Sweet young adult romance. Very cheesy but cute. Follows several tropes and no real surprises. There was a sweetness to the romance that was nice.

Disclosure: While I do not know Kaitlyn Hill personally I do know her sister and was excited about this book from the first time I heard about it. To that note, I have also pre-ordered the book.

Love from Scratch is the romance I didn't know I needed. Set in a world I am very familiar with, a famous cooking network that wasn't not BA, Reese and Benny are spending their summers interning for the network in hopes to get the coveted fall position. Reese is a strong young woman who knows what she wants and has been supported by those around her to go after her dreams. Benny, we learn over time, is a boy struggling to figure out who he is as he emerges from a close family where seemingly his life was planned out for him. I absolutely loved the evolution of friendships, of female empowerment, and discussions of the damages that can come from social media. I can't wait to see more from Kaitlyn Hill in the future!

5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Love from Scratch by Kaitlyn Hill is a fun book that comes out in April. Reese and Ben are 18 year old summer interns on a TV Cooking Show. They are thrown together onto their own show after they fill in for the regular host and then compete with each other all summer for one fall internship.

I like the author’s humor and food puns and was totally hooked into the story. Reese is interested in Marketing while Ben has grown up helping out at his family’s Italian restaurant.

Reese is creative and cute. She has issues from past dating in high school that she is working through. Ben is sweet and I loved their nicknames for each other and their playful banter. I got hungry hearing about their recipes.

One of the themes in the story is about challenges women still face in the workplace and how they deal with it. It also touches on cyberbullying as Ben and Reese become an internet sensation.

Thank you Kaitlyn Hill, NetGalley, and the publisher for this advanced copy of the book.

This was the sweetest (no pun intended) romcom I've read in awhile! Love from Scratch by Kaitlyn Hill was baked to perfection! Reese and Benny's love story was adorable. I found myself laughing and doing the occasional "AWWW" as I was reading. Not only was it a great read but Kaitlyn captured the true essence of the characters and made them feel realistic. Two thumbs way up!

Thank you NetGalley for sending this arc for an honest review!

Listen the cover within itself was enough to get me to pick up the books. Or rather browse through NetGalley and press I am intrested In reading it lol. I mean come on the pun on the title is truly captivating. Following along the journey of Reese and Benny was such a heartwarming joy. Like trust me when I tell you a story can’t get any sweeter than this (no pun intended).

I always enjoy the stories that have a romance revolving around baking and cooking because for some reason I always feel like the love is so real, cuz just like the pour their heart in the food I find that they do the same for each other.

Reese and Benny definitely have my heart. I absolutely loved this book and I loved how the author included real issues for women in the workplace. I think this story was great and I look forward to reading more from Kaitlyn Hill.

I absolutely loved Reese and Benny’s love story! It was the cutest and I found myself constantly smiling and giggling because of how cute those two are together! Even for being an adorable romance, there were some real life issues thrown in, like how women are treated differently in the workforce and how they are judged more harshly on social media. It really made this story more than just another romance, but opened up to real topics that many can relate to. I loved this and recommend this to all!

4 STARS || ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
young adult, romance, fiction
low steam

Do you love cooking shows?
Do you love a little bit of teen rivalry?
Are you a fan of enemies-to-lovers? What about forced proximity?
Would you consider yourself a feminist? Or an advocate for women's rights?

If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, then I'd have to make a wager that you will absolutely adore LOVE FROM SCRATCH by Kaitlyn Hill! This book was all kinds of adorable & made me laugh out loud and (in the words of the Bachelor podcast Love to See It) curse the patriarchy.

And that pantry scene! (IYKYK - but, c'mon now folks, this is a YA novel, so while this scene was adorable, the steam level index was next to non-existent). The food puns & "Holy biceps, Batman" were probably what made me fall in love with Benvolio & Reese's Cup to begin with!

Some things that I REALLY enjoyed in this book:
- I absolutely loved the friendship between Natalie, Clara, & Reese. Their connection radiated off the page & their text conversations made me laugh out loud literally every time (I feel like I could see a little bit of myself in Nat.)
- I liked the fact that Reese's high school trauma was a rather believable situation & I believed that what she went through could realistically cause her reaction to Benny later in life. I was getting a little worried early on that it was going to be either a tad ridiculous - but I was proven wrong!
- While I did indicate that you have to be a feminist to enjoy this book, I don't think that storyline should deter you from reading if you like to use books as escapism from real life. HOWEVER, I think this book did a good job of highlighting the double standards between men & women in the workplace and when it comes to standards on social media. Hill did a really great job of juxtaposing Benny & Reese to show how working in the same job & doing the same thing had very different consequences for both of them!

10/10 would recommend (and already have to several friends, telling them to preorder this book immediately).

Love from Scratch was really adorable, and Benny was almost TOO perfect! I did love that he wasn’t the “normal” romance character standing 6ft tall, but his perfect personality needed to have at least one flaw. :)
I think Reece was witty and loved her storyline, but I didn’t think her reasons at the beginning of the book were strong enough to be rude to Benny. He was too kind, too funny, too flirty, and she was just plain mean sometimes. Halfway through the book, you finally hear about what happened in high school, and her fears (and rudeness) are a little more understandable.
I liked the book…strong messages and real world problems made for a good storyline.
I would rate it a 3.5!

Love from Scratch is a delicious YA novel that will have you grinning (and salivating) the whole way through. Reese is the perfect heroine, strong but with relatable flaws, and I enjoyed watching her and Benny's relationship develop throughout the book. This book is set in Seattle, a city with a special place in my heart, so it was fun seeing the characters travel all over a place I know and can relate to. Love from Scratch touches on important social issues, but doesn't do it in a way that feels inorganic, which I loved. All in all this book was a quick, fun read that's perfect for fans of kitchen hijinks, female friendships, and men that are equal parts swoony and sweet.

This book was the sugary sweet, rivals to lovers cooking channel romcom I've been butterly (excuse the pun) craving! Reese and Benny are absolutely electric together and their storyline flows perfectly throughout the book. I love how the storyline seamlessly weaves in conversations about harassment and sexism women face in the workplace while still keeping the plot centered around our leads and wish I could read this all over again!

Ok I had such such high hopes for this one. I mean just look at the cover! A baking rivalry? Yes, please. So, Benny and Reese were fantastic. Their banter and chemistry was amazing. I loved their relationship, even though it was pretty much Installove.

The setting of the baking show was so well done. I loved it and I think more books should have that setting.

The issue. This book had such an agenda and is suffocated everything else. Now, I don’t disagree with the stance at all. However, I hated that it
completely took over this (what I thought) was a YA romance. It turned it into YA Women’s Fiction in my opinion.

The main character was also so whiny. Like she whined about the patriarchy and men. Then she whined that her boyfriend didn’t protect her. Then she acted like she didn’t need a man and pushed him away and then she whined when he didn’t stand up for her. I couldn’t get behind it and was just over that plot line by the end.

Review posted to goodreads and Instagram on 10/29/21

100% a must read for ya romcom lovers!!

I literally read this book in 6 hours, I could not put it down!!!

Reese and Benny are the two summer interns at Friends of Flavor, an online cooking network. When a major schedule change leaves a gap in content, Reese and Benny are volun-told that they will be filling in for a one time special episode. But the kicker? The episode is a MAJOR hit. Reese and Benny are thrown into the public eye and everything about it tests the connection forming between the two of them.

The writing was strong and engaging. And for a plot about sudden fame, I didn’t find it unrealistic. There was a powerful feminist theme. Reese is constantly battling the patriarchy and society. And let me just say, Benny is a man who has been to therapy. He’s emotionally intelligent and ready to back her up!

Love from Scratch releases April 5th, 2022 (I know way to long) but oh my god this one will be worth the wait!

This has the cutest cover!!!

Rom-Coms are my favorite and this one has one of the best endings that I’ve ever read. Definitely checking out some of her other books soon.

I think Benny might be one of the best ya male heroes I've read in a while. Everything he did was just so perfect and all he wanted to do was make Reece happy. Every time he called her Reece's pieces I melted a little. This book also had a bit more of feminism girl power than I expected but it worked really well. Benny's speech at the end made me cry, I need someone to livestream their thoughts about me.

I received a copy through netgalley.

This book was very cute.

In the book, we follow Reese a girl that currently has an internship at FoF. There during a storage circumstance has to take over a video with Benny, the other intern. During this video, they start to get to know each other and soon they find out that they are both competing for the internship position for the fall. Their video goes viral and the CEO decides to turn this into a competition.

Honestly, there were times where I really hated everybody in this book. Like, I get that it's supposed to show that people are misogynistic, but if I read a rom-com, it's to escape reality. And not to suffer from what I suffer on a daily basis.

The romance was cute and all, but I would have liked a little bit more slow-burn.

I'm officially obsessed with romances that revolve around food! The cover is stunning as well. I fell absolutely in love with Benny pretty much immediately and he just kept getting better and better as the story went on. I also was pleasantly surprised by the subplot about feminism/being a woman in the workplace because it was well done and now I just want to watch a feminist cooking show honestly. I got a good laugh out of Reese making fun of the only one bed trope because thats exactly how I think whenever that trope comes up in a book. The only drawback I had with this book was that I felt like maybe Benny and Reese should have been a little bit older to make this realistic (like maybe actually in college already) just because I don't know how many fresh 18 year olds are getting competitive elite internships in media/marketing/entertainment.

My favorite scene has to be the cake scene I mean obviously.

One of the best romance books I have read all year! This book was exactly what I needed right now. It pulled me out of a funk and made me fall in love with the characters and believe in myself and think about my place in the patriarchy and make me want to bake something good – seriously, the number of things this book has made me think about or question is endless.

Reese and Benny are PERFECT main characters. They feel so real and fully realized. Every decision and action that they make is based on what I feel could really happen. There's no BS characterizations that make you feel as if the story has run off the rails. Hill has put so much thought and emotion into these characters and it shows. I want to be best friends with them and watch them grow, is that too much to ask??

The supporting characters are mentioned less (this is not a One Last Stop kind of story where almost all characters carry the weight), but are all likeable and believable as well. The story itself had the perfect balance of drama and feel-good moments, with a smidgen of cheese. Food puns explode throughout the text, which speaks to my soul. And the humour is spot-on. I laughed out loud SEVERAL times.

After reading some disappointing romance books that felt off, stilted, and forced, this was a breath of fresh air. I cannot wait for this book to come out so I can hold it in my hands physically and never let it go. I'm glad I have the memory of a goldfish, because I will want to reread this over and over again. Preorder this NOW, because you won't want to be left stranded without a copy when it hits shelves next spring!

Marketing intern Reese Camden is finally living out her dream of working for her favorite cooking channel Friends Of Flavor and is determined to get the internship that culinary intern Benny Beneventi is also after. Both are brought on set to improvise a segment called Amateur Hour and it blows up from there as Benny and Reese have witty and playful chemistry. Benny has the upper had having worked in his families Italian restaurant all his life and had a charming and likable personality while Reese is caught up in hate comments and being a woman in an environment dominated by men.
The author did a wonderful job at voicing about sexual harassments and the double standards woman face while validating and empowering her female characters.

This is a mostly cute, punny rom-com with a feminist bent. The love interest is compassionate and swoonworthy. But the ending was sloppy; the entire resolution relies on a bunch of side characters the book hasn't paid any attention to, while the main character does nothing, undermining her arc. (Not to mention the couple's ridiculous "misunderstanding.")