This is the perfect book for me at the moment, which is clear from the way I devoured this in one sitting. I loved the writing (though there were a few minor errors that I assume will get edited in the final version), the humour was exactly my type of humour (meaning I laughed and highlighted many quotes), and I really enjoyed the focus on cooking, as well as the discussions of Eurocentrism in art curriculums (cooking in this case).

With the characters, I really liked Eliza, though I'm sure some may have found her unlikeable. She's definitely flawed: she can be judgy, nosy, selfish, and abrasive, but also... I relate to her struggles with her insecurities, perfectionism and true goals for the future, so I was able to understand her hurt when she lashed out at everyone, though it definitely wasn't right. So, she was a character I really connected with.
Wesley was just amazing, talented, and sweet and I wish he existed irl. He wasn't perfect either, of course, but I loved how he and Eliza helped each other, and they went from dislike to friends to lovers in a way that felt natural.
Though we meet Wesley's friend group a little later on in the book, I immediately liked how sweet and fun they seemed. Eliza's friend group also seemed like a realistic group of smart teen girls: kind with genuine intentions, but can be judgy sometimes. However, after some learning from their end, I loved how they all came together in the end and found common interests. As Eliza's friend Meredith said, it's like in High School Musical when the decathlon team hangs out with the basketball team!

For the plot, I had a great time watching Eliza grow both as a cook and as a person. The food descriptions seriously had me considering trying out new recipes even though I'm not a very good cook. Also, I loved the cook-off at the end! That was really fun. It was also heartwarming to see how Eliza grew closer to her mom through cooking her late grandmother's recipes, and how it was healing for her mom to share stories about her own life and memories with Eliza's grandmother.

Overall, this was a great read! I'm definitely going to be tuning into whatever Sophia Lee writes next!

“The story of my family begins in the kitchen, so I should have known that the story of me would start there, too” (255)

Thank you NetGallery for access to the eARC! 4.25 ⭐️

This book was so sweet. The story follows Eliza and the journey through her first semester of senior year. There is a lot riding on her for this term- college applications, trying hard to be salutatorian, and trying to keep time for her friends. However, there is also a lot of emotions she experiences. After a scheduling mishap, she has to take a culinary class. For the first time ever, Eliza isn’t immediately great in a class. She also meets her rival, Wesley, who at first becomes a thorn in her side as her assigned partner. All the while at home Eliza is dealing with grief—or the lack thereof—of her grandmothers death. The real heartfelt experience, though, comes in the form of watching her mother deteriorate from this grief. Trying to balance school, family, and friendship is a huge part of this novel.

There is so much I could say about this story. Eliza is a great character that experiences humility. Without getting too much into spoiler territory, Eliza is able to grow after changing her views on her relationships within her family and her friends. She takes a step back in some very hard situations to recognize the world around her. I appreciated the way situations were talked through and mutual communication shone. Specifically in her relationship with her best friends, Kareena and Meredith, really hit home for me and some of the things I could have done differently in high school. Eliza was very real, which is so needed in a narrative like this.

Also Wesley!!! Rivals to lovers is such a wonderful trope and I think it was written well. I also appreciated the meta view on Wesley’s archetype. What I mean by this, is that I’m glad that he was not a poor kid with deep familial traumas. I was falling into the same mindset that Eliza was, thinking that was the case. But then there was a good laugh to be had when Wesley explained (which I will leave out specifics for spoiler reasons). I appreciated the different take, which also helped remind the reader that this setting is a “fancy,” I believe private high school. Wesley and Eliza have a great dynamic, I enjoyed the sweet romance and Wesley has some very beautiful lines.

Then of course there is great commentary of being the child of immigrant parents. Getting a lens through Eliza’s eyes amplified her sadness around not feeling completely connected to her Korean culture. The small glimpses of that sadness and anger showing (especially toward the end in the fight with her mother on Thanksgiving) was a well written addition. I felt there could have been more depth or even just moments that helped aid in tackling this, but really the moments cooking with her mom were solid.

On that note, the cooking!! I ended up staying up till 2am reading this book and let me just say I was very hungry. It makes me want to get more into cooking and also Korean food. So yummy!

Overall, a very solid and endearing debut novel. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a quick read, but also a novel that has a range of topics. Definitely a good one to pick up!

This was a fantastic concept for a romantic comedy novel, I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their work in this story. It was a realistic romance and was enjoying the overall feel of this. Sophia Lee has a strong writing style and am excited to read more from them as this was a fantastic read.