I loved the magic system of this book. It was so novel. I also became so quickly invested in the main characters studies. I will happily continue this series

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. this was fantastic, just what i have come to expect from this author and look forward to carrying in my book store.

A Thousand Recipes For Revenge by Beth Cato is a story of fantasy where magical beings hide in plain sight, chefs have magical ability and revered for this ability, Gods are given offerings to protect and there's lot of political intrigue. It's the first book in a series.

Ada is a rogue chef. Her story is of hiding and secrets. As the story progresses, her past is revealed. Parallel story of Solenn, a princess who is supposed to marry a prince, is set next to Ada. Both of them are in danger, but from whom?

Initially, I had a hard time getting into this story. The world was a bit difficult to understand. As more characters were added, I felt that it could get muddled, but the story starts to make sense. I really enjoyed the story after 50% mark. The twist that comes then, though not surprising, is so worth it. I am really invested in this series and to see how Ada and Solenn's story evolves.

Thank you, 47North and Netgalley, for this book.

CW: This book has some vivid descriptions of violence against animals and mentions of cannibalism.

I really enjoy Beth Cato's writing and wish she had more books. I really like the way she is able to weave times and historical elements together to create a cohesive story.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

An interesting premise, however this book fell flat for me. I felt that it didn't really have a solid conclusion. A lot of the themes felt very heavy handed, and I just couldn't get into the story.

A Thousand Recipes for Revenge was a book that took me by surprise. It had an intriguing premise and a compelling magic system that felt unique. The characters were engaging. The world felt fully realized. At the same time, one of the themes felt a little heavy-hand. The climax felt a bit underwhelming. It’s an enjoyable read, and sets up a compelling series, but I’m of two minds about whether I will read the next entry.

This one started out well. And I even snagged it from Amazon First Reads. But once I really got reading into it. It is another book that I should have just DNFed it. But I held out hoping it was going to be amazing. Sadly it was not. What I got was a book with unlikeable characters and a story that had no real ending. It felt like I had half the story and the other part just wasn't there.

I think this was a unique way of using magic. You have these chefs and only they who have been blessed by the gods as chefs can use the magical ingredients to their full potential. I did kind of think it would be more of a cozy fantasy but there is death and poisoning and a sad and dark truth about those magical ingredients that chefs use that comes to light. Plus most of the chefs are either on the run, gone rogue, or conscripted to serve the kingdom either feeding royalty or keeping the armies strong and giving them extra skills from the food. So it was easy to root for Ada and her daughter Solenn as they fight for a better world. And I am looking forward to reading the next book. Hopefully more secrets about the gods are revealed.

The beautiful colors on the cover of “A Thousand Recipes for Revenge” by Beth Cato piqued my interest and when I read the description, I knew it would be something different. And I was right. Cato created a unique world by combining magic, cooking and a looming war.

Cato switches back and forth between main characters Ada and Solenn and narrates their points of view. I always appreciate this format because it’s easier to know what’s going on when the chapters are easily labeled.

Five gods rule over the realm: Gyst, Hester, Lait, Melissa and Selland. Each god rules over certain things like salt, milk, all things sweet, hearth and home and the unseen. And it makes perfect sense because there are people called Chefs who are supposedly blessed by the gods with abilities to cook or bake food items imbued with magic, or epicurea, as Cato refers to it.

Ada is a former Chef who went AWOL on her duties, a crime with a gruesome punishment as Chefs are essentially the realm’s military. From her perspective, she tries to protect her grandmother, reunite with her estranged family and make sure she isn’t found.

Solenn has the ability to detect deadly poison if it’s near her but she is careful to keep that secret to herself.

What starts as a fairly uneventful description of events and characters turns into a political war involving magic which risks all of humanity.

Never once have I read a fantasy book that involves cooking or food and it was a really cool concept to add magic in the mix (pun not intended). “A Thousand Recipes for Revenge” reminded me a little of “The Hunger Games” series while still maintaining its unique qualities.

Of course, the book ended on a cliff-hanger so I guess I’ll have to wait to see what happens in the next installment “A Feast for Starving Stone,” due out in January 2024.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.

4/5 stars

I had a lot of fun reading this book! I loved the background of the 5 gods and what it meant to be a Chef. I especially loved the two characters we get to see, from the differing generations of the same family, to the differing stations in life. Ada was this hardened women who has seen some stuff, while Solenn was focused on being the person her kingdom needed through and through. The lore and world-building was some of my favorite, especially with how the gods of this world and how they interacted with their human subjects.

The pacing was a little tough to get through at times — which makes sense since it’s the first in an adult high fantasy series, so set up is necessary. But there were definitely moments, to me, where it felt like certain scenes could have been cut down and the pacing wouldn’t have felt as sluggish in parts. And there were definitely instances where I preferred Ada’s POV or Solenn’s and vice versa, but it never reached the point where I ONLY preferred one over the other, which is a welcome change when it comes to any multi-POV novel.

Definitely recommend and I definitely will be picking up the sequel!

It's always great to come across a fantasy world with a magic system that is different from the many that are out there.

Cato builds a pretty interesting world, but at times the writing feels like it drags a bit, and skimming feels almost required.

The characterization is strange. We have characters who are definitely not teenagers, and are living dangerous lives, and yet they would easily read as teenagers.

I felt like DNFing a few times because it just stopped being enjoyable. It feels like this book just wasn't ready.

While the premise was very intriguing this book just turned out not to be what I like. Just not for me. I DNF'ed this book.

A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato
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This story is set in a fantasy world where magic is a culinary art. Ada is a rogue chef, magically endowed, and on the run. She learns of a plot to kill her and friends from her past. Solenn is a foreign princess betrothed to the prince. She comes across a separate plot that will wreck havoc on her life.
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What I liked:
-I liked the unique magic system here. Magic through cooking is not a plotline I’ve come across before and it was very interesting to learn about it.
-The story was told through only two POVs which made it very simple to follow and keep track of.
-I loved the connections made in the story.
-There was some great chapters of suspense throughout!
-The ending was really good and set up well for the next book in this world. I’m excited to see what happens next, especially after the choices that our characters made!
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great start to a new series, not sure how many books are planned but looking forward to where things go.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and 47North for letting me read A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato, the following review is my own opinion.

When I read the blurb for A Thousand Recipes for Revenge I was captivated. The premise enticed me and made me want this book to amazing. However, I had to continuously fight myself into not DNF'ing. I still believe this story had incredible potential - the magic system being based on food/cooking, the characters with a complicated history, the unsuspecting enemies - yet it just didn't provide.

A Thousand Recipes for Revenge tells the story of Adamantine, who is a rogue chef that has the rare empathetic powers of connections with food. Ada lives her life in hiding from the royal court with her Grandmother, until unsuspected enemies of the past begin to rise up in the present. Meanwhile, the plot also follows foreign princess Solenn in her proposal of the royal courts Prince, where she soon discovers that she holds a secret that may condemn her in such a court.

The ending did not provide. Nothing really got tied up it just sort of ceased? None of the explored relationships really seemed to progress at all either? Maybe the author is hoping to tie these questions and relationships up later in the series, but something should have still been given, as I am not really feeling compelled to explore the rest of the series when it does release.

A new world with a new and incredibly different magic system was delivered and the author did this incredibly well, but the plot and characters do need improvement.

I found this new series fascinating! I loved getting to know chef's and what gifts the 5 gods bestowed. The idea of tasting everything to clearly, even sensing poison without actually drinking something was such an interesting idea and felt unique.

I liked the 2 POV and mc's and found their connection, as it was revealed, a good pull to keep me in the story. I ended up flipping to an audiobook and the narrator really helped pull the story along. I thought it would slow down as it hit the middle but it built steady and the plot moved quick as each new turn had an interesting reveal.

The ending was definitely shocking but also left it open for another one in the series. I'm glad I started this one, I'll definitely be looking for book 2!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

A delicious blend of high-stakes adventure and culinary magic.

*A Thousand Recipes for Revenge* by Beth Cato is a fascinating and unique fantasy novel set in a French-inspired fantasy world with a magic system based on the culinary arts. Ada, a rogue Chef, is on the run with her beloved Grandmére in a complex relationship which hooked me from the start. Meanwhile, princess Solenn has discovered a plot to kill her fiancé and make her the scapegoat. The strong women who carry the narrative range from teenagers to old women, adding additional depth to the already amazing world building. Cato, an accomplished baker with a longstanding cooking blog, brings her expertise and imagination to create this one-of-a-kind combination of culinary magic and political intrigue. Highly recommend.

An intriguing fantasy where there's more than meets the eye - or the tongue - in a story of lovers, enemies, loss, revenge, magic and struggles for power and justice.
Ada is a renowned "Chef", whose tongue has been blessed by one of The Five - gods that watch over, and direct, the people of this world. Her powers have been weaponized to increase soldiers' skills in battle and to overwhelm her enemies through the basic necessities of food and drink. But after the reigning monarch forced her to make an unforgivable choice, she swore revenge on him and his henchman and disappeared into the shadows to elude her would-be jailers. But 17 years of hiding make for lonely business and Ada's guard begins to relax just in time for an old enemy to arise and seek his revenge. Will she be able to uncover the illegal sources of magic being used against her, her family, and her friends in time to stop the world from discovering something beyond anyone's control? And will The Five help or hinder the very survival of the human race?
I just reviewed A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato. #AThousandRecipesforRevenge #NetGalley

Overall I found the concept of A Thousand Recipes for Revenge better than its execution.

It has a very interesting magic and religious system. I’ve never seen a magic system connected to food in this way before. I liked the opening chapter that gave the reader info on the Gods lore and the magic of the world. Having it at the start like that means it doesn’t have to be spelled out aggressively in the narrative.

The main cast of characters are a family of women of colour and it was great to see their differences as well as their similarities.

I found Solenn’s storyline much more entertaining than Ada’s. Every time it jumped back to Ada, I would check out. It was only near the end of the book that I started to enjoy Ada’s chapters more and that was mainly due to the increasing pace towards the climactic action.

One of my big complaints is that I found Ada’s voice seemed more childish and immature than Solenn’s and given their ages, it should be the reverse. I was much more invested in the court storyline than the intrigue into who was trying to kill Ada and her friends.

I did not expect this book to be a book for horse girlies but it definitely is.

I didn’t like how idiotic the royals and politics became once Solenn was suspected. A lot of the side characters or villains were so cheesy they were almost caricatures.

I found the plot overly cluttered and the point kept shifting. Having lots of plot points and troubles for your characters can be good but the ones in this novels felt disconnected and it felt like you bounced from one to the next so rapidly and without any real consideration for the one you just moved past.

It was good for representation and had a very creative magic system but in the end I found it overly cluttered with the plot and not compelling enough for me to want to continue to the next book in the series.

Not my usual genre so it was slow going for me. I did end up enjoying the story. Not enough to read part two. But to each their own!

3.5 stars

Ada is a Chef. She can taste aromas, and she knows what food is right for anyone she meets. Chefs are property of the Crown and must do the King's bidding. When a Chef's magic manifests, they are usually conscripted to the King's army. If they run rather than serve, they are considered rogue Chef's and the punishment is the loss of their tongue which usually drives them mad.

Ada served her time. After certain events, she flees and takes on a new identity. When someone tries to kill her and puts her family in danger, she knows she can't hide anymore.

I enjoyed this. It definitely wasn't what I expected. I thought it was going to be cozy fantasy, but it wasn't. I still liked it. My only real complaint is that there was no world building at all.