This book was so cute. The cover caught my eye and im so glad! I love romcoms and this one hit the mark for me! I love me some "Love at first pancake" action haha

Super cute! So excited to have read this one and meet the author before it was released! I cannot wait to start reading the next book by Lindsay Hameroff.

Twenty-four-year-old Lexi Berman is a dedicated culinary student with her sights set on becoming an executive chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Romance isn’t on her radar, as she’s fully focused on her career.

That is, until she meets Jake Taylor, a musician playing gigs at a dive bar. Despite her strict no-dating rule, she makes an exception and spends a passionate weekend with him. But when Jake heads off to L.A. to record his demo, Lexi assumes they’ve parted ways for good, which fits perfectly with her plans.

However, she never expects Jake to skyrocket to fame after his breakout single, “Blueberry,” takes the music world by storm. And, as it turns out, the song is most likely inspired by her famous blueberry pancakes—the breakfast she made for him after their first night together.

Despite being linked to a famous pop star, could it be that Lexi and Jake are the ones meant to be together?

This sweet and spicy insta-love romance will resonate most with readers in their twenties. Unfortunately, as I’m not in that age group, it felt more like a YA story to me.

The dialogue between Lexi and her two best friends felt a bit immature, with the author’s attempts at humor coming across as forced. There were plenty of giggles, snorts, and cackles as they discussed dating and *ahem* more intimate topics (their words, not mine).

Jake, on the other hand, seemed a bit older than his twenties and almost too perfect, with his dimpled smile often being mentioned.

While the book provided an enjoyable glimpse into the worlds of culinary arts and pop stardom, I missed the more mature, sharp banter that I usually enjoy in rom-coms. The book would have fit better in the YA category, in my opinion.

3.5 stars.

I love rom coms and this should have been great, but it was just okay. I’m not a huge fan of insta-love, but the one night stand trope/weekend together makes sense. I feel like it dragged a bit in the middle, but overall it was decent.

I really enjoyed reading this one. I think the fact that they met over pancakes and that he just disappeared really played into their story and helped with the second chance trope even more than I was expecting. I really enjoyed the pacing of this and couldn't put it down.

4.5 stars

Really enjoyed this book! I am a sucker for a celebrity romance and this book was so wholesome. Jake is so down-to-earth and balances out Lexi so well. I loved the subtle Jewish rep as well. It was so fun to see Jake and Lexi on their journeys within their careers and how they help each other be the best they can be while also navigating their relationship. I did appreciate the side characters and the pieces about their families. I would definitely recommend this book. It was a fast paced, easy, and enjoyable read.

This was a fine read - but it ended up falling into the 'not for me' category. Over the past year, I've really honed in on my personal reading tastes regarding celebrity and this book just didn't hit the mark for my personal preferences. I remember almost not requesting this ARC due to the fact that the MMC is a celebrity but I ended up giving in since I do generally enjoy chef/cooking romance books. I also found the timeline to be a bit too much to try and fit into one book. Our MCs meet one night and have a 'perfect weekend' together before they end up not speaking for a year. Then, they are reunited and the book continues from there to have a full-blast romance plot arc. It felt like the first section was meant to be a prologue but grew and ended up being the first 20% of the book. I loved the 'perfect weekend' set up but I think there was too much time between that and the romance rekindling that it made the book feel like it was dragging on and on. I did really enjoy both characters exploring their relationship with the reality of their dream jobs and familial expectations and I would read from this author again.

Tropes: Celebrity, Second Chance, One Night Stand to More

Standalone

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. Publication date was February 20, 2024.

Thank you St. Martins press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book was good but the miscommunication was almost ridiculous at times. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind miscommunication but like they just needed to communicate. I feel like part of the problem was that the FMC didn’t know what she wanted. She said she didn’t want to be in the spotlight but then was mad whenever he didn’t pay attention to her as much in public. Like girl make up your mind.

Thanks to Netgalley for the E-ARC. Im not gonna lie even though this was such a fast read. I was really annoyed with the MFC Lexie was holding onto this anger that was just not sitting with me and even though I was really into the book I was willing to put it down.....and then I started sobbing and she was redeemed in my eyes. The MMC Jake was not perfection cuz he had his issues but he was perfection IYKYK. I enjoyed Lexie's best friends as well they really made the book come together

I liked the idea of this book, but didn't love the execution.

📕 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Til There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff

📙 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: Standalone

📗 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: E-book on Kindle. ARC courtesy of NetGalley

📘 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Contemporary romance

📔 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: Rockstar, music as a love language, second chance.

📖 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Lexi is an aspiring chef married to her job when she meets Jake, an up-and-coming country singer. One weekend changes their lives, but they lose touch until Jake returns to New York looking to reunite.

🌟 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: The cover and the synopsis all seemed right up my alley, but the way the plot paced really wasn't my jam.

This was one of those books that was perfectly fine - but when I really thought about it, didn't deliver. The idea of it was great - rockstar heart throb who is reckless and fun, a serious chef who falls hard and fast. But there was a LOT of back-and-forth. It seemed like every kiss or moment was met with a "but we can't work" argument, which was so often I started speeding through them.

There were pieces that didn't get enough attention - Jake's Broadway aspirations, Lexi's feelings about her dad - and pieces that got way too much attention. It just didn't seem cohesive, and left me feeling... well, not a lot. I'm a little bummed, because I really thought I would enjoy this one.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹: 2.5/5 🌶🌶

𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘.

The book was fun and cute, a bit formulaic at times. The characters backstories weren't delved into enough for me and the will they/won't they was not my favorite. I did like the setting and the music & food scene. I was happy with the ending and overall I look forward to reading from this author again.

What a knock out for a debut novel! truly incredible. I loved the chef meets singer vibes. Lexi's drive is so relatable in the sense that we all recongize that is someone that will go far in life.

Oh ummm… yeah dnf 43% I fear… I wanted to like it sm but I got so bored 😭 heartbreaking fr I wish I did like it tho

This story was cute, it was quirky, it had some steam. Miscommunication tropes has to be done really well to not make me shake my head at how contrived it can be. This one was just okay. On most levels Jake and Lexi should never work. I mean she has pretty much sworn off all relationships and suddenly she loses her mind over a stranger that doesn't call back. If my g/f grabbed my phone and deleted an entire thread of texts, I would NOT be happy. It is one thing to give advice, quite another to do something like this (yeah, I was ticked) but I know without this, the story had no place to really go I guess. In the end, there was romance, there was drama, there was an HEA. 3.5 stars.

This was really cute! I loved the dynamic between Lexi and Jake, and I loved the attention to detail regarding cooking/the culinary world. I did wish there was an epilogue as the ending felt a little abrupt but that could be taken as showing I wanted more of these characters!

This was a pretty good read for romance lovers! Great story line and of course some of the best tropes (second chance romance) with some funny moments mixed in along the way.

"Till There Was You is a sweet, heartwarming romance that had me hooked from the first page. The characters felt real and relatable, with just the right balance of emotional depth and playful banter. The chemistry between the leads was sizzling, and the slow-burn tension kept me rooting for them all the way. Perfect for fans of second-chance love stories with a bit of spice and a lot of heart!"

3 stars =This was fine. There is an intaneous connection between the leads before his sudden fame gets in the way. The leading man is pretty good once he gets past his initial faux pas of losing himself to the spotlight and the author does do a pretty good job of developing that connection once the pair reunite. While I did like that the leading man works very hard to be open in the communication department - even though his leading lady tends to want to shut down or run and hide - I've decided that Rock star romances just aren't my jam and I never ever want to be a professional chef.

There is a cute (if not unbelievable) big gesture to wrap things up at the end.

ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. This is an unpaid review. TILL THERE WAS YOU is available now.

I wasn't incredibly blown away by this book but still was able to finish it. It read. more like a YA than anything else (even though there were spicy scenes I just cant pinpoint it). Jake and Lexi were both likable and this was defiantly instalove which is my favorite trope so that kept me going. Overall I just knew I would mostly forget this book after some time had passed but I still enjoyed reading it.

Could not get through this one. I really struggle with the writing and the characters. Thanks to the publish for my advanced copy.