3.5 stars

This was a cute, baking-based YA book. I enjoyed meeting Rubi and learning about her culture and heritage through her bakes.

I thought the pacing was decent, though sometimes it felt like too little happening in one chapter. Still, it went by quickly enough and was engaging enough that I was able to finish this in one day.

The writing style was good and the dialogue felt authentic. However, despite Rubi being a high school senior preparing for college, the book feels geared toward a younger audience. This is partly because Rubi’s relationship with Ryan, while sweet and very clean, is pretty surface level. But I also wish that there had been a more robust perspective from Rubi’s parents and their journey from Cuba; I just feel like we didn’t get the whole picture there.

Cheesy references to baking and baking puns aside, this was a good read. I think it could be an enjoyable family movie, and I would recommend this for middle and high school readers.

What a surprisingly sweet story, both for the baking and the romance. I thoroughly enjoyed Rubi’s relationship with her parents and her internal struggle regarding her passion for baking. I’d been expecting a more straightforward story, so the added elements of competition and familial history really rounded out what could have been a plain story.

Sometimes YA doesn't work for me anymore and that's more depressing for me than anything else. I think I would've appreciated this way more when I was younger but mostly I was just bored.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC. This is my honest review.

Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success is an entertaining contemporary YA book. Rubi is a high school senior, the daughter of Cuban immigrants. Her parents grand dream is for her to attend Alma University and become a lawyer. Rubi's dreams are more complicated. Much as she loved debate and law, her first love is the family business: baking. When Rubi gets waitlisted at Alma and finds herself unwittingly constructing a web of omissions and outright lies to friends and family as she seeks to get herself off the waitlist and onto the admissions list. Along the way she meets a cute boy who may share a lot more in common with her than she initially realizes, and she finds herself in the running for a local baking championship that just may change the trajectory she's on.

Rubi is engaging from her first appearance on page. She's smart, direct, interesting and relatable. Ryan is a sweet love interest.

Overall the story is well paced and interesting, the action and plot moving forward well chapter by chapter. It held my interest and I found the author did a good job highlighting the immigrant experience and the yearning for something more for their children. It also deftly tackled the teen angst of parental expectations vs personal wants.

A strong, entertaining read. Kept my interest.

This is a book you should not read hungry. I definitely made that mistake multiple times! This was a sweet YA. Rubi has a plan her mom made for her but when she is waitlisted from university she can’t bare to tell her parents. Instead she comes up with a plan to get tutored from the cute and smart surfer named Ryan.
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In reality all Rubi wants to do is bake but her mom wants more for her. She wants her to be a lawyer. Her mom has told her repeatedly that they didn’t leave behind their life in Cuba for her to be a baker. This is a book about expectations, finding your own path and becoming your own self independent of your parents.
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Huge thank you to @berkleypub @libromfm and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Amazing gorgeous and fun

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I appreciate what Parra tried to do here: make a very clearly Cuban story, but oh my I was so annoyed by how that was presented in the first page alone, 5 overt "I'm Cuban!" moments. Of course I want the Cuban character who's life is very Cuban, but the way it is written makes this feel like it's 2013 and I'm watching an MTV show with very clearly placed ads by my sponsor. There were so many ways that these same elements could've been presented without feeling like here's proofs 1-5 that Rubi Ramos is indeed Cuban. I want these things in the story, but why not write them better?

Overall, it is not a bad story the writing just wasn't my cup of tea.

Rubi Ramos's Recipe For Success by Jessica Parra was a solid young adult contemporary read - melding serious with fun. This book is about Rubi Ramos whose parents have set a recipe for her to have a financially successful life. They want her to get into prestigious Alma University which is an Ivy. Her parents own some bakeries and do not want Rubi following in their footsteps. And so, she focuses on school and debate team. However, the heart wants what the heart wants and Rubi secretly enters a baking contest judged by celebrity judges. She also happens upon a boy and well, Ryan might just prove to be a distraction as he goes from a crush to something more.

I genuinely liked Rubi Ramos's Recipe For Success. Jessica Parra does a nice job showing the conflict Rubi faces between the expectations of others and her own desires. Plus we add in the desire for her to know more about her Cuban heritage. This book is so interesting. Also, the way food is described made me super hungry. I enjoyed Rubi's creativity in baking as well as her skills as a debater. We also have a best friend too in this book. Rubi leads a well rounded life -- I never felt there was something missing or meh while listening to this book. The audiobook is 8 hours 41 minutes long. It is narrated by Karla Serrato who is new to me, but actually a fabulous narrator. The audiobook is pretty good for summer and driving around, getting things done.

Rubi Ramos’s parents (especially her mom) have made it clear what is best for her future: go to college at Alma University and become a lawyer. They’re both immigrants from Cuba and they’ve worked really hard running their own bakery for years. Rubi’s success in the white-collar world will be the culmination of all they’ve worked for.

The problem is that Rubi isn’t completely excited about law. What does thrum in her blood is baking: just what her mom and dad want her to get away from having to do.

So her mom (aka “the Boss” to Rubi and her dad) instituted a Baking Ban so Rubi would focus on debate team at school and getting into Alma.

She’s just a few months away from graduating high school, and just as she gets a letter in the mail from Alma, she finds out about a baking competition in Orange County, where she lives. It’s all she can think about. So she decides to go for it: in secret, of course.

At the same time, she meets a cute guy, a surfer who goes to another private school near her. Ryan is yet another distraction, but she can’t resist him either. He’s kind and supportive of her dreams — and cute.

Of course, the distractions do get distracting, and life gets complicated. Rubi has a lot of talents and a lot of dreams. Can she actually make them all come true, or will she have to disappoint either herself or her parents?

Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success seems to be one of a crop of recent YA books focusing on teens whose parents are immigrants to the US. Those parents have big expectations based on what they feel is success, while the teens just want to follow their own path. Each has its own merits while having similar stories. Here, I liked Rubi and her family, and the resolution works nicely. There’s not too much angst but things aren’t super-easy. It’s another window into the experiences of immigrants and their American-born children, which is always valuable.

Rubi is caught between her love of baking and meeting her Cuban immigrant parent's expectations. Although they own two successful bakeries, they want her to have absolutely nothing to do with the family business and instead have encouraged her to pursue a law degree. This is for all the first-generation, children of immigrants who are having to make their parents proud while simultaneously struggling with the weight of high expectations set on them from birth (IYKYK). I related to Rubi in so many ways and was frustrated on her behalf throughout the book (especially when she refers to herself as an investment). Although she has a hard time understanding what she wants for herself, Rubi does find her voice in the end and I applaud her for it! 3.5/5

This YA novel focuses on Rubi, the high school daughter of Cuban immigrants who own and operate two bakeries in southern California. Her parents’ greatest hope for her: to get a scholarship and college education at the prestigious Alma University. But Rubi’s heart is forever drawn to the food and culture of her homeland, despite her parents’ objections to following in their footsteps.

When her plans for Alma hit a serious setback, she enlists the help of Ryan, a cute surfer, to assist her in academics, while also entering a local bake-off competition on a whim. When her baked creations land her in the judges’ favor as the competition continues, Rubi is faced with a dilemma: Does she continue to pursue her passion for baking or should she follow the path her parents have for her?

This novel focuses on the lives of immigrants who come to the United States with hopes and dreams for themselves and their children, and the first generation children who strive to honor their parents’ journey and struggle. It celebrates the food and culture of Cuba, while seeking to educate us on its history. It also highlights microaggressions that many immigrants face as they seek opportunities for education and employment in the United States.

I loved learning about Cuba: its food, culture, and history. The food descriptions in this book are phenomenal (definitely do not read this on an empty stomach)!! I also liked the connection Rubi has with her parents and her friends, and reading about her struggle to honor her parents’ dreams, while staying true to her heart. I will say that the love connection with Ryan seemed a bit insta-love and surface-level for me, and I did struggle to feel the meaning behind that relationship. Also, the book did wrap up a bit too neatly for me towards the end. But overall, if you enjoy YA books focusing on food, culture, and the experience of immigrants in our country, you should read this book!

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun and cute book! I loved the whole Bake Off element because I’m obsessed with those kind of shows and the family dynamics were so accurate and I loved seeing it all play out. Even put a few tears in my eyes. Recommend to anyone who loves baking and cute stories about family love

A fun, feel-good summer read! Rubi Ramos is trying to follow the plan her parents have laid out for her: get into Alma University and become a successful attorney. The only problem is she gets waitlisted. If she wants to solve this problem before her parents find out, she’ll need a cute tutor to help her improve her math skills–enter Ryan, the sweetest math genius surfer. Everything is going according to plan until a baking competition comes to town and Rubi can’t resist entering. Baking is her true passion. Now Rubi is at a crossroads, will she pursue her parents’ dream or her own?

I had a wonderful time reading this book! It’s the perfect summer read: light, fun, and meaningful. This is a story about shedding others’ expectations and finding the strength and conviction to chase after your dream. If you’re looking for a sweet, coming-of-age story full of fantastic food and an adorable love interest, check this book out!

(Actual: 3.75) Super cute YA romcom with an ensemble cast of characters that were all as relatable as they were diverse! I loved the writing and how well-developed Rubi's admittedly complex relationship with her family is portrayed. Additionally, I can appreciate that the novel highlights how, while we may all come from different places, our core wants, needs, and struggles - especially as teenagers coming into our own - are often the same and again, are things we eventually can all reach at least some common ground/understanding on. I also really enjoyed how this felt like a true "coming-of-age" story - while yes, there is small romance plot, it doesn't take up the whole story, and I think it's left open-ended in a way where I could envision Rubi meeting her "true" soulmate/partner after the novel ends. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would read more from the author in the future!

A fun story guaranteed to make you hungry! Plenty of swoony moments and family drama make for an engaging and relatable story. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, as this eARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success is a contemporary YA coming-of-age novel following Rubi as she struggles to balance her love of baking, her position on the school debate team, and the conflicting dreams of herself and her parents. As well as the complicated emotions stemming from being waitlisted for her dream school.

It reminded me of By the Book by Amanda Sellet in that it really leans into its chosen theme, baking in this case, and the characters learn life is more complicated than you might have planned. (It could also be a good fit for fans of Kasie West.)

Though, compared to Seller's, Parra gets Rubi paired with her love interest—a surfer mathlete named Ryan—about 30% of the way in verse closer to the end of the story. Also, oh boy, the second-hand embarrassment off the relationship in this one. Rubi and Ryan are very cute, if a bit insta-love, but even as some of the banter leans a hint, a whiff in the direction of spicy, Rubi feels, or comes across as, deeply embarrassed and flustered about flirting.

But the love story isn't really the focus. The focus is on Rubi and her dreams and the dreams of her parents for her as immigrants from Cuba. And the complicated situations she finds herself in as she gets waitlisted for her dream college, but her parents believe she has already been accepted—and tell the whole community.
As such, the story heavily relies on the miscommunication trope, which makes sense in the story and with the characters but can be repetitive at times or cause moments where you just want to grab all the characters by the shoulders and shake them to come out with it already.

Rubi is sweet, creative, and resourceful, and I do mostly like her as a character. And I enjoyed the focus on the composition of the food, the baking competition, and how Rubi related to her family and herself through food was really the star of the story for me, verse the debate team and school plots. And I think the characters on the debate team with Rubi could have used some additional characterization to bring them from feeling flat and one-noted to more well-rounded and relatable.

But I think this book would make a cute gift to someone struggling with the college application process because I can't think of too many protagonists that get waitlisted for their colleges' verse accepted/rejected.

I would also rec this book to people who are looking for:
- Accidentally messy family drama
- Baking competitions and sweet food descriptions
- Hannah Montana style double-life antics!

TWs: Racism, Classism, Bullying, Food

Note: There is also a line in chapter 12 in my eARC version about someone's (bake-off contestant) cosmetic surgery / large chest that feels both wildly out of place and out of character. It threw me off so much I felt like mentioning, and I can't imagine how an actual teenager would feel reacting to it if they also looked like that.

Rubi Ramos also features a lot of fandom references that could be humorous or annoying, depending on your preference. I noted LOTR, Spiderman, and Star Wars. I don't remember HP, but it might have slipped by so be careful if HP is a trigger for you.

Once again, thank you to NetGalley for the eARC. Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success by Jessica Parra.

This was such a fun YA book to read! Rubi has all the ingredients she thinks she needs for a successful future as a lawyer. She’s on track to get into her dream school. She’s leading her debate team to the ultimate victory. And she’s perfecting her own spin on tried and true Cuban family recipes at their bakery (behind her mother’s back!). But months away from graduation, those tightly woven threads start unraveling faster than Rubi can hang on.

She’s waitlisted to her school–putting all her other plans at risk. A chance encounter with a hot surfer slash mega math genius throws another surprise twist in the mix, but Rubi accepts Ryan’s help to strengthen some of her weaker areas. When she also gets a chance to showcase her baking skills at a local competition, Rubi has to decide if going against her parent’s wishes to participate in anything baking related will be worth the fallout.

This was a beautifully written book. I loved the puns, the heartfelt journey we went on with Rubi, and the bonus layers of a little romance sprinkled in along the way. Plus the food descriptions will absolutely make you drool!

*Thank you for the advanced copy for review.

Rubi struggles with going for what she truly loves and wants to do versus what her parents want her to do. They want her to succeed and do and be what they couldn't. But is what she loves not successful as well?

This was a pretty cute story and I enjoyed it. The characters were all likable.

I really wasn't a fan of the writing here, which is why I have decided to DNF it about halfway through. The story seemed fine enough so far (though the romance was very much of the insta-love kind), but I could not get into it because of the flat prose...

Thank you NetGalley and the author for this ARC!

I was entertained with this book! It was a good read and I would absolutely recommend reading it to my friends. Quick easy read