be whiplash-inducing, but the structure is very much like a slowing pendulum, with wide sides that shorten as the story progresses, until everything converges. It’s long, deep, and masterful, but I did have to work harder than usual to keep everything straight. The sex scenes are detailed and spicy–love a vocal hero.

For other foodie books, try Recipe for a Charmed Life by Rachel Linden, The Spice Master at Bistro Exotic by Samantha Verant, Salt and Sugar by Rachel Carvalho. For books about writing cookbooks, The Seven-Year Slip by Ashley Poston and The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain, and if you prefer cooking competitions, Sadie on a Plate by Amanda Elliott, and Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall are winners.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheWeddingMenu via #NetGalley courtesy of #GalleryBooks. This review will post to HLBB on 1/22/2025

Letizia Lorini's The Wedding Menu is an utterly delightful read that kept me hooked from start to finish. While I don’t usually gravitate toward characters with golden-retriever-like energy, Ian completely won me over. His mix of charm, supportiveness, and playful flirtation makes him the perfect companion for Amelie. As their friendship deepens and evolves into a romance, Ian's unwavering dedication to Amelie’s happiness shines through, creating a beautifully heartwarming dynamic. Their journey from friends to lovers is both captivating and deeply satisfying, making this story a joy to experience.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It was cute and entertaining. I love when a story has a cooking element to it!

I have had this book on my TBR since it was indie released and I’m happy to say it met all expectations! The plot and characters were great and I loved the writing style. I don’t say this a lot but the duel timeline was done perfectly. Ian and Amelie have my heart!! I really hope we get to see more of them in future books.

This is a new author for me but I’ve heard much about Lorini. Characters are solid, could use more originality. Plot was promising and intriguing, could be refined a bit more. Romance was a balance of emotional and tender! This was a beautiful book and I’m excited for what’s next!

“I think friendship is at the base of the best love stories.”

I read this book for the first time more than a year ago as an ARC received from Letizia.

Now the book will be published by Gallery Books and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this version.

Ian and Amelie meet at a wedding but she is “engaged” so they become good friends.
Amelie has great character development, becoming more confident and standing up for herself after being mistreated.
Ian, as described by Amelie, is “more than hot. He’s sensitive, smart, talented, hilarious”. Plus he has such a dirty mouth. I fell in love with him all over again and I wish he was real.
This book made me laugh, cry and laugh while crying.
There are so many things I liked about it:
- there is a dual timeline - we gradually find out parts of what happended in the last year
- this is a strangers to friends to rivals to lovers
- slow burn, but worth it
- he falls first
- more than a rom-com
- the text exchanges between them are hilarious (cheese lines and unpopular opinions)
- the ending and connection to the first book (Desserts for Stresses People)

I recomand this book and look forward to the next ones in the series!

Thank you again Gallery Books and Netgalley for the ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Potential spoilers ahead!

Going into this book I thought I would be reading a cute romance book. Sadly I was mistaken. I drawn the line at cheating. Emotional cheating is cheating in my book and I can’t overlook this. Apart from miscommunication I absolutely dislike weak FMC. Unfortunately this read had all my dislikes in a book and made the experience disappointing.

This was sweet and I enjoyed the ride for what it was. Will I remember it in a few weeks time? Probably not.

This was such a lovely feel good read. Dual timelines without a third act breakup, Amelie and Ian’s romance was so heartfelt and it was a delight seeing them grow from friends to lovers. And Ian is basically a dream book boyfriend! Perfect for a cozy weekend. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

It's been one year since Amelie's life crashed and burned - she's jobless, single, and fighting with her best friend. Really the only positive about the last year was Ian, the charming, opinionated, wedding averse, man who stumbled into her life and made her question everything she thought she knew. Yet even Ian is gone now, and refusing to answer her calls, so when Amelie is offered a spot at a cooking conference near his hometown, she knows this is an opportunity she can't pass up. But when Ian is revealed to be the son of her father's rival, and even worse, no longer interested in anything more than friendship, Amelie's plans for a happy reunion go up in smoke.

I need to read everything Letizia Lorini has ever written. Immediately. The chemistry between Amelie and Ian is *chef's kiss* (no pun intended), their friendship was heartwarming, and I couldn't help but smile through all of their banter, jokes, and terrible pick up lines. I thought the time jumps between chapters kept things exciting, hinting at secrets and events that would be later revealed, and the overall pace of the story was perfect. This is one of those romances that will live in my head for a while, and I'm absolutely going to get my hands on the other books in this series as soon as I possibly can.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Wedding Menu

Letizia Lorini

2 ⭐️⭐️

I wanted to love this so much based off the reviews but it just wasn’t for me? Positives: I did adore the writing style, the texts being shown, the tweet war was funny, the chemistry between them & I mostly liked the MMC. I didn’t really love the FMC, I hated her bf/fiance/ex & her best friend like felt rage lmao. Felt lots of rage how she was a doormat half the time. Everything felt toxic? Which I guess real life is but it just didn’t feel right. I will absolutely be checking out other work from the author though because, again, I loved the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e arc, for an honest review!

I really loved this book! The author did a fantastic job of alternating between the present and the past, revealing little by little how the relationship got so strained. It made the book un-put downloadable. While the main characters inability to advocate for herself or stand up for herself was very frustrating. Her growth and development was very satisfying and believable. This book really had everything you would want in a romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for the opportunity to read an eARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Amelie has get her friends, her fiancé, and her father take advantage of her good nature for far too loog. She doesn't stand up for herself, instead prioritizing the wants of others over her own needs.

Then she meets Ian. They connect and slowly, unwittingly fall in love, but she's engaged to another man, and their slow march to heartbreak is inevitable. Amelie's life is in shambles and she finds herself failing in all of her relationships and in her professional goals.

Months later, they run into each other at a work conference, and soon realize their fathers are decades-long rivals. Is there past too painful to overcome? Will their parents get in the way?

Ian was an excellent MMC, he pushes Amelie to stand up for herself and recognize her own needs and desires but he isn't overbearing or controlling, a problem I see in a lot of other contemporary romances. Amelie was relatable and I enjoyed seeing her growth throughout the story.

I really enjoyed this rivals to lovers, second chance romance and I look forward to reading more from Letizia Lorini in the future!

So I was taken in by the cover of The Wedding Menu, and I love a wedding themed romance—I have a lot of thoughts on this, but I could not put this down! Amelie had it all one year ago, and then wedding-hating Ian came around and popped her perfect bubble, and a year after their meeting, she’s lost it all, but she won’t stop—and she’s got one week to show Ian she’s changed. Okay, I was immediately intimidated by the length—Amazon says it’s 484, which for a contemporary romance felt too long going into it. But I have to say, this was the shortest almost 500 page book I’ve read. I mean I could not put it down. With all dual timeline and a strangers to friends to strangers to lovers story, there is so much going on and I was hooked. Ian is the sweetest guy. So genuine and kind and the kind of friend you want in your corner on a bad day or when you need a reality check. Amelie was more complex. Told in her POV, I struggled with figuring out if I really liked her. Her best friend Barb is so sweet and I feel like the moments with Amelie and her made Amelie come off selfish. But her growth too! Amelie goes through hell and back in this with all the changes she goes through. And she does it with resilience and she lets herself change and grow, and I respect the hell out of that. This is her story, and I was rooting for her. And the banter too! So on point, so fun, and it just felt like a very genuine romance! In the front half of this, I didn’t think I was going to really enjoy it, but it really picks up, and it has all the best elements of a romance. Very bingeable read!

3.75 stars, I wasn’t a fan of each chapter going between past and present. I did enjoy the book overall. The storyline kept my attention throughout.


*******I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.*************

Genuinely, a very fun and quick romance read. Amelie meets charming Ian at a wedding, and as their connection blossoms, her life goes downhill. A year later, when they meet again at a conference and discover that they are the children of rivals in the culinary world of French cuisine, the pieces begin to fall into place as Amelie desperately tries to fix what happened between them over the past year. An indulgent read, especially with how perfect Ian is at every turn, and I found myself really interested in what would happen next, and what happened over the past year. I wouldn't call it high quality, but it excels at what it does, and tells a quick and compelling story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the e-galley of The Wedding Menu. Overall, I enjoyed The Wedding Menu by Lorini. There was so much drama and tension. But it was hard sometimes hard to follow as one chapter was current day and then the next would be from a year ago. They went back and forth the whole book. I did like the story and think that it might be one you have to read twice to really get the full story.
I will be recommending this to adult romance readers and plan to read more by Lorini myself.

This book doesn’t just deserve five stars—it deserves a gazillion! I went in with sky-high expectations after reading Desserts for Stressed People, but even then, I wasn’t prepared for how this story would completely surpass everything I’ve ever read in the romcom genre. It didn’t just meet my hopes—it handed me the moon and stars and utterly captivated me. It was nothing short of a dream, and I couldn’t put it down.
I’m usually not a fan of the friends-to-lovers trope, but this one? This one was absolute perfection. Their friendship wasn’t just a setup for romance—it was the heart of the whole story. What started with flirty text banter and playful pickup lines evolved into one of the most beautiful relationships I’ve ever read. And the dual timeline? A risky choice, but executed brilliantly. The seamless shifts between past and present created gorgeous parallels, making the story all the more rich and cohesive. Honestly, if we’d had a couple of chapters from Ian’s point of view, I would’ve been over the moon!
And let’s talk about the Heaven and Shane cameo! Seeing them pop up as the couple at the wedding, lost in each other’s eyes, with Amelie recognizing that same look in Ian? Genius! Shane’s bakery making Barb’s wedding cake, and Ian’s constant questions about Amelie’s favorite bakery? Perfection. Then, discovering a vacant restaurant spot in their building that ultimately pushes Ian and Amelie to open their own place? The author nailed it. This kind of interconnected universe blows Marvel out of the water!
Every time Ian called Amelie "beautiful," my heart flipped, then did a full-on somersault. He says it all the time, and I’m not sure how my heart survived the onslaught.
Ian Roberts will spoil you for every other fictional love interest. A golden retriever with black cat vibes, he’s everything. From the very first chapter, I was head-over-heels in love with him. He’s kind, funny, selfless—always putting Amelie first, even while scolding her for doing the same for others. His passion and thoughtfulness were so genuine. If I could pick one fictional man to spend forever with, Ian would be the one.
This book? Utter perfection.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC!

I adored this book! The flirting, the culinary aspects, the characters....all of it was 10/10 for me! If you're a fan of Tessa Bailey then you'll love this book. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Loved it! Excellent flirty vibe with plenty of laughs and the culinary additions. Enjoyed to rival families trope and the friends to something more angst.