I’m not going to lie, the fact that this felt like pure nostalgia to me is why I truly loved it. My great-grandparents immigrated to Miami from Cuba and learned English from working at a laundry mat. Now? My dad is a nuclear engineer. I’m very proud of where I come from, so reading this book felt like a slice of home. From the mouthwatering Cuban desserts featured to the familial love that bound this book together. While frustrating at times, Ruby had a heart of gold, and I sympathized with the pressure she felt to be the best and achieve. In any other context, I think I would have had a hard time enjoying this book. At times the dialogue made me cringe a little, and the instant-love made me roll my eyes. But in the end, I felt like I was back at the beach visiting those mom-and-pop Cuban bakeries that make the most mouth-watering food and memories for me to cherish forever.

Thanks to Net Galley for the advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

(Review has been shared to Goodreads and Storygraph. It will be reshared on those sites, and posted to Amazon and Barnes and Noble on release date)

I felt like this leaned too hard on the fact that she was split between two worlds and it just felt cringy. I really enjoyed the overall plot, and it reminded me of the old DCOM, Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off, which made me feel nostalgic in the best way ever. The characters felt like they could have used some more fleshing out; they weren't completely one-deminsional, but I wouldn't go as far as calling them two-dimensional. It wasn't bad, but definitely on the cheesy, cringy side for a teen romance about baking and the impending feeling of doom of trying to get into college.

This book was such a brilliant and successful debut novel. I adored Rubi as a character and how strong-willed and set on her goals she was. I love baking so I especially enjoyed all of the baking scenes and how nerdy Rubi was when it came to that aspect. Although I desperately wanted to love the romance it all just happened so quickly and wasn't very convincing for me. I didn't hate him in any I just kind of forgot about him ,,, oops. With that being my only complaint I absolutely cannot wait for Parras next release.

Such a fun and heartwarming book. I had so many emotions of empathy for Rubi and the book teaches the reader valuable lessons. If you want a book packed with happy and uplifting emotions this is the one. I cannot wait for my next Jessica Parra read,

I officially started my Spring Reads session with this book. Which was a perfect decision!
Parra has written a magnificent, entertaining young adult novel for those who remember all too well the stress of graduation and impending adulthood.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Beautiful writing easy to read. I love the family dinamics and everything about Rubi.
A high school student feeling pressure to give up on her passion to achieve her parents dreams for her. Aware of all the sacrifices her parents make to send her to a Catholic school in Orange County, Rubi Ramos works hard to try to get into Alma, a university that represents the American dream to her family. Captain of a debated team. While all she really wants is to bake fulfilling her dreams and making her family proud. I highly recommended.

This book was a fun exploration into the life of a 1st generation US citizen. After her parents relocated to the US from Cuba, they were determined to give Rubi a better life than they had, through their "Recipe for Success", which includes her becoming a lawyer. However, Rubi is interested in more than the future they've picked for her. She has a talent for baking and loves to spend her time coming up with new and exciting recipes. This book is filled with inner conflict, as Rubi doesn't want to disappoint her family, but also wants to stay true to her own heart. I do wish the pacing at the end had slowed down just a little bit. After so much leading up to the final competition, I felt like we sped through the ending a little. All in all, however, still a fun read that is worth the time.

There was a recipe and yes, it was indeed successful. What a strong debut by Jessica Parra! We've got a coming-of-age story about being a child of immigrants dealing with what feels like the weight of the world. Rubi's personal recipe to a bright future and one that her parents will be proud of involves:
- Being the captain of her Debate team and win their tournament
- A Future Leader of Orange Country
- Ace trigonometry
- Maintain the ban on baking
- Get accepted into Alma University
- Become a pre-law major at a Ivy League law school

"The raised nicks and pink divots etched into her skin showed off her resistance to flames. Showed off how she'd stitched herself back together each time the world tried to break her."

This quote got me in my feelings. Rubi's recipe for success is giving me flashbacks to being in my last years of school and she's 10 times more responsible and ambitious than I used to be. She's a fighter and she'll do what it takes to get what she wants and deserves. What hit even harder is that Rubi's future was all written out by her parents. They love her and want the best for her and she has the same dream for herself. She just doesn't want to lose the things she loves along the way. So Rubi, whose parents have banned her from baking as she's preparing for university, decides she's going to take part in the First Annual OC Bake Off. What puts everything in an imbalance is that she's been wait-listed for her (and her parents') dream university. Rubi has to fight to stay on top of everything and score that acceptance to Alma and also continue to thrive as a baker to win the Bake Off.

Rubi longs to connect with her roots and baking is her way to do it. She's holding onto the things that make her Cuban and tie her to all her family and friends in the community. She's almost a golden example of a 'child of immigrants'. It just made me really happy to see an author capture the experience of being a young woman trying to live up to the goals and dreams of multiple generations without losing the true essence of herself.

Rubi is fun, goofy and so nerdy about baking. I loved reading about the baking techniques and how the treats connect to Rubi's past and present. The descriptions are so detailed and mouth-watering that I wished at parts that I could reached into the pages and pull out the treats. The author used food metaphors in such a perfect way to capture a range of emotional moments in the story.

Rubi is always the main character in her story and her friends and boyfriend (or "boyftu" - boyfriend & tutor) add to her big moments and support her wonderfully along the way. All the secondary characters and plotlines feed into the main story and came together seamlessly at the end. I really enjoyed the initial flirtationship and relationship between Rubi and Ryan. It captured the bubbly and fun new love between teenagers while taking the time to explore the depths of their personal lives and growing relationship.

I wish their were more scenes diving into Rubi's relationship and conflict with her mother. Her mother was off-screen far more than I expected and I think that detracted from the final resolution. Even though I was pleased with how the story reached it's climax and conclusion.

This is an absolutely heartwarming coming-of-age YA. I'm not one for watching cooking or baking shows but this definitely made me want to watch the Great British Bake Off! Truth be told, I had to eat multiple chocolate bars to satisfy my sweet tooth while reading this book. So if you're a fan of Bake Off or just sweets in general then this book is for you!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the chance to read this eARC!

Croncha anyone? Just like a beautiful blended croissant and concha this book blended Rubi's struggles to attain her dream while feeling like she was not letting her parents'dream for her be discarded. Rubi's feelings of wanting to figure out what will be her joy and what career she wants to pursue, while also struggling with not disappointing her parents who work so hard to be able to provide these opportunities for her is well described in this book which I think many high school and college aged kids can relate to.
I think the author did a good job respecting the relationship between her and her parents (not all parents wanting more than they had for their children do it from spite, but actually love) and Rubi learning more of her heart and passions. I especially liked that it was touched upon that this dynamic of wanting your children to succeed was not just felt in a minority family like Rubi's but also in her Irish "boyftu"'s life as well. I do think the relationship between Rubi and her boyfriend could have developed a little slower, we went from meeting at the beach for the first time to becoming integral support system pretty quickly. But I liked that their relationship was not the main focus of the book and instead allowed us to see Rubi's growth.
All in all, I enjoyed reading Rubi's thought process through things and how she challenged herself and found more of herself in this journey.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and St Martin’s Publishing for this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

This book was indeed a recipe for success! I had an absolute blast reading about Rubi and her journey throughout this book. They were such an interesting character to follow.

This was really cute and it made me super hungry.

Rubi is so easy to like. She's feeling pressure from her parents. They are immigrants from Cuba and own two bakeries. Rubi loves to bake, but her mom put a baking ban in place. She needs to focus on getting into Alma. Rubi does debate and also needs to get her trig grade up. She does get to work weekends at the bakery, but she wants more. Baking is really her passion and she's not whole. When a new local baking contest was announced, she decided to enter behind her parents' backs. One of the prizes can get her to Havana. She wants to connect with her roots, but her parents don't want to go back. Rubi starts using her (great?) grandma's recipes with some changes. She wants her baking to show everything she is.

Rubi meets a surfer who happens to be excellent with math. He becomes her tutor, but also more. Rubi was attracted to him right away. I also really loved Rubi's best friend. Her dad was really kind. Her mom, not so much. As a parent, I get where she was coming from even without the addition of being an immigrant who had to work so hard.

I gave this book 4 stars.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a link for Netgalley.

Binge read alert! Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success was so much fun to read and chock full of wonderful characters! Loved this!

Rubi Ramos has been following her parents’ plan for years: Get into prestigious Alma University and become a successful lawyer. They fled Cuba before she was born and have put in long hours at the bakery they opened for years to achieve things they were never able to. The Boss, aka Rubi’s mom, has strict rules in place to make sure this happens, and banning Rubi from baking herself is at the top of that list. Rubi loves baking and creating her own recipes, though. When she learns of a local bake-off featuring two famous bakers, Rubi decides to bend the rules of the ban to enter. When Alma waitlists her, though, Rubi is torn between her head and her heart. Can she convince Alma to accept her and still compete in the Bake Off in addition to her normal school studies and activities?

This was a heartwarming story that I think a lot of teenagers will be able to relate to. The recipes Rubi created in this book sounded amazing! I have to admit as someone who loves both math and baking, I loved how Rubi’s “boyftu” Ryan helped her see the parallels between the two. My one complaint would be that the baking puns were overbearing. An excellent debut; I look forward to seeing what the author comes out with next!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book.

Cute story with a fun premise, I read it in one night!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

Thank you St Martin's Wednesday Imprint for this joyful, fun story. The story is a vivid, engaging, and spirited as the cover suggests; I personally love a baking theme and coming of age/senior year in high school theme as well. Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success brings in an inclusive take on coming of age vibes about having hopes and dreams for oneself but also recognizing these hopes and dreams might mean a different path than what others think is right for you.

5/5

I loved almost everything about this book, except for the token aspect of one of the side characters (you'll know which one I'm talking about when you read the book and get to about 75% of it) and the token Catholic aspect of the book. Don't put your main character in a Catholic school while making her hold un-Catholic views and while using God's name in vain every few pages if you don't want to infuriate the Catholics reading this book and longing for good representation.

Loved the romance, loved the complicated family dynamics, loved the cooking. Overall, it is a fun and easy read that made me gush and squeal like a child on Christmas day more than once. Great clean book with a few irritating flaws.

Full review on Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5421183718

Rubi Ramos is an absolute QUEEN. A senior at a private high school, captain of the debate team, working part-time for her parents... while all she really wants to do is BAKE. The details on the intricate decorations, the droolworthy descriptions of bolillos, conchas, and malt cookies, and how concise she parallels baking to trigonometry? Made for me. The family dynamics were so interesting and full of LOVE, even if they struggle to show it sometimes. If you want a mouthwatering baking competition book mixed with a heartwarming coming of age novel, this is a great pick.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I absolutely adored this heartwarming YA read about a Cuban American teen coming into her own. Smart and driven Rubi just jumped off the page. Her relationship with Ryan was sweet and realistic. I especially enjoyed how her relationship with her family and her heritage was portrayed. As for the baking competition- that was so much fun to read about.. And the recipes made me so hungry- definitely bring snacks while reading this one. I would definitely recommend to the YA reader in my life. 4.5 stars.

This is a very cute debut! All of the baking-related puns were clever and livened up the writing, making it even more fun to read. And I liked how the major themes focused on tackling parental expectations and weighing how to honor your parent's wishes and dreams for you and listening to your heart. It can be extremely difficult to determine whose dreams to follow when you want to do something so badly but it comes at the price of potentially seeming ungrateful for your parents' sacrifices. I think Parra handled and portrayed Rubi's feelings with that very well. I loved how it was set around baking because I haven't read many novels with that focus, so it felt fresh (pun intended). I was also jealous of the characters who got to eat some of the baked goods because their descriptions made them sound delicious, haha.

The romance felt a bit too insta-lovey for me, but at the same time, it was understandable because they're teenagers, and falling for people at that age happens super fast. Some of the descriptions and/or scenes dragged and I noticed some formatting errors (mainly not indicating who exactly is speaking) that took me out of the story a little, but overall, I very much liked this book!! I look forward to reading Parra's future books!!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this eARC!!

🦇 Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❓ #QOTD What's your favorite treat to bake? ❓

🦇 With graduation only a few months away, Rubi Ramos is doing everything to follow her parents' predetermined recipe for success:
🍪 A dash of captaining her Law and Debate team
🍪 Spoon in an OC tournament win
🍪 Add an A on her trig midterm
🍪 Adhere to the Ban on Baking
🍪 Whisk in an acceptance to Alma University
🍪 Fold in a pre-law major until smooth
🍪 Sprinkle in a dash of Ivy League law school
🍪 Set, and watch Rubi rise
Her parents chose the ingredients before Rubi was born, never consulting her about the ingredients to ensure a flawless, delicious recipe. Even age-old recipes need the occasional spin, though, and for Rubi, it's the First Annual OC Bake Off, minus her acceptance from Alma. Instead, she's wait-listed; a plot twist that's more bitter than sweet. When Rubi makes it through the first round, she allows her passions to boil despite her parents' plans, discovering new recipes for herself along the way.

💜 As a child of immigrants, I understand and empathize with Rubi's desire to connect with her roots, strive to meet her parents' expectations, and navigate ignorant prejudices (which she nearly does with grace, if not wit). It's easy to cheer her on; every word of wit, passionate foodie ramble, and show of spunk is bound to warm your heart better than any oven. Jessica Parra does a delightful job of balancing food puns with delicious metaphors as well (a tasteful balance that is no easy feat). Her strong, vivid descriptions are both eye-catching and mouth-watering, bound to transport you to Rubi's workstation in the bakery or at the Bake Off. The story pairs ingredients and conflicts with ease as well. Parra has a way of folding seemingly unconnected concepts (like trig and baking) together in unexpected ways. While there are many mixing bowls and subplots at the beginning, they all seamlessly work together to produce a culinary and literary masterpiece. Every secondary character feeds into the story without stealing the spotlight, from Rubi's queer fashionista bestie Devon and new "boyftu" Ryan to the Bake Off's punny host and judges. Even the romantic aspect of the story doesn't steal from the show as it tends to with most books in this genre.

🦇 While I connected with Rubi's familial situation, it's not until the last few chapters that we get a real taste of Rubi's experiences. One or two more interactions with her mother could have helped readers unfamiliar with the sacrifices immigrant parents tend to make for their children. This book was meant to honor the sacrifices Parra's own parents made, but I wish we saw more of that in Rubi's story. There are scenes the story didn't need (Devon's coming out seemed rushed and out of place). It was a bit silly that Rubi thought she could disguise herself with a cap during the competition (her name is at her station). Madeline's "mean girl" language felt a bit unnatural, too (I couldn't help but hear Libby from Sabrina the Teenage Witch). The pacing was a little off between scenes, chapters, and conflicts as well.

🦇 Recommended to anyone who loves a heartwarming coming-of-age YA. Perfect for fans of the Great British Baking Show! Warning: Make sure to bake yourself a sweet snack (like my chai cookies) before taking a bite out of this delicious, tantalizing read (because it WILL make you hungry). I can't wait to see what Jessica Parra whisks up next!

🍪 Debut Novel
🧁 Child of Immigrants
🍰 Tasteful Baking Puns
⏲️ Coming-of-Age
🍪 Delicious Prose
🧁 Sweet Pop Culture References

🦇 Major thanks to the author (@jessicatparra) and publisher (@stmartinspress) (plus @wednesdaybooks) for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley (@netgalley). 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.