A cute, fun read almost as delicious as Beck’s mom’s petit fours. I love all of Lauren Morrill’s books, and It’s Kind of a Cheesy Love Story filled the “I-haven’t-gone-on-a-date-in-11-months”-sized hole in my heart. Lauren is great at writing characters that you want to root for, and I was on Beck’s team from the start. I’m also Aggressively Attracted to any boy with a leather jacket, so you KNOW I was smiling ear to ear when Tristan was introduced.

This was such an adorable story!! It definitely reminded me of Tweet Cute by Emma Lord in some ways which is another YA contemporary romance that involves a lot of time spent in restaurants. I loved the premise of this, imagine being known as the girl who was born in a pizza shop! Not very glamorous but definitely has its perks as Beck is set with free pizza for life.
It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story was a cute romance with a main character who learns to love herself and accept who she is without feeling like she needs to change for other people. I definitely appreciated Beck and her relatability as she navigates her food service job in order to get her own car.
I think some of the side characters could have been developed a bit more but this was still a super enjoyable and quick read! What you see isn't necessarily what you get with this book; it is in fact kind of a cheesy love story, but it also has a great message that I think a lot of people will really enjoy reading about.

This book was such a cute story and was a very good read. I flew through this book in one afternoon and I can't wait to recommend it to all my friends. If you are looking for a easy to read romance than this is the book for you! Great book!

Beck is born in a pizzeria and it seems that’s all she’s known for. Once she’s 16 she’s offered a job at the pizzeria and everything changes with her friends. Beck starts to hang out with the other pizza workers and even thinks she might like one of the guys. Someone points out to Beck that she is afraid of being herself and as time passes, Beck realizes she needs to live her life for herself. Great book about self-discovery, friends, romance, and pizza.

What happens when you’re born in a pizzeria? Well you become known as the Pizza Princess, along with free lifetime pizza and a guaranteed job when you’re 16. Beck has been living under the shadow of the Pizza Princess name. She can’t wait to get as far away from it as possible, yet she needs the money, so she takes the part time job. There she finds that maybe it’s not as bad as she thought, maybe theres more to the cute snarky pizza delivery guy and that maybe she might find friendship in her coworkers. This is a great story about a girl falling in and out of love, of discovering friendships, and about discovering that it actually rocks to be a Pizza Princess. Beck throughout the story is struggling to maintain her friends and social life but finds that they give her a bit of anxiety. But she starts working at the pizza store and suddenly she’s found new friends who don’t mind geeking out with her and even a guy who, though he might be a bit cold and snarky, has a bit of a soft spot and a pretty cool car. I absolutely loved Beck’s coworkers and her struggles with accepting herself and trying to keep her friends while feeling a little left out is very relatable. This is a very sweet romance and coming of age story about a girl learning that you can have tons of different types of friends and that you should just be yourself. Beck has very relatable struggles and overall I had a fun time reading this story. Bonus points to the pizza crew and of course the oh so cute Tristan.

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Let me begin by saying that I am a sucker for workplace settings, especially slightly janky, dysfunctional ones. If you're going to throw in a quirky angle like "Baby born in bathroom becomes employee", I'm so in. Beck is a wonderfully cynical protagonist, with just the right amount of vulnerability behind the armor. I also felt watching her make new friends while simultaneously attempting to navigate changes in her old friend group was something a lot of my students could relate to. Finally, the end of the story - a version of the old "X is going to close...unless we can raise Y dollars by Z!" felt earned based on the love and charm displayed by the characters throughout the novel. Sometimes, it's that simple.

IT'S KIND OF A CHEESY LOVE STORY is exactly what it's named after: a cheesy love story. A young adult contemporary combined with multiple tropes and stereotypes that readers love in a contemporary novel. There's a play on the title because the story follows a teen named Beck, that is known as the Pizza baby or Pizza Princess. She was born in the bathroom of a pizza restaurant and has celebrated her birthday there ever since. The owner has offered her a job anytime she's interested, can get free pizza for life, a news reporter is always updated the town about her life since her birth, and people are constantly reminding her of where of the pizza restaurant. The thing is, Beck doesn't want anything to do with it. She's tired of being associated with it and wants to live her life without being the Pizza Princess. However, that changes once she's turned 16 and decides to take the job at the restaurant. At first it was something temporary but, it slowly becomes something more. She has started making friends, likes working there, and might have developed a crush on a coworker... but the more time she spends there, the less time she's spending with her friends from school. The two worlds collide as Beck navigates navigates where she wants to go in life, what this pizza restaurant, and everyone employed there means to her.

I think I'm leaning towards a 3.5 star rating because this was an above average and enjoyable contemporary. I loved the premise and different aspects that went into the story. One of my favorite things was seeing the discussion/argument about college. College is often talked about as necessary and expected out of everyone. However, it is not the best or only path for everyone. It is something that should be talked about more and I appreciate Lauren Morrill for including that. It definitely highlighted the different view points and ambitions each of the characters throughout the book. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and trying to guess what they would be up to next. Since the book does follow Beck's life, we didn't see a lot of what the other characters were doing however, the glimpses and mentions of what they were up to were intriguing. It reminded me of now, where a few years out of high school many people are in different paths of their life and up to different things. It had me itching to see what my friends and old classmates were up to.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a stand out book for me. It's not something I will be seeking out to reread or recommend to everyone. It's perfect for the summer or whenever someone is interested in a quick contemporary book. It's cheesy, full of that wild range of emotions of being a teenager, and pizza of course. The characters at times were predictable or a little annoying but hey, they're going through a crazy time of their lives transitioning from high school to college and potentially losing a big part of their lives.

The ending, or resolution to the "disaster that strikes the beloved pizza parlor that’s become like home causing Beck to realize that it takes losing something to really know what it’s worth" felt too easy. Yes, that is very possible but, it did feel a little easy especially since the disaster itself only lasted a few pages. Beck went from one thing to the complete opposite in a matter of days just because of the disaster. Even though she did have her "ah ha" moment about where she was going wrong with the people around her, I still felt like her character growth was too quick. She jumped right into it like she wasn't fighting it for the past few months-years.

Overall, it was a cute story but wasn't the best it could've been. I'm excited to see more reviews because I think this is a great lesson from people in high school or younger that could be struggling with the same thing Beck is. Sometimes battling different friend groups is hard but it doesn't always have to be.

This was such a fun and cute book. I loved the fact that it was about a Pizza shop. Also all of the character were such interesting people who I felt like had real lives and backstories. This book surprised me in multiple ways and I'm so happy I got the chance to read it.

When Beck reluctantly takes a job at the pizza parlor where she was accidentally born (in the bathroom!), her life changes in unexpected ways. This story of new friendships, friendships that grow and change (or end), and the difference between a crush and an actual connection with someone is interspersed with a fun story about pizza, saving local small businesses, and breaking out of who your small town expects you to be. I loved Beck's coworkers who eventually became her friends, and I appreciated that a thread about college and how it's perceived as the unquestioned only next option after high school was woven into the rest of this sweet, funny love story.