I loved this one. It's escapist and fun, and full of food and wine with a finding yourself amidst vacation vibe that worked for me. Cassie is attempting to make partner at her law firm while in a long term relationship with James, an accountant. When he is suddenly killed, she finds out that James was actually a food critic and she steps into his identity, scoring a trip to Europe. On this trip she finds herself, and maybe even love. I just found this book to be a fun romp with a dose of examining grief and finding oneself. Grief in romance novels works for me in the best way and this was no different.

I also would not necessarily classify this as a romance, because it's not your typical HEA story. I just really enjoyed this and it was so needed in January of 2025... as an American.

The cover of this book reminded me of Emily in Paris. I really liked the idea of this book but it was heavily focused on food. But I did find Cassies emotional journey very relatable. It was definitely a struggle from me to finish this book. I’m not sure if I’d read it again. I guess it’s true when they say not to judge a book by its cover.. oops!

Thank you NetGalley, Emily and Avon and Harper Voyager for the E-ARC!

Publication Date: June 3rd 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#NetGalley #EatPostLike

Unfortunately, despite the great title, this was not a good read for me. The idea was great, and I was looking forward to reading about two people falling in love over food, with someone waiting in the wings to ruin the love match. What I got were pages and pages of food descriptions with the odd interjection of actual story to pull it forward, and even then, those didn't dig deep. I wanted to feel the love and the sadness, the charm, the slow burn, the character development, the mental stress of loving again. It was a struggle to keep reading to a disappointing end.

Not super stoked about this one. Was hoping this was going to be a more literary fiction route but we threw took a turn and started to talk about food more then anything. Wish we could have heard more about her journey then anything

This review is based on an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.

This review may contain spoilers

I found the premise of this debut novel intriguing, while I did struggle with some of the excessive food descriptions, I still enjoyed the story. The details were so vivid that I could almost taste what was being described, and while I did appreciate that sensory experience, there were moments when the food details seemed to take precedence over the plot.

Cassie's boyfriend tragically passes away and this changes the trajectory of her life. In an attempt to cope, she takes over her late boyfriend's anonymous Instagram account and pretends to be a food influencer. Her journey of self-discovery, the adventures she embarks on, and the relationships she forms kept me engrossed in this book. The side characters brought some levity and I loved having them add depth to the narrative.

I was left somewhat unsatisfied with the resolution of certain storylines with supporting characters and I thought the ending was certainly a surprise! Overall, I found this book easy to read and I would still recommend it for those looking for a low romance/spice heartfelt story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. #EatPostLike #NetGalley

5/5 Stars

“Eat, Post, Like” is such a delicious read! Cassie’s journey from grief to self-discovery, guided by her late boyfriend’s secret foodie account, is as emotional as it is inspiring. The descriptions of food and travel are so vivid that I swear I could taste the pasta and smell the fresh baguettes.

If you love food, travel, and stories with heart, this one’s for you. Just don’t read it on an empty stomach!

I was really excited to read this book, but unfortunately it felt a little flat.
I just never connected with Cassie and the relationships (also friendships) she made a long the way.
Her relationship with James felt very flat and there would be peaks of romance but I didn't believe what I was reading.
Her relationship with Eamon was flat to me.
Her relationship with Rebecca felt flat as well.
It felt like a unique concept of "eat pray love" but I feel like with a dead boyfriend it brought a different perspective that made the difference not enjoyable at times.
It was nice to get to see her grow with each place but not enough for me, unfortunately.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review!

Don’t let the cover fool you. This book touches on some more serious and emotional topics.

I didn’t love the main character, Cassie. She navigates grief and grows through her different experiences.
It was an okay book. Not a favorite but I’m glad I read it.

I thought the premise of this book was cute and loved the aspects of self-discovery while healing but I found it hard to like Cassie and to find anything truly relatable about her. Reading about Cassie felt very surface level and like there was depth missing to her character. I ended up DNF'ing this about 60% in unfortunately.

I had a hard time getting into this book. The premise of it seemed interesting, but it was not enough to keep me reading. Unfortunately I DNF this one.

Finding yourself after a loss is difficult, especially when you’ve devoted all of your time to your career. Certain parts were dense but overall an enjoyable read.

Eat post like is a story about a woman who loses her long time boyfriend to a tragic accident only to find out he lived a double life as a food critic, and then taking his online personality becoming a food critic herself.

This book was honestly pretty difficult for me to get through, it wasn’t a terrible book, it just seemed like a chore to read it.

Cassie wasn’t a very likable person for me, I wasn’t very fond of the way she spoke about her deceased boyfriend and how quickly she seemed to move on to flirting and kissing other people.

The descriptions and over explanation of things in this book was mind boggling to me. I get it, it’s a book about food and food critics and to an extent there needs to be good description of the food but honestly I feel like 75% of the book was either describing the food or describing something else instead of actually telling a story .

This book wasn’t for me personally but I feel like maybe someone who really loves those cooking shows or anything that’s super descriptive with food would love this book.

Thank you Netgalley Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for the arc

The protagonist in this book is perhaps one of the most confusing I’ve read in awhile. We start a story where she is very apprehensive about her bf and almost bored by him. He dies. Then suddenly he was her best friend and the love of her life? I’ve seen others mention it’s absurd she could just fall into the restaurant critic profession and the fact someone who is described as eating a sad desk salad everyday could taste distinct flavor notes in everything she eats felt so fantastical I felt my eyes rolling. This is a lot less a story of grief and a lot more “let me fit in as many food descriptions as I can.” Don’t think I’d give this author another try.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eat Post Like is the debut novel by Emily Arden Wells it takes you on this incredible journey of food, friendship, healing, and love and I absolutely loved it.

Cassie is a lawyer, stuck in this monotonous life. She convinces herself that she is happy, but she knows deep down that her life is anything but that, however she has James. This amazing boyfriend who is patient and kind and loves her dearly. Her life is completely turned upside down when James suddenly dies in a car accident and she discovers he had a secret identity.

Feeling trapped, Cassie takes advantage of an opportunity that comes her way and embarks on a European adventure full of luxury, amazing food, fantastic friends and a great love. She sets out to grieve, to find herself and how to move on, but she finds so much more in the process.

I am not a foodie, but this book was made for the food enthusiast. The descriptions of the food and dinners were so well written that it instantly transported me to these locations and I could taste them. It was such a well written book that I felt like I knew the characters so well and I could not get enough of them. I wanted to continue to follow the adventures of this group. It was amazing. I hope there is more because I just loved everything about this story.

Thank you Net Galley for this Arc!

I absolutely LOVED Eat Post Like! I really enjoyed living through Cassie and all of her foodie adventures. This heartbreaking story of her long term boyfriend suddenly dying and the secret life he was hiding and her getting the chance to embark on the trip of a lifetime was absolutely breathtaking.

I loved that she was able to make a name for herself and find her passion for life again. The places that they visited and the food that they explored sounded fabulous! Will absolutely recommend this book to others.

If you like Emily in Paris and food blogging you might enjoy this. I do not, so this book wasn’t for me. The lengthy descriptions of foods and places dragged but the characters themselves weren’t fleshed. Also the plot points just didn’t mesh. It’s a skip for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the eARC.

DNF for me. I think if you didn’t mind the clunkiness of the writing or even liked that very measured and almost repetitive writing style, you may actually like the book but for me, it was a pass.

I thought this was going to me a MUCH more emotional book, and maybe that's the problem. I wanted to cry, scream, and grieve a fictional character, and I didn't.
Don't get me wrong, it's a good book. But I wish it would've been... more gut wrenching. The ending was good, but I left me wanting more out of Cassie. I could do with less food descriptions as well.

I could believe this was a debut novel- it's very good Cassie is our MC she's a lawyer who is booked and busy chasing after the next level her relationship partner james is more of an after thought she'll work on later until she can't cause he's gone and she finds out his secret and then just takes over, which yes some people may find unbelievable but hey it's a good story- if your a foodie especially or like to travel this author knows how to hook us very descriptive and enjoyable- lots of freinds in the story and maybe another chance of a fulfilling life....and love!

After Cassie's boyfriend dies in a tragic accident, she learns he'd been living a secret life...as one of NYC's hottest restaurant reviewers. Cassie attempts to carry on James' legacy, even though she doesn't consider herself a foodie. She simply hasn't had time as a high powered attorney. But Cassie takes a chance, puts in the time and energy, and learns about the food influencer world, finding a new side of herself in the process.

This was a cute, quick read. Realistic? Not really, but it made me hungry, and it gave a really interesting "behind the curtain" look at how to be an influencer. Cassie works to understand James' voice as a food reviewer AND learns to cultivate her own (very different) voice in the process. I expected this to be a romance book, but while there were some romantic subplots, it definitely wasn't the forefront, which was appreciated. I enjoyed the look at Cassie working through her grief and figuring out what fuels her, and the insight into how social media works. A short and sweet read!