A charming novel about picking yourself up and learning what is important.

Isabella has been fired from her job as a food writer. Her roommate wants her to ghostwrite a cookbook with a celebrity. Isabella agrees to take on the job of working with the spoiled, selfish star Molly. Together, Isabella and Molly fight about everything and Isabella is ready to quit when an accident changes everything.

Isabella and Molly end up learning to trust each other and find matters most. Good pacing and realistic characters make this a fun read

This book was difficult for me to get into but ultimately I really enjoyed it. Roberts food writing is superb, I wanted to eat every dish! I also appreciated that it felt original in that I couldn’t predict where it was going or where it was going to land. I don’t know if writing from a female POV was the optimal choice for this author, I would be interested to hear his take on how Isabella came to be. I would happily read more from this author, and I look forward to seeing what he does next!

Isabella Pasternak loves food above all else. Working as a food journalist, she dreams of becoming a cookbook author. After Isabella is fired from her job writing for a digital food magazine, she is unexpectedly offered the opportunity to ghostwrite a cookbook for Molly Bobcock. Molly is a former television star, who is now mostly known for her scandalous personal life.

Isabella reluctantly accepts the job and soon finds Molly is very difficult to work with, not least of all because she seems to hate food. But along the way, Isabella begins to suspect there is more to Molly than she lets on — and that there may be a cookbook in the stories that Molly has hidden from the world. But will Isabella be able to coax a cookbook out of Molly? Or will the whole endeavor blow up in their faces?

This was a highly enjoyable and engaging story. It offers interesting insights into both the worlds of food and fame. It also a thought-provoking examination of ambition.

Highly recommended!

I am a huge foodie so I was so excited to read this! I loved the description of food, making me so hungry reading this! But I wasn’t really expecting the romance side of this book. This wasn’t really interesting in any way and the characters were so unlikable. I love the cover though!

I usually end my reviews by thanking Netgalley, but this novel was such a delightful surprise that I’m starting with a big thank you. Food Person is simply the loveliest, freshest novel I’ve read in a long time. It’s the story of Isabella and Molly, very different women who are brought together to create a cookbook. Isabella is supposed to be a “ghostwriter “ for the supremely arrogant actress Molly on her comeback after years as of being a “has been.”

They are absolute opposites, but somehow Roberts brings them together as they labor to create a viable cookbook. Both women have very different and difficult relationships with parents, Isabella with her mother and Molly with her father. It is an old collection of Molly’s mother’s recipes that acts as a catalyst for the cookbook and the relationship of the women.

BTW, I usually dislike books about food and cooking, I am an eater not a preparer. This book made me a convert. Bravo Adam Robert’s for creating a delicious summer SOUFFLÉ, which shouldn’t be missed.

BIG THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THIS ARC.

I had a feeling I would love this book from the plot description alone—and I was right! An utterly charming comedy of manners about ambition, friendship, and (of course) cooking, FOOD PERSON follows Isabella Pasternak and Molly Babcock, who couldn't be more different. Isabella is a bona fide "food person," who gets unceremoniously fired from her job as a writer for a digital food magazine after a disastrous live-streamed recipe demonstration. Molly is a once-beloved TV actress whose thriving career is now tarnished by scandal...and she couldn't care less about food. Isabella and Molly's worlds collide when Isabella is offered the opportunity to help Molly ghost-write a cookbook. While the two get off to a rocky start, they soon begin to realize that there's more to each other that meets the eye—and that they might have found true friendship in the most unexpected place of all. Can Isabella get Molly out of the gossip magazines and into the kitchen? Or will this cookbook collaboration end up in flames?

I could not put this book down! I tried to savor it, like one of the delicious dishes discussed in the story, but I ended up devouring it in just a couple of sittings. Adam Roberts's writing style is so witty and engaging, and he does a fantastic job of developing each character, making you want to root for them even in their most frustrating moments. The side characters were a blast to read about, from Isabella's ambitious roommate and best friend Owen and her well-meaning yet sometimes misguided mother Jeannie, to the swoon-worthy Gabe and Molly's seemingly acerbic sister Fiona. However, the true heart of the story is definitely Isabella and Molly's dynamic, and their respective journeys. Both of them are vastly different as characters—Isabella prefers to stay behind the camera, while Molly's grown up in front of it; Isabella loves to cook, while Molly can barely chop up kale correctly. Yet somehow, they bring out the best in each other.

I also loved how Roberts explores the uncertainty both women feel in regards to figuring out their careers and what kind of people they want to be, and takes readers into the world of food writing and celebrity culture (and where the two might intersect). He perfectly balances the humorous, lighthearted tone of the story with some deeper topics, and the result is a truly heartwarming concoction! Whether you are a diehard foodie or not a "food person" at all, there's no doubt you'll find something to enjoy in FOOD PERSON. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.

If you're as obsessed as I am with novels about food then this is definitely one to dip your toes into. At the center is Isabella Pasternack: food-obsessed, cookbook-devoted, and recently fired from her job at a digital food magazine after a live-streamed soufflé goes spectacularly wrong. Down on her luck but never short on culinary passion, she accepts a gig ghostwriting a cookbook for Molly Babcock, a scandal-ridden Hollywood starlet with little interest in food and even less in structure. What follows is a deliciously chaotic journey through late-night texts, restaurant kitchens, misadventures in cookbook writing, and the slow, surprising evolution of friendship between two unlikely women. Isabella’s obsessive love of food—her deep reverence for Chez Panisse, her apartment stacked with cookbooks like sacred texts—collides with Molly’s unpredictable and often infuriating indifference. But where the story truly shines is in its quiet moments: an unexpected confession, a perfectly prepared dish, or a disastrous meeting that somehow brings them closer. Roberts, known for his sharp wit and culinary insight, laces this novel with insider knowledge from the food world—the ghostwriters behind glossy cookbooks, the hustle of underpaid sous-chefs, the whispered names of the “it” restaurants. His prose is peppered with humor and flavor, crafting scenes that feel as vivid as a well-seasoned stew.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: May 20, 2025

Listen, I despised almost all the characters in this but also kinda loved the book? I don’t generally like such wildly unlikeable characters, and there were so many times I just wanted to shake the book to slap these insanely selfish idiots…but I couldn’t put it down. Loved all the foodie references and the glimmer of redemption!

I was put off by some of the plot points and characters early in the book, but ended up enjoying this debut. While this is definitely a story of flawed characters, I found myself rooting for them more and more as the book went on (especially Isabella) and wanting to find out where they ended up. Great food descriptions and overall an entertaining read

While it was interesting to learn about the world of cookbooks and the creation process, the actual story here was a miss for me. I picked this book up because I was intrigued by the idea of Isabella’ navigating a tenuous relationship with her mother and her strange working relationship with celebrity Molly Babcock and instead of a female centered story, I was surprised at the amount she is saved by the men in her life. Her father is the reason she fell in love with cookbooks. Her roommate is the main reason she has a place to live and helps her get the job that drives this book. There’s a romance subplot that seems to merely exist as Isabella’s moral guide — and also gives her a place to live. Ultimately the plot is predictable, and the books ends with everyone nicely in their happy place. Thank you to NetGalley for a free ebook in exchange for this honest review.

After being fired from her food writing job, the timid Isabella is forced to accept a job ghost writing a cookbook for a D-list celebrity who has absolutely no experience in the kitchen. I read this ARC because the cover is straight up adorable, as was the premise. But the story lacked direction and nearly all the characters (except Gabe) were insufferable. Besides the delicious food descriptions, this was a total drag.

2 stars ⭐️⭐️

I wanted to like this book so bad but the writing just screamed juvenile and was not very attention grabbing from the beginning. Gave a lot of detail about random things

This book had a lot of potential and I like pretty much any book with humor in it. That being said, Isabelle is a frustrating character who longs to be something that she really isn't trying to be if that makes sense. Her mom was so over the top it was sad, she could have been a sharper character. Molly was hot and cold with no real explanation as to why she was that way.

I received an ARC from the publishers through NetGalley to review. They say "write what you know" and it's obvious Adam Roberts knows food and the delicate art of ghostwriting a cookbook. This book was very funny. It reminded me of The Devil Wears Prada of the food world. In the story, we follow Isabella as she navigates moving up in her career path of food writing. Isabella's story is supported by some zany characters including her zany mom, nepo-baby roommate Owen, former-starlet Molly Babcock, evil boss Dana, and includes a romantic interlude with a sous chef. I would classify this book as New Adult as there are some adult themes especially regarding relationships. This is not just a comedy book however. Food Person has heart. Isabella does her best to navigate some mental health issues while trying to find where she fits in the culinary writing world. Four stars.

Loved the food world references! Food Person is the story of a food writer, Isabella, who has aspirations to write her own cookbooks. After getting fired from her food column role, Isabella reluctantly takes a job as a ghostwriter for a cookbook by former teen tv star Molly Babcock, The book tells the journey of Isabella and Molly’s rocky working relationship and friendship, as well as diving into their family backgrounds and relationships with food. I really enjoyed the NYC setting and restaurant and cookbook references. And Isabella’s romantic interest, Gabe, was delightful. The main characters though were both unlikeable and hard to root for, although I still found myself doing so!
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy!

For food lovers! The Food Person plot can be a little silly and over the top but the writing is clever and funny and the food focus is delicious.

There is so much about the description of FOOD PERSON that I should have loved it from the first page. But reading it has caused me to think carefully about what I do and don’t like about characters and protagonists. I feel as though author Adam D. Roberts thought of as many peculiar characters and situations as he could and roped them into this tale. And I realized quickly how much I dislike obsessively timid protagonists who, despite not showing any agency, believe they are in pursuit of big dreams that will come true. The protagonist, Isabelle, annoyed me for the entire book. The people who surround her are equally peculiar, but not in a funny way. I’m guessing that the author thought a crazy mother who concocts strange food from cans would be hilarious; then he makes her a hoarder, not so funny at all. I liked all the foodie references but wish there had been a razor sharp wit to accompany the mentions. I received my copy from the author through NetGalley.

Though it was interesting to read a sort-of rom com by a food writer, the characters were a little flat and could have used a little more development. I think a lot of time was spent on the chaos that is Molly, a bit at the expense of some of the other characters. That being said, I did enjoy reading it and was glad to see the story through.

For a debut novel, this is pretty solid but it could really use some thoughtful editing beyond the standard grammar and sentence structure. The characterizations need some more thoughtful work.

• Isabella’s mom clearly has severe mental health issues going on, but this is very lightly breezed over and resolved fairly quickly. Isabella’s character is someone who is very knowledgeable about cooking, food, ingredients, etc, so you’d think she’d also be knowledgeable about food safety, yet doesn’t think twice about her mom making insane food concoctions for homeless shelters with basically expired ingredients. It doesn’t make any sense that Isabella wouldn’t question this or have any genuine concerns over this.

• While Isabella’s love interest, Gabe, was a nice touch, it was totally unnecessary. She ghosts him multiple times, but then they go on one date and she moves in with him? Doesn’t make any sense.

Overall, entertaining book, could use some better editing when it comes to characterization.

Isabella Pasternak is a food writer for a trendy magazine who unceremoniously gets the axe after failing miserably at cooking on camera. Then she gets the chance of a lifetime: ghostwrite a cookbook for Molly Babcock, a washed-up actress who’s trying to reinvent herself. Molly, as it turns out, doesn’t cook, and is so hot and cold with Isabella that Isabella herself has no idea how to proceed. Can Isabella figure out how to reach Molly so that both of them can have a second chance, or will both of their careers go up in flames?

This book has all the pieces of a book that I would normally fall in love with, but something about it just didn’t totally add up.

The positive: Adam Roberts clearly loves food, and absolutely knows what he’s talking about. The food depicted in the book is mouthwatering and made me HUNRGY.

The not-so-positive: Isabella and Molly are both very surface-level characters that seem like they have distinct personalities at first, but they continually do things that are the opposite of what they should do based on what we knew about them earlier. Isabella’s constant holier-than-thou attitude towards ghostwriting because she wants to write something meaningful turns into being excited about writing a gossipy piece that is anything but. Molly’s treatment of Isabella vacillates between BFFs and worst enemies with no purpose or explanation, so I was just confused. They go around and around in circles, and the resolution is cheesy and predictable.

Molly and Isabella were also very clearly written by a man who’s either an elder millennial or young gen X and has no idea how “the young people” actually talk—reading some of the dialogue was painful. Actual quote: “‘Wow, the daylight is being so extra right now,’ said Molly.” No.

The most interesting character BY FAR is Isabella’s mother Jeannie, who has become a hoarder since losing her husband, as well as causing chaos with her foul cooking. I wanted more of her and a better arc for her story, but her very serious mental health issues were swept under the rug.

I struggled with how to rate this because when it’s good, it’s very good, but when it’s bad, it’s a massive disappointment. Not quite 2 stars, not quite 3; somewhere in between.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an ARC. Good Person publishes on May 20, 2025.