Cover Image: Sadie on a Plate

Sadie on a Plate

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Member Reviews

I put off reading this because I was kind of over the idea of romance novels set on cooking shows -- I read so many of them that felt so similar that I wasn't really in the mood to pick up another one. This one stands out, though! Sadie is such a likable character and the pacing was perfect in the story.

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Sweet and escapist. A recommended purchase for collections where foodie contemporary romances are popular.

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Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

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As a lover of cooking, baking, and all the shows! I was really excited to read this one. I lreally, really enjoyed it, and there was quite a few things that happened in the book that kept me reading, and questioning how everything was going to end.

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Adored the first meeting then the blow off - made me want to keep reading to see if it was a real move or not.I can’t believe I waited so long to read this one! It was so cute and was such a quick read. I love cooking competitions on tv and books. And the Jewish inspired foods that she came up with sounded so yummy! I have myself a Jewish chef that makes me noodle kugel, matzah brei and brisket. Well he's not a chef but he could be.
Loved the chemistry between the two mcs and the forbidden love of their positions on the show. Her second book came out recently Best Served Hot which I also enjoyed but had a different vibe between food critics.

Thank you berkleyromance for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

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When contestant Sadie arrives on the set of Chef Supreme (think Top Chef), she is shocked to see Luke - who she met on the flight to New York and had one magical dinner with - is a judge...

This was super cute! It's a slow burn. I liked Sadie and Ben, and I liked them together!

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Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

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As a lover of cooking reality shows (I have Masterchef paused on my TV as I write this) - I was very excited for Sadie on a Plate. A judge and a contestant falling in love as they film the show? Sign me up. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me in almost every regard. The competition show itself was predictable and lackluster - I didn't care about most of the contestants and the stakes were low. The writing dwelled too long on descriptions of food and didn't spend nearly enough time building up its characters. I felt like I never really got to know any of them - they were all incredibly two dimensional. The worst part was the romance - it just ... didn't really exist. All of a sudden two characters were allegedly in love, despite having no chemistry and barely any time together. They weren't believable together and certainly didn't have me rooting for them. Honestly, I would have believed Sadie and Kaitlin ending up together over her and Luke. Overall, this was unfortunately a flop for me.

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Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was a love letter to food, to foodie people, to people who love to cook and to those who have created memories around the table for generations. This book had fantastic Jewish representation, made me what to go eat all the food while binging the food network!

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After hitting a snag in her career as a chef, Sadie earns a spot on the hit reality cooking show Chef Supreme. On the flight to the set she meets Luke, a very attractive fellow chef who takes her on a whirlwind tour of NYC after they land. The two have instant chemistry, but have to part ways because Sadie is forbidden from contact with the outside world during the 6 weeks of filming. The next day on set, she learns that Luke is one of the competition's judges.
This book was textbook mixed bag for me. It's billed as a rom-com, but it's extremely light on the rom. Luke is very much a secondary character, and I would've liked more page time with him to really believe his and Sadie's attraction. There's also not much time skipping, which is cool, it means that each aspect of the competition gets roughly equal attention. It also means that the scenes of Sadie planning her recipes and the judges' comments become more tedious and skimmable as the book progresses, particularly when they occur outside of the competition itself.
That said, I LOVED the food in this book. Ashki cuisine, Sadie's specialty, is incredible and absolutely deserves a spot in the limelight, not to mention all of the other cuisines that chefs in the book specialize in, like Appalachian and Korean. I got SO hungry while reading, y'all, have snacks handy! It's also got a cast of characters that's reflective of the actual diversity that exists in the culinary community, including nonbinary, Black, queer, and mixed-race rep, which was exciting to see. The side characters were so easy to root for and the way the competition ended was (dare I say) *chef kiss*.
While Sadie on a Plate wasn't quite what I was expecting, it sure did make me want to binge a season of GBBO! 3/5⭐

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Cute premise to a novel! Enjoyed Sadie and Luke, plus the chef connections. Thought the characters were relatable, Luke more than Sadie, but nonetheless, really enjoyed it!

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"My life has this irritating habit of throwing its biggest changes at me while I'm completely in the nude." This is a perfect example of the humor to expect from this book. I thought it was super cute and a fun read and I really enjoyed Sadie as a character. I will say that this felt a little bit more like a women's fiction than an actual romance but honestly I found this to be refreshing and fitting of the title.

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I love a good foodie/tv show competition story but I really enjoyed Sadie on a Plate for the Jewish representation. As someone who watches The Food Network and so many cooking shows religiously there's certain cuisines that just aren't showcased and Jewish cooking is one of them. I loved the relationship between Sadie and Luke. This story certainly made me a fan of Amanda Elliot's writing and I can't wait to read her next book, Best Served Hot.

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This trend of books about cooking shows is so fun. I thought this one was really good! Right from the start I was pulled in and d didn’t want to put it down. I enjoyed most of the characters in this book, and was curious to see how it would end. I recommend checking it out!

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I found the descriptions of the food to be mouth-watering. The origin of Sadie's downfall at the beginning seemed a little unbelievable. The romance was okay. Not a fan of romances where they lie and go behind everyone's back.

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I love all the traditional Jewish foods, so reading Sadie on a Plate was a blast! I watch all the cooking shows on Food Network, so the story came alive in my head. Sadie becomes a contestant on a show similar to Top Chef and so much is explored about Jewish food and Jewishness in general. Of course romance on the menu as well. loved it!

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For fans of cooking and baking competitions, this was a nice read! I didn't love it — it didn't have much romance and I *really* wasn't a fan of the MMC for most of the book...or really most of the men in this book. I liked the diversity of characters, though, and thought it was a solid read.

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I was so curious when Berkley contacted me to join this Blog Tour, because I never heard about this book before. So, convincted by the plot, I decided to read it asap and.. it was love. Since the first lines the writing style of Amanda Elliot captured me. It's entertaining, fresh and so vivid that you can't love it and feel the urge to keep going.

The story itself is quite simple, but I've ADORED it. As a fan of cooking tv shows like Masterchef or Bake Off, it was really interesting to see this kind of competitions described in a book. It's a treaky element to use in a novel, because you can fail being too boring for presenting too many details, or being excessively superficial, just mentioning some aspects without being able to create the right atmosphere for the reader. That is extremely important, because if there's a competition who reads needs to feel it and being involved (in this case) in the creation of the plates, in the rush to finish all on time and in the anticipation to see who will win and who will go home. Amanda Elliot has been very good in this. The scenes are not extremely long, but at the same time I was completely absorbed. I rooted for Sadie (and other partecipants) since the very beginning and it was fun but also interesting to see her growth through her plates.

Talking about the main character, I've appreciated Sadie with her strengths and weaknesses. She's a spontaneous and an easygoing person, but at the same time she struggles with the idea of not being liked or not sparkle enough, missing the fact that her gentleness and presence are something that can't be ignored by other people. Plus, she often forget she has a strong personality, that make her fight not only for what she wants, but also for what she thinks it's right. That's why, even person she doesn't like or with whom she's not particularly friendly, appreciate her. And talking about that, one of the things I've loved the most about her it's the fact she's not perfect. She misunderstands situations, she misreads people and she makes mistakes, but that allows her to mature and become a better person.
I have also to mention what has happened to her in the recent past, an event that is so disgusting just thinking about it but that unfortunately is something that in real life happens. Taking advantage of someone and their insecurities and then discrediting them in front of everyone is disgusting, and Amanda Elliot has portraited well, without speculating in drama (something I hate to see in a book).

Another figure I have to mention is Luke. I fell hard for him, really. He's an amazing character and every interaction with Sadie kept me hooked on the book. Easygoing, kind and very concrete, I enjoyed his presence in the story like a sort of "solid and safe haven" for Sadie, even when things between them were cold. I really liked his background too, and the only thing I missed was more time (and so pages) to see him to mature his own decisions - and yes, more romantic moments. I craved them!

All the other characters create a sort of colorful pattern that gives more authenticity to this story, and I've found myself affectionated to some of them too. I've also really appreciated the choice to give to all of the contestants different kinds of cuisine that are influenced by their personal tastes, their origins and backgrounds. Sadie, for example, presents her personal reinterpretation of Jewish cuisine and it was really interesting to imagine all those beautiful plates (I envied the judges A LOT) that could be different from a "tipical" starred cooking style.

What can I say more?
Since, as I said, I missed some more scenes with Luke, and I would have loved to have him as main character too, I'm really hoping Amanda will gift us with another book (or short novellas?). In the meantime I absolutely suggest you to read this beautiful romantic comedy, amazingly written, that will entertain you and keep you company with laughs and more thoughtful moments.

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I'm slowly but surely developing a list of recent books featuring a Jewish protagonist, and that was partially inspired by this book. Loved that her faith and cultural traditions were important but not a one-note theme that everything had to revolve around. And reading this story was as fun as watching a good cooking show where you learn and savor along the way.

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I ended up DNFing this at the 25% mark. I was hoping his was going to be a romance, but it was playing out more like a woman's lit story. It just wasn't what I was looking for. I think if you're looking for a story about a woman figuring out who she is in this moment in time then this may appeal to you. Not a bad book or writing, just not what I was hoping for.

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