love books about restaurants, chefs, cooking, food, and all the other related topics. This compelling story had everything and more: Isabella, our main character, and Molly, our once popular soap opera actress who’s somewhat down on her luck due to scandal. When Isabella is hired to ghostwrite a cookbook for Molly, she has no idea what she’s in for—-because Molly is a mess. There are many reasons why this can’t work: Molly doesn’t cook, she knows nothing about the kitchen, she has no plan about how to start, and worst of all, she doesn’t like food and doesn’t eat! Isabella can and does do all these things, but she’s just the ghostwriter and she’s just trying to make some money and get her writing career going.

Molly is hot and cold, mostly cold. She gives Isabella occasional hope that she has an emotional connection to food and recipes, but in the next breath it’s as if she didn’t even have the conversation about it and she’s much more interested in drinking and drugs and her wild pseudo-friends. It’s never predictable whether she’ll be awake and texting at 3 am or whether she’ll remember anything the next day. She has flashes of vulnerability and Isabella is constantly trying to figure out where the real Molly is. And in all of this there are deadlines for Isabella and Molly really couldn’t care less!

Honestly, I really liked this book! I’m giving it 4.5 stars rounded up!

I received a copy of the digital ARC via the publisher and NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Thank you to Knopf Books and to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Food Person is a fast paced, incredibly refreshing coming of age story about a young food writer who after getting fired from her low level online writing job is offered the opportunity to ghost write a cookbook for a B list celebrity trying to rehab her party girl image and make an acting comeback.

I absolutely loved this book. It is if the exquisite food prose of Casey McQuiston's "The Pairing" had a baby with the raw coming of age story of Haley Jakobson's "Old Enough". Isabella shows so much growth and character development over the course of this novel. You really get to see her acknowledge that the people in her life are treating her poorly and genuinely start making better choices in a way that had me rooting for her the whole time. The food descriptions are written with such care and genuine love that this could only have been written by a "food person" but it is also so much more than just a foodbook. I am not seeing anywhere near enough love for this book!

A delectable comedy of manners about cooking, ambition, and friendship set in the food world as a young and socially awkward writer takes a job ghostwriting the cookbook for a famous (and famously chaotic) Hollywood starlet

"For Isabella, forced camaraderie was worse than boneless, skinless chicken breasts."

It feels appropriate that I devoured this book in an evening—the story was fast-paced and delicious, and you could really tell that Adam Roberts cares deeply about food. I think I was expecting a bit more of a romance, so I was pleasantly surprised that most of the tension here was between Isabella and her volatile employers, but my god was I hanging on the edge of my seat through bad decision after bad decision. Selfishly, I would have liked for the cookbook Isabella *wanted* to write to be the one that actually made it to press, but for the character development, blah blah, I see the point. I also wanted to spend more time with her sous-chef boyfriend in his kitchen, but I also could drool just reading his grocery list. I want to see sumptuous meals featured more in fiction. The people need to be FED!!

Thank you to Knopf for the opportunity to read and review!

Okay so I hate this cover, why is there a comb in spaghetti?! Otherwise, I loved this book so much. I related to Isabella as someone who loves food and just wants to write about it. There were so many great references to restaurants, chefs and cookbooks. And also some serious WTF moments that were shocking. Plus, a sweet romance with a chef! If you are a foodie or a fan of the Food Network, I think you would love this book. I received an advance review copy for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

I love books about food and food culture, so this was right up my alley. The descriptions of food and cookbooks were interesting, and the main character's love for them was endearing. When she takes a job ghostwriting a cookbook for a Hollywood star, mayhem ensues. I really enjoyed reading about her efforts to do her job, to pin down the flaky star, and to create something she was proud of. I also liked how she grew up, came out of her shell, and figured out what she wanted to do with herself.

I would say this had a few flaws - such as things wrapped up too quickly - but overall, the book was thoroughly enjoyable and a great summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel.

An enjoyable read whether you're a foodie or not. Isabella is the consummate foodie. It is her reason to be. When she finds herself summarily fired from her job, she is desperate and takes a job as a cookbook ghostwriter to get herself back on track and well, pay her bills. Turns out that Molly, the face and name of the cookbook turns out to be useless in the kitchen and a giant pain in her butt. The story is light, silly, funny, frustrating, annoying, redemptive, delicious, hunger inducing, emotional and shows the growth of the characters. Can Isabella save them both from losing it all? I enjoyed reading this book. A nice debut novel from the author, who previously has written cookbooks. Definitely looking forward to what comes next from him.



I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have always loved reading stories revolving around food. I picked this book blindly just because the cover and title were calling my name. I had no idea what the story was about and.. I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK! I cannot believe this is a debut! We are following Isabella who has always loved food and cooking, but she is unfortunately at a standstill: crappy job, non-existent social life, even less existent love life, father got killed a few years ago in an accident, mother is present but a difficult human to get along with,,.. to top things off, Isabella gets fired from her shitty gig. Which turns to be a blessing in disguise as she gets offered to be a ghostwriter for a celebrity cookbook. Will she take the job? And if she does, will this be a satisfying experience that could bring more opportunities her way?

This book was funny, but also psychologically interesting to dig into: all characters come across first as typical stereotypes. When digging deeper though, we discover depth that make us understand and even appreciate the non-likeable characters in this NY setting. It was also interesting looking into the life-altering decision Isabella was facing on several occasions and witness the way she handled them.

Ultimately, I loved following a character in search of her place in the world. We all know how hard it is to figure out what you want to do in life. Or if you know, and you get an opportunity that doesn't really match it, should you take it? Or will it get you off-course of your life plan?

Just brilliant! 5 stars! And a new favorite!

This book is for a specific audience and that audience is me with it gratuitous food porn and awkward main character this book quickly found a way into my heart. This book follows Isabella a food journalist who lost her job and desperately accepts a position to ghost write a cookbook for a tv star who doesn’t like food. This book was fun fast paced and quirky and had me chuckling quite a few times. The writing was where this book was a little lacking it was fun but some of the pop culture references might not age so well. I will warn these are not the most likable characters but I thought they were really well developed. This is my first book from this author but hope to read more from them in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

The cover of this book is so great! I loved this story, and I think it would make a great summer read. I wish I could read it again for the first time!

3.5 stars rounding up. Fun read about a food writer, Isabella, and a famous actress who is writing a cookbook. Lots of great food info, recipes, and discussions of food. It was witty, and I laughed out loud multiple times.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for the ARC!

I'm shocked by how much I liked this book (in a good way).

And no, it's not just because this cover is so fantastic that I would literally frame it and hang it on my wall. (Can I? Seriously. I would buy a print. Gonna hunt down a hard copy of this book to learn more about this cover art. I AM DIGRESSING.)

No, this book is not deep. This book is not trying to be deep. This book is as light and fluffy as the soufflés it uses as a framing device (disclaimer for food people: I have had one soufflé in my life—if they're not supposed to be light and fluffy, just go with it, OK?), but IT WORKS.

While I'm not and (probably) never will be a ghostwriter myself, I'm friends with a fair few of them, so I loved this peek into the fictionalized struggle of a potential first-time ghostwriter. No, most of it wasn't super realistic, and Isabella was, frankly, not very professional or, likely, very good at her job, but sometimes it feels freeing to suspend your disbelief and watch someone cause utter chaos in an industry you know a lot about. I'm seeing a lot of reviews pointing out that the characters are (almost) all unlikeable, but that's kinda the point here. You don't get a personal journey—or, well, a plot—if every character starts out perfect, so while it might be a little frustrating sometimes to watch them make decisions that feel incredibly agitating...that's emotional transformation, babyyyy!

Yes, maybe the book was a little TOO light at times (the way Isabella's mother's plotline was handled was, er...not ideal). But overall, this book won't stop popping back into my head, even four or five books after I finished reading. And that's a great accomplishment!

(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance eBook copy of this book. All opinions are, of course, my own!)

I was glad to read this novel thru Goodreads after seeing someone promote it on social media. This book was an entertaining read though there were parts that were slightly irritating. The main female character had issues which she certainly didn’t try to resolve or address and the author glossed over and seemed to cure her mother’s mental illness pretty quickly. If you like a food /restaurant centered story you will like this one.

This is a tough review for me - so, I loved the premise and I loved all the food writer references and, of course, the food.

But these characters were all so unlikeable. Really unlikeable.

I think a lot of us could relate to the main character - but by the end, I had just really had it with her. IHer insistence on "that article" that it just made me dislike her greatly. I get wanting to be recognized, but she could not grasp the memoir and everything in her life were STEPS to making it "big."

I was rooting for her to fail by the end and that's terrible for me to admit because I related a lot to her family issues, her own insecurities, etc...

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for an e-copy of FOOD PERSON to review.

I rate FOOD PERSON three out of five stars.

Food Person by Adam Roberts is a wonderful book if you're in it for the over the top food descriptions which flow like melted butter, but if you want a cohesive, humorous story about love, family and working to achieve your dream, not so much. Mr. Roberts excels as he describes the attributes of every dish presented in this novel, but hasn't been able to do as well with a fully fleshed out main character, nor with the other characters surrounding her. I wanted to know so much more about Isabella Pasternack, her mother and so many other characters in the novel, but chances were missed to delve into their characters. Then the novel rushed to completion. It was finished and so was I. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounding up. An enjoyable read combining a romance with food, along with a cute more literal romance, and more complicated female relationships, especially between protagonist Isabella and Molly, the tarnished TV star she becomes paired with to ghost write her cookbook. There is also the interesting but not quite intelligible relationship between Isabella and her mom, who has gone a bit off the deep end since losing Isabella’s dad.

I did feel hooked by the loving, evocative descriptions of well-prepared meals (even as a non-cook!). A little more credibility with some of the characters would have helped, but it was engaging and fun.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and best wishes to the author.

I absolutely devoured this book—pun intended. As someone who’s already daydreaming about dinner while sipping their morning coffee, I truly couldn't get enough. The author’s voice is razor-sharp: witty, hilarious, and deeply knowledgeable about the inner workings of the food world.

Isabella, just having been fired from her food blog job after a messy live cooking demonstration, reluctantly agrees to ghostwrite a cookbook for Molly, a Lindsay Lohan-esque celebrity with a chaotic past.. Their dynamic crackles with tension, humor, and unexpected depth.

I couldn’t get enough of it and I genuinely didn’t want it to end. This is the kind of book that makes you want to recommend it to your smartest, funniest friend the second you finish the last page.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I loved this book. It was fun and witty and I couldn't put it down.

Adam Roberts delivers a food-focused novel following Isabella, an aspiring professional navigating New York's competitive food journalism scene. While the vivid food descriptions and authentic NYC dining details showcase Roberts' clear expertise and research, the character development proves frustratingly inconsistent. Isabella oscillates between spinelessness and unexpected moral rigidity, and supporting characters never fully escape feeling like one-dimensional caricatures. The plot rushes through major developments that deserved more attention. Despite these flaws, food lovers seeking a light New York-set story may find enough atmospheric detail to enjoy, though uneven execution keeps this culinary tale from reaching its full potential.

This started out so strong. I flew through the first half—Isabella’s voice is great, the characters were fun, and I was fully in on the whole “ghostwriting a celebrity cookbook” premise. It had that perfect mix of heart, ambition, and a little bit of food world chaos.

But then the second half happened.

The plot just started spiraling in a way that didn’t work for me, and the pacing totally lost its grip. It felt like it was building toward something big… and then the resolution was way too fast and way too easy. After everything, it just sort of ended? Disappointing.

I wanted to love this more than I did. The voice and setup had so much potential, but the back half let it down.

2.5 stars, rounded down because I’m annoyed at the ending.

Thank you to Knopf for the free ebook to review.