Book Review: Holding Out For A Gyro

Holding Out For A Gyro has its strengths, particularly in the friendship between Chelsea and Elizabeth, which is engaging and relatable. Their adventure to push beyond their comfort zones adds a fun element to the story.

However, the romance between Chelsea and Bas falls short. While their physical chemistry is clear, the characterization of Bas as a man whose good looks ruin his life feels unconvincing. Chelsea’s trauma, while an important theme, dominates the narrative to the point where her character comes off as selfish and immature. This imbalance makes it difficult to invest in their relationship.

The story attempts to tackle themes of healing and self-discovery, but the rushed ending and unresolved issues, particularly between Chelsea and her parents, leave much to be desired.

Overall, this book is a decent choice for a light, quick read, but it lacks the depth needed to make a lasting impact.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

En bref, si les personnages sont sympathiques et nous donnent le sourire, je n'ai pas totalement réussi à m'attacher à eux, du moins à Chelsea. Bas est plus touchant et on a envie de le voir réussir et j'avoue, j'ai apprécié la manière dont elle le pousse vers l'avant. Elle est persuadée qu'elle ne vivra jamais de romance, n'en veut pas d'ailleurs sauf qu'il va bousculer toutes ses certitudes. Les événements sont parfois un peu mou et je ne me suis pas sentie totalement concernée par leurs hauts et leurs bas mais j'ai apprécié que l'autrice choisisse ce sens-là dans leur romance d'autant que c'est assez bien fait. Le final est mignon et on les quitte tout de même avec le sourire.

2.5 -⭐⭐💫

“Go home, Bas. I’m going to break your heart.”
He laughed. “You already broke my heart. Now you’re asking me to choose between one heartbreak or another. I’m trying to figure out how to mend it. And yours as well.”

Holding Out For A Gyro is a standalone contemporary romance following Chelsea and Basil. Chelsea, having had a traumatic childhood at the hands of an abusive father and despondent mother, struggles to accept relationships. As part of her therapy, she and her best friend challenge each other to dares that will get each out of their comfort zone. One evening. Chelsea is dared to bare her soul to a random stranger and she finds herself speaking to Basil, a Greek American and amazing chef, who is immediately drawn to her. After a one night fling Chelsea is convinced nothing more will come of it but when Basil returns to ask for more she is faced with the challenge...let go of her fear and embrace this chance or to step away and remain safe behind her walls.

This book was one I struggled with.

Chelsea may be close to her thirties but appears to have barely unpacked the trauma left by her childhood. As a result she comes across as very aloof and aggressive at times as a defense mechanism. There are moments where you can see she wants Basil but fear of pain has her putting up this facade. My biggest struggle was knowing whether she was ready for this journey and thus willing to try or if Basil was pushing her. In contrast, her friendship with her best friend Elizabeth was incredibly beautiful and I loved seeing her have that support.

Basil on the surface is this very sweet and romantic character. He resonated with Chelsea and yearns to connect with her. He is willing to take whatever she is willing to give. He has a tendency to do things that can cause more harm but it often feels more under the guidance of negligence than ignorance. I think this had to do with the fact he also has struggles he is still working through that get hidden for a chunk of the novel. That said, I liked that he sought open communication with Chelsea to show he wanted to make things work.

This book does contain spice. I would say about 2 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. The spice does begin earlier on in the book - around the 15% mark. These characters have an attraction for each other but they aren't in a true relationship, more of a hook up that sparks a connection. I felt the spice was written well but I felt there was no romance in it because of the struggles in this relationship.

“When I first saw you, I thought you might be a physicist.”
She snorted. “That’s kind of random. Why did you think that?”
“Because of your gravitational pull.”

In terms of story, I struggled a lot not with the flow in the novel but just the decisions of the characters. I didn't connect with the choices and felt they were contradictory in nature. Chelsea came across as a character who hasn't fully recognized they are ready to move forward and so choices made by her and Basil lead to emotional strife that I felt was written on the wall (in a way where you could see that choice would cause that problem but they still did it). The book was easy to read and I was able to devour it in one sitting. The ending is sweet and cycled back to my expectations of this book, though some things felt unresolved (ie. Chelsea’s parents).

Overall, this is a surprisingly more angsty book than I expected. If you like characters trying to find themselves with a splash of casual relationships leading to more this may be for you!

Thank you to the publisher for this arc.

Holding Out for a Gyro has modern rom-com vibes with real-world truth interwoven into the plot. I’m not a love at first sight girlie and seeing how Chelsea and Bas figured their relationship out together was such a breath of fresh air. I loved the Greek mixed in with the English. It really made me feel like I understood how Chelsea felt in the moment not always knowing what lovely things he was saying. I do personally prefer single POV for romances, especially with a character like Chelsea who is working through themes of doubt and her own past traumas, but it added depth to Bas’ character that we might not have seen if we only got Chelsea’s lens. If you like a non-traditional romance plot and are open to multi-POV, this is a fun read!

ARC Review of Holding Out for a Gyro
* * * * *
A nice contemporary romance to slowly sink your teeth into and make your sleepy Sunday interesting! Big thank you to Netgalley!

Chelsea and her best mate have a list, and she's about to tick some stuff off of it. Starting with a 100% bull conversation with a strange...which surprisingly goes well.
Now Bas is part of her everyday as she goes through this list, and there is just some more fun to be had.

Not too hot or heavy. Nothing too spicy. It was just a mellow read. Not something I typically read to get me totally interested in a book, but it found me in a mood today.
It came with a great female friendship and some hot men to give these happy women some action. Love the introduction to Chelsea nd Eizabeth's Yearly Challenge, as well as a challenge at the beginning of every chapter, even when an original challenge has some alterations. Looked through it and even inspired me to try and start me own list.
For next year, of course.

What an adorable funny story! I'm so excited that I got to read this one! I laughed, cried, and then laughed some more. Bas is a delightful dream baked into a warm pastry, and Chelsea is a delight packed into a feisty dreamer!

This story offers a fun and heartfelt romantic comedy. Chelsea, wary of love, unexpectedly connects with Basil, a charming Greek chef, after baring her soul to him during a friend's challenge. Their chemistry sizzles, blending humor with moments of deep vulnerability as Chelsea confronts her past trauma. The story shines in its portrayal of friendship and the dual love stories of Chelsea and her best friend, Elizabeth. However, the pacing sometimes feels slow, and the characters can come across as one-dimensional. Despite this, it's a delightful read, perfect for romance fans with a dash of Greek flavor and a lot of heart.

4 ⭐
1 🌶️


At the encouragement of her therapist, Chelsea has made a bucket list of challenges, to help her stop giving into her “wanderlust” and running away. She and her best friend Elizabeth are slowly working their way through the list where completing each item gives them points they can use towards going on a big vacation. It is in service to this list that Chelsea and Elizabeth find themselves at the bar where they have a hilarious meet cute with Bas and Evan.


I devoured this book- it was such a cute, fun read. The dad jokes were perfection. Along with that, Chelsea and Bas are like two sides of the same coin struggling with their inner demons, and I really enjoyed how Bas struggles with straddling two cultures and how he comes to terms with who he is.


Definitely recommend this book

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was phenomenal , an epic rom com. If this book was a movie I would never stop watching it. It dealt with so many difficult subjects but in a very mature way. The romance was over the top! Both characters, Chelsea and Basil, had a lot of character development during the entirety of the book.By reading the summary I didn't think this book would go so in depth about all the difficult subjects that everyone deals with like finding the perfect job for you, following your dreams, overcoming the past and becoming a better version of yourself. But apart from the romance we also saw the two best friends of the characters get together, though I wish we got a bit more about them as well. I hope there will be another new book about them. It would be so much fun to read more about all of these characters. I have to admit that the fact that I am also Greek probably made me enjoy this book even more. I loved the talk about all the different greek foods but also the struggle with having a greek family.The cooking aspect was very interesting and I liked how it brought them closer to each other. The only problem I had with this book was kind of the third act break up. Overall the book is a 4.75 star read but i will round it up to 5.

Very cute cover, the title had me reminiscing about an 80's song. Where to begin? This book was all over the place for me emotionally. I was angry, frustrated, sad, dumbfounded, blushing, giggling, and yelling. Chelsea is imaginative, sarcastic, smart, loyal and yet she's closed off, full of doubt and self sabotaging. Bas is confident, passionate, flirtatious, respectful and unfulfilled. They come from extremely different family backgrounds. This fact seems to cause a lot of the issues they have to work through. I thought they were great for each other, like pieces to a puzzle, they just fit. There was a lot of character growth for both of them, separately and together. The side characters were also well developed. I will definitely read more from this author.

The story of Basil and Chelsea, who meet on a night out. They are opposites in what they are looking for in terms of a relationship, but will this keep them apart? I liked how it was told from both points of view.

This was such a sweet romance! Although full of spice, there was a lot of really hard and real content in here that many people struggle with. It felt so well done in that it was so relatable for a lot of people, and could easily have been the story of someone we as readers know in real life.

Chelsea has struggled with letting people in, and Basil has issues fighting for things when they don't work out. But as they spend more time together, they realize that it's really not that simple, and begin to wonder if they can't find some sort of perfect that works for them.

This hit all the feels. New love, heartbreak, self discovery, and friendship.

Loved the romance, but also the work the main characters do on themselves. Again, the therapist in me loves seeing this internal work as part of mainstream fiction!

I was excited by the title, cover and description of this book, but I was really disappointed by it in the end. I couldn’t call this book a romantic comedy and felt I read two different books. Chelsea created a list of challenges to help push her out of her comfort zone and to help heal some of her childhood trauma. Each chapter starts with a challenge - some chapters see the challenge accomplished and others have nothing to do with the chapter. While Bas was overall a good guy, there was definitely moments where I could see how he would trigger Chelsea. The ending conflict had the most annoying miscommunication troupe and was quickly settled. This book felt flat for me but I would consider reading more by the author depending on the book subtext.

✨ You had me at gyro. ✨

I’m not a huge contemporary romance reader, but I couldn’t pass this up! If you love My Big Fat Greek Wedding (or any of Nia Vardalos’ movies), this book is for you!

What I loved:
✨ My Big Fat Greek Wedding vibes
✨ PTSD rep
✨ Realistically flawed MCs
✨ Normalizing therapy
✨ No shortage of puns

Holding Out for a Gyro follows the life of Chelsea Abbott, a twenty-something Virginian who avoids serious relationships like the plague. As suggested by her therapist, Chelsea and her best friend have a yearly bucket list of sorts - everything from “visit a museum,” to “have a deep, authentic conversation with a total stranger”.

✨ It was just supposed to be a one-off thing. Bare my soul, flee at the stroke of midnight, and never see him again. But FML. ✨

One fateful evening, Chelsea chooses to have that deep conversation with a complete stranger. Who’s the lucky guy? Geeky (and somewhat aloof) Greek-American chef Bas Stavros, who just so happens to be the genius behind-the-scenes at her favorite spot.

✨ “He’s the perfect Greek hero. The only problem is that when it comes to romance…I might be the perfect villain.” ✨

This book was such a disappointment for me. It gave me nothing to be honest. The characters are going through this "hard time" and I felt she wasn't invested then she as and was mad at him. I was so done with them early on. I read it to see if it got better and it didn't. Bland.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am such a damn SAP! This book was amazing, it was quick and smooth, it got to the point Chelsea and Basil are amazing characters. What made me love this book even more, was the fact that basil is a chef, and I love a man that can cook, and I also love how easy and how smooth it was for them to fall into the spice, and initially fall in love with each other.

They both have their issues, and I love the fact that those topics were brought up, and the characters were able to work through those things, individually, and also together. Chelsea was a little bit infuriating to me towards the end of the book, but I can’t get enough of how sweet the love story is, and also the fact that her best friend Elizabeth also had her love story added into the book as well. So we get two romances in one book.

We can’t leave out the amazing Greek family… and I cannot leave behind the fact that these characters are hilarious.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for the eARC.

I’ll take ‘Emotional Childhood Trauma’ for 200, Alex.

While I can commend Chelsea for going to therapy and actively working through her emotionally abusive childhood, she was still a tough character to like. She near purposely self-sabotaged and in doing so, was pretty mean to Bas. Bas was no angel, but he didn’t deserve the treatment that Chelsea gave him.

I enjoyed the story the most as soon as they stopped doing the FWB-romance thing and became friends instead. Their friendship was fun and it seemed to be a true foundation for the start of a real relationship. I enjoyed both characters pushing the other to their fullest potential. Which is why I couldn’t understand Chelsea’s actions at the end—it felt incongruent to everything they’d gone over previously.

Overall, Holding Out for a Gyro had the possibility to be a cute read, but I struggled with some of the characters and their actions. The food descriptions were heavenly, though, and I’m craving some baklava now.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and Mary Ann Marlowe for the opportunity to read and review an ARC for Holding Out for a Gyro.

This was a cute read, although not the best romance I've read. What I enjoyed about this book was that it tackled living and growing from an emotionally abusive home life from a young age and worked to normalize and de-stigmatizing using therapy to work through past traumas. it also highlights the importance of communication in relationships particularly through hardships and misunderstandings. Did it do this perfectly? No, but I appreciated that it wasn't just a glossed over plot point.

While Basil and Chelsea's romance was very insta-love it was refreshing that they both were imperfect characters who had to work to understand each other and be patient with their differences. Character growth was necessary for both rather than heavier focus on characters arc. I also felt like there was more of the "2 steps forward, 5 steps back" with regard to character arcs and the third act conflict resolution felt rushed and a bit flat for me.

The big, Greek family aspect was wonderful and as someone who comes from a large, very connected family was relatable in many ways. The descriptions of food were mouth watering and hunger inducing, and it's all topped off with some pretty great cheesy puns and dad jokes.

Trigger warnings for this book: emotional trauma and abuse, daddy issues, and mild anxiety.

I really, really wanted to love this book, but these were 2 characters that absolutely had no business being in a relationship with anyone but themselves. The book also has typos which hopefully get fixed before release. The rest of my review is linked below. I do thank everyone for allowing me to read the arc.