Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gale Carmichael, a line cook in recovery from alcohol abuse following a tragic accident, relents to go grab a meal at a local soup kitchen when money is tight. There he meets a suspiciously talented cook running the remarkably and expensively equipped kitchen. The cook, Regina, quickly becomes his mentor, and the relationship becomes even more important to him after a friend sends in an application for Gale to compete on the popular cooking show, "Cut". How he performs on the show could completely change Gales' life. But who is Regina, and what is her backstory? There is much more than meets the eye here.

Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B is a story of redemption and second chances; both seeking them for ourselves and helping others to have them. It's about forgiveness and grace, friends and family, holding onto hope, and getting back up when you've been knocked down. It's also about food! The food writing is great, but I think my favorite part was the family and friends (and friends that become family) that surrounded both Gale and Regina throughout their journeys. I'm not sure I would compare this to The Bear, as my only complaint is that it was too long and drug a bit in parts, so it is not as intense as The Bear. That said, if you are a lover of food/cooking competitions and have knowledge of celebrity chefs and the culinary world, you'll probably enjoy this one! I gave this book 3.75-4 stars.

Didn’t You Use To be Queenie B? By Terri-Lynne DeFino is a totally enthralling story of chefs, famous and otherwise, and how difficult the career may be. The only thing I didn’t like about the novel is the lack of a “d” in the word “Use” in the title. Oh, well! Queenie had been a star, until she disappeared. The life of drugs and drink and sex had cost her her marriage and her son and though she had tried to give them up, she had failed. So she left. She turned up back at home in New Haven and told no one. She opened a soup kitchen with in a neighborhood that needed feeding. It wasn’t typical soup kitchen fair. Regina’s Kitchen served excellent and varied food. All free. All Regina. Gale was a struggling young chef. He had been clean for two years and was working hard in Marco’s kitchen. The, he got mugged. For $3. And hurt his wrist. And couldn’t work the busy shifts. A chef without a working wrist. Two weeks, they said. He was out of money. His roommate, Kyle, took him to a soup kitchen. His mother would be mortified, but he was hungry. What he found there was amazing. He and Regina became friends and he became a volunteer and a student.

Never had Gale been happier. He was cooking. He was learning. He was busy. His friend, Sean, who had died of an overdose the night he didn’t, was constantly with him: sometimes taunting, sometimes helping, in his head always. He filled out the application to appear on a television cooking contest and left it on the computer. Kyle, being helpful sent it off. He was selected. He lost. But, he learned a lot. Regina helped him prepare for the next one. He didn’t know who she was. They were both fabulous characters. Regina saw in him what she had been: the opportunities, the talent. Gabe just loved the kitchen. Life went on and of course, things changed. They had to. This is a story of redemption; of love; and of guilt. An a wonderful story it is. Care about cooking or not, this is a multi-generational story with people finding their spot it life and going with it.

I was invited to read Didn’t You Use To Be Queenie B? by William Morrow. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #WilliamMorrow #TerriLynneDeFino #DidntYouUseToBeQueenieB

Wow this book started with a bang. The first chapter wasso intense and the main character seemed very unlikeable, I didnt know whether I wanted to proceed. I'm glad I did.

This book is being touted for anyone who loves The Bear. And I can see that. But really it is a brutal look at addiction and ego told through two chefs. Gale was so easy to care for. He was torchered by his past, wanting to be redeemed, but doubting whether he was worth it. His mom, Lucy, and best friend, Kyle, were such great characters as well. It was easy to picture hus overcrowded, peeling paint apartment. Even through his stumbles, I wanted Gale to thrive.

Queenie B/Regina was a way tougher character to get behind. A true anti-hero, Regina takes such a slow journey of healing and self acceptance. It takes most of the story to feel affection for Regina, as it takes Regina that long to esteem herself.

This book really highlights the double gender standard. Regina was so much more despicable because she was a woman and mother whose actions irreparabley damaged her family. She is afforded less grace than Gale; by the reader and by society. When I think about Anthony Bourdain, who starts his memoir with a similar questionable sex anecdote to Queenie's, he suffered no derision, and was seen as cool. Goodness knows he was plagued his whole life, like Regina, but always embraced by the public. Regina had so many scars.

I liked this book a lot. I don't know if I always enjoyed it, but it was well written, made me think, and felt very true to the characters. As a therapist, I believe addiction, grief, and survivor's guilt were handled honestly and with care. Commentary on the foster system, trauma, and how we treat the elderly, were similarly handled. This book was so much more than the bright pink cover belied. 4.25 stars- great specific characters, pacing a bit tough. Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoy foodie/chef culture related books and this was right up my alley. Queenie B used to be the hottest thing in the celebrity chef game but now she's disappeared and no one has seen her since she flamed out. Gale is a recovering drug addict and chef who happens upon a food kitchen run by a chef that's unlike anything he's ever seen.

I loved Gale and was rooting for him throughout, but I sometimes found the alternating POVs confusing and the middle section dragged for me a bit. Overall, I liked the story and enjoyed the ride.

3.5 stars but rounding up

Thank you for the advanced reader copy Netgalley & William Morrow.

This is the 2nd book I have read by Terri-Lynne DeFino and this one really spoke to me. I am a fan of any book that focuses on cooking, baking and the restaurant business. However, if that isn’t your thing, this book has so much more. It focuses on several characters who battled addiction and its negative impact on them, their life, relationships, etc. It also focuses on redemption, second chances and those things you can never get back. Two of my favorite characters were Queenie B/Regina and Gale. I loved to watch their friendship/relationship develop during the book and their overall love and passion for cooking.

Queenie B was once a celebrity who had everything including fame, fortune and an amazing culinary career. However, she has fallen from grace and has disappeared from the mainstream, her family and friends. She is now operating a soup kitchen in CT where no one knows who she is or her star-studded past. Into her life walks Gale, who has his own demons and is operating as a struggling as a line cook who wants so much. Over time, Regina becomes Gale’s mentor without him ever knowing about her past and who she is. They say everything happens for a reason and this chance encounter is exactly what Regina and Gale need.

This story is an emotional ride that shows people can start over. I highly recommend this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

#DidntYouUsedToBeQueenieB, #TerriLynnDefino, #NetGalley

This was sort of a slow burn for me. The duel POVs were interesting but especially with the timelines. But the thing is, it worked so well. Every part of this story worked to such an amazing extent that I'm glad I got a chance to read it.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Everyone loves a redemption story.

Queenie B was a star. A celebrity chef with multiple best-selling cookbooks, Queenie was beautiful, confident and the darling of the food world. Then she had a fall from grace and disappeared from the spotlight.

Newly sober, Gale is working as a line cook. He dreams of being a culinary sensation. At a local soup kitchen, he tastes food that shouldn't be coming out of a kitchen like that and is intrigued. Soon, he meets the cook, Regina (aka Queenie B). Regina takes Gale under her wing to share her knowledge. When an opportunity to compete on a television cooking contest comes to Gale, both people have the opportunity to have that second chance that everyone needs.

Despite the pink cover, this is a serious book. Addiction and sobriety are huge characters in the lives of Regina and Gale and they were taken seriously, and not as some light-hearted joke. This is a real look at second chances and how quickly someone can rise and fall from grace.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

If you’re a Food Network fan, you must check out this book! I’ve been a fan since the late 90’s, and I thoroughly enjoyed this fictional exploration of the celebrity culinary world. The story follows two main characters: Queenie B, a former celebrity chef who fell from grace due to numerous mistakes and now runs an anonymous soup kitchen, and Gale, a young and talented chef who faces a setback after an injury. Both Regina and Gale are recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, and recovery is a central theme of the book.

The book alternates between scenes set in 2000, when Regina’s star began to decline, and scenes set in 2015, when Gale and Regina meet. Gale’s journey begins when he is given a chance to compete on *Cut!*, a cooking competition show similar to Chopped, and he is mentored by Regina without knowing her true identity. However, the book is more than just pandering to the foodies, it also delves deeper into the characters’ pasts and their growth throughout the story.  I did find this a bit disappointing in the beginning half - I wanted more food! - but DeFino more than made up for this in the last quarter of the book, and the ending was absolute chef’s kiss with how beautifully it all came together and concluded at the end. That ending bumped it to a solid 4 stars for me, would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for providing me with this Digital Review Copy (DRC) for review consideration.

I was torn on this book when I read the description and unfortunately it just missed the mark for me. Maybe the tone was darker than I was expecting, or maybe the plot was a bit more meandering than I prefer, or maybe it was because I just couldn't connect to either of the main characters. Not a poorly written book, but not the book for me. I see the appeal it would have for others, and I see this being a great book club book with many topics to dive into.

Publish to Goodreads on 4/15/25

This is an ARC review thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow, and Avon Books.

When they say don’t judge a book by its cover, this was THE book meant for that. When I first received this arc, I was not excited because based on the cover, I thought it was about some lame pop star. But hey, a free book is a free book. Boy was I WRONG! And I am glad I read this book blind! It is so AMAZING! It took such a hard topic and made it relatable. You can’t help but fall in love with the main characters. This is by far one of my FAVORITE reads in 2025! OMG! I am definitely buying a physical copy of this. The twists, plot, character development…everything is just CHEF’S KISS! Thank you for this opportunity. I HIGHLY recommend this read

Regrets. Doesn't everyone have at least one huge one? Maybe a series of smaller ones? Terri-Lynne DeFino is a master at breaking down troubled people with enormous regrets and putting them back together one ingredient at a time. That may take decades—skillfully handled through time hops with each chapter. Didn't You Used to be Queenie B? plays upon the parallels of financial insecurity and the dangers of wealth. Either one can play a role in a person's mental health disintegrating.

As the publisher's summary states, Regina is a celebrity chef with the catchy moniker, Queenie B. Married to Osvaldo and mother to Julian (a special needs child born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome), the height of Queenie's life is a bacchanalia. As the creator of early cooking shows like today's popular competitions, Chopped! and Top Chef, Queenie ranked up there with Anthony Bourdain (who gets shout outs inside the story and Acknowledgments. RIP.) Unfortunately, Queenie has some of Bourdain's self-destructive addictions to work, ambition, and substances. She and Osvaldo owned many restaurants, which, coupled with her television jobs makes them a fortune unrelatable to the impoverished residents of where Regina ends up years later after fleeing New York City in disgrace.

No one knows that the soup kitchen in the economically disadvantaged area of New Haven, Connecticut is owned and operated by the one-time celebrity, Queenie B. Now, simply Regina, she serves outstanding food on a budget, but in a state-of-the-art kitchen. She also keeps quarters in the apartment above which only a few people have ever seen.

The other main character, Gale Carmichael, a rare equal protagonist. Both of them have hearty plots that are more substantial than pop culture's best mentor/mentee relationships like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker. Here, readers get the full stories of each of them without needing prequels and sequels and unlockable bonus content.

When Gale and his three roommates have weeks where they can't scrape together enough money from their restaurant jobs to feed themselves, they end up at Regina's Kitchen. It's usually Kyle and Gale. Kyle is sweet, forgiving, and humble. Gale would never want his parents to know that he's had to get meals from a soup kitchen. Early on, it's evident that his father handing him a twenty is not only hard for both of them, but could be for the family since money is so tight.

Gale can't afford a car which gives him a lot of time for walking, thinking, and also talking to the ghost of Sean—his former friend who died by overdose on a day when the two of them were using heroin. Gale doesn't know how he survived or why. Every challenge Gale faces comes through his mind as a form of penance as if he deserves to suffer in every aspect of life because he and Sean helped each other shoot up.

Sean's ghost is always with Gale except when Gale gets into a kitchen and feels the freedom only his culinary skills can bring him. If he's not busy at Marco's restaurant, Sean's voice is his loquacious conscience. Talking back to him is damn hard to hide, but Gale tries.

Queenie's addictions destroyed everything in her wake. Somehow, her alcoholic/sommelier husband, Oz, managed to be "functional" and got her to relinquish custody of their son. When Gale enters Regina's Kitchen and has no idea about her previous life, there's often speculation by other characters that Regina is using Gale as a substitute son or a second chance to get it right.

As the book reaches its climax, it becomes evident that the relationship between Gale and Regina is much more complex than Gale replacing the son she abandoned; and it never ever approaches romance with an embarrassing age gap.

It's too simplistic to take Gale's path and apply his actions on Cut!, a food competition show, as his hero's journey thresholds. The competitions are important. It's never about whether Gale wins though. He needs to see himself as more than someone who can't adapt to stress outside of a kitchen environment. He's succeeding on his own merit at Marco's restaurant. He decides to volunteer at Regina's Kitchen because he genuinely likes her passion for food. Not to mention that when he's helping others, the voices quiet down at least a little inside his head.

Gale's descents are ones that Regina recognizes all too well. To truly be his mentor—a role she never envisioned for herself—she has to be there to guide him whether it's about cooking or recovery. Likewise, he's her mentor in how to be part of a chosen family—how to let people into her world when she's comfortable giving compassion to people but never accepting any. Despite how much they have in common, they aren't both Yang and Yang. They are very much a Yin and Yang together. Yang being: forward/aggressive action; making the rules; being in charge. Yin being: taking orders; playing with creativity; taking small steps where there's certainty in the outcome. Both of them change because of each other and their supporters, Kyle and Marco.

Pacing a labyrinth of highs, lows, regrets, challenges, betrayals, success, and failures, DeFino feeds readers a spoonful at a time with delectable character movements and overall satisfying growth. Gale, Kyle, Lucy (Gale's mother), Marco, the "Burger Queen" (one of the regulars at the kitchen), of course Regina, but also all the tertiary characters—every single one has an arc that takes them through paces with their own endings.

Summary:

Terri-Lynne DeFino crafts the human experience with characters on polar opposite sides of success and brings them together showing humanity's commonalities. Everyone is flawed. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone can rise from the ashes with the right support and resources. There's no personified villain in Didn't You Used to be Queenie B? DeFino makes the characters their own villains in a remarkably grounded way. She spoils readers with her artful stories.

Rating: 5 Stars

Queenie B had it all—a celebrity chef with Michelin stars and pop culture fame, a husband and child, and a high profile life. She also had a secret addiction that imploded her picture perfect image. The culinary world was shocked when Queenie B disappeared; vanishing from her restaurants, the headlines, and her family.

Gale Carmichael has the skills and creativity to be a success in the kitchen, but his not so secret addictions led to tragedy. Newly sober and struggling, Gale finds himself at a local soup kitchen run by the enigmatic Regina. Regina quickly recognizes Gale’s talent and, this, begins an unlikely mentorship.

This is a beautifully rendered tale of redemption that doesn’t whitewash the ugly side of addiction. Gale is tormented by his past which affects his relationships with everyone close to him and leaves him believing he is unworthy of forgiveness. Regina sees herself in Gale and her efforts to rescue him might be the very thing she needs to reclaim her own life. A central theme running through this novel is the belief that everyone is worthy of love even when it’s hard to love oneself.

Fans of The Food Network or The Bear will relish the behind the scenes look at restaurant life. DeFino does an exceptional job depicting the frenetic energy of a busy kitchen.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

After loving *Varina Pallidino’s Jersey Italian Love Story,* I was thrilled to receive an invitation to read *Didn’t You Use to Be Queenie B?*

The richness and complexity of the characters is wonderful. Regina, Gale, and everyone come across as actual amazing and deeply flawed people De Fino has borrowed for the plot. The story is deep and layered and I loved it.

I don’t know if “enjoyed” is the right word because this story isn’t happy endings; it contains the ugly side of life intermingled with moments of beauty, but I couldn’t stop reading, so deeply invested in Gale and Regina as I was.

Recommended.



Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the DRC

This one spoke to me because I'm such a foodie and lover of all things culinary, but if I didn't have such a vested interest in the topic, I don't know if this would have held my attention, being a little longer and more drawn out that it needed to be. Queenie B was a culinary superstar in the early days of the celebrity chef, and flamed out in the most spectacular of fashions. After disappearing from the public eye, Regina Benuzzi quietly returns to her New Haven, CT roots and opens a soup kitchen to serve the community and atone for her sins. When struggling chef and recovering addict Gale comes in for a meal one night, she gruffly takes him under her wing, and unknowingly, he reunites her with the past she's been trying to outrun. Ultimately this is a story of redemption for both Regina and Gale, and shows the importance of having people who know your struggles in your corner. I really enjoyed how each chapter started out with a culinary term definition and the call outs to all the magazines I subscribe to and shows I've watched, and I'm definitely going to be replicating the sweet vermouth chicken with portabellas and smoked mozzarella for dinner in the near future.

A moving book about rising and falling from fame for one award winning female chef and her unexpected comeback after hitting rock bottom. I enjoyed this book a lot - not just as a foodie who loves learning more about the world of working in high pressure kitchens, but also for the redemption story. There's a great cast of side characters and tough topics like drug and alcohol addiction, dementia and grief. Good on audio and perfect for fans of Top chef or Kitchen Confidential. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

3.75 stars rounded up to 4.

Overall, I enjoyed "Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B?". I found the characters of Regina and Gale fairly compelling and liked the supporting cast. There were parts of the book I felt really dragged, while the ending felt somewhat rushed. As a Food Network fan, I loved living in this world for a little bit and would overall recommend this book to people with similar interests.

[3.5] Despite the pink, frothy cover, this was not a run-of-the-mill rom-com. The romances were actually the least appealing part of the novel. What I really enjoyed was the focus on a young chef’s story—his love of cooking and his struggle to succeed while battling personal demons. The setting, a unique soup kitchen in New Haven, was also refreshing. Thank you to Net Galley and HarperCollins for the advance copy.

If you love books about cooking and the chef life, this may be for you. Queenie B is a popular food network chef with Michelin star restaurants, tv shows, cook books-you name it, she’s doing it. However, she struggles with substance abuse and burns bridges along the way. She goes into hiding until 10 years down the line, a chef walks into Queenie Bs newly opened soup kitchen and takes a volunteer job. Chef GAle has potential and Queenie B mentors him as his rise to fame begins, but it’ll only be so long until they discover who she really is. I love that each chapter of this book opens with a food term and its definition. For example-86ing something, braise, or pickle. It made the book have an aspect of fun and education if you weren’t familiar with the terms. This book can be triggering if you are a substance abuser because it is talked about heavily in this book. I enjoyed watching the mentorship. The show Cut is something like today’s version of Chopped and it was fun to see what Gale would come up with using the odd ingredients. It was humbling to read how Queenie takes care of her soup kitchen patrons. She really is a wise mama taking care of her town. Really interesting read!

This was a really interesting book - I expected it to be more comedy than anything, but it's really heartfelt and touches on a lot of topics, including addiction and survivor's guilt.

Regina, aka Queenie B, was a top chef with everything going her way...except her family life. After she walks away from it all, nobody knows where Queenie B went. Gale is a newly clean addict that is a line cook - he lives with a few roommates and is pretty down on his luck. He ends up eating at a soup kitchen in desperation. And finding more there than he expected. His life takes a big change in direction when he starts working at the kitchen and learning from Regina, the owner. There is so much going on in this story and it all flows smoothly, the characters are entertaining and the whole story is really interesting. I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Wow! I don't know if this is the best book I will read this year, but it is sure the best book I've read so far...at least in this genre! Women's Fiction.

This book had me salivating, learning, thinking about going to downtown New Haven, which I haven't been to in years (I'm from CT!), and really getting into the characters.

As you can see from the excerpt, this book is about Queenie B and her notorious downfall from the top of the Chef's heap. But although Queenie B is supposed to be the main character, this book adds another main character named Gale. He, too, has had a magnificent fall from grace; he's just not famous...yet!

A poignant, sometimes heartbreaking story with a happy ending in more ways than one. This book teaches us that all of us can overcome nearly anything with determination, will, and the love of cooking and eating a great Italian meal.

*ARC supplied by the publisher, William Morrow, and the author, as well as NetGalley.