What I loved:
• the super sexy vibes between Nazeli and Vanya
• summer in Chicago
• cooking and food competitions
• daughter/parent relationships
• Armenian food and culture
• the cover! 🤩

What I didn’t love:
• the explanation for the families’ rivalry didn’t entirely add up
• the pacing toward the end- some events were told that I wish could have been shown

Overall, a delightful romcom!

LAVASH AT FIRST SIGHT is such a sweet and lovely look at family and identity, love and the importance of staying true to oneself. Vanya and Ellie are wonderful, fully-realized characters, and their doting parents--even when they are squabbling with each other--are a delight. (Some of my favorite laugh-out-loud moments, in fact, involve their parents rehashing elements of their decades-long feud). As a side note, I think one place where this book especially shines is the masterful way in which Voskuni weaves in details about Ellie's and her family's experiences as Lebanese Armenians. I finished the book wanting to learn more about the history of Armenians both in Lebanon as well as in the United States.. (I also finished the book wanting to try, like, ALL of the fabulous food described throughout the novel! But then again, I'm always hungry. :))

Thank you Taleen Voskuni for writing another amazing queer Armenian story. Both Lavash at First Sight and Sorry, Bro will forever be books that I hold close to my heart, not only for the incredible storytelling but the representation as well. Never did I think I'd be able to see myself in a romance book as completely as I have here.

This was a delight to read. From the first moment Naz and Vanya meet, I was sold. Their relationship progression is great and the conflict felt real. I absolutly loved the dynamic with their parents and the cooking competition as well.

I'd highly reccommend this book to any contemporary romance fans.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

A hilarious and heartwarming romance about finding your authentic self while celebrating where you came from. The chemistry between Ellie and Vanya sparked and sizzled--they were an absolute joy to read.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for this eARC. I'll tell you what, you must be snacking while you read this book. There are just so many delicious dishes described, it cannot be enjoyed properly on an empty stomach. I'm a person who has never had a lot of Armenian food but now I have to search it out and try one of these dishes. The romance element of this book was nice! It was a sweet relationship that came with it's own hiccups. There was good communication up until the 3rd act flubs, even then it was pretty good about avoiding the tropes of cutting each other off. There is no spice level romance wise on this read. It's fade to black and for the story they are telling it works. I think one intimate scene may have had me a bit more invested in the relationship but it wasn't wholly missed. Overall a nice quick tasty read!

Taleen Voskuni’s sophomore release was such a fast-paced pleasure. After reading Sorry, Bro last year, I knew I wanted to snatch up her next sapphic release! I was so excited by the reality show set up and all of the nods to Armenian Lebanese food culture. Definitely check this one out!

Oh my gosh, this is one of the best books I've read all year? Definitely in the top 3 of 2023! Ellie and Vanya are such beautiful characters. The plot was so funny and romantic.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

YASSSS! this book was so fucking good. I loved everything about this, truly. Vanya and Ellie were just sparking with connection. I loved that the parents were so involved, which is so accurate lol. The tension was fun to read, and the banter was even better. The cover really drew me in and I'm so glad I was able to read this. This was my first book by Taleen but certainly won't be the last.

Lavash at First Sight was everything I wanted it to be an more. This delightfully cozy, queer, and warm novel made me cheer at every win and roll my eyes lovingly at well-meaning parents.

Parenthesis in narration drive me nuts because they’re almost always pointless things I don’t need to know that don’t fit anyway. There are two sets of parenthesis with useless pieces of information on every page, and I wasn't here for it. I didn’t even make it out of chapter 1. I tapped out at 5%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

I really liked Voskuni's first book, so this was a real disappointment for me. I felt like none of the storylines really got the attention the deserved, so everything felt underdeveloped. In particular, I did not feel any chemistry in the romance and didn't find Nazeli a particularly likable main character. I thought the parents' stories about their history together and the food companies they were running were the most interesting part of the book, and I wish it had focused more on them.

I loved this book so much!!! See in g my favourite city depicted on page was such a delight. The aspects of Armenian culture took a more jovial tone compared to Taleen’s debut but were fantastically done nonetheless. It was an immersive experience in understanding the cultural dynamics of family, queerness, and community all told through the retelling of Romeo and Juliet. A delightful sophomore novel and I am so so excited for more!!

A solid follow-up to Voskuni's first book, Sorry, Bro. Since there was a strong thread of "star-crossed lovers" to this story, I really enjoyed how both sets of parents were involved in a cooking competition, adding to the tension and drama between the two families. Satisfying. 3.5 stars rounded up for the sake of that cover.

(Also, now I am really hungry for lavash.)

Thank you, Berkley Romance and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.