genuine_sarcasm's reviews
59 reviews

This is a really cute book. It's better than some of the other "spicy" rom-coms. It was balanced as far as story and spice goes. So that was pleasant. The reason I did not give it a 4 star rating was because the MC gets "stupid" in that "dumb girl trope" type of way - which I cannot stand a female being a "dumb girl" as any part of a plot device to move the story along. Why does the MC have to be stupid?

Explanation of the "stupid" >>

She meets a guy she likes. The have sex. She finds out she's pregnant. She decides, on her own, that she won't tell him. He confesses his love to her. She still doubts him and whether or not he wants her. She continues to make decisions and assumptions without talking to anyone or asking questions.

I get that the point of the "dumb girl" trope might be that she's "scared of her own feelings" but why can't a MC be scared and honest and misunderstand? 

Anyway, despite that - the story was cute. It reminded me a little of Britney Spears getting together with Joey Fatone based on the whole premise of the book.

I am interested in the other books in the series and I will say

the introduction and ending chapters were solely put there to set up for another "stand alone" book.

However,  in the beginning, I was wondering what the first chapter had to do with the story - it felt so out of place. 

TL/DR - cute story, balanced between spice and having a plot, ridiculously fast read. 

I found the main female lead insufferable when she was driving the plot, but that was necessary. 

It’s very enjoyable and I’d love to listen to this again. Maybe get the physical copy and read it. 

It’s reminiscent of The Night Circus but less on romance. This is darker. Characters are lovely, well written. I’d love to see this as a tv show because I feel like this could be a series that goes on forever. 

I hope there’s a second book. 

What a wonderful surprise of the book. This is definitely not what I thought it was going to be, but it was a great surprise and 
 thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have the audio and the physical format. 

I like how this was structured because it explains something and then gives you practical application. 

This is definitely a book. I plan to reread this as reminder of strategies to use.

Beautiful brave story. 

I wasn’t paying attention when I saw this audiobook on Libro. I just saw morally. Gray male lead and listen to the sample and thought the voices sounded nice.

When I started listening, and the trigger warnings were exceedingly long, I was a bit concerned. But I do completely blind into this book.

There is a lot of smut in this book, but surprisingly there is actually a good storyline behind it. There were some parts of this book that made me uncomfortable concerning the triggers that were very clearly stated in the beginning. But it did not distract from the telling of the story.

I do recommend you don’t do a lot of research or don’t try to figure anything out. Just enjoy it for what it is. am actually tempted to check out part two when it comes out. Even without the smut, the story still holds.

At first this book was annoying. The characters are stubborn to their own detriment. They are paralyzed by the inability to make the right (personal) decision. They felt weak. 

Then I realized they are like normal people. How many times did you talk yourself out of something small or big? How many times did a colleagues opinion of you / your work have more weight than it should?

I ended up not being able to stop listening to this book. I brushed my teeth to it, knitted with it, got dressed after swimming with it. 

It is hopeful. And it’s come to me at a complicated time in my own life. 

It’s a beautiful reminder to set fear aside, knowing things may not go your way, and to say yes a little more. 

Also - finally - someone else who is so allergic to insect bites they swell and get hives! 

This was an absolute joy to read. It did not fall into the second book syndrome or the story lagged.

I did read it in a rush because I’m reading multiple books at once, but this is definitely one that I would like to revisit and read again. This is one of those feel good books that you’d like to recommend to everyone. It definitely made me laugh out loud.

i have mixed emotions about this book. i went into this not knowing what i was getting - totally blind.

let's get the challenging part over with first ... first, i am a person of color - asian. so this may influence how i interpret the book.
1. the book credits the black female chef, mashama bailey, first. however, the voice of the book is the white financial backer, john o morisano. the book is his voice with hers as a side commentary. while both voices do blend well together - almost like a married couple telling a story, it's always him.

2. in listening to the book, it's always him pushing his views and thoughts. he assumes he knows what mashama needs. and even when she deliberately says "i need x" he will still point out that he doesn't trust it. his desire for constant movement blinds him to the needs of others.

there is a part of the. book where he cannot see past how he operates to have empathy for mashama's situations. he is constantly judging her, and others, from how he would do things. measuring and judging them by how he operates. as a white male having the money - and constantly saying 'i want the opposite of me' - there was a lot of opportunities missed by him - even up until the end of the book. it's almost like listening to someone say 'yeah i'm horrible with x but i do it anyway because it always works out for me.'

3. without giving away the book - i understand the literary tactic behind the first and very last chapter (not the epilogue). i get why it was done that way. however, it was like a punch in the face and then a "oh look, isn't cotton candy fluffy and fun to eat. let me tell you a story about how i started making cotton candy at carnivals." followed up with a "oh yeah, back to the slap in the face ..... /slaps the other cheek"

4. If you have the audio - the  recipes at the end of every chapter are **not** available to download as an accompaniment. This is extremely disappointing as other food related books do this. Also, some of the dishes are ethnic and therefore trying to look them up is difficult. 

the good
1. i like that they give both sides of the story. as they are telling the story.

2. i like how honest they both are about everything

3. i like how they name the individuals who influenced the opening of the restaurant or who were so foundational to it's current processes

4. it was interesting to see how they brought in political, cultural, and societal factors into their stories. because - it does have an impact. it does mean something. and it means something different to both of them.

This was complicated. 
3 stars for the actual character and character development. 
5 stars for the lovely look into the Muslim culture. 

Nada is a jerk; immature. I disliked her so much I did not want to finish the book. 

I didn't mind the book hopped back and forth between past and present. What I did not like, and thought was rushed, is the development of the relationship between the two main characters. 

It never explained how one could forgive / overlook severe bullying to fall in love. There was no development of it - especially considering the lack of interaction over the course of years.   I just didn’t see growth from Nada or the development of a relationship. Hence the 3 for the story.

The 5 goes for the writing about the Muslim culture. As an Asian myself, it was interesting to see the parallels between cultures. I enjoyed learning about how naturally Islam is folded into everyday life without the over explanation books seem to go into. “It just is” - and this is important because representation matters. 

Also - much ado about nothing is Shakespeare and I kept looking for parallels. I just saw the description said it was based off of persuasion (haven’t read). So that bit was confusing.