Harper, trying to recreate herself as a food stylist, written by someone who doesn’t understand what a food stylist actually does and how the job works (for example, the food post 4-hour photoshoot would definitely not be edible, given the tools and additives stylists use, yet our leads are chomping down “the best part of the job”). Manny, 40-year-old creep of a doctor, self-professed never-getting-married man who can’t help but say sexually inappropriate things on repeat to a girl who has expressed no interest in him. I love a mindless romance as much as anyone else but couldn’t stomach this one.

Manny was the incredibly hot, incredibly single bachelor from The Boy Toy. I have been eagerly anticipating his story. And I loved meeting Harper in this book. Harper is in the midst of a year long man ban after a bad breakup and dealing with an autoimmune disease.

I loved their banter. Good dialogue always gets me, and the two of them had such great chemistry and snark. Reading this book felt like stepping into a really comfortable relationship. They both had lots of baggage and insecurities to deal with, but they were such an amazing match.

I also really enjoyed seeing insight into the marriages of other characters. That was a theme in The Boy Toy as well, as we learned about Pia and Dev. They return as side characters in this book. But even more, we see Harper dealing with her parents' separation after 35 years. All of the secondary characters are beautifully written as part of a complex world.

This is a fun romance novel and one that goes deep. I enjoyed it even more than The Boy Toy.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced copy. These opinions are my own.

After a devastating breakup, Harper’s been on a self-imposed man ban – no flirting, hookups, or dating. She’s focusing on her career as a food stylist. And then she meets Manny at a wedding. The gorgeous doctor is infuriating but also there’s an undeniable attraction.

When Manny helps her out during an important photoshoot, Harper reconsiders her man ban. Manny, a confirmed bachelor despite his grandmother Izzy’s best efforts, also reconsiders his options.

I loved the premise of The Man Ban by Nicola Marsh – enemies to lovers with lots of foodie talk, set in Australia. I appreciated the author including her own experience with vitiligo and weaving that into Harper’s story. I found Harper’s determination to succeed and not let her illness hold her back to be very relatable.

But I didn’t love Manny’s almost condescending way of talking to Harper. Instead of appreciating her wit, he constantly commented/thought of her as “sassy” which – ugh. And his thoughts that Harper enjoyed eating made her attractive and different from all of the other women. The 10 year age difference between Manny and Harper actually felt more like decades.

That aside, they had some seriously hot chemistry between them. Their banter was full of sparks. Izzy’s dramatics were amusing. The descriptions of the food and locales were gorgeous and made me want to visit and indulge!

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

DNF at 33%

Why?

• immature MC
• boundary-ignoring love interest.

The “meet cute” here was seriously the weirdest I’ve ever read. Manny approaches Harper at a wedding. Unbeknownst to him, she’s a food stylist (which I actually found quite unique and interesting). He says how dumb it is to waste time making food look good. Cue Harper getting really upset—so upset that she turns her cold dismissiveness into flirtation and takes him outside to her car. Within a few weird flirty exchanges, tongues are inserted into gaping mouth holes. Then she remembers she’s upset and reaches into her car and grabs a canister of whip cream and sprays his face.

I kid you not.

Let me remind you that the MC is 30+ and her love interest is 40. I am a 33 year old woman and don’t know a single human in my circle who would make out with a STRANGER and then spray his face with whip cream??? And then kiss more?? IN FORMAL WEDDING ATTIRE???

So I didn’t like the MC off the bat if you couldn’t tell.

Several times she tells Manny that she’s not into his advances/wouldn’t have sex with him. His response?

“We’ll see about that.”

THIS WAS AFTER LESS THAN 48 HOURS OF IN PERSON TIME TOGETHER. Grossed me out. No means no and the fact that he used pretty privilege to ignore that was gross. Especially when later another man she hardly knows hits on her aggressively and she calls him out for being a creep. But Manny was also being creepy IMHO??

Anyway, I didn’t want to waste my time getting more upset with a guy who blatantly ignored a girl’s wishes. I’m sure that’s not how the author intended it, but it was triggering for me, so I put it down.

Weddings, delicious food and cultural pressures to get married! Okay, Harper and Manny are adorable and I absolutely loved Nicola Marsh's writing style. I did think it was going to be a more traditional rom-com, but it erred more on the side of romance. Loved how sex positive it was and how it interwove the representation of vitiligo. All in all, it was a very quick read and I would happily read more by Nicola!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

I saw this on Net Galley and was drawn in by the beautiful cover and the title. Luckily I wished for it and my wish was granted! I was quickly interested in the story right from the beginning.
☕️
This is a new to me author. I thought she did a great job of bringing realistic flawed people together. Manny and Harper’s relationship seemed authentic to me. I didn’t know how it would end and both overcame a lot emotionally.
☕️
Harper is a food stylist- she takes the fancy foodie pictures and sets up food too. She’s at her bff’s wedding as a maid of honor and styling the food when she meets a cocky groomsmen. Good thing she has a man ban going on and isn’t tempted by him. She needs to go get something from her car and finds the once sauve groomsmen who almost charmed her - follows her...she has to fight back and what’s in her arsenal? A can of whip cream! Thought I’d say whoop-ass? She brings that too in sass and snark 😎
☕️
Manny has a perfect life - high profile job as a doctor, good lucks and charm to be with a new women every night if he wishes. But he’s at another wedding in which his grandma harps on him to get married before she’s dead. I loved the drama of “Indian Matchmakers” on Netflix and his grandma isn’t saying to marry just anyone!
☕️
This had steamy scenes and a lot of talk about sex. I thought it was really interesting how a character had vitiligo which is an auto-immune disease where cells stop producing pigment in skin, resulting in various colored patches of skin on the body.
☕️
I would definitely read more by Marsh and want to look up her other books. This book comes out in July by Berkley. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy. These are my own thoughts and opinions.

A unique novel with exciting characters. This one isn't like others, you'll be left wanting more by Nicola Marsh.

I thought this book was okay. It wasn't my favorite but not the worst I have ever read. Some parts of the book felt really rushed and parts felt slow. I really loved the begining of their relationship in New Zeland but the part of her parents and his grandma were just a little odd to me.

Well it was definitely a book! I actually dnf halfway through. I just could not get into the actual story and care about any of the characters.

I was so excited to receive this book. I loved her past work and this did not disappoint! The characters were so well established, and the book didn't feel like anything else I've ever read. Loved it!

Harper and Manny start off badly when Manny disrespects Harpers hard work at a wedding they both are attending- proving that Harpers ‘man-ban’ is well deserved by warding off men.
When Manny comes thru in a pinch and helps Harper on a job for several days when he should be on R&R, Harper thinks she may have Manny pegged wrong...

The story of Manny and Harper is tumultuous and steamy. Their families can’t stand but to get involved in their relationship and it’s easy to pour yourself into this easily in one seating.

This book was super sweet! It was an enemies to lovers story, following Izzy a strong woman with insecurities, and Manny a kind/sexy doctor. I enjoyed seeing their relationship progress and getting to see how they grew together. I always love the stories about the man who doesn't settle down finally finding the woman he NEEDS to marry. I also LOVED the food descriptions and the witty banter between Izzy and Manny. I just found it a little hard to get absorbed in. I think maybe it was the third-person perspective that made it a little hard to get invested in the characters.

It was overall a sweet story and I would recommend it to all my fellow foodies out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Man Ban is set in Melbourne and Auckland and follows Harper Ryland, a food stylist, and Manish (Manny) Gomes, a doctor. After an awkward encounter at a wedding, the two find themselves both in New Zealand, where Manny ends up saving Harper after she experiences a job mishap involving a disappearing assistant and from there, romance ensues. For people looking for a quick one-time beach read, this is probably for you. The writing is easy to follow, the plot creates emotion and intrigue, and the characters are interesting enough to keep you in the story, particularly Harper.

For me, the book was just okay. I classify it like this because there are a few things in the story that either didn’t make sense or just made me cringe and thus made me not really vibe with the book. First, Harper's parents were very overbearing and self-involved and were not people I enjoyed spending any time with. Second, the whole engagement debacle part of the plot felt rushed and confusing. I also do not understand the end, because he treated her terribly and it just didn’t seem like something someone could come back from that quickly??!! Third, there were some small awkward moments in the text that reflected problematic old-fashioned gender norms that really frustrated me when I came across them while reading. For example, the trope of a woman “with a healthy appetite” being “incredibly sexy” is something I want to fire into the sun (to be fair this is one that a lot of romance writers need to stop doing!). It’s such a backhanded, “not like other girls” gendered conception. Also, the idea that a man not wanting to do something romantic instead of having sex, makes him “a woman,” is not a great thing to read in 2021. All of these took away from Harper’s story which I think is the most important and intriguing part of the book.

To end on a positive: the book did a very good job of making me want to go visit New Zealand and also eat very fancy food.

I loved this book so much. I liked Manny in the Boy Toy, he was such a fun and refreshing character. so when I discovered he was the lead I was excited.

Manny is very humorous and easy-going but he has his underline issues to deal with like the fact that he's never been in a relationship and never wants to get married. However, when he sees Harper at a wedding he is drawn in and must explore the new feelings

Harper is on a man ban because of her last relationship disaster. she is repairing her self esteem and trust from that experience

I loved how honest and fun it was for Harper and Manny to explore their relationship. I enjoyed the Boy Toy and the Man Ban didn't disappoint It's a fun, deep and hot story of two people growing in each other.

This book was absolutely phenomenal! Nicola marsh outdid herself! While a stand-alone book, the tie in’s from her previous book the boy toy were the perfect addition! Highly recommend!

I enjoyed reading the Man Ban by Nicola Marsh. I gave it three stars but would have given 3.5 if that was an option!

The book is set in Australia and New Zealand which is a nice change since a lot of rom-com/chick lit books are either set in the US or UK. I enjoyed reading about the “food styling” profession and the different countries and cultures. One of the main characters is a food stylist and some of the food descriptions made me hungry and looking for new recipes!

The book was easy to pick up and read but the storyline was pretty straightforward and did not shock or surprise me at all.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

Disclaimer: I got this book in exchange for an honest review.

The man bun is a book I read as part of
The Love, Arctually book club. Harper is a food stylist and the best man- Manny Gomes belittles her so she plans the best revenge. She leads him on the entire wedding with the intention of humiliating him. Things take an unexpected turn when Manny helps her out after an unfortunate incident.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed The Man Ban from start to finish. I loved Manny as a main character; he was flirty, fabulous, fun! He embraced his desire to just be himself, and that usually involved barring back and forth with Harper. Harper was a fabulous female lead character. She suffers from an autoimmune disease (I don’t want to spoiler which one), but I learned so much from her character’s journey towards healing. I love any book that normalizes everyday issues into a fiction story because it allows readers to see themselves in the book, which is really important I think! This is a solid romance read. I rated this book three stars because while the romance was on point (and the steam was also on point), the plot felt a little lacking at times. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy for myself once it hits shelves! Thank you again for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed every page, and I’m still blushing from Manny and Harper’s sexy talk. :)

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was really excited to read more about Manny after being introduced to him in The Boy Toy. He was definitely a stand out character in that novel and I was eager to know more about him.
Manny’s flirty banter was just as good as I remembered! I loved the back and forth between he and Harper; the two had great chemistry, thanks to the author’s witty writing style.
There was great character development for Manny and Harper, both not interested in a serious relationship and needing some self-reflection to figure out what was holding them back.
The one thing that bugged me a bit was Harper’s friends, and nearly anyone she came in contact with who knew Manny, filling her head with negative information about his past. It was repeated over and over; at one point I thought these people needed to stop trying to talk her out of this relationship and just be supportive.
Overall, this was a fun, fast-paced, open door romance which had me smiling. If you were a fan of The Boy Toy, I would highly recommend grabbing this one to learn more about Manny!