Delicious Romance

When Covid happens, actress Piper is forced out of Broadway and into any role she can find. Helena has just had her cooking TV show cancelled; the only opportunity she has is to work with Piper on a new show. The only problem, Piper cannot cook!

There was a lot of fun in this romance. It is set at a time we can all relate to, so empathy with Helena and Pipet came naturally. The idea behind the show they were working on together was genius! It played perfectly to their age-gap, added tension through frustration, but allowed them to bond and develop a natural relationship over time. I adored everything about them. When there was tension between them, it created a sense of longing that perhaps Piper would win Helena round one day. When they were getting along, it was fluid and a perfect match!

It was Helena who really surprised me though. Piper being around somehow gave her a spark back, a new lease of life, and fuelled her. When Piper really needed someone to rely on, I am so glad Helena decided to be that person. What she did for Piper was amazing and a real turning point in them finally getting their relationship established. Piper enthusiasm was one thing, but when she really showed us how committed she was to learning to cook and showing progress could be made because of Helena’s guidance to give Helena a boost as well, I really admired her.

Such a great story, fun, heart-warming, and definitely delicious. Age-gap romances are favourites of mine and I adored this one.

Unusual story.
The romance was warm, the characters were interesting, and the use of Covid was clever.
So many problems and delays made choices and decisions difficult. I almost forgot how it disrupted our lives and careers.
In my opinion, the story didn't start until the halfway point. It's mostly back story and what felt like filler. I kept wondering when the story was going to start. I almost stopped reading a few times. I skimmed a lot. But there is a real story, after all.
Another problem I had was knowing who was talking. With dialog, a new paragraph usually means the other person is speaking. That was not the case here. Sometimes, I had to guess who was speaking. I would read the line 2 or 3 times. that's not good.
There are some surprises. Some good, some bad. And some choices to make. Problems are solved in an intelligent way.
Overall, it's a good story.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the overall concept for this book there was something odd about the writing style that I couldn't quite place. At times I thought it was written by AI or by someone whose first language isn't English. Certain word choices and how sentences were structured made me pause, and not in a good way. The reader is supposed to accept that Piper and Helena are in love but there were literally no scenes showing them falling and I didn't buy their relationship. I really wanted to like this one but it ultimately fell flat.

Interesting age-gap foodie read with some romance for desert. Helena Chatfield, talented chef with a prickly personality. Piper Halliday, up and coming actress currently working as a waitress. Opportunity presents itself for Piper to work with Helena on a new show called, "I'm a Millennial and I Don't Know How to Cook". I thought the show title was hilarious. Every time I read it, I smiled or chuckled. Helena and Piper did not work well together at first but that changed and wow, spicy in the kitchen. Helena had an issue that she was hiding and the story did a nice job of unfolding it. Piper had a "roommate" not really a roommate that she was struggling to deal with. I appreciated that the author chose to write a story where COVID, the pandemic and the vaccine played a central role. I was entertained with the story set-up, the chemistry between Piper and Helena and the food description.

So, I really liked this, actually more than I thought I would. The pacing was perfect for me, and I enjoyed the characters.

The cover maybe needs to be tweaked. On my reader the Author's name is unreadable.

Piper Halliday was a Broadway star, but now is stuck as a waitress. Therefore she's a bit dubious when a TV producer approaches her to star in a cooking reality TV show.

The last season of Helena Chatfield's cooking show bombed, so it was canceled. But, her producers have offered the 'train a millennial ' cooking show job to her, so she HAS to make this work.

Piper is sweet and charming, and she'll need it as Helena is a bit harsh. Despite that, screen tests go well and the show is green lit.
Helena has a health issue she's keeping from others. It's also why things fell apart on her last show. Spoiler: it's long covid.

Complicating Piper's life is that her ex got kicked out of her place and is sleeping on Pipers couch. And Sharia is hard to live with, but Piper is too nice to just boot her out. And it progresses to the point Piper has to crash with Helena.

Very slow burn, but that's my jam. Piper thinks Helena is hot, immediately, but things take a looong time to progress. The ending wraps up well, and is overall a solid read. 4 out of 5 stars.

The cover looks sweet and invites the reader into a book featuring a cooking show. In an unusual mood the time period of the book is set during the height of covid. Piper Halliday is a Juilliard trained talented actress on the brink of opening her first Broadway show when Covid shuts down the theaters. She catches the eye of a director of a cooking show while she is waitressing at a diner. She quickly finds herself teamed up with Helena Chatfield who is a cooking legend. She has her own cookbook and cookware deals. But she is getting the reputation for being problematic. They both know the premise for the show is somewhat silly but they need the work. Helena is a little hard to understand in the beginning. Her grumpiness isn’t explained till later in the story. This is also an age gap romance but that doesn’t seem to be an issue between the pair. And there isn’t a power imbalance as Piper doesn’t work for Helena.

I really enjoyed Helena’s knowledge about food and the information she shares while teaching Piper to cook. There is a side plot about an unwanted ex squatting in Piper’s apartment that I didn’t think added much to the story. It is interesting to see covid being a major focus for the story. It works in the framework of the story but it also brought up personal feelings about the time period. Books do need to record those years as it is a unique world wide event. I liked the romance and was glad not to have a last minute breakup. (3.5 Stars)

This is a story set during the time of the pandemic, when the COVID vaccine was about to be achieved. In it, an actress forced to earn a living as a waitress happens to be seen by a TV director who is going to be part of the team for a TV cooking show. The show features a well-known chef who received bad reviews on her last program and has a somewhat difficult personality. Piper, the vivacious and captivating Broadway actress, appears to be the ideal counterpart to Helena, the haughty chef, with all her quirks and superior attitude.

Helena's got a pretty weird behavior, and it's not really clear why until you get further into the story. Piper is not being able to do her acting-singing-dancing thing because the theaters are shut down, and she's also dealing with a tough situation with her ex and now coworker who is kind of moved into her apartment without Piper really realizing it.

This new TV show, with a truly awful title, "I'm a Millennial and I Don't Know How to Cook!", looks like a chance for Piper and Helena's last hope. So, the two of them will have to put in quite a bit of effort to make the show work. Even up against the schemes of the producers, who seem to not want it to succeed.

I have to admit, the story didn't really grab me at first. Piper seemed like she was letting her roommate and Helena walk all over her. Even if she needed the job, it shouldn't come at the expense of her dignity. But once the story wraps up, I think it's worth it, even if Piper is pretty frustrating quite a bit of the time.

Sweet book with likable characters and an interesting premise. The interactions between Helena and Piper felt a bit stiff for me, and I had a hard time believing them as a couple. Definitely a good read for foodies!

Thank you to the publishers for this fun read .

First of all no lie i felt hungry a lot of the time while reading this book lol no joke .
i loved the plot i thought it was so much fun and the characters really were wonderful to read about they both stood out powerful females i loved the grumpy sunshine element to the characters.
the story is set when covid hits and everything is just crazy can you imagine having to go on a cooking programme not being the best cook i can lol well husband would say that haha .this is such a fun enemies to lovers .
the story was pretty fast paced which kept me reading i loved it very much

i am giving french fancy 4 stars is my favourite cake just saying

This is a sweet grumpy/sunshine romance set during the hight of the covid pandemic. Piper is a Broadway actress who's currently working as a waitress due to the shutdown. She gets offered a position on a cooking TV show as an inexperienced millenial being taught how to cook by a professional chef, Helena. Helena, however, is not exactly pleased with this arrangement.

I thought this was a very fun setup for a love story. Though I think I still struggle with fully getting into stories set during early covid years, this certainly felt like it used this setup fully to tell its story.

The characters were fun and they felt fully realised with their own personalities and struggles. I will say, I think the book could have used more time developing the chemistry between the main characters. I felt like the story was focused on their personal struggles a lot more which was completely understandable but at the same time it took the time away from building the actual relationship making it a little weaker.

This book was brilliant, it was my first book from Allison Ashton but for sure i will put her on my list of authors i keep track on.
It combined my favorite troups of age gap, celebrity (while both not super fame but famous in their own right) and well i guess a new one i didnt really think about before cooking/food/ cookingshows (which i LOVE). This combined was the perfect read. The writer style is reallllyy good i totally enjoyed it. The older i get the more i love "normal" life situations and not the over romantic perfect life many books portray. We met Helena Chatfield a woman in her 40s who is a tv cook for years now, after Covid first hit Helenas life changes a lot. On top of that her job that felt so save and catert her lifestyle in a nice New York appartment starts to cruble. Enter Piper Halliday a rising Broadway starlet who also is affected by Covid but in a different way, when a job offer comes up and helps her out of her shity restaurant waiter job she takes a chance. I love how the relationship between these two evolves over the book, it fells so natural and organic, i loved to whitness it. The storyline is amazing and im my mind super creative and close to real live acrually which i LOVED.
Cant wait to read more from this author!

A food network like producers is looking for the next big show. They want their most popular chef, Helena, to have a show with a millennial, Piper.
Twists and turns throughout the production bring the women who couldn't be more opposite, closer. Note: this book happens during the pandemic.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:
It’s October 2020, COVID restrictions don't seem to be softening anytime soon, and Piper Halliday is prepared to take any role, no matter how lame, to make rent. Serious cooking legend and international foodie Helena Chatfield is licking her wounds after the explosive cancellation of her TV show. Her last chance to save her career is to host “I’m a Millennial and I Don’t Know How to Cook”. Infuriatingly, she’s paired with Piper, an out-of-work young actress who can’t even chop an onion.
While the warring women try to put aside their differences for the show, their bubbling secrets are threatening to boil over.

Review:
Sweet, Spicy and Delicate is set in New York in the midst of COVID in October 2020. It follows Piper Halliday (Broadway actress / waitress) and Helena Chatfield (TV Chef) who are both struggling with the effects of the pandemic in different ways. It’s an age-gap, sapphic romance told from a third person perspective (which isn’t my favourite) but fits well here.

Helena has a cooking-education series broadcast by The Yum Channel, which she finds out is cancelled at the very start of the book. The Yum Channel, however, offers a new show they believe will have better ratings: “I’m a Millennial and I Don’t Know How to Cook!” After being served by Piper in the diner she works in, director Reed recruits Piper as the aforementioned Millennial as he believes Piper will be able to tame Helena’s infamous ‘attitude’.
I really like the development of their relationship which essentially follows the classic slow-burn/‘enemies’-to-lovers trope (enemies in a very mild sense based on Helena’s disgust with Piper’s lack of cooking skills).

There are a series of twists and turns that contribute to their forced proximity and ultimately the blossoming romance they have. At times, I didn’t feel like Piper’s response to certain situations was genuine - sometimes the chemistry felt a bit forced. I thought Helena’s character was portrayed really well, however. There are a number of references to a mysterious chronic illness (that really kept me guessing throughout!) and the big reveal of what this was later in the book really took me by surprise. I also found the sexual interactions to be quite formal in comparison to other books of a similar nature.

I did enjoy Sweet, Spicy and Delicate as a sweet, slow-moving romance with a realistic edge that everyone can relate to.

Thank you to NetGalley, Allison Ashton and Ylva Publishing for this early access edition of Sweet, Spicy and Delicate.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

piper was working at a fast food place...it was only till covid was over and things began to open up again... she was hoping to get back into her musical.... she had just scored a good part in annie and she was hoping that things would begin again soon....after all covid couldnt keep things closed forever....

helena a famous chef was being coerced into doing a reality cook show....this is how low she had fallen ... it was her last chance with the tv channel and it wasnt even her fault.. but she couldnt tell anyone her biggest secret.....

so when piper and helena were approached to do this reality show together they both had mixed feelings....

could they really make a go of it or would it be the end of both of their careers..... no pressure for either of them then....

not a bad read kept me reading right to the end to see what the mystery was with helena

Thank you to NetGalley and Ylva Publishing for this ARC.
I don't really know where to start. I think the concept of the book was quite good, but the execution didn’t live up to my expectations. The dynamic between the characters felt flat. They were just there – lacking depth, personality, and growth. I couldn’t connect with them, and as a result, I didn’t really care about what happened to them.

The chemistry between the characters was also lacking, which made it hard to get invested in their relationships. The story had cozy moments, and there were glimpses of something promising, but overall, I wanted more from this book. I genuinely wanted to enjoy this book, but I found it a little dull, and the Covid element didn’t quite work for me.

I think I expected so much more from this book. With a title like this it kind of sets itself up to fail when it’s all a little flat.

While I understand and like one character, the other is just annoying. I suppose she’s supposed to be some sort of ice queen, but the way she’s written completely misses the mark for me. I appreciate the fairly realistic Covid setting of the book, plus the cooking show elements, but that’s all I like.

I’d also like to note I received an ARC through NetGalley from the publisher. I hope this ARC is going through another round of editing because I spotted many mistakes, something I’m not so used to by Ylva.

It was beautifully written. Both Piper and Helena were very well fleshed out characters who do what they can to survive a pandemic and economic struggles. I liked the slow burn between the two characters but it wasn't your typical enemies to lovers story. I really enjoyed seeing a different side of the pandemic for the reality that many queer women must have experienced during that time. I truly appreciate the opportunity to read this book as an advanced reader's copy. Allison is certainly an author worth waiting for.

There were parts I genuinely loved—especially the cooking show aspect. I still enjoy watching those on TV, so I really appreciated the detailed behind-the-scenes look in the book. Piper was the highlight for me: charming, fun, and a joy to read. Helena, on the other hand, always left me feeling unsettled and awkward—and not in an endearing way. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but her presence never sat right with me.

Aside from that, there were some plot points that I understand served a purpose, but I just found myself wishing they had played out differently or led to a more satisfying outcome.

At last, I just couldn’t understand how Piper didn’t immediately kick her “roommate” out after she locked her cat outside just because she thought it was too noisy. That moment really threw me off—I couldn’t wrap my head around Piper’s reaction there.

Thank you Netgalley and Ylva Publishing for the arc.

It’s a cute story, but I was expecting something more. I hoped for more chemistry, more tension, but that felt a little flat.
However, the story is cute. I appreciate the covid situation and the power dynamic.

Thank you Netgalley and Ylva Publishing for the arc.