“I knew he’d always catch me. We’d always catch each other.”

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The premise is adorable. Two best friends challenge each other to step beyond their comfort zones. For Chelsea that means taking a risk and allowing herself to be honest and meet someone she might actually catch real feelings for. It is a bumpy ride but taking a chance on Bas turns out to be exactly what she needs to become whole again.

The relationship that develops between Bas and Chelsea felt authentic to me. Both have their hang ups but I enjoyed how they each evolved and opened themselves up to each other. Additionally, the challenge list was one of the cutest parts of this book! l loved how it began as a homework assignment from Chelsea’s therapist but became a way for each of the characters to challenge themselves to live their best lives.

Unfortunately there were also some parts of this book that didn’t quite work for me but I’m not usually a fan of insta-love stories so that may have been part of my issues with it. Overall, I wouldn’t call this one a home run but I did enjoy reading it so if you are looking for a quick insta-love rom-com then this would be a fun pick.

4/5☆
2.5/5 🌶

This was such a cute lil romance book that showed growth for both main characters as they both fought for what they wanted, even when it was completely different. I'm so glad I got to read this as an ARC so I can recommend it to others!

I absolutely loved the quirky cuteness of this book! I always love a book involving romance and food!

RATING: 4.5/5
“Holding Out for a Gyro” was a perfect vacation read. I didn’t go to Greece, but what I had in my hands was a fun, spicy, and humorous story. A relatively quick read, Author Mary Ann Marlowe gives readers some steam right from the start. That’s a win with me!

Chelsea keeps men at a distance regarding love and relationships due to her childhood. At the same time, Bas is incredibly open to love and accepting of heartbreaks. Bas is such a sweetheart, and though he tries to play it cool sometimes, he wears his heart on his sleeve. Through time, Chelsea sees that Bas is nothing like other men, especially not like her father.

Bas has an incredibly close relationship with his family. I love the way the dialogue between them and Bas was written. And I must say, how Bas cooks for Chelsea is adorably sweet throughout the story. Every mention of food and the dishes cooked made me incredibly hungry for Greek food! I could almost smell the citrus through the pages as Bas mixed the lemons with olive oil.

“Holding Out for A Gyro” had a good amount of spice. The scenes were brief, but there were several––I enjoyed the story!

Note: I read this book as a digital ARC through NetGalley.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It could have been better in a few places, but it was constricted by the expectations/tropes of this genre.
Chelsea and Bas are two of the most realistic main characters I've met. Every miscommunication moment in this book works because time has been spent with each of them setting up their flaws, experiences, and biases.
Elizabeth and Evan are introduced as the respective best friends and foils. In the beginning it felt like they were going to be given more complexity, but that abruptly ended. It's like the author/publishing team decided that they needed to end it so they could get a book just with them.
There were a few spots where I think editors should've caught logic errors or added clarity.
I loved the incorporation of Greek, but I wish they utilized the transliterations. And this could've been done in a fairly cute way of Bas saying something with the Greek characters and Chelsea attempting to say it back and then Bas clarifying with the correct pronunciation and the meaning.
Lastly, the lists worked but not as chapter titles/subtitles. Throw those in as vignettes if you really needed to. The point of the list was to highlight the character growth journeys and set up the story.

Will I recommend this? Yes. All in all, it's a story that works and has a lot of heart and cultural connections in it.

Chelsea and Bas make a trope-y but nice couple who enjoy a bit of spice. This is not just their romance, it's also about overcoming trauma and about friendship. Chelsea's pal Elizabeth pushes her to open up her life. I liked the checklist, liked Bas (although he seemed a little too...too), and if Chelsea was annoying at times, well, that's okay too. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's an easy read.

ARC Book Review: *Holding Out for a Gyro* by Mary Ann Marlowe

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4/5 Stars)

*Holding Out for a Gyro* by Mary Ann Marlowe is a deliciously fun and heartwarming romantic comedy that serves up plenty of laughs, tender moments, and a side of irresistible chemistry that will leave you craving more.

Overview:
Our heroine, a self-proclaimed commitment-phobe, has mastered the art of avoiding love at all costs. When her best friend pushes her to take a leap into the unknown, she reluctantly agrees to be brutally honest with a stranger for one night. But what she doesn't expect is that the stranger—a dark-eyed, mischievous Greek chef—won’t be scared off by her confessions. Instead, he’s intrigued. And just when she thinks she can escape unscathed, she discovers that the hot Greek guy is none other than the chef behind her favorite dishes at her go-to organic kitchen. Suddenly, her well-constructed walls begin to crumble, and she’s left wondering if this could be the start of something real.

*Review:
Mary Ann Marlowe brings her trademark humor and charm to *Holding Out for a Gyro*, crafting a story that’s both lighthearted and deeply relatable. The dynamic between the two leads crackles with tension and wit, making their journey from strangers to something more both engaging and entertaining. The Greek culinary setting adds a unique flavor to the story, making the romance even more delectable.

*Microtropes:*

1. **Opposites Attract**: The heroine’s cynicism about love contrasts beautifully with the hero’s quiet optimism, creating a delightful push-and-pull dynamic.
2. **Meet-Cute**: Their initial meeting, a vulnerable and unfiltered conversation, is as unconventional as it is memorable.
3. **Falling for the Unavailable**: The heroine's commitment issues and the hero's patient persistence create a slow-burn romance that's as sweet as it is spicy.
4. **Secret Identity**: The unexpected twist of discovering the hot stranger is the chef behind her favorite meals adds an extra layer of intrigue to their budding relationship.
5. **Foodie Romance**: The culinary backdrop, complete with mouthwatering Greek dishes, enhances the romantic atmosphere and provides a sensory experience for readers.
6. **Friends-to-Lovers**: While not traditional friends, the heroine and hero build a foundation of trust and mutual respect that paves the way for their deeper connection.
7. **Flawed Heroine**: The heroine’s commitment issues and fear of vulnerability make her a relatable character with a compelling growth arc.
8. **Hot Chef**: The hero's profession as a talented chef adds to his appeal, making him not only the perfect romantic partner but also someone who can tantalize her taste buds.
9. **Second Chance at Love**: Though they’re not exes, their journey together offers both characters a second chance at happiness, especially for the heroine who’s long given up on love.
10. **Swoony Hero**: The Greek hero’s persistence, understanding, and ability to see through the heroine’s defenses make him utterly swoon-worthy.

*Holding Out for a Gyro* is a delightful romp through the complexities of love, identity, and the deliciousness of Greek cuisine. Mary Ann Marlowe delivers a story that’s as comforting as your favorite dish and as surprising as an unexpected twist of flavor, making it a must-read for fans of contemporary romance.

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️

Bas my favorite Greek chef and Chelsea.

Chelsea had the worst child hood and it made her anti - commitment, Bas wanted love and someone to love through his cooking. He also loves love but wants to fine something that will last.

This book was good but emotional as you saw both sides. Chelsea and her fear of committing because of her family and Basil wanting to find his person but struggling to find the staying power that makes the magic work.

This book and the fun puns! I found myself searching for them so I could giggle. I love that this book had some real in it. Romance isn’t always a fairytale and real life can still be magical!

#entangledpublishing #holdoutforagyro #mqryannmarlowe
#ContemporaryRomance #GirlSquad #HeFallsFirst #readers #romancereader
#bookstagram #readersofinstagram #books #romancebooks #booksta #romance #bookworm #booklover #lovetoread #sweetromance
#contemporaryromance #dualpov #lightheartedromance

What a beautiful story about overcoming your past and being open to trusting others.
I loved the main characters in the story, Chelsea and Basil. What a journey we went on as they navigated their very complex relationship. I loved Chelsea’s friendship with Elizabeth, her best friend and comrade in conquering their “list.” And, the banter going on? LOVED IT!
Can Chelsea take the steps to get out of her comfort zone? Can she see that her past doesn’t define her?
The romance is cute and engaging.
The banter is perfect…laugh out loud.
The steamy level is there for sure.
The food descriptions made me hungry for Greek food.
The description of the traveling being done made me want to go on a trip….especially to visit Greece.
To sum it up…..I am so glad I decided to read Holding Out for a Gyro.
Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received an electronic ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly? I didn't like it. The premise sounded cute, but the execution left a lot to be desired. I would not recommend the book and wouldn't even read another of the author's stories. I hate writing reviews like this, especially for ARCs, because I want to like the books and try to focus on the good.

The good: the premise was cute. The book was full of dorky puns. The male lead was almost okay; he was likeable at times. The writing was okay.

The bad: pretty much everything else. The main lead Bas had potential, but he constantly went overboard with his emotions and actions (even though falling into love is supposedly common for him, it came off as obnoxious and needy and whiny) and then he changed in the last third to suddenly completely and willfully ignore every sign Chelsea put out, which was very out of character.

The rest of the characters were worse. The sides Elizabeth and Evan were one-dimensional or annoying (even though normally I'd like a character like Elizabeth, she felt like a wet blanket and I couldn't feel any friend chemistry between her and Chelsea; they are all about their friend vacations but don't even like doing the same things). Chelsea herself was plain annoying. I understand her background and reasoning, but she suddenly feels comfortable with one guy out of nowhere and has no problem talking to him seriously...very unrealistic and felt feigned. The dialogues and references to her therapist felt forced and textbook. Like Bas, she also changes unrealistically.

The puns were okay, but the title wasn't appropriate for the book other than the pun. The blurb mentions a "Greek hero" but it's not mentioned in the book at all, her looking for or finding a hero. She is *not* holding out for a hero. She doesn't want one at all, is actually content for most of the book to be single.

The only factor driving each of them? Food and sexual chemistry. Sure, they connect as friends, but it's so sudden and even for a romantic comedy felt overly forced. The kiss scenes were okay.

****SPOILERS****
The ending was unrealistic. Yes, the book was leaning that way, but Chelsea was clear that though she talked about doing something like moving to another country, realistically she was a homegirl and too afraid. That's not going to change overnight. And, shocker, it does! And even though she says it's not for the guy, yeah, it is. She's doing exactly what she said she wouldn't. Then the epilogue...what is with these romance epilogues that make the story even worse? In less than a year, both Chelsea and Elizabeth are married. Say what now? BOTH of them? Now, I had a relatively fast dating period before moving in at seven months and getting engaged at eleven (faster than anyone I knew), but then had an engagement over a year - and even that was at least twice what they had. They should have just eloped in Las Vegas.

What an absolutely smashing read!

This book was deliciously steamy from the jump and did not leave the reader waiting too long before we got to see some romantic action. The characters were all so moreish as well. I loved Elizabeth (Chelsea's BFF), she was so quirky and funny which was the perfect compliment to Chelsea and to the narrative too.

Chelsea was a really fun and vulnerable character to read. I really appreciated that her backstory was explored in enough detail that you understood how it shaped her apprehension to falling in love and parts of her past were really sad and emotional. There was still lots of funny moments where we got to see Chelsea's personality shine through (my favourite quotes of hers is 'competency porn is my weakness').

Bas (the MMC) was dripped with sex appeal and is a chef which also scores brownie points in my eyes. Also, the fact his namesake is a literal herb and he works with food? Gold dust. His caring side and the amount of Bas cooking scenes we get was wonderful, it felt like such an education into his world as a chef. Also, Mary absolutely did justice to capturing Bas' greek culture and that was a really fun contrast to see a different family perspective to Chelsea's.

The list narrative was such a good plot device, it felt very original and natural that Chelsea and Elizabeth had almost a bucket list of things to help Chelsea leave her comfort zone. I was a bit confused how Bas knew about the list, I'm not sure if Chelsea told him and I just misread that bit but it felt like he was far too familiar with the concept too quickly.

I really liked the parallel romance between Evan and Elizabeth, it kept our main characters' love story company and was just a nice addition. Speaking of Bas & Chelsea's romance, as mentioned it was super steamy and there was so much sexual chemistry which is perfect for anyone who loves a high spice novel. The slow burn was really well done, at time it felt it could've been sped up just a teeny bit and Bas falling first ('I'd cook for you anywhere') was the icing on the cake.

There were a couple parts of this book I wasn't a huge fan of. Basil referred to himself as 'Icarus' in loc 2539, which just felt a little conceited. We see him throughout the book as this humble and caring chef so it just felt a bit out of character for him to then be calling himself icarus rather than saying he felt like Icarus.

Time stamps would have been lovely for this as there were a couple times when it felt like a sudden jump in time which just made the plot feel abrupt at points. Also, in Bas' POVs the items of the list would come up at the start of the chapter (like they did for Elizabeth's POV) which was a bit confusing for me because it started to make me wonder whether he also had a list and that that would be the twist.

The ending also wasn't my favourite, it felt like the big twist was completely minimised and I didn't like that Chelsea was painted as someone who was playing it safe when the change was so drastic that was happening.

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

⭐️5
🌶3

This book was what I would playfully call a Greek Comedy. Bas is hilarious with his dad jokes. The banter within the group kept me entertained. I love how Bas schemes to use the list that Elizabeth and Chelsea made to step out of their comfort zone against Chelsea to get her to spend more time with him. She is a total commitment phobe with some home-life trauma, so he needed everything in his arsenal to get her walls down.

The way the relationship between Bas and Chelsea developed was really organic, despite the way they met. I like that when Chelsea was ready to let her fears make her run away, Bas didn't give up. What I didn't love was how selfish Chelsea was being. I get she has issues, but geez, girl.

I want more Elizabeth and Evan. Their story is looped into this one, but I bet they would have one awesome book of their own, so here's hoping.

Overall an excellent read, I definitely wouldn't shy away from another book by Mary Ann.

*sigh* 3.25 stars!

I wanted to like this way more than I actually did. The cover and title seemed like this was going to be an enjoyable romantic comedy. However, I finished the book feeling like it wasn’t fully developed or intriguing. The idea of a list that is used to collect points to determine where you get to travel for the year is actually a pretty cool concept. The romance that was an extension of that just didn’t not elevate that experience. It was very insta-love, forced conflicts, a MFC that was self-centered, and a MMC that was a puppy.

I can appreciate the discussion of going through therapy to deal with past family trauma and releasing your responsibility for the actions of others. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make up for the rest of the story for me.

The writing was clear. The pacing was decent enough to keep me reading through to the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for allowing me to review this ARC! 🧚

This was perfect! I love the "my big fat Greek wedding" vibes, I love the wanderlust. The main characters were broken and beautiful, and their growth was perfect for the storyline. I appreciated that "emotional abuse" aspect and how it touched on trauma that isn't seen. I also loved watching the characters seek out advice and help, rather than internalizing their struggles. And we love a man that doesn't just give up, but listens, learns, and is self aware. Same with our main female character, she knew her struggles, she set her boundaries, but she was open to making pivots and was given a space to be herself but push to be better. All in all, this was a fun read!

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled for this ARC!

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The plot was driven by a list created by our FMC and her friend to help them go outside their comfort zones. Their friendship was so beautiful, the definition of girlhood. This was incredibly fun to read and gave Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants vibes.

I, unfortunately, struggled to like the FMC, Chelsea. I believe the way she acts is justified, but that didn’t make her likeable to me. I found her, at times, too mean to those around her and generally unpleasant. Chelsea has a rough upbringing, which I’m sympathetic to, but I often find her using it to excuse her sometimes-cruel behaviour towards Basil. Instead of recognizing the issue and working on it. I spent so much time hoping Basil would put his foot down and stand up for himself. Then - his actions also started to annoy me and made me feel like they were made for each other. It made it hard for me to see a happily-ever-after for them.

This books deals with some pretty heavy themes which is nice to see outside of dark romances. Romance feels a lot more realistic when we see topics such as grief and mental health. I applaud the author for taking on such themes in their book.

The third-act of the book HEAVILY relied on the miscommunication trope which, in my opinion, was poorly executed. It could have easily been solved if they acted their ages and talked. This left me more frustrated with the characters than rooting for them.

This book was a fun, easy read. With Greece being a large topic, I wish we saw more of it. I wish the FMC and MMC were less insta-love and we saw more of them getting to know each other, especially with Chelsea’s past. I wish the third-act felt less forced. But overall - a decent read.

This was a really fun book that covered some really serious topics. After Not In Love by Ali Hazelwood, I wanted more romance books like this and liked how this one handled things as well.

Recently, someone on Twitter asked for non-spicy tropes that make us swoon (or something like that) and my first thought was about characters cooking for each other. Food is my love languages and nothing makes me feel more loved than a home-cooked meal so I love having that in my books as well. I immediately fell for the mMC when he started cooking for her!

One of the funnest parts of the book was the checklist that each chapter was based on. It was such a cool way for the characters that get out of their comfort zones but also find their way to each other. A really cool thread throughout the entire book.

While I liked the early intro of spicy scenes and how that affected the characters differently, here and there the spice did feel a little awkward sometimes. It smoothed out a little throughout the book, though we also didn’t get quite as much detail later on. Overall though, I enjoyed the intersection romance and emotions and spice.

I liked how one character had quite a bit of trauma but that the other one wasn’t this sunshine and rainbows child either. Their childhoods may have been vastly different but there are still things that can be quite stressful and put a lot of pressure on characters that come from happy families too. It was interesting to see how they bounced off each other at moments and handled every situation that came up. It was really difficult to cheer for one of them towards the end when you saw the stress affect them in negative ways but it’s a romance book so we all know it ends with a happy ending! It didn’t have quiiiteee the depth that the majority of the book had for character development, in my opinion, but overall it was a book I really enjoyed in terms of emotional depth, which is one of my main requirements for a book like this.

I already have another book by this author added to my TBR and am looking forward to giving that a try!

The concept of a list to drive the story was cute and the romantic parts worked really well. However, the reasons keeping them apart were flimsy and thier lack of communication and trust - even after acknowleding they needed to communicate better MULTIPLE times - was super frustrating.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled for the ARC of this book! I had to request this for the My Big Fat Greek Wedding vibes alone. He's Greek and a romantic, and she doesn't want to open up to people, which limits her relationship possibilities. She thinks she's fine with her way of life until their challenge checklist gets the girls to talk to 2 random men in the bar... hot men. All the characters have their own growth and work to do on their own before lasting romantic relationships can happen. Overall, it's a cute story, but I knocked it down to 3 stars for the painful/forced feeling of the third act conflict. Relied on miscommunication, and I was frustrated with all the characters. It is a HEA.

This book made it on my list of books I wish I could read for the first time again.

Everything about this book was perfect. The authenticity and reliability of the characters was something most books I read lack.

Chelsea is trying to figure her life out while overcoming past family trauma and only depending on herself and her besties Elizabeth. Chelsea’s therapist task her with creating a list of things to do to break her out of her trauma cycle and some of the task led her to Basil Stravos. Bas is the easy going, easy loving chef who flips Chelsea’s world upside down and makes her question everything.

I cannot rave enough about how much I loved the way this story unraveled. Communication is key and this books really showed that.

Thanks Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to review this book!

This books is a fun, exciting ride!
I loved literally all the characters! Watching everyone deal with their own issues and learn and grow was very satisfying!
Bas and Chelsea are super cute, and I loved the injection of Greek culture.
This was a fun, spicy adventure and I truly enjoyed it.