I loved this book. I found the story of the Plaza and Ortiz family feud to be really enjoyable. The introduction of the camera crew and the families appearing on a TV show was a really great way to put a modern Romeo and Juliet style twist on the plot. Jordan and Cindy were really likeable but also frustrating at times. I loved the Philly setting, this book felt like a love letter to the city.

I thought this was a great young-adult coming-of-age novel about a fake feud, reality tv, and seemingly a love letter to Philly :)

Both of the main characters Cindy & Jordan had their own journeys of self-discovery, which is what I love about YA novels! I also am a sucker for anything with a backdrop of reality tv, so this was extra fun for me.

The food made me hungry lol, but seriously, overall, I'd read more from the author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this DRC.
A Philadelphia food truck rom-com with a fake NOT dating trope. Fake dating is my favorite trope so fake NOT dating was good but also painful. There are just as many ways to destroy your relationship with secrets especially when reality TV gets thrown in the mix. Fun, and I’d definitely be lining up to try Jordan Plazas’ food truck.


#WithorWithoutYou #NetGalley

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a YA romance about rival food truck workers in a relationship. It was sweet and cute but predictable.

With or Without You is a cute young adult contemporary book about Jordan and Cindy who both work on their family’s food trucks and both hate each other, but is that really true? Actually they are not fighting and feuding at all, it is all an act because they are in fact in love. It was a quick sweet read. Dual perspectives from Jordan and Cindy. If you like reality television and food trucks, this is the book for you. It’s got teen romance, a fun feud, and loads of actiony drama. I loved each character in this novel. They were all well thought out, and well developed. Every side character was a character, you know. Sometimes that’s hard to find in a novel, but Eric pulled it off very well.

In Philadelphia, Jordan Plazas and Cindy Ortiz are at war…at least, according to social media. Their families own competing food trucks that sit within an insult’s throw away from one another. The Plazas food truck sells simple, straightforward cheesesteaks (if you ask for mushrooms, they ring the shame bell to let everyone know how stupid the idea is.) The Ortiz food truck offers healthier alternatives, like wraps. In the summer after high school graduation, it’s up to Jordan and Cindy to run the trucks and keep the rivalry at its peak.

Except there’s no rivalry. It started as a joke—a mistake, almost—which both families have maintained to keep business coming. In fact, Cindy and Jordan are in love. Even though they wish they could hang out like a normal couple, they’re willing to keep up the charade for customers.

Then comes the opportunity for some real drama. A TV producer proposes the idea of her latest reality show, Cheesesteak Wars, to Jordan and Cindy. Cameras will follow the Plazas and Ortiz families for a week to put together an episode. If there’s interest from the TV world, Cindy and Jordan might find themselves playing enemies for the long haul.

Except Jordan is getting tired of faking the hate. He wants to concentrate on earning enough money to buy his own truck and hit the road with Cindy by his side. Cindy wants to increase the number of listeners for her podcast and go to college. Neither wants to hurt the other, but they both know this summer may be the one where everything changes.

There’s also the city’s new food truck competition with a big cash prize. Even though the Ortiz and Plazas families have spent years as friends, the possibility of winning first place threatens the peace. If Cindy and Jordan don’t act fast, the feud that started as a joke may be the only way their families relate to one another.

Author Eric Smith writes with a breezy, confident style that perfectly suits the genre. Readers will instantly like both Cindy and Jordan. Less convincing is the fake rivalry; even though the teens say mean things to one another for the cameras, the insults don’t land as particularly harsh. Also, given that Cindy’s podcast is about a reality TV show, she comes across as clueless about how the entertainment genre works.

The story starts to wander in places until it’s unclear what’s more important: the TV show getting made or the food truck contest. Readers who want an easy book may want to check this out. Otherwise, they may want to skip it.

A wonderful addition to Smith's list. I loved how atmospheric the setting is and I loved how real these characters felt. This is a great read!

DNF.
I really like the modern-day Romeo and Juliet which includes rival food trucks, but it was really slow for me and I was not able to get into it. I really had high hopes as I heard great things, but it just wasn't for me.
Thank you Netgalley for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine "Romeo & Juliet" (sans death, of course) set in modern-day Philly and you get "With or Without You." This YA novel, told in dual points of views, has everything from (fake) enemies to lovers, fake not-dating, secret romance and more that make a *chef's kiss* adorable romance. (Yes, that pun was intended, thank you very much.) "With or Without You" is incredibly well-written and gets inside the authentic yet vulnerable mindsets of both Jordan and Cindy. Adorable is an understatement with this one.

Thank you to Inkyard Press for the ARC. This book started out with a twist, then came another twist and then another. The story is told as a reality show and it lives up to the drama. I enjoyed this book very much. The main character Cindy will make you have all the feels for a friend and foe.

With or Without You is my first taste with this author, Eric Smith and it will surely not be the last. Speaking of taste, after finishing this book I searched high and low for the closest restaurant that could provide me with a cheesesteak! Overall, I thought Cindy and Jordan were adorable and I really loved their story. It was a quick and easy read. I went in not knowing what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this arc! All opinions are my own

I love Eric Smith so much because he always takes these fun little tropes and creates three dimensional relatable characters while also having the best puns and humor! I especially liked that this took rivals to lovers and then said. psych! it's all AN ILLUSION.

I really liked that this book discussed the idea that your big dreams don't HAVE to include college but they CAN. Jordan wanting to just drive around and make simple delicious foods in a food truck was so real of him. Especially because it's often put into teenagers' minds that you HAVE to go to college or else the dream doesn't count. I also liked that this had a sprinkle of reality tv in it to add extra drama! The fake showmance meeting the fake rivalry meeting the actual secret romance was just so fun!

I do think the beginning with the script form the reality show came a bit too early especially considering it took about 20% of the book to introduce the reality tv show plotline. But overall I really enjoyed this!

3.5 stars

It’s common knowledge that Jordan Plazas and Cindy Ortiz hate each other. They’ve gone viral many times with their shouting matches between their families’ food trucks. The food truck rivalry between their two families has been well-established the entire time they’ve been in high school.

However, what everyone doesn’t know is that it’s all a front: Jordan and Cindy are actually dating. When they get approached by a TV studio to do a reality show, they have to pretend that they aren’t. Otherwise, everything their families have built could come tumbling down around them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyward Press for an advanced copy of With or Without You by Eric Smith to review! Eric Smith is always a good time for a rom-com, and making it food truck themed just upped the fun. And it might make you hungry!

We don’t often get YA romances where the relationship is already established from page 1; it’s kind of fun to get to see the relationship play out without all of the (kind of awkward) beginning stuff. Jordan and Cindy have chemistry from the beginning, and the way they play up the rivalry between their families has a fun spin to it.

This book does read like reality TV, with little scenes sprinkled throughout that are confessionals for the characters. These add a fun element to the story, and really put you in the reality TV zone. While this works for the story, I’m not a huge fan of reality TV; I think that’s part of the reason this didn’t resonate with me like Smith’s other books.

However, if you like food themed romances, this is definitely the book for you!

My thanks to #NetGalley and #InkYardPress for giving me access to the ARC of With Or Without You.

A salty but never cheesy frenemies romance perfect for young audiences of today grappling with the unreality of social media existence vs. real life. File under: careful what you wish for - as Cindy's love of reality TV turns into her being the subject of a new show pilot, Cheesesteak Wars. Only the rivalry between her family's food truck and the one owned by her (secret) boyfriend Jordan's family is all fake... Or is it?

These messy, confused characters are as unpredictable as they are realistic, and the Philadelphia setting rings true - no shame bell!

Another winner by Eric Smith! Always loving the trip to Philly when reading one of his stories, and this one comes with the unique food truck showdown, fake enemies/real lovers conflict. Jordan, Cindy, their families and friends are complex characters that leads to layers and twists to keep the story very engaging and unpredictable. Loved the appeal for foodies & reality show fans, which isn't something we often see in YA. Very satisfying read!

**3.5 Stars**

I have a husband who was born and raised in Philly so I love books that are set there because I get to learn more about the city and culture. We get a lot of the culture in this book through Jordan who is a Philly boy and then the other perspective through his girlfriend, Cindy, a transplant from Boston, MA. They both run a food truck and they have a rivalry going on between them when they are outside but in secret they have been together for awhile. When a television company wants to do a show on the rivalry, things start to unravel.

Jordan and Cindy already have an established relationship, so I thought this book did a good job showcasing the different challenges a young relationship could face when both parties are about to start their lives after high school. Jordan has a dream that he and Cindy will do a road trip together and run a food truck. But Cindy has dreams of actually returning to Boston, her hometown, and go to college. With all the secrecy going on, trying to hide their relationship from the public – they realize they were keeping secrets themselves…well actually mostly Cindy. I felt bad that these teens couldn’t be together without lying to the public and on camera. I don’t read a lot of books where the couple is already together so I thought this was different but in a good way. Thing is you don’t get the falling in love feels in this book, but more the -“I love you, let’s fight for our relationship” vibes instead.

I did wish Cindy could have told Jordan right away what she was feeling but it’s not always easy. And I was surprised with Jordan – yes he should have listened to Cindy and realized the food truck business was not her passion, but he was pretty forgiving of her after some things went down. I felt like that showed both of them were pretty mature for their age and were in it for the long haul, which is heartwarming. I like how they made it work in the end.

There are other themes in this book other than Jordan and Cindy’s relationship. The story explores how their families went into debt from their small businesses and how they dealt with that challenge. Some of that burden falls on Jordan and Cindy’s shoulders, but they deal with it in different ways, just like their parents.

Tropes: secret lovers, family rivalry

My Final Thoughts:

Instead of a falling in love type of romance, we get an established relationship between two teens who hit a few road bumps in their relationship, but they decide to fight to make it work. I loved that the story is set in Philly, and that it’s a story based around one of their favorite foods, cheesesteaks. It definitely made me hungry! All the characters are vibrant and unique and I liked the themes about family, debt and belonging. I like how both Jordan and Cindy are coming of age and really have to make some big decisions about their lives, with or without the other. I enjoyed this one!

This books was so cute. It had me a little stressed in the middle, but all the best books do. I am the definition of “judge a book by its cover”, I hate that I am but it’s true. And this book absolutely lived up to is adorable and perfect cover. I was giggling and gasping throughout the entirely of this book, Jordan and Cindy are so stinking cute.

The relationship between Jordan and Cindy feels so real. Like I’m reading about real high school graduates that are planning their futures, dealing with real, high school graduate problems. Like what you and your high school boyfriend are going to do when you both move away (a real life problem I actually had)

This book is a must read if you are on the hunt for a light hearted read. The fake feud keeps things interesting, Cindy and Jordan keep things real.

Story of food truck wars is told from two points of view, Jordan and Cindy, competing on the same corner. They appear as enemies for the camera but are really in love with each other with big plans for the future. The parents are actually friends, too, but they hide it especially when a directer wants to make a reality show about them. Fun story with great characters.

With or Without You
By Eric Smith
November 7, 2023

With or Without You is a cute young adult contemporary book about Jordan and Cindy who both work on their family’s food trucks and both hate each other, but is that really true? Actually they are not fighting and feuding at all, it is all an act because they are in fact in love.


I love The Great Food Truck Race and this book really reminded me of it. I enjoyed all of the characters, both Jordan and Cindy were fantastic together and separately. It's Romeo and Juliet with food trucks, yes please!


Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun YA romance, I loved the (fake) enemies trope and the reality show premise. I felt like Smith’s story went in directions that I was not expecting, which was a really fun and pleasant surprise. I think I rooted for the families more than the MCs but I ultimately really liked this.