I want to say thank you to the publisher and author for granting me access to read this book ahead of its publication!

I really loved the concept and was hooked from the beginning. Once the story developed, I felt myself struggling to get through it. Gia and Ben had good banter back and forth in their letters but once they met in person it felt anticlimactic. There were a lot of characters and details in both of their personal lives that it was difficult for me to keep track. Ben seemed to be more into Gia in my opinion as well because he would think about her during his chapters. Gia often did not mention Ben and only focused on her work and her problems. In the end, I did like the general idea behind the story and I enjoyed the beginning but it left me struggling to finish it.

I so wanted to love this book, from the cover to the concept, but it was lacking "something" I didn't really connect to the characters and I think the author had a great idea but then couldn't follow it through, its a real shame as everything was there for a great read.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the earc. While I found it sweet and comforting read, I do wish that it delivered something extra.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This novel was not for me. I didn't finish.

Sorry but I just can't get into this book and have had to abandon ship. Finding it all a bit slow and not really bothered about the characters. Sorry.

What a sweet wholesome story! It was exactly what I needed to read and the author doesn’t take themselves too seriously!

I just finished reading Love on the Menu by debut author Mimi Deb.
The story, told through a dual POV, revolves around Gia and Ben, and slowly builds their relationship from an accidental sharing of a list, to letters going back and forth with every takeaway from Namaste London.

It took me a couple of chapters to get into the story. The author does perhaps too good a job of conveying the general malaise (mean girls at work, crappy apartment, rather consistent drunken-ness, loneliness, panic around the job and visa situation) in Gia's life. Ben's life isn't great either, in spite of a close-knit chaotic family.... there are personal demons to be vanquished. After the first few letters between Gia and Ben, I found myself wanting to find out more about them. I found myself rooting for these two lonely individuals, who are trying to let go of the past and build a future with emotional support from an unexpected friend.

And there lies the problem. For me, friendship is where I see this relationship staying. After waiting for ages for Gia and Ben to meet, whatever sparks do fly, aren't even between the two of them. And instead of following up with a resolution and a focus on the main leads, there was (what felt like) an interminably long wedding and focus on a different one of Gia's closest relationships. In a romance novel, with such a promisingly title, this is a problem.

If you are looking for a slow-burn read, with a focus on individual characters and their journeys of self-discovery, give this story a try. If you're looking for a frothy, steamy romance... that's not on the menu.


Thank you to Netgalley UK and the publisher for a free ARC. This did not influence my review.

Oh dear. I feel out of step with other reviewers of Love on the Menu by Mimi Deb. I'm afraid I just found it slow and unconvincing. But that's fiction for you: very subjective.

I wanted to love this book. The mystery of a note passing plot is very You’ve Got Mail and I’m here for it and the food based exchanges of this novel drew me in - who doesn’t love good food? However, I didn’t connect with the characters or the plot. There was too much going on, too many threads that weren’t tied up and just drifted off. Ben’s relationship with Brandon seemed really complex but was never explained. What changed it? Did Kayla find out the truth about the wedding? Why did Ben act so callous after the video? How did he feel when he realised Gia had been at the gig? There was so much introduced to this novel that wasn’t explored enough for me and it would have been easier to understand what was happening if it didn’t lose its train of thought. On top of that, a lot of it went over my head. There were ‘jokes’ or insinuations we were meant to know, such as Kayla throwing the earth coloured lipstick, or Connor not getting over his jetlag and it just left me puzzled and frustrated.

The premise of this book was really interesting, and once I understood that Ben was not the delivery guy I liked that they hadn’t met but it would have been nice as the novel progressed, for them to interact more and to have some kind of chemistry. I’m sorry to say their romance fell flat for me and I didn’t gel with this book.

DNF. This book was too slow at the beginning and aside from some formatting errors which will be fixed in the final edition of this book, I just think it needs a few more rounds of editing and taking out unnecessary info. I just found it too slow

2.5 stars rounded up. There's the bones of a good book here, but unfortunately they're obscured by erratic pacing, irrelevant plot points, and indistinguishable side characters who actually detract from the story rather than add to it. Maybe the author had a whole intricate tale in her head and didn't want to cut out any of it; maybe she started writing and it all got away from her a bit. I suspect my impression was not helped by the worst formatting I've ever seen in an uncorrected proof (and I've seen quite a few): most of Gia's letters contained multiplewordsruntogetherwithoutspacing which made them impossible to read (or perhaps she wrote them like that, considering she spent most of the book three sheets to the wind?), and that was but one of the problems.

I did like the epistolary idea with its very modern twist, and I liked many aspects of the main characters, especially Ben. It was rather a shame that they hardly got any time on the page together. I did finish it, but found myself skimming some parts; with better formatting and a damn good edit, there's plenty of potential here, but as it stands, not really for me.

I think there's a lot of potential and I appreciated the ideas. It could a rom-com but there's some very serious topics like alcoholism.
I'm not sure if like it or not, I'm more for the ok but not entertaining.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

"Love on the Menu" feels like a story full of potential, but unfortunately fell a little flat for me. I loved the alternating perspectives, the passing of sweet and encouraging notes between Ben and Gia, and Gia's work drama. However, the story overall felt clunky and hard to follow. The back and forth between Ben and Gia's perspectives was difficult, as, especially with Ben, I felt like I was being dropped in the middle of a story I missed a big chunk of...I would be interested to check out other Mimi Deb novels, as I felt like this one was hard to follow, so I'm unsure of that being her style just a one-off.

I did finish the book but got a little frustrated with it and the story. Not one I'd go back to.

The characters became a little annoying and I got cross with them!

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Drunk not Sober
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Mimi Deb
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿: Ben + kids
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Normal
𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: Novel
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Slice life, office drama, contemporary romance
4.4/𝟱
𝗧𝗪: 𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺

If any of you read this book & drink, I need to know if people ACTUALLY consume this much alcohol & function. 😬

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ Well paced across various settings
~ Troubled characters that give glimpses of depth
~ Found family & sweet friendships
~ Two-fold British Asian perspectives

Gia is having a tough go of it, she needs to keep a precarious job, that becomes more so after a social disaster with her boss. Between her two-faced co-workers, abandonment issues and COPIOUS ingestion of alcohol, her life needs order hence, the list. What starts as a note to herself becomes a WHOLE relationship when she orders takeout one night from Namaste London & a man of privilege who needs direction in his own life, answers.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🌱THE MEH
~ Drinking, lots & lots of drinking - if it’s a trigger for you R U N
~ Consistent drunk choice making
~ Unsure of the necessary points were made
~ Dysfunctional & alcoholic families
~ TOO MUCH ALCOHOL 😬

♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

3* DNF

I've read several excellent and amusing novels where the main characters initially correspond by notes or emails before meeting. In fiction, where anything goes, these plots were believable and any monumental coincidences, if taken with a pinch of salt, were acceptable. This book follows a similar theme, except that the notes immediately became essay length.

I won't detail my likes or dislikes, other reviewers have already pointed them out. But I really missed Gia's Indian-ness. She left Darjeeling five years ago and surely would retain some of her home country mannerisms and expressions. Instead she was portrayed more as London Estuary.

A second annoyance were conversations that were grouped tightly together, making it unclear to identify the speaker.

The formatting of Love on the Menu made it a struggle to read and drove me to distraction, mercifully this'll be corrected before publishing. Words were placed together without any spaces, this is a short example, many others were twice the length –
Talkingofanimals,Ishouldprobablyaddresstheelephantonthepage.Mattisnottheex-boyfriend.He’smyex-bestfriend.WegrewuptogetherinDarjeeling,andnowhe’sgettingmarriedinJuneonabeach

After the final edit, I'm sure that the published book will be very different to the ARC I received. Unfortunately I gave up reading at 40% and will only rate 3*.

ARC generously supplied by Avon Books and NetGalley, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.

Thank you Net Galley and Avon Books for my ARC of Love On The Menu by Mimi Deb. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this book. The cover is cute and the concept of a love story starting by passing notes via takeout was adorable but it totally flopped for me. For Bens character being a recovering alcoholic I found it terribly strange Gia literally tried to drink away her problems every day. A relationship like that would never work in real life, I don’t think. There were time I was totally lost at what was even happening and perhaps that was just something I had missed because I was not enjoying the book, I really don’t know. I did finish this book because I was hopeful for Ben and Gia to salvage a relationship and I was curious how it would end. Unfortunately though, not my style or a book I would personally recommend or read again.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5359088787

It took me a little while to get into this book, it had quite a slow start but overall I enjoyed the story. It was a unique story and heart-warming at times.

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I almost had to DNF this book. I had such high hopes for it but I honestly couldn’t stand the MC. I felt like this book had so much potential and it sounded like it would be so cute but it just fell flat for me. I also felt like the eARC copy read like a very early rough draft so it made it harder to read and comprehend.

This has such a cute cover and such a cute premise!

Sadly the pacing and writing style wasn't for me, I just felt like it didn't grip me and I didn't love the characters either. I was expecting more rom com less... drinking your problems away and creating MORE problems for yourself. I wanted to get to know the characters on a DEEPER level which with multiple POVS should have been possible but maybe there was just TOO MANY POVS to get to know every one.

I did enjoy the cute, funny moments and there were a fair few of relatable scenes! Overall its a fine book but not the next big romance i don't think!