for butter of worse was a great mix of a sweet yet steamy read!

this book had many fan favourite tropes like, enemies to lovers, fake dating and workplace romance! and it’s was written extraordinarily well.

as someone who is not a huge fan of the fake dating trope i thoroughly enjoyed this story.

i liked how for butter or worse talked about sexism and had mental health representation.
nina and leo were treated very differently while they were both in the food industry.
nina was constantly being called names and judged while leo was being admired. i am glad this was added to the story to show how differently people are treated in the work environment and how it needs to change.

furthermore, both leo and nina were dealing with grief in this story, as well as leo dealing with anxiety. i feel like the anxiety representation was spot on and showed how much your anxiety can rule your life.

there were also steamy scenes that i know readers will be excited about ;) as well as a lot of wholesome and sweet scenes that will make you go “aww”.

the only reason i did not love this story is because it did have a number of miscommunication scenes and i am not a fan of the trope.

overall this was a enjoyable story and i’m glad i read it!

thank you NetGalley for an arc of For Butter or Worse in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much. They did enemies to lovers so right and so good! It was hot. It was funny. And so fun! This is a book I would definitely be recommending and rereading myself!

Thank you for the opportunity to read For Butter or Worse. I love the title!

For lovers of the miscommunication trope, this is a win. For me, there were way too many times of miscommunication. Toward the end, with the deleting texts and Nina freezing on stage, I was annoyed. It was too much of the trope. It could definitely be scaled back to create a better flow to the story while still playing into the miscommunication aspect that lots of readers love.

And speaking of tropes, I adored the enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes. Those were both so well-written and felt genuine and sincere. The spice, too, was great!

I very much disliked that Nina and Leo fought while Leo was in the hospital. Nina is a mature, self-assured woman and it felt out of character for her to be arguing with someone while they were literally in the hospital. It would have felt more in character for Nina to have the disagreement started and she coldly leaves Leo with parting words along the lines of “they can talk later” or something to that affect. Much like how she walked off set in the beginning when he hurt her. Just my thoughts!

All in all, this is a 3.5/5 for me. I didn’t love it, but I definitely didn’t hate it!

For butter or worse definitely falls into the category of a very well butter read. ‘Because we’ll, it was a smooth read for me to get into haha. It served fake dating and enemies to lovers, both are my most loved and adored tropes. And, I definitely felt served. Both the characters and the storyline was engaging and entertaining. Overall, it’s a full 5 stars read for me.

t r o p e s: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating, workplace romance, miscommunication
featuring: witty banter, women in male-dominated professions, and great mental health (anxiety) representation

2.5 stars

Both Leo and Nina are co-hosts/judges on the popular reality TV show based around a cooking competition. I feel like people throw around the category "enemies to lovers" without truly understanding what falling into this category entails, but rest assured: this is TRUE enemies to lovers. Like, the characters strongly dislike each other, and it grows into mutual respect, then love. I had a couple issues with the male love interest's borderline mysogynistic comments at the beginning of the story, but one of the main themes is sexism in this book, so I was willing to overlook it, as it served a purpose for the character growth and plot. In addition, the heroine's nasty behavior toward the love interest towards the end of the book when he had shown character growth was a turn off for me. I also wasn't a fan of the miscommunication trope and the presence of the typical breakup that happens at the 70-80% mark. However, this IS a light rom com, and it's not meant to have serious conflict or depth. Unfortunately, for all the tropes and themes I was looking forward to in this book (the ones I almost always seem to like and appreciate), there was a whole host of other tropes I just do not care for. Nonetheless, I would recommend this for fans of literally any reality TV baking/cooking competition show, or if you enjoyed the dynamic of Hating You/Loving You by Christina Lauren or The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.

As for the formatting, I hate to picky, especially since I am grateful I received a free edition of this book, but I was not digging the PDF edition at all. It was formatted very strangely, there weren't appropriate spaces or indents between paragraphs. And when I wanted to search key words featured previously in the story, I wasn't able to because it wasn't formatted correctly to be searched as a kindle edition would. It definitely took away from the reading experience for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This. Was. So. Good.

The excessive punctuation was entirely necessary because this was such a good enemies-to-lovers romance AND it was set in a personal favorite environment, culinary world.

Nina and Leo are co-hosts on the reality cooking TV “The Next Cooking Champ” and they, well, kinda hate each other. Nina accepted her host role with a mission – to make a name for herself in the culinary world. She’s already a celebrated chef; she just needs some of her own celebrity to make sure her flagship restaurant doesn’t shut down. Leo, on the other hand, the very successful CEO of chain restaurants; he wants the respect of the culinary bigshots and hopes that the being a host on the show would be his in. Nina deciding to leave the show triggers a number of events that ultimately leads this duo into a fake relationship.

This book is steamy. Often you’ll go into an enemies-to-lovers book expecting steam and the author, I’m happy to say, DELIVERED.

In addition to the steamy romance, it’s got some important dialogue about the misogyny of the culinary world as well in celebrity reporting and mental health, especially surrounding anxiety. I love that it’s the male character who deals with anxiety; we rarely see depictions of men with mental health issues that they are working through.

Both Leo and Nina had incredible character growth but Leo finally taking ownership of his unwitting perpetuation of misogyny was heartwarming to read. We also see a reserved Nina begin to flourish as she opens herself up slowly and she’s such a delight.

One thing I do want to say is that I’ve been seeing a lot of comparison of this book to The Great British Bake-Off and as a lover and fervent viewer of the GBBO, I have to respectfully disagree. Other cooking reality shows exist! I think it would have been more apt to compare it to one of those as while funny, it lacks the dry sarcasm that perpetuates British humor.

If you’re fan of fake dating, pre-order this book. If you’re a foodie, pre-order this book. If you love enemies-to-lovers, pre-order this book. If you’re a fan of grump x sunshine and cinnamon roll love interest, pre-order this book. Just pre-order this book!

Special thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Absolutely adorable! This was such a entertaining read! I really liked the characters and the plot was very cute!

Nina and Leo co-host a cooking show together, and to say they don't get along would be an understatement. When Leo uses a nasty nickname for Nina while filming a live episode, she quits. But both her restaurant and Leo's have been struggling lately, so when Nina's publicist suggests they fake a relationship to gain publicity-- and diners-- they agree. While pretending they don't hate each other, Nina and Leo discover they have more in common than they thought, and develop an actual friendship-- and feelings for each other.

For Butter or Worse is the enemies-to-lovers fake dating book of my dreams.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book!

This book was super cute and enjoyable the whole way through. I loved the FMC, Nina- she was strong, passionate, and always stood up for herself and women in the cooking industry. Leo, although I didn't like him at first, grew on me and redeemed himself. The author did a great job with diversity, especially in race, sexuality, and mental health awareness. The interactions between the MC's were humorous but also showed they had a deeper connection. The plot was strong throughout and didn't feel rushed or too slow to me. I would recommend this to everyone once it comes out- definitely worth a read!

great romance that starts as fake dating but turns into love. Loved the families and friends. I loved that they started hating each other but really loved each other. loved that her favorite holiday was Halloween. loved her friends and his brother.

CUUUUUTE.

I’m probably never not going to like a romance set in the reality cooking realm.

Nina & Leo are judges/hosts of “The Next Cooking Champ”, a Master Chef-esque cooking competition. Too bad they can’t stand each other, and now the world knows it, since they let things slip on a live recording of the show.

Nina, tired of Leo’s, the internet’s, and the industry’s sh!t, walks out. Effectively quitting. This is bad news for Leo since his family’s restaurant chain is struggling. Nina’s on her last restaurant and fighting closure as well.

When Leo tries to beg Nina to come back to the show (since the producers told him if she was out, so was he) he ends up falling on her and accidentally giving the paparazzi a romantic looking shot.

Surprisingly, they are well received as a couple. This leads to them faking a relationship as a last-ditch effort to save their restaurants.

There really wasn’t anything I didn’t like, except maybe there was a bit too much focus on some of the side character’s issues. It pulled too much focus from Nina and Leo’s relationship.
I would’ve liked a little more drama with the show and their potential return.
Also, I would’ve liked to see the spicy scene that was off the page (there are other spicy scenes that are on the page, don’t worry).

I enjoyed the snippets with the internet response of the fans. It was funny, but also showed the difference in how people responded to Nina as opposed to Leo. It pointed out the blatant sexism that Nina (and many others, unfortunately) face in their professions.

I loved Nina’s refusal to alter herself to fit into the expected/accepted ideal of a female chef in the industry. There were no simpering or apologies for who she was. There was also some great anxiety/mental health rep within the story.

Their relationship worked well, their personalities complimented each other, they understood the pressures of their line of work, and opened up to each other. I know many don’t like the miscommunication trope, but this made so much sense. The set up and the anxiety was very believable, and I don’t think it should be docked for this.

Check it out, when it hits shelves, 7/26/22!
A big thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Erin La Rosa's for Butter or Worse was a sweet contemporary romance. If you like determined women, men who adore them, and colorful supporting characters, then I think you'll like this book. I did enjoy it--the characters are well-written and the author's depiction of anxiety was sensitive and quite true-to-life. The banter and quippy dialogue was particularly fun as well!

But. (isn't there always a "but" with me?) But a few things are holding me back from doing more than mildly liking it. I suspect I will be a minority on being bothered by these things, but I can't NOT mention them, in good faith reviewing. First, for a novel about a chef...she didn't do a lot of cooking, and the food descriptions were lack-luster. SPOILERS AHEAD! I get part of the plot was the MC being burned out from cooking...but for a novel so firmly entrenched in the food industry, I expected my mouth to be watering. Also, the third act breakup was the most frustrating, drawn-out, immature affair of miscommunication. I don't mind the third act breakup as a plot device, but I expect a better take on it, especially in 2022. Finally, my sense of place was always similarly lackluster. The author tried, but I never felt as though I was living in the characters' lives...just observing it.

Thanks to Goodreads and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the free ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

I ended up not enjoying this book, and I do not post reviews on my social media unless they are glowing. I did however include it as my "current read" in my newsletter. Thank you!

For Butter or Worse was such a well-written romance! It had all of my favorite tropes - workplace romance, fake dating, and the classic enemies-to-lovers. If you're a romance lover like me, you'll really appreciate how the author executed all of these tropes in one book and created a masterpiece! Ohhh, and let's not forget! The book is foodie-themed, so make sure you have a snack by your side while reading this book. (Trust me, you'll thank me later) 

The enemies-to-lovers romances that I have been reading don't have that "I hate you' feeling between the main characters, and they always leave me with the feeling that the hate-to-love theme was for show only. But, boy oh boy, for Butter or Worse DELIVERED the BEST enemies-to-lovers vibes. Nina and Leo are co-hosts of a reality food competition show, and they really couldn't stand each other. This made reading about the changes in their relationship so much better for me. I could clearly see when the dynamic between them shifted.

Nina and Leo started fake-dating for their fans because it would boost their public image and in turn bring in more profits for their respective restaurants. The banter between them was "chef's kiss", and it was so fun to see them bickering all the time 😂😂😂 I wish I could come up with comebacks like them omg. Seeing Nina and Leo open up to each other made me feel a lot more better though. I loved seeing little fragments of their blooming friendship. They realized that they could be vulnerable with each other without any sort of judgment involved - WE LOVE TO SEE THAT.

One of the main themes of For Butter or Worse is sexism. I really admired how the author wrote about the differences between how the public treated Leo and Nina. Nina faced a lot of criticism because of her outspoken nature (Patriarchy and Misogyny 101), while Leo was adored by everyone because of his comedic side, even though he made some very questionable comments. CUE Leo's character development. Everyone makes mistakes, so it's important to learn from our mistakes, and to (physically) show that you've changed. That's exactly what I got to see from Leo's character. I won't spoil the plot for you, but seeing Leo understand how tough the food world was for Nina as a woman was my favorite thing ever.

FBOW also has an amazing mental health representation! Grief is one of the main things that connected Leo and Nina. Anxiety was one of the driving forces behind the last few chapters of the book  and the representation was accurate. The author didn't sugar-coat how difficult living with anxiety is, and made Leo a better character because of it. ALSO OMG, the female friendships!! LOVE LOVE LOVE. Nina's relationship with her best friend, Jasmine, and her sister, Sophie gave me life. Literally. The way they cheered Nina up and supported her melted my heart!!! I also adored Leo's brother and mom. The supporting cast in this book >>>> Everything. The book is dual POV too (YUSSS) and has a lot of text and Twitter interactions  that made reading the book so joyful!

I honestly can't stop talking about my love for For Butter or Worse, and I am going to keep screaming about in the months to come! Please go and make me the happiest person ever by pre-ordering the book!

Adorable! I loved the story as well as the emphasis on the importance of mental health and the long term effects of grief. Definitely recommend!

Such an adorable book! I love when contemporaries bring light to some real life issues, so the discussion of sexism and misogyny within this book really sold it for me. I wish there was just a ~little~ more groveling on Leo's part but I really enjoyed his grand gesture. I had so much fun reading this!

For Butter or Worse is a contemporary romance following workplace rivals who fake a relationship for public relations reasons, only to find themselves actually enjoying the charade.

Nina is a female chef in a fairly male-dominated industry, and the last thing she needs is her coworker throwing her under the bus on live TV. Nina knows Leo hated her on sight, and she has no interest in placating his ego, especially given that he isn't even a chef.

Leo is a businessman trying to keep his family's restaurant legacy afloat. He's proud of what his father built, and wants to keep its foundation strong, but he fears he'll never be respected in the food world. Being on a cooking show was supposed to help the brand, but Leo can't help sniping back when Nina needles him. Unfortunately, this clash only escalates, culminating in an on-air fight that makes Nina look really, really bad.

When the paparazzi mistakenly believe the caustic coworkers to be a couple, Leo and Nina decide it will be mutually beneficial to fake a relationship to generate good publicity. Their plan just might work, as long as they can keep their mutual loathing under control.

I loved this book, which contains so many of my favorite things: mental health representation, rivals to lovers, reality television and well-written secondary characters. In particular, the depiction of anxiety is poignant and important and I found the families of the main characters to be very real; they add to the narrative without drawing too much attention away from the plot.

The workplace animosity works really well here. It’s sometimes difficult to pull off a realistic antagonism without assigning too much blame to one character, but I really enjoyed the way the characters’ conflict plays out. Both of the main characters experience a lot of growth, though Leo probably takes center stage at times. I really loved him, though, he’s deeply complex, and it’s easy to like him when reading from his perspective. Nina is also really special; she goes through a lot but never fails to advocate for herself. I loved that she’s unapologetic about her ambition and her desire to succeed. Her frustration with how she is perceived is super relatable, even if you’re not a reality television host.

For Butter or Worse is a delightful read with both humorous moments and serious notes that make the happily ever after all the sweeter.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible or your local independent retailer
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@erinlarosalit
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This romance read like a cute rom com movie. The theme was enemies to lovers and pretend dating, and author did a great job with both. I especially loved the pretend dating in this story, because of the social media bits.
Thank you #netgalley and @harlequinbooks for the advance copy in return for my honest feedback.

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First of all thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an early copy of this book!

Honestly I don’t have much to say other than I loved this novel. I love slowburn romances and this one just hit different. The banter was so funny and their romance was so cute. This book also has anxiety rep which I liked and I thought it was handled really well. Overall, have nothing bad to say 5/5 stars! :)

I am obsessed with this book! I completely fell in love with Leo and Nina and this entire cast of characters. Erin La Rosa's voice immediately captured me and I read this book so fast because I could not get enough! I laughed, I cried, I fell in love, this was basically the perfect romance. I cannot wait to hold a printed copy of this book in my hands as it will be one I reread again and again.