Thank you thank you thank you NetGalley for sending me this to honestly review.

Were you a Hunger Games and Percy Jackson girlie who became a Cutthroat Kitchen/ Cooking channel fangirl like myself? BOY do I have the book for you!! This genuinely scratched an itch for me that nothing has since Percy Jackson, ACOTAR, or The Hunger Games.

I’m not sure I have words to describe the love I have for this book. Cai, Bo, and Seon, KAMA??? UGH I love them all so much. I read the first 50% of this book in one night. I couldn’t put this book down!!! The characters were dynamic and showed growth, the subtle love story stole my heart!!! I hope this turns into a series and I can continue on this journey with Cai!!

3.5 What drew me to this books was the unique concept and it most definitely delivered.
I'm a foodie at heart so it was so much fun. The characters were likeable but not incredibly memorable. I feel like not everyone will find the book something they can be drawn to but but for those like me will have good time.

Celestial Banquet is written in third-person POV and has beautiful details in the interior formatting. The cover caught my attention and I requested it immediately. I had no idea what I was jumping into and I am enjoyed the read.

This is a cooking competition for the gods, but make it high stakes and add in a love triangle romantic element. It was yummy, while still maintaining the YA elements.

Celestial Banquet is an interesting choice for anyone who loves Hells Kitchen and a very low stake Hunger Games vibe.

There were aspects of this book that 100% work. The magical food, the cooking competition, and the world building in chapter headers. The God both major and minor. Kama was one of my favorite characters.

Then there were aspects that really didn’t work for me. The whole romance subplot, the love triangle, and the descriptions for every boy character.

Also, the main teenagers get called “children” a lot and not once do they get disgruntled.

A vibrant blend of fantasy, food, and fierce competition, Celestial Banquet serves up high-stakes drama with heart. Cai is a fiery, lovable heroine whose passion for cooking and family drives this Iron Chef-meets-Hunger Games adventure. The world, inspired by Chinese and Southeast Asian folklore, is rich and imaginative, and the love triangle adds a splash of teen angst. A few moments felt rushed, but the dazzling dishes and emotional depth make this a delicious debut.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of Celestial Banquet! This novel captured the essence of what makes cooking shows so fun!

Our protagonist is Cai, a woman who owns a noodle stall in the Peninsula. Cai is passionate about cooking and dreams of owning her own restaurant. At the start of the novel, she owns a small noodle stall that is frequented by the Penninsula's minor god Kama and Seon, a flirtatious noble born who Cai has a massive crush on. Cai conspires with Bo, her childhood friend who clearly has a crush on her, to convince Kama to enter the Celestial Banquet. The banquet is a contest judged by Indulgence, Luck, Temperance, and the mortal Empress.

Kama has not had a team participate in years. Cai convinces Kama to participate. After a contest, Cai successfully wins the right to compete in the Celestial Banquet and is thrust into a deadly competition where the stakes are higher than she could have imagined. Of course, high risk means high reward. The prize for pleasing the gods and the Empress is peaches of immortality. For Kama, that means a restoration of his powers. For Cai, that means the ability to sell the peach and finally have enough money to open her own restaurant.

I don't want to spoil too much, but this was a fantastic read. The major gods reminded me of a more deadly Alton Brown and the banquet felt like a higher stakes version of Chopped. Each challenge also allowed Lim to focus on writing a detailed description of what Cai was cooking. I have never craved food this much except for when watching a Ghibli movie. Lim obviously loves food and showcases that with her loving description of various Asian foods. Personally, my favorite is the last dish Cai cooked.

As with most YA, there is a love triangle. However, it is really only a triangle because Cai is a bit dense and has more to worry about than boys. She is cooking to win the peaches, but also to make sure she and her teammates are not killed on a whim by the gods. Overall, I believe the romance aspect was handled realistically. Cai isn't presented as wishy-washy or confused. There is a clear choice from the beginning. The triangle comes into play with her not wanting to lose any companions.

Overall, I cannot wait to see what Lim writes next. I hope to see more of Cai, Seon, Bo, and the others. Now, if you want to know more, make sure you pick up a copy! Also have a bowl of noodles handy. You will thank me later.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the premise of this book--a cooking competition for the gods! The main character, Cai, is a passionate cook, and she is offered the opportunity to partake in a rare cooking competition known as the Celestial Banquet. The banquet allows for teams, with each team consisting of a minor god, a chef, a guardian, and a noble. Cai's team competes for the minor god Kama, whom I love as a character. Kama is flawed but cares deeply about his people of the Peninsula, who are dealing with poverty at the hands of the Empress. The three challenges of the Celestial Banquet were done beautifully. Each challenge was brilliantly done in which the teams offered a dish for a god (Luck, Temperance, and Indulgence) and their mythical animal familiars. Within each challenge, each team faced danger and death in acquiring the unique ingredient, finding out how to prepare each ingredient without it killing you, and then preparing a meal. While others noted that they did not necessarily like the romantic elements, I was not bothered by it as they also showed Cai's development throughout the banquet.

This book was like a combination of The Hunger Games with Iron Chef and Asian mythology, so it was just up my alley. I thought the premise was imaginative and creative, and I loved being immersed in the world. I would rate this book as 4.5 stars as it was an addictive, fast read. However, I sometimes felt like the pacing was off. After such a dangerous and deadly competition, I wanted more time after the end of the challenge and more of an epilogue. I also thought more character development (Bo, Seon, Tala) would have added more depth and complexity. Thus, while the book is reminiscent of The Hunger Games, it does not have the same maturity as that series. However, that did not take away from my enjoyment of the book, and I consumed it within one day. The book ends on a cliffhanger, so I hope there will be a sequel. I have some of Roselle Lim's other books and love her use of magical realism. As a foodie, I especially loved learning about the novel ingredients and dishes cooked in the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In "Celestial Banquet," the story unfolds in a unique world where every ten years the main gods host a lavish banquet. At this event, lesser gods choose talented chefs who will compete on their behalf, presenting delicious dishes to the powerful deities. The main character, Kai, a master noodle-maker, decides to participate, representing her patron, the god Kamu. Her goal is to win immortal peaches to open a restaurant in memory of her late father.

Each chapter begins with an excerpt from a scroll that deepens the world and provides context, which is very enjoyable.

The pacing feels quite fast to me; I struggled to connect or feel the romantic subplot, which isn’t really necessary here.

I would classify this as a short story. The idea has potential! The book is not clichéd in terms of concept and plot, but it lacks depth and detail.

While reading, I found myself wanting to try their dishes!

Idea: 5/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Emotions: 2/5

What a high concept book! I am always interested in food writing, and after just having watched Culinary Class Wars (set in Korea, but did feature Chinese cooking), seeing the "Hunger Games meets Iron Chef" comparison was all I needed to hear to want to read this book. This will find many happy readers; I was not one of them. The prose was absolutely fine, but the plot construction and characterization were really lacking. An example: perhaps three quarters or more through the book, minor God Kama must select a member of his team to complete the next challenge. "Who will you pick?" someone asks. To which Kama responds, "I don't know, I need to know more about you all first." They are not just meeting each other; this team has already bonded over two previous challenges. This sentence felt forced and inorganic and the vulnerabilities shared as a result were not impactful for it. Similarly, there was no real chemistry or build up between the protagonist and either love interest. The reader is asked to simply accept the love triangle without creating any real tension to root for one party or the other. And the first kisses?? In 2025, I have a really hard time accepting those kisses. (Both basically occurring as trauma responses). I would recommend this for the right reader, but not as a general reading recommendation.

This was so fun to read and of course it made me hungry (both literally and for more of this story). If you love reality competitions in books with a dash of magic and a slice of romance, you have to check this out!

Charming and lighthearted for the most part with such beautifully descriptive passages about food that I wanted to dive into the pages. Perhaps a little caught up in some YA tropes that won’t see it work as well for adult readers of YA,

Roselle Lim’s Celestial Banquet is a feast for the senses—a novel that blends magical realism, family bonds, and culinary traditions into a rich, emotional story. Lim’s signature lyrical prose brings to life a tale of food, memory, and the search for identity, making it both heartwarming and bittersweet..

Also that cover?? It is very beautiful artwork!

I typically approach books with comparisons to the Hunger Games very cautiously, but I was excited for this. Deadly cooking games? It's such a unique concept! Unfortunately, the execution fell flat.

This books felt like reading a laundry list. Things just happened, with no explanation or build-up. There were several times when something, like a character's backstory, would be revealed, but we were never allowed to sit with the revelation. It would immediately become relevant, and then after its relevance had run its course, we would never hear about it again. This made it really difficult to connect to any of the characters, since I barely knew them. I did love the world-building and imagery in this book, though--the passages describing Cai cooking or food made my stomach growl at several points while reading. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to keep me invested in this book.

There were many other issues I had, most glaringly being the underdeveloped love triangle, but I'll leave it at this: if you want a relatively quick read, with interesting fantastical elements and mouthwatering descriptions of food, read this. If you want a cohesive plot with concrete stakes and engaging characters, don't read this.

This book was so sweet! I loved all the food and there was enough going on to keep the pace pretty fast. There was one thing that slightly bothered me but I think the fact that it’s for a YA audience, makes it okay. The romance felt so inconvenient and as an adult I would be like get out of here with that, I’m trying to win this HUGE competition but I know teens are crazy lovestruck goofballs and they don’t necessarily feel that way. So that redeems the romantic plot a little. I would’ve also loved to learn more about each of the main characters. They briefly talk about their past but it’s just not enough for me. I think I’m saying I want to be in this world even more!? I can’t wait for this to come out and have some of my middle school kiddos read it and see what they think about the romance… they’ll probably love it. 🥰

Thank you Net Galley and Zando for the eARC.
Do you know when you start reading a book and immediately realise that this is going to be a good read?
This is exactly what happened when I started reading the Celestial banquet even though this is my first Roselle Lim book.
The characters are well-developed (except for Bo, I feel like he had a good start, but his character was ruined in favour of the romance when he became very jealous), the world building is amazing, the pacing is just right. I really loved Cai, she is smart, very determined and such a girl boss. Another character that I absolutely loved was Kama, he was humorous and caring towards his people.The writing style was very engaging and immersive. I loved the trials of the culinary competition and the Asian mythology.
This book lives up to its reputation of Hunger Games x cooking competition.
As in every book with gods in it, the major ones enjoy playing with the mortals. In addition, the risks and consequences of failure in the competition cause a dark turn.
The romance was a miss for me, while the characters themselves were well-written on their own, the relationships felt like they were hastened and definitely needed more work. I believe this is why many reviewers felt that there was no character development. Love triangles are a case by case for me, but it wasn't well-written in this case.
In a nutshell, if you are a fan of fantasy and hunger games X cooking competitions, you will love this book, but if you are here for the romance, you won't like it a lot.
This is merely my opinion, others may find both to be suitable for them.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and it was a fun read

I love the unique premise of a cooking-based world set in historical Asian lands. Before starting the book, I got similar vibes to Food Wars manga. The cooking challenges and ingredients were fun to read and see how it plays out. Many of the challenges had me thinking about how I would approach the dish myself—like making noodles without eggs. The ingredient names were fun to read like Demon’s Breath, Wine of the Diyu, and Petty Revenge. I also appreciated how each chapter begins with a scroll excerpt which helped add depth through worldbuilding and background information.
One of my favorite dynamics in the book was between Cai and Kama. Their shared love for food created a balance of moral depth and lightheartedness. Kama’s role as a god who sides with the immortals and respects them made him stand out from the other gods, and his sacrifice for Bo was really sweet. However, the execution of his near-death scene felt rushed and anticlimactic, which lessened its impact.
On the other hand, I wasn’t a fan of the love triangle between Cai, Bo, and Seon—it felt too fast-paced and unnecessary. The scene where Cai kissed Bo despite not having feelings for him felt misleading (poor Bo), and then later she just turned around and kissed Seon as if that was the only way to comfort him during a panic attack? It just didn’t really make sense nor felt like it would help the book in any way. These moments made Cai seem pretty indecisive and if I’m being honest - a bit foolish too. I would have much preferred the story to focus more on the food challenges than the romance. Like sure, Seon and Cai share a connection through food, but that alone doesn’t make their relationship compelling, especially since Cai could explore the culinary world on her own after winning the competition.
Character relationships in general felt rushed, particularly between Cai and Tala. I wish their development had been given more time to grow naturally from the challenges they went through together instead of from one instance with the second cooking challenge.
Overall, this book was a great cozy read, though faster-paced than I expected. The execution could have been stronger in terms of character development and making the cooking challenges more difficult. Cai seemed to breeze through the competition despite some minor setbacks and those setbacks were resolved too quickly (more showing than telling would help). I can see this book being a fun read for younger teens. I hope the next installment dives deeper into the world in terms of food and the political system. I’m especially curious about what the other gods were discussing when they saw Kama at full power, whether Pubu’s immortality was partially taken to create the peach, and what Cai and the others discussed with the Empress about saving the Peninsula.

Thank you to Net Galley and Sweet July Books. This sounded so interesting, but alas the stakes were missing. Tension is what makes reading competitions fun, but this lacked tension.

Thank you to Sweet July Books and NetGalley for accepting me for an eARC of Celestial Banquet!

Celestial Banquet is set in a world where every 10 years the major gods hold the Celestial Banquet, where each minor god can choose a talented chef to compete on their behalf to cook for the major gods. Our main character Cai is a talented noodle chef and enters the Celestial Banquet alongside her region’s minor god, Kama, to compete for the prize of peaches of immortality so she can open a restaurant to honour her late father’s wishes.

I really enjoyed this one! The pacing is very speedy; I read it in two days, and it’s super engaging with high stakes. I mean it’s like Masterchef meets The Hunger Games, of course I was engaged! The food descriptions made me so hungry throughout, and I really enjoyed the parts where Cai gets absorbed into her work and her love for cooking. I also loved seeing the different mythical creatures and the gods in this, they were really interesting to read about. Kama stole the show for me, I really liked his character.

I think my main gripe with this was the romance; I’m really not a love triangle fan! Bo and Seon both had their good and bad qualities, but the whole of the book they were both badgering Cai to make a choice when there’s literally a life or death competition going on around them! We have better things to worry about gents. I’d have preferred it if the romance was dialled back a little bit so we could focus more on the competition. There were also some plot points that were brought up but not dealt with, which makes me think we’re setting up for a sequel, so I’m interested to read that if it happens.

Overall I really enjoyed this one! If you love cooking shows, especially cooking style anime, definitely give this book a go!

While there are so many interesting things about this book, I found that it just ultimately wasn't for me.

Think hunger games meets masterchef!
This fast paced story follows young noodle chef Cai as she enters the celestrial banquet, a competition that sees contestants cook extravagant meals from mystical ingredients in an attempt to please the gods and win a coveted peach of immortality

This was so much fun, the life and death element combined with the cooking competition created a really unique story that had me gripped.
I only wish there less focus on the love triangle as it just pulled me out of the high tension moments.
I really hope there is going to be a sequel and I will be first in line to read it!!!