A very interesting read. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this book. It wasn't really for me, but I am sure that it will be loved by the right audience.

Lindsay Hameroff may have become my newest automatic buy author after Till There Was You. I was in such a slump before reading this book and it was able to pull me out of that slump that had been going on for over a year.

I absolutely enjoyed every single moment of this book. I was left swooning and before I could even say blueberry pancakes I had preordered a signed edition.

I didn’t realize how much I needed a second chance, aspiring chef meets an aspiring musician romance. But now I feel like I couldn’t live without this book.

There’s something endearing to watching two people chasing their dreams and seeing how those can change over time, especially when love makes you see things differently. It was watching Lexi struggle with the direction she wanted her career to go that seemed so realistic. We see her struggle to balance her personal life with the hectic schedule of trying to make it as a chef. Ultimately she had to find her passion for the thing she loved in order to see her path forward. And in many ways that is how I think we all become successful because it can be so hard to take a step back and realize we are on the wrong path and losing our passion.

I really liked this freshman novel by Lindsay Hameroff! Regular girl + celebrity romance done right. Super cute, a little spicy. Highly recommend.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an advanced reading copy.

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Touches on tough or uncomfortable subjects like parental disappointment, parental death, and cancer. Contains some sexual content.

“Till There Was You” follows Lexi Berman, a culinary student in New York City who’s just about to graduate and who dreams of becoming a Michelin-star chef in order to honor her late mother, as she meets Jake Taylor, an aspiring singer-songwriter, at a dive bar. They spend the most wonderful weekend together and then Jake leaves for LA to record his demo. He promises he’ll be back and they’ll keep in touch, but Lexi isn’t expecting much. What neither of them expected really was that he’d become an overnight sensation with a song he wrote for her and that then he’d simply disappear. Lexi is too proud and stubborn to admit she’s heartbroken, and is set on forgetting the whole affair. That is, until a drunk and distraught Jake knocks on Lexi’s door, expressing his regret for how things played out. They agree to be friends and Jake crashed at Lexi’s place as he’s recording his second album. But how can you just be friends with someone you know you could love?

I will drop everything and read a celebrity romance every single chance I get. I will not let my Wattpad dreams die, is all. That being said, this was such a fun read. Were the characters childish at times? Yeah, sure, but they are pretty young to begin with, I just left that off to them being young and foolish and stubborn. I just loved the character arcs and developments, both as individuals and as a couple. The only reason this isn’t a 5-star review is because there was a third act break up that simply didn’t sit right with me. Other than that, I loved this read.

I would highly recommend “Till There Was You” to anyone and everyone that enjoys a good, ol’ celebrity romance.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: February 20, 2024

This was a cute debut! I liked the singer - chef dynamic but the characters’ personalities weren’t my favorite. I don’t know if I’d say there was alot of growth in them, but I am happy that they end up together. Of course I love the subtle Jewish rep as well!

Lexi is still a student when she meets Jake Taylor and they have a one-night stand that turns into a weekend – and then never see each other again. A year later, Lexi is working in a kitchen and Jake is an overnight musical success with a hit single based on Lexi and her pancakes.

When Jake needs to disappear for a while to find inspiration and work on his new album, he asks Lexi if he can stay at her house. Can she be is friend or will feelings get in the way?

Why Kirsten loves it
This was such a charming romance – if only I could hear the blueberry pancake song on the radio!

this was pretty cute. the book cover was what called to me in the first place and the content held my attention the entire time. i liked lexi and jake and the food and music talk throughout the book.

This book has been on my Netgalley for a bit and I haven’t picked it up. I haven’t been into romance in a minute, so I’m not the right person to review it anymore.

🥞𝒜ℛ𝒞 ℬℴℴ𝓀 ℛℯ𝓋𝒾ℯ𝓌🥞

Till There Was You
Lindsay Hameroff
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

𝒯𝒽ℴ𝓊ℊ𝒽𝓉𝓈
Blueberry pancakes, celebrity romance, and navigating grief? Say no more! I loved this book. Lexi, grappling with her mother’s death and navigating adult life as a 20 something in New York, had me rooting for her the whole story. Her dreams of making it as a chef while simultaneously juggling her boyfriend, Jake-a famous singer, had me engaged throughout the book. I absolutely loved the chemistry between Jake and Lexi, it seemed very organic and burned steady throughout. Without giving it away, I loved how the book ended. It felt very wrapped up in a bow for me, which is how I like my romance books. Not only that, but the ending was very original. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and it will likely be one in my top favorite romances!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy, out now!

A chef, a musician, and a second chance at love? You had me at chef, to be honest :)

Lexi is a stressed out culinary student who spends an amazing weekend with Jake, who she quickly loses touch with until he ends up on the radio singing a song about her! Then he ends up on her doorstep and Lexi needs to decide what she is willing to sacrafic.

I received a copy of this one by Lindsay Hammeroff from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review--thank you so much!

This was a very sweet and spicy read! It was a fun insta-love book. I’m not usually into insta-love books, in a way it read a bit like a YA, but only sometimes. I did really enjoy the “different worlds” aspect of them seeing as she’s a baker and he becomes a breakout pop star. If you’re looking for a cute and spicy little book to read, this would be a good one to start with.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun romance novel

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this review copy and the opportunity !

2.5

This book reads like fanfiction, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not what I was expecting. It also very much reads like it was written by a millennial, like there’s multiple references to Twilight and someone thirsting after Justin Bieber. Which again not a bad thing, but not what I was expecting. I also think I have gotten used to romances being dual perspective, so it really threw me off when we were only in Lexi’s head.

Lexi is a culinary student, who has an amazing weekend with Jake, a musician she met at a dive bar. He is getting ready to fly to LA to record a demo and they promise to keep in touch when all of a sudden he blows up and becomes famous and because of romance book miscommunication, they don’t talk to each other again until he comes back to New York over a year later. When they reconnect, Lexi has to decide if giving Jake a second chance is really what she wants.

I think this book does a great job of highlighting the downside of celebrity. We see Jake struggle with being famous and with not being able to be “normal” because of people trying to take his picture or leaking gossip about him, and we see how that impacts Lexi when she’s photographed with him. We also see how challenging Lexi‘s job as a chef makes maintaining a relationship, and some of the negative sides of working in the restaurant industry. That being said the plot was all over the place. I’m still unclear on how much time this book actually took place over because events happened in a blink of an eye. It made the relationship feel very insta love, which then made me question Lexi because she had to have known her life was going to change by being in a public relationship with a celebrity, but it’s like she never actually thought about it and it felt like they’d only known each other a week.

Overall, I can’t say this was a good book but I can say there was potential and that I devoured it in one sitting and am planning on picking up Never Planned on You soon.

A steamy weekend with Jake Taylor is all Lexi Bergman needs to become hooked on him, but when their lives go on separate paths the instant connection between them might be lost. Lexi is focusing on her dream of becoming a Michelin-star chef and Jake is about to make it big, becoming the next overnight sensation. Over the next few months the pair focus on themselves, never expecting to see each other again but when their paths cross again the instant connection is back stronger than ever. Will they be able to make something between them work or will their different dreams and passions get in the way?

The description of this book sounded good and I knew I needed to give it a try. I was hooked on the first few chapters and saw myself loving this book, but then a few of the twists and turns lost me along the way. I really enjoyed parts of this book and wasn’t a fan of others. I felt the same way about the characters, there were moments where I loved them and where I couldn’t stand them. Those moments lined up with the parts of the story I loved and didn’t love. The story was well written and it wasn’t hard to get through, but all of the ups and downs and drama were too much for me at times. This book had so much potential in the beginning that I found myself wondering why it had a low star rating on Goodreads, but as I got into the book I started to understand. This wasn’t a terrible book by any means, but to me it was a little too dramatic and there were a lot of moments that I couldn’t get into. With all of that being said, I don’t regret giving this book a try and would check out more by this author.

I laughed out loud when reading this one. I enjoyed the plot, the characters and the overall vibe of the story. I recommended this one to my book club!!

DNF'ed as a "will try again later." The writing and story is not currently grabbing my attention but will come back to this at a later period

2.5 for me sadly. Their relationship fizzled out pretty quickly for me and they just got to be annoying. They felt far too insta-lovey for me. Lexi busts her butt in culinary school, to ultimately flub the opportunity she earns over a guy.

Jake is constantly forcing her into his life with no consideration for it will affect hers in return. Expecting her to drop everything and go with him every time he mentions something.

I DNFed around 18%. I tried to stick with it, but Lexi was hard to care about in general. The breaking point was finding out she had been accepted to and graduated from culinary school with never having worked in any type of restaurant. Yes, we knew she came from money, but even suspending reality made that too unbelievable.

Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff is a heartwarming and emotional romance that explores the complexities of love, second chances, and self-discovery. The novel follows two characters with deep emotional baggage who must confront their pasts in order to build a future together. Hameroff’s writing captures the tender moments between the leads, and their chemistry is undeniable.

However, the plot sometimes feels predictable, with a few clichés that may not stand out for readers familiar with the genre. Despite this, Till There Was You offers a satisfying, feel-good story with relatable characters, making it a great pick for fans of contemporary romance looking for an easy, enjoyable read.

Till There Was You is a story about Lexi, a culinary student and aspiring chef, and Jake, a musician trying to get his big break. They have a whirlwind weekend then lose touch as their lives go in opposite directions. A year later, Jake shows up at Lexi’s door hopeful for another chance.

This was sweet and kept me hooked the whole time. Lexi was a well rounded character, I liked her group of friends, and I felt like I was in the kitchen cooking with her. Jake was decent, but I don’t think the rockstar love interest is for me. And I didn’t necessarily care for the added drama with his dad. There was already enough going on with the story.

Overall, I enjoyed Lindsay’s writing style and would love to pick up her new book, Never Planned on You, when it’s released in 2025.

Thank you St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.