This story unsurprisingly begins at a wedding where Amelie and Ian meet. Amelie is a lover of all things weddings while Ian has no plans to get married. Immediately, the two click but reality comes rushing back when Amelie shares that she has a boyfriend, a long-term boyfriend. However, things quickly start to crumble. Amelie's boyfriend, Frank shares that he's gotten a new long-distance job and must be apart. Frank uses this opportunity to suggest an open relationship and the two start that but with the condition that they'll get married once his position ends. If that sounds messy, it's because it is and because Amelie formed a friendship with Ian around that time.

As you might imagine, Amelie and Ian get closer when Frank's not there and it's clear they're falling for each other. Throughout this story, the lines are blurred so many times but one thing I enjoyed was that the romance wasn't easy. Sometimes after reading so many romances, things can feel a bit stale but Letizia Lorini did something different with Amelie and Ian. While it did feel like a true slow burn in that way, it was incredibly enjoyable.

Ultimately while the romance was central to the story, it also felt like Amelie's story. She went through so much during the course of the book and seeing her come out the other side was beautiful. The way she was treated especially by the older characters in the book was appalling. That's not even including her best friend and her absolutely abhorrent behavior. Even so, all of it felt like watching a soap opera and there's something so cathartic about that.

A decently enjoyable story with an emphasis on personal growth and friendship. I liked the dual timeline that kept me jumping back and forth between the present and past as details about Amelie and Ian's relationship following their meet cute were slowly filled in, and it was nice to see them become such close friends as well as confidants through their various text exchanges and phone calls, even if Ian helping her make decisions about her wedding to another man is a bit weird. Although Amelie's strength and ability to stand up for herself is fantastic for her present-day self, she is far too much of a doormat in the past, having little to no backbone while letting her boyfriend and best friend repeatedly walk all over her, and this was extremely frustrating to read. There is a mystery dangled throughout much of the book involving both Ian's father and Amelie's restaurant that failed to become interesting, and the long length felt unnecessary. However, I really liked the way everything wrapped up and the epilogue teased the series' previous couple as potentially fun to read about.

This was a good read, I loved Ian, but Amelie wasn’t my favorite. It was easy to read, I kinda liked that it was switching timelines so we get to see how they met. I didn’t like the miscommunications. I also really wished we got Ian’s POV, i would have loved to see how he viewed some of the situations. I would recommend this read especially to those who like second chances and tension filled chapters.

thank you net galley for this copy. amelia is a people pleaser who is an a long term relationship..and ian is anti marriage and all things relationships. they meet at a wedding and have an intant conection, a hilarious spicey friend to lover romance.

Chef Amelie meets a cute guy–who professes to hate weddings, marriage, and everything they stand for–at her friend Barb’s wedding, but Amelie is soon-to-be-engaged, so she and the handsome, charming Ian develop a not-so-long distance friendship instead, in this culinary romance.

Their texting is a welcome respite from things unravelling in Amelie’s real life: waiting to see if her father, a famous chef, is going to retire and leave his restaurant to her; the ongoing rivalry with the only other local (a few hours away) French styled establishment, that is extending to an online and more public forum; the deterioration of her relationship. When she pressures her boyfriend of fifteen! years to propose, he asks to open their relationship for the six months he will be commuting out of state for a job. Oh, and, Martha, Amelie’s sisterly best friend, is stealing all of Amelie’s wedding ideas for her own upcoming nuptials. It’s a lot, and as the pressure builds, with encouragement from Ian and Barb, Amelie starts to stand up for herself and what she needs. When things go south, Amelie and Ian end their friendship. Their paths cross six months later when they are both invited to present at the culinary conference ICCE, which is where a revelation about one another’s parentage results in them becoming instant enemies. The narrative pivots from the past timeline to the present.

Because I just binge-watched The Bear, I couldn’t help but picture Jeremy Allen White’s portrayal of Carmen Berzatto as the lead, as Ian was described with unruly hair and very blue eyes, black tattoos and firm muscles. The title doesn’t pay off until almost the very end, which is frustrating; the back and forth from present to backstory can be whiplash-inducing, but the structure is very much like a slowing pendulum, with wide sides that shorten as the story progresses, until everything converges. It’s long, deep, and masterful, but I did have to work harder than usual to keep everything straight. The sex scenes are detailed and spicy–love a vocal hero.

For other foodie books, try Recipe for a Charmed Life by Rachel Linden, The Spice Master at Bistro Exotic by Samantha Verant, Salt and Sugar by Rachel Carvalho. For books about writing cookbooks, The Seven-Year Slip by Ashley Poston and The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain, and if you prefer cooking competitions, Sadie on a Plate by Amanda Elliott, and Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake by Alexis Hall are winners.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheWeddingMenu via #NetGalley courtesy of #GalleryBooks. This review will post to HLBB on 1/22/2025

Letizia Lorini's The Wedding Menu is an utterly delightful read that kept me hooked from start to finish. While I don’t usually gravitate toward characters with golden-retriever-like energy, Ian completely won me over. His mix of charm, supportiveness, and playful flirtation makes him the perfect companion for Amelie. As their friendship deepens and evolves into a romance, Ian's unwavering dedication to Amelie’s happiness shines through, creating a beautifully heartwarming dynamic. Their journey from friends to lovers is both captivating and deeply satisfying, making this story a joy to experience.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It was cute and entertaining. I love when a story has a cooking element to it!

I have had this book on my TBR since it was indie released and I’m happy to say it met all expectations! The plot and characters were great and I loved the writing style. I don’t say this a lot but the duel timeline was done perfectly. Ian and Amelie have my heart!! I really hope we get to see more of them in future books.

This is a new author for me but I’ve heard much about Lorini. Characters are solid, could use more originality. Plot was promising and intriguing, could be refined a bit more. Romance was a balance of emotional and tender! This was a beautiful book and I’m excited for what’s next!

“I think friendship is at the base of the best love stories.”

I read this book for the first time more than a year ago as an ARC received from Letizia.

Now the book will be published by Gallery Books and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this version.

Ian and Amelie meet at a wedding but she is “engaged” so they become good friends.
Amelie has great character development, becoming more confident and standing up for herself after being mistreated.
Ian, as described by Amelie, is “more than hot. He’s sensitive, smart, talented, hilarious”. Plus he has such a dirty mouth. I fell in love with him all over again and I wish he was real.
This book made me laugh, cry and laugh while crying.
There are so many things I liked about it:
- there is a dual timeline - we gradually find out parts of what happended in the last year
- this is a strangers to friends to rivals to lovers
- slow burn, but worth it
- he falls first
- more than a rom-com
- the text exchanges between them are hilarious (cheese lines and unpopular opinions)
- the ending and connection to the first book (Desserts for Stresses People)

I recomand this book and look forward to the next ones in the series!

Thank you again Gallery Books and Netgalley for the ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Potential spoilers ahead!

Going into this book I thought I would be reading a cute romance book. Sadly I was mistaken. I drawn the line at cheating. Emotional cheating is cheating in my book and I can’t overlook this. Apart from miscommunication I absolutely dislike weak FMC. Unfortunately this read had all my dislikes in a book and made the experience disappointing.

This was sweet and I enjoyed the ride for what it was. Will I remember it in a few weeks time? Probably not.

This was such a lovely feel good read. Dual timelines without a third act breakup, Amelie and Ian’s romance was so heartfelt and it was a delight seeing them grow from friends to lovers. And Ian is basically a dream book boyfriend! Perfect for a cozy weekend. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

It's been one year since Amelie's life crashed and burned - she's jobless, single, and fighting with her best friend. Really the only positive about the last year was Ian, the charming, opinionated, wedding averse, man who stumbled into her life and made her question everything she thought she knew. Yet even Ian is gone now, and refusing to answer her calls, so when Amelie is offered a spot at a cooking conference near his hometown, she knows this is an opportunity she can't pass up. But when Ian is revealed to be the son of her father's rival, and even worse, no longer interested in anything more than friendship, Amelie's plans for a happy reunion go up in smoke.

I need to read everything Letizia Lorini has ever written. Immediately. The chemistry between Amelie and Ian is *chef's kiss* (no pun intended), their friendship was heartwarming, and I couldn't help but smile through all of their banter, jokes, and terrible pick up lines. I thought the time jumps between chapters kept things exciting, hinting at secrets and events that would be later revealed, and the overall pace of the story was perfect. This is one of those romances that will live in my head for a while, and I'm absolutely going to get my hands on the other books in this series as soon as I possibly can.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Wedding Menu

Letizia Lorini

2 ⭐️⭐️

I wanted to love this so much based off the reviews but it just wasn’t for me? Positives: I did adore the writing style, the texts being shown, the tweet war was funny, the chemistry between them & I mostly liked the MMC. I didn’t really love the FMC, I hated her bf/fiance/ex & her best friend like felt rage lmao. Felt lots of rage how she was a doormat half the time. Everything felt toxic? Which I guess real life is but it just didn’t feel right. I will absolutely be checking out other work from the author though because, again, I loved the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e arc, for an honest review!

I really loved this book! The author did a fantastic job of alternating between the present and the past, revealing little by little how the relationship got so strained. It made the book un-put downloadable. While the main characters inability to advocate for herself or stand up for herself was very frustrating. Her growth and development was very satisfying and believable. This book really had everything you would want in a romance.

So I was taken in by the cover of The Wedding Menu, and I love a wedding themed romance—I have a lot of thoughts on this, but I could not put this down! Amelie had it all one year ago, and then wedding-hating Ian came around and popped her perfect bubble, and a year after their meeting, she’s lost it all, but she won’t stop—and she’s got one week to show Ian she’s changed. Okay, I was immediately intimidated by the length—Amazon says it’s 484, which for a contemporary romance felt too long going into it. But I have to say, this was the shortest almost 500 page book I’ve read. I mean I could not put it down. With all dual timeline and a strangers to friends to strangers to lovers story, there is so much going on and I was hooked. Ian is the sweetest guy. So genuine and kind and the kind of friend you want in your corner on a bad day or when you need a reality check. Amelie was more complex. Told in her POV, I struggled with figuring out if I really liked her. Her best friend Barb is so sweet and I feel like the moments with Amelie and her made Amelie come off selfish. But her growth too! Amelie goes through hell and back in this with all the changes she goes through. And she does it with resilience and she lets herself change and grow, and I respect the hell out of that. This is her story, and I was rooting for her. And the banter too! So on point, so fun, and it just felt like a very genuine romance! In the front half of this, I didn’t think I was going to really enjoy it, but it really picks up, and it has all the best elements of a romance. Very bingeable read!

3.75 stars, I wasn’t a fan of each chapter going between past and present. I did enjoy the book overall. The storyline kept my attention throughout.


*******I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.*************

Genuinely, a very fun and quick romance read. Amelie meets charming Ian at a wedding, and as their connection blossoms, her life goes downhill. A year later, when they meet again at a conference and discover that they are the children of rivals in the culinary world of French cuisine, the pieces begin to fall into place as Amelie desperately tries to fix what happened between them over the past year. An indulgent read, especially with how perfect Ian is at every turn, and I found myself really interested in what would happen next, and what happened over the past year. I wouldn't call it high quality, but it excels at what it does, and tells a quick and compelling story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the e-galley of The Wedding Menu. Overall, I enjoyed The Wedding Menu by Lorini. There was so much drama and tension. But it was hard sometimes hard to follow as one chapter was current day and then the next would be from a year ago. They went back and forth the whole book. I did like the story and think that it might be one you have to read twice to really get the full story.
I will be recommending this to adult romance readers and plan to read more by Lorini myself.