Fun, light read. Low-key romance but very sweet story. Loved the side characters and the premise. Well
Done!

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a sucker for foodie romances and this book did not disappoint. The combination of a baking competition and love story of two chefs falling in love hit the spot. I’m this author is new to me and I’m looking forward to reading more!

I enjoyed this, but I didn’t love it. The slow burn tension is lovely, but the climax left me wanting. I wish there was an epilogue or something else to give us a little more to the story. Some of the conflict felt contrived, but overall it was a fun read.

3.5/5 stars! I love food-based books so the premise of this sounded super cute. I really liked the pacing of this story and the inclusion of really focusing on the baking and not just the romance. I loved Tori and Kendra and their swoony chemistry.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

3.9

Thanks so much to Netgalley and The Dial Press for an advance readers’ copy of this title! Love at 350° is a delightful story about two older lesbians that have been through love before finding love on a baking reality show — as judge and contestant. Both leads were endearing and brought their own separate personalities to the table — Kendra’s dry wit and Tori’s can-do attitude. The creations made by the contestants sounded mouthwateringly good and reminded me of the weekends I would spend plugged into Food Network shows like Worst Cooks of America and Cupcake Wars. This book’s only setback in my opinion is that the slow burn felt…too slow at times. Kendra and Tori primarily communicate through letters (like we’re in Mr. Malcom’s List or something) and only kiss in the final pages of the book. I’m all for slow burn but when the competition Tori faced on page only heated up, her relationship with Kendra was practically nonexistent. Otherwise, I had an amazing time reading this book and would love to award it 3.9 out of 5 stars!

What an utterly delightful romance! Tori and Kendra are lovely characters in their own right and it’s impossible not to root for them to find a way to be together (even if the supervising contract was a TAD unbelievable).
I thoroughly enjoyed this but was disappointed that we got a single kiss between our leads. If you like your romance with any sex you will be disappointed

Love at 350 combined my love of baking competitions with my love of tension-filled romance. I really enjoyed this story about a slow-burn relationship between two talented chefs, complicated by real-life situations. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes details, as well as the swoon-worthy descriptions of the delectable baked goods. I look forward to Lisa Peers' next novel.

I have found myself in a very specific niche of LGBTQIA chef romances, and TBH? I’m not mad about it. Love at 350° by Lisa Peers on a one that I’m so happy to add to my read-and-loved list! It follows an amateur baker onto the set of a baking challenge, where she rekindles her dreams and kindles a whole new love. It was such an interesting concept and well executed. Tori and Kendra are great main characters and you can’t help but keep your fingers crossed for them. Even though this book was fairly lighthearted, it touches on some very real every day struggles AND does a great job at recognize that life doesn’t end at 40. All told, it’s an excellent romance that I was so happy to add to my list.


Special thanks to Net Galley and Random House for providing an advanced reviewer copy to me in exchange for my honest review and opinion!

This was a quick and breezy read that I enjoyed! I wished there was a little bit more romance, but I was definitely rooting for the main characters to get together, and once they were, wahoo! I'm not usually a fan of books that feature children, but I still enjoyed this.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

This was a cute slow burn, second chance romance that incorporated the world of Baking competitions well! I was rooting for Kendra and Tori to get their happy ending together, but was just as interested in the baking competition and the great cast of supporting characters! I felt like the plot had enough twists and turns to keep me satisfied, but still wrapped up in a nice way! Anyone who’s a bake off fan will savor this!

This is a really cute novel about Tori, a teacher and single mom with twins who loves to bake; her kids enter her in a national cooking contest which could win her $100,000.00 and a chance to be on the show. Exited and scared, she goes in with exuberance and skill, only to be tempted by Kendra, one of the celebrity judges on the show. Tori has recently gone through an unexpected divorce from the woman she loved, so this feeling too is sudden but not entirely unwelcome! My mouth watered through most of this book as the recipes sounded so good. Tension between contestants was high and there were several complications, but I loved the storyline and its clever characters!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Read an ARC.

Seniors in high school sign their single mom up for a baking competition, she has chemistry with the tough-as-nails woman judge, and hijinks ensue. This is my second "kid prompted meet cute" in a fairly short time but these teens play less active role.

Solid story about rediscovering passions later in life! Really fantastic and accurate baking competition dialogue, but the romance aspects fell short. Maybe the ratio is as high as 90% baking and competition and 10% character introduction/development/plot. Excellent selection of plausible secondary characters but I never really got attached to anyone.

The anticipation of "illicit affair / forbidden love" felt more restraining than tantalizing. Like something that smelled amazing in the oven but eating it is just okay.

This book was exactly what I needed as a palate cleanser after lit fic novel that left me a bit depressed. It was light and fun, easy to read, and I honestly rooted for both characters. My only issue with it is that it’s a romance and I felt like the courtship between the two MCs was left at a simmer for almost the entire book. I love a secret relationship, so I was sort of hoping to be giddy about these two risking at all to get closer, but I don’t know, this time, something was missing. Maybe it was the structure? I’ve had issues with this in other books, but whenever books have a tendency to jump forward in time so the character can remember back to a big relationship moment, it disengages me. I always want to be in those moments, but I think this is more a ‘me’ thing than a craft thing, so don’t miss out on the book over it.

4.24⭐ rounded down to 4⭐.

An amazing debut novel from Lisa Peers. Perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off who wants a dash of sapphic romance.

This book primarily revolves around Tori, a divorced teacher and a mom of 2, and Kendra, a powerhouse restaurateur, chef, and baker. Meeting as a contestant and judge on a show called American Bake-o-Rama, they are not able to act on their attraction due to contractual obligations and accusations of favoritism but through secret notes, they have gotten to know each other a little bit better.

Love the side characters of this novel as well. Tori's and Kendra's own group of family, friends, and colleagues (EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE, YOU'LL KNOW) were amazing. The contestants were incredible. The ending with that twist WAS enjoyable.

For romance readers like myself, although this was not so heavy on the romance, I still really enjoyed reading it. There were parts that were long and my eyes probably glossed over some minute details but that didn't really put me off.

Now I'm ending my day off to rewatch The Great British Bake Off.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved both Tori and Kendra! Im obsessed with baking competition shows so I breezed through this book. It was so well written I felt like I was behind the scenes at a real baking competition. I love when opposites attract so I thought the romance was very sweet! My favorite part was the letters at the end and how Kendra will wait for Tori once their contracts are up! Can we get a book two please? :) thank you netgalley and Lisa Peers for the arc!!

Okay I will preface this by saying Love at 350 was completely different than what I thought it would be but not in a bad way. By reading the summery I was expecting more romance so that’s going to be my base.

It is about a teacher who’s an exceptional baker and cook and whose kids sign up for a bake-off competition without her knowing, where she finds a spark with the competition’s cutthroat judge.

I loved both Tori and Kendra a ton. Tori is an angel come from heaven, she’s so good and kind and is just an incredible human. I loved every second of her. Kendra is so talented, feels deeply for things that matter to her and is so gone for Tori.

I loved the aspect of the baking show, the depth the author brought to the book and just how accurate it was!

I feel as though the romance and the bake off plot could’ve been balanced better without taking anything away from each other. 1/5 of this book is the romance and the remaining is the competition. As I said, I absolutely loved the bake-off but the romance lacked completely. I struggled to feel the chemistry between them most of the time. Especially since they barely had any time together all throughout the book which was incredibly disappointing. Unfortunately I didn’t like the romance at all but the bake off and the amazing cats of characters made up for it.

So if you’re looking for a fun cooking competition with fun twists and great characters along with a pinch of romance, then this is most definitely for you! I really encourage you to try it out because remember this is MY opinion and you can end up absolutely loving it;)

I thought this book was so charming! I thought the characters were really developed, and I felt like I really knew who they were and what they were thinking/feeling as the story progressed. The baking elements and competition were my favorite part of the book- I feel like I was really in the midst of the action!

This was such a fun and easy read. The storyline and action was enjoyable and so charming.

Thank You NetGalley and Random House & Dial Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

I am always a sucker for a book with a good baking/cooking plot especially when it involves a reality show as well. I loved how we didn't jump into the baking show right away and how we slowly got introduced to the characters as they were getting their applications sent in. I loved both of our main characters and how we got both of their points of view. All of the side characters were a delight. I loved how all of the contestants were so understanding of each other and built up a trusting relationship. Although this is advertised as a romance I don't feel that there was enough romance or that it was the main focus. It was more of an inst love that felt more like a crush. Overall this was such a cute and lighthearted read, I would definitely recommend it to everyone who is even only slightly interested.

Yes!! I love a great Rom-Com when there is cooking or baking! This is a total vibe and I love every word of it!!
I just reviewed Love at 350° by Lisa Peers. #Loveat350 #NetGalley
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This started strong but didn’t hold together. Tori is a recently divorced high school science teacher who dreams of opening a bakery. Her twins are about to leave for college and they secretly nominate her for a baking competition show. She gets an audition! Meanwhile, reluctant show judge Kendra hates her moniker of Cookie Queen for her bakery empire (oddly named “Chippy Chunk”, and I kept hoping for an explanation for this but never got one), and she needs this job because her beloved restaurant really needs the money. Kendra spends most of her time working or with her bulldog, even though she longs for a relationship.

The two have an instant spark on set, but aren’t allowed to fraternize during the show or for a year after it airs. So they find secretive ways to connect. There’s a lot of pining. So much pining. But calling this book a slow burn implies that there’s heat there at all. I didn’t really feel their connection. Yes, they found each other attractive, but they barely knew one another and took some big risks to pursue something. It seemed like a mutual crush, not a deep connection.

The plot felt, pardon the expression, half-baked. There are intrigues and obstacles, but lots of things are still unresolved at the abrupt end.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.