Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of “For Butter or Worse” by Erin La Rosa. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story follows two hosts from a cooking competition show who end up fake dating to save their restaurants. I feel like there are a lot of books about chefs and restaurants and cooking so I ended up comparing them while reading. There wasn’t much of the reality show setting which maybe I would have preferred? There was an enemies to lovers aspect to the story but I felt like the author wasn’t showing this element and was just telling but not even with specifics. The fake dating improved the story but I guess I thought the reality show would play more of a role. It didn’t since one of the characters quits it right in the beginning.

While the fake dates were cute, I just felt like there was too much for the couple to overcome and I wasn’t able to root for them. The text miscommunication seemed like they should have figured that out a lot sooner. I was also really annoyed with Nina’s ex. I know she had a lot of trauma with the way he treated and belittled her, but it didn’t make sense that she went out with him to a restaurant known for celebrity sightings and then that got twisted around by the paparazzi. Her ex was very stalkerish and popped up to cause drama.

The ending also had me scratching my head. There’s a silent auction and a grand romantic gesture. But the whole book had both protagonists struggling with their restaurants and financial issues. And then the bid gets driven up and they both just leave but the auction was raising money for a cause. So they just didn’t make a donation since they didn’t have money? I was confused.

This story was alright but I don’t think it stands out among all the similar stories about chefs or set in restaurants or cooking competitions. I liked the fall scenes.

3/5 stars

A food network style romcom! I enjoyed this cute foodie romance, and would love to read more set around chefs or food stars. The enemies to lovers was fun, but not quite as snarky as I usually love. Definitely a quick easy romance read for when you need a little pick me up, and the title is so cheesy and adorable.

**3.5-stars**

Nina Lyon has worked hard to make a name for herself as a chef. When she decided to host a culinary reality television show, some people felt she was selling out, but Nina chose to take the risk anyway. Nina views the show, The Next Cooking Champ, as a great way to secure her name, brand and the success of her restaurant. Her co-host, Leo O’Donnell, is a thorn in her side however, the only real downside to the show. Dealing with him every day; good grief.

Leo doesn't mean to drive Nina nuts. He's not like aiming to tick her off or anything, it just happens. The stress of filming gets to him and he seems to direct that towards her. Whoops. When Leo takes a joke a smidge too far, Nina quits the show, live on air.

Later when Leo and Nina get caught in what appears to be a compromising position by paparazzi, the fans go absolutely nuts. Has there been a secret relationship unfolding when the cameras are off?

Well no, but it would certainly help both of their careers if that were true. Thus, their agents arrange a fake dating relationship in the hopes of salvaging these two celebrity chefs' reputations.

For Butter or Worse is a cute and satisfying enemies-to-lovers meets faking-dating story. I enjoyed my time reading this and loved the idea of two celebrity chefs having a bit of a romance. I wish that they would have spent more time actually involved in the reality cooking show though. That's sort of what sold me on this, so I was a little disappointed it wasn't more of a setting for the actual story.

With this being said, it was still enjoyable reading about two chefs as main characters. They come from different worlds in the culinary business and I liked reading about their challenges within their careers.

I also always enjoy an enemies-to-lovers trope and this one was well-done. I will say, I personally prefer when the banter has a bit more wit and humor, but it could be that this just wasn't fit to my sense of humor. I definitely enjoyed it, but I wasn't giggling along as Nina and Leo were exchanging barbs.

The sex scenes in this were great. I will say I enjoyed the level of steam La Rosa brought to the page here. There was just enough to keep me fanning myself, without crossing into eye-roll territory.

I also liked the sweet scenes a lot. The scenes were Nina and Leo really started to connect. While there was miscommunication, of course, it never got overplayed or annoying for me. I think the tension was well-built and resolved, so great job by the author on that.

Overall, I enjoyed this. It is a good, fun story, with believable characters and an interesting set-up. I would recommend this to fans of Jasmine Guillory ((me)), or Alisha Rai's Modern Love series ((also, me)). I am definitely looking forward to picking-up more from this author. I think she really did a lot of things well here and I look forward to following her skills grow with future work.

Thank you so much to the publisher, HQN, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This is a fun book and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. It made me hungry...for delicious food and for more steamy romance!

This book had so many of my favorite things. Dual POV, check! Slow burn but spicy, check! It was fun and flirty, interesting and had a great plot.

As someone with GAD and panic attacks, it was great to see representation of that in books I enjoyed!

This was a very enjoyable read. Nina and Leo are co-hosts of a Master Chef/Top Chef-style cooking show. They each have their connection to cooking and restaurants, but they can’t quite seem to meet in the middle to like each other. I, for one, found the tension to be entertaining. My family is huge fans of cooking competitions, and it was fun to imagine various hosts and how their relationships on and off the screen differ. Paul Hollywood, I’m lookin’ at you! The supporting characters were engaging, and Jasmine especially deserves her own book. Pretty much everything you could want in a rom-com. For more details, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. This review was written based on a digital copy of the book from Harlequin Trade Publishing.

A fun debut filled with relatable characters. Loved the representation of social anxiety and panic attacks. Slow burn romance that was spicy! Love a good dual point of view romance. Love getting insights into both the characters.

Love a food themed romance book. Also using this as a place to show my support for the Harper Collins union. Thank you to Harper for the gifted ARC my honest review.

First, thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for an ARC of this story in exchange for a review.
This was a cute enemies to lovers story. I did find it to be just “ok” and honestly the story felt familiar as in it followed the basic girl wants to make it big but she thinks it’s a man’s world and one particular man is in her way. Whole the characters were not really stand out the story was entertaining enough to complete.

For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa is a steamy romcom with an enemies to lovers romance. An enjoyable read that was fun and full of heat.

If you love a workplace romance, enemies to lovers, the Food Network and cooking shows, and some fake dating - you’ve got a great read in FOR BUTTER OR WORSE by Erin La Rosa!

I absolutely adored this spicy romance; the characters were so endearing, and it tackled some potentially difficult issues, like sexism in the media. 
According to @goodreads, the author is working on a second book in this world - focusing on our FMC’s sister - and I cannot wait to read it!

Why is it that foodie romance books always make me hungry lol?❣️😂 These delicious descriptions of food are always amazing! I just finished reading For Butter Or Worse by Erin La Rosa and it was a good debut romance with some of my favorite tropes - enemies to lovers and fake dating.

Nina Lyon is a successful chef and co-host of a cooking show, but her honest and critical feedback, and the bickering with her charming co host - Leo, has earned her the nickname 'Nasty Nina' online. Which isn't good for her restaurant business. And when Leo takes one joke too far by bringing up this nickname on live tv, she decides to quit and be done with it. Which isn't good for Leo's image or his restaurant business(inherited from his dad) either. When he tries to apologize and asks her to come back on the show, they accidentally end up in a compromising position that makes the reporters think that they're dating! And this helps in drumming up publicity so they decide to fake date to help each other's careers. What could go wrong right?🤣

Both Nina and Leo really disliked each other at first lol. The animosity was there along with a little bit of attraction, but they never had good impressions of each other. So, I loved seeing the slow development of their relationship as they started getting along with each other. Nina was my favorite as I loved her strength and how she was determined to overcome challenges especially in a sexist environment. And since I empathized with her, I wasn't a fan of Leo at first. Though unintentional, some of his comments had a huge effect on her and her career. So, it took me a while to warm up to him. But as these two slowly got to know each other, I found myself liking him more and he did make up for it! Both of them are complex, relatable and have their faults! I also loved the discussions around mental health with Leo's anxiety and Nina's grief.
In the end, this was a cute and steamy foodie romance with the right mix of tropes that I'd definitely recommend!❣️✨

I wanted to enjoy this book. I even tried to listen to the audiobook and see if that would help, but it felt a bit too forced to me and I never gelled with the main characters. 2.5 stars

This was a lukewarm book for me and it could've been because I keep picking it back up and down. But I did enjoy the journey both MCs emotional and personal journeys alone as well as being together.

A delightful enemies-to-lovers rom-com that masterfully touches on heavier topics like grief and mental health, while also providing warm and fuzzy heartfelt moments.

There were parts of this book I really liked...and others that made me want to rate it one star.

THE GOOD;
The two main characters had great chemistry and banter, and I genuinely believed they wanted to be together. I loved the premise and the enemies-fake-dating trope. I loved the role of the families and friends and how they participated in the plot.

THE BAD:
Some of Leo's actions were just downright sexist, and h0nestly, I had a hard time forgiving him. His actions were glossed over as soon as he apologized, but when he kept repeatedly making similar mistakes, I had a hard time rooting for him or feeling like he was genuinely sorry.

Overall, the book was an enjoyable read, but hard for me to get past Leo's actions.

For Butter or Worse is a delicious forced proximity, enemies to lovers romance that will have you eating your way through the characters ups and downs as you follow them as they try to save their family legacies and their restaurants. Through overcoming sexism, crazy social media trolls and misconceptions that come from competition, Nina and Leo fill the pages with anger, jealousy, frustration, lust love and of course mouth watering recipes. The story is sweet and sassy, and will have you rooting for Nina and Leo and their love story

Enemies to lovers and fake dating all wrapped into one book?? Do yourself a favor and read this! I loved that the story was told by Nina & Leo’s perspective.

The relationship evolving between Nina & Leo throughout the book had the perfect mix of banter and don’t forget to add in the sexual tension between the two! Leo is a dream book boyfriend!

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for a copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

First i would like to say thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the earc of this book! Erin La Rosa is a new author for me so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The story follows Nina and Leo who were co-host on a TV series and they DESPISED eachother. They begin to fake date eachother when the public begins to believe that they have a secret romance. My favorite thing was when they would go on fake dates because it was so real yet neither noticed it. The author did a great job at still giving these character chemistry above the “hatred” they had for one another. This book was a great rom-com and i definitely recommend!

This was a fun rom-com! I really enjoyed the characters and the banter that they had! Erin La Rosa did a great job developing the story and the chemistry between the characters.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

This is one of the greatest execution of my favorite trope: enemies to lovers!

This book was a fun and heartwarming rom-com about love, second chances, mental health, grief, and learning to love again. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic comedies, enemies-to-lovers romance, slow-burn romance and great characters.