This review is based on the first 5 chapters.
Just after reading 5 chapters of this book I know I am going to love the whole book.

Amy Chambers: restaurant owner, micromanager, control freak.
Amy will do anything to revive her ailing restaurant, including hiring a former reality-show finalist with good connections and a lot to prove. But her hopes that Sophie’s skills and celebrity status would bring her restaurant back from the brink of failure are beginning to wane…

Sophie Brunet: grump in the kitchen/sunshine in the streets, took thirty years to figure out she was queer. Sophie just wants to cook. She doesn’t want to constantly post on social media for her dead-in-the-water reality TV career, she doesn’t want to deal with Amy’s take-charge personality and she doesn’t want to think about what her attraction to her boss might mean…

Then, an opportunity: a new foodie TV show might provide the exposure they need. An uneasy truce is fine for starters, but making their dreams come true means making some personal and painful sacrifices and soon, there’s more than just the restaurant at stake.
The dynamic between Amy and Sophie is unique and genuinely intriguing and both of them are so relatable and realistic.
The conversation surrounding self-acceptance and queer identity was so relatable and well written.
I can't wait to read the whole book.

I am hooked! I like how clear the author is relating how the characters move through space. Only 5 chapters in yet I have a good sense of who both main characters are, and who makes them how they are today. The tension building between them is palpable, perhaps a little too much at times, but I'm here for it. Really looking forward to the rest of this romance.

Disclaimer: I’ve only read the first five chapters available on NetGalley so far.

To be honest, I was close the giving up on the book after the first chapter. Chasing after a straight girl? A conceited business owner? Giving a second chance to someone who’s harmed other at the job? All big No’s for me.
BUT I carried on and it got SO much better. Not so straight Sophie has way more depth to herself than I first wrongly assumed, and Amy might not be the controlling business owner lusting after straight girls that I made her out to be. There’s already so much happening in these first few chapters, I cannot wait to see further personal development of these two! And of course I‘m looking forward to the budding romance.

Sophie is a (Former) Celebrity TV chef hired by Amy to bring more attention to her restaurant. However it’s struggling. Amy and Sophie desperately want to save it even if it means signing up for the TV show Sophie‘s ex is hosting. Her ex who suggested Sophie should hide her bisexuality. Amy and Sophie often clash, but they’re very clearly attracted to one another.

Thanks to the authors style of writing we get lots of insight in the thoughts of the characters, which is quite interesting, however I tend to forget which parts we (the readers) know and which parts the characters know about each other.

All in all a promising excerpt and I‘m looking forward to reading the book in June.

My only complaint is that i didn't get to read the full novel! Spicy and realistic about the restaurant industry! Can't wait for the full read.

This makes me want to read the whole book! The tension between Sophie and Amy was so well-written, and I can't wait to read what happens next! Ruby Barrett is an exceptional writer.

Thank you NetGalley for a preview of this book in exchange for an honest review. I think this book has a most interesting premise and builds tension almost immediately. The chemistry between the protagonists takes a little while to click but it has great potential. Can't wait to read it in it's entirety!

I just finished the preview for this book and I pre-ordered the paperback the moment I was done. This sample is not enough, I need the whole thing in my hands immediately. I'm so excited to see where this story goes. The characters drew me in from the very first pages, the chemistry and p-i-n-i-n-g, and did I mention CHEMISTRY? Somehow I missed HOT COPY when it was released, but I'm adding it to my must-buy list based on this preview, as well.

Thank you netgalley for these preview chapters!
I could not put them down or read them fast enough. I instantly fell in love with the characters. From page one I was hooked and cannot wait to read this whole book

I really enjoyed the preview of this sapphic romance novel. The characters were extremely likable, and I'm excited to read a story about a woman figuring out her queerness as an adult.

Thanks to Netgalley/Carina for an advance preview of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Looks like Ruby Barrett is at it again, crafting intensely emotional romance teeming with book girlfriends I just want to hug. Respectfully. Okay romantically. I thought I'd fall for Amy, given what I'd seen of her in HOT COPY, but it looks like Sophie is the one who'll be stealing my heart? In any case, the setup (reality cooking show, ex-boyfriend-turned showrunner, a reluctant repeat contestant and her desperate entrepreneur boss) is bursting with tension. Can't wait for the rest of this one!!!

“Ever since I first watched her on the final episode of Pop-Up Kitchen, I’ve wanted to kiss Sophie Brunet.”

Content Warnings: Sexual Harassment (unsolicited explicit pictures, verbal harassment), death of a parent (cancer, off-page), biphobia, meal skipping (unintentional)

NOTE: My review is based on a PREVIEW of the first five chapters!

The micromanaging owner of a restaurant and her head chef try to save their struggling restaurant while resisting their attraction to each other in the process.
The thing I liked most about The Romance Recipe was how it was realistic. Amy and Sophie were relatable. Similarly, the characters’ reactions and the circumstances they were placed in felt natural and true to life. Amy, the dedicated owner of Amy & May’s, is under a lot of stress to keep her business afloat, cope with her mother’s death, and navigate her relationships. Hiring Sophie, a former reality TV star, was supposed to help her restaurant gain exposure and bring in revenue. Unfortunately, Sophie hates posting on social media and has been bringing in less and less patrons since she broke up with her ex-fiance.
When Sophie came out to her ex-fiance as bisexual, he suggested that she keep it a secret. Crushed by the person she thought she could trust, she left him behind. In doing so, she cuts off the majority of her connections and loses fame. Being pressured to post consistently on social media stresses Sophie out and she’s been losing her passion for cooking ever since she turned it into a job. Sophie has no plans to return to the glaring public spotlight, but when a potential opportunity for Amy & May’s to go on a foodie TV show run by her ex-fiance arises, it may be the only solution to keep the restaurant open.
Another thing the author does well is introducing background information about the characters seamlessly without interfering with the current narrative. This book is also full of awkward flirting (which I enjoyed).
Despite the characters feeling relatable, there wasn’t as much character development as I would have preferred. There’s definitely development later on in the book that I didn’t get to experience, but I’m not invested in the characters at the current point I’m at. Also, some of the physical descriptions of the characters weirded me out. They weren’t uncomfortable, per se, but the wording felt unnatural. However, I’m looking forward to seeing how the story plays out when it comes out in June 2022.

Rating: 3.5/5
Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin) for this preview!

A restaurant owner and head chef, each with secret crushes on the other, both hiding more than just that secret, and about to go on national TV to appear on a reality TV show...what could go wrong?! This preview was so cute! The perfect tease to leave me HUNGRY for more when this book comes out.
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this preview to read. #TheRomanceRecipePREVIEW #NetGalley

This has delicious pining and workplace, close-proximity tension. I love the dual POV of Amy and Sophie and am so glad to see more into Amy's character after being introduced to her by Ruby Barrett's Hot Copy. I'm looking forward to reading the whole book!

I enjoyed reading this preview! I like that it started off quickly and brought us straight into their dilemmas. I also love that it shows a character exploring and becoming more comfortable with her sexuality as an adult! The characters have great chemistry however I feel that it isn’t an enemies-to-lovers situation and it’s more of a secret mutual pining. Barrett’s writing is really engaging and makes me excited to read the rest of this book!

The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett follows restaurant owner Amy and chef Sophie as they try to save the restaurant they work at from failing. When a new reality TV cooking show is announced Amy thinks this show will provide just what they need to save the restaurant, but there are complicated feelings involved for Sophie.

This preview of the first 5 chapters help to set up the story perfectly. It provides background information on both characters and provides some details and foreshadowing of what might happen later in the book. The chemistry between the characters is also very apparent within this preview and I cannot wait to how their relationship progresses throughout the rest of the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this preview of the first 5 chapters!

(cw: off page harassment, mentions of meal skipping, mentions of a death in the family)

Absolutely LOVED this peek at THE ROMANCE RECIPE, a book I'm eagerly anticipating. Amy and Sophie had immediate chemistry that I was invested in, and Ruby set up the stakes for each of the characters so clearly and concisely that I was immediately hooked. Can't wait for this to come out so I can devour the whole thing!

3.5/5 stars

I am always in the market to find new adult sapphic romance novels--especially with characters who are openly and proudly lesbians--and so when I saw this preview on Netgalley, I had no choice but to check it out!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and I can't wait to read the rest of it, it was truly encapsulating from the beginning and I can't wait to watch the characters develop. I will say that I thought that the dynamic between Sophie and Rosie was a little bit confusing to me. Instead of it being an enemies-to-lovers with secret pining trope from both sides, it came off to me as them both being hot and cold in a way that was a little bit hard to follow.

Like I said earlier, though, I would definitely read the rest of this book and it seems like the type that I would have to finish in one sitting because once I start I won't be able to stop!

I thought this preview was pretty good! I liked the two main characters and the unspoken tension between them. I also love the concept of them being on a cooking show, so I am interested to see where the rest of the story will head! This teaser definitely left me wanting more!

Oh, this was delightful! I'm a big fan of food-related romances, and this sapphic romance set in a struggling restaurant has the right balance of sexual tension and mouth-watering food descriptions. This teaser definitely got me excited to read the whole book!

Oh I very much enjoyed this preview for The Romance Recipe! It was my first book by the author but I found her writing very engaging. The chapters are in alternate povs and both women had distinctive voices. I loved how their pasts and personalities influenced their current problems, from Amy with her determination to keep her floundering restaurant afloat - whatever the cost, and Sophie with her relationship troubles and her problems online.

I loved that Sophie was discovering her bisexuality as a grown adult, it actually reminded me much of my own past and it definitely made me connect with her more, and also sympathise with her and the issues she had with her ex.

The tension between the two was already building even within the first 5 chapters and I'm very eager to see how it's going to develop further on!

Overall a lovely sampler into Barrett's writing and I'll definitely be looking forward to the books release!