Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B was an excellent read for people who love the food scene, restaurants, and competitive cooking shows! Don't let this fun, pink cover fool you though; this book has some heavy themes.

Didn’t You Use to Be Queenie B? By Terri-Lynne DeFino is a beautiful story of a famous chef Regina B who vanishes from the public eye, giving up everything to go into hiding and prioritize her sobriety. She takes a local chef, Gale, under her wing and soon realizes that his success in the culinary world will pull her back into the spotlight. She is forced to decide whether or not she wants to run and leave everything behind, again, to stay in hiding.

I loved the array of characters, in this story, and their ability to come together under unusual circumstances. Everyone has their baggage and they all choose to see beyond one-another’s mistakes, and support each other, even through their own battles with alcoholism. This book was humorous, and heartfelt. A beautiful story about the love of food and not being defined by our past mistakes.

The narration by Eva Kaminsky is very well-done, and only added to the story! 

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for an advanced copy of this audiobook!

3.75 stars, Great Story of Comeback and believing in yourself. Narrator did a great job really bringing me into the story. Favorite was the cooking terms at the beginning of every chapter such a great touch !

Didn’t You Use to Be Queen is B by Terri-Lynne is a deliciously messy, heartfelt ride through food, fame, and finding your way back to yourself. I devoured every page—between the behind-the-scenes drama and the deeply human moments, I couldn’t put it down. The characters are gloriously flawed and beautifully real, the kind you want to shake and hug in equal measure. There’s a rawness here that makes the glitter of success feel earned and the heartbreak hit harder. I’m docking half a star only because I wanted just a bit more closure—but honestly, I’d read a sequel tomorrow.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫 4.5 stars

Queenie B has it all; fame, money, is a world wide recognized chef. Her at home life is anything but put together. Her husband has given her so many chances. And her son, while he hardly knows her. After a very public debacle that left her divorced and ashamed of her reputation, Quinne B has to hide.
Gale struggles to keep a job let alone pay his bills. Him and his friends find themselves at their local soup kitchen; the only place they can afford. Shockingly surprised at how good the meal is every night!
With the soup kitchen help out, Gale finds himself tagging in to help head chef Regina. Surprised by Gales creativity and chef skills Regina quickly offers him a paying job at the soup kitchen.
Cooking skills are tested and truth and trust comes out. This is a fun read whether you're a food lover or not!

I really enjoyed Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B. The characters were compelling an complex which gave a deep and hopeful story. The book felt like something that reads like a limited series on Amazon or Netflix similar to The Maid series (from Netflix, or its book: Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive). I enjoyed the conclusion for the characters. The pacing was perfect. I barely ever felt like the story dragged. Overall, a really great read!

Gale doesn’t recognize Regina, the soup kitchen’s cranky proprietor, whose famous black mane is now streaked with gray. It’s been more than ten years since Queenie B vanished into her careful new existence. But she sees Gale’s talent and recognizes a brokenness in him that she knows all too well. The culinary genius in hiding takes him under her wing.

I really enjoyed this tale. It does have a bit of a slow start. But once I got into it, I flew through it. I was rooting for Regina (Queenie B) and Gale from start to finish.

Regina is a tough character that will come close to breaking your heart. With her past and the way she has chosen to live her present..she cannot help but pull at your heart strings.

Then there is Gale. He is also struggling with his inner demons but I wanted him to win this cooking show contest so badly…you will have to read this to find out!

I learned so much about the cutthroat business of chefs and restaurants. Such drama and stress in this profession. The author did a fabulous job exposing the reader to this side of the kitchen doors!

The narrator, Eva Kaminsky, was Queenie B! She had great emotion and just made this book come alive!

Need a book with characters you want to succeed in every way possible…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gale Carmichael, a line cook in recovery from alcohol abuse following a tragic accident, relents to go grab a meal at a local soup kitchen when money is tight. There he meets a suspiciously talented cook running the remarkably and expensively equipped kitchen. The cook, Regina, quickly becomes his mentor, and the relationship becomes even more important to him after a friend sends in an application for Gale to compete on the popular cooking show, "Cut". How he performs on the show could completely change Gales' life. But who is Regina, and what is her backstory? There is much more than meets the eye here.

Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B is a story of redemption and second chances; both seeking them for ourselves and helping others to have them. It's about forgiveness and grace, friends and family, holding onto hope, and getting back up when you've been knocked down. It's also about food! The food writing is great, but I think my favorite part was the family and friends (and friends that become family) that surrounded both Gale and Regina throughout their journeys. I'm not sure I would compare this to The Bear, as my only complaint is that it was too long and drug a bit in parts, so it is not as intense as The Bear. That said, if you are a lover of food/cooking competitions and have knowledge of celebrity chefs and the culinary world, you'll probably enjoy this one! I gave this book 3.75-4 stars.

This book consumed my thoughts, my heart AND my appetite!

Set in dual timelines, we have two stars here.
Gale, a recovering addict with demons haunting his sleep- and waking moments. His family has all but given up on him, and he's practically giving up on himself.
Regina, former (infamous) celebrity chef, currently hiding (and assumed dead) while running a local soup kitchen for addicts, low income and the elderly. No one knows who she is, and she plans to keep it that way.

The two converge when Gale, a broke line cook, needs to eat and lost his last 3 bucks in a mugging.

Lose, recovery, regrets and FOOD all are the themes of this story, and I will say it was one of the best books of the year for me. Great for fans of:

Found family
Top Chef
Second chances
Forgiveness

Even if this isn't your normal read, I encourage you give it a go, it is excuted with the perfection of a 3 star Michelin meal.

Terri Lynne DeFino’s Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B? is a story that invites you to slow down and savor each unfolding moment. Layered with backstories that enrich the present and characters who slowly knit together into a compelling found family, the novel shines especially through the immersive experience of the audiobook. Eva Kaminsky’s narration elevates the emotional depth of the story—her voice acting brings each scene to life in a way that makes the pacing feel intentional rather than slow. Think The Bear meets the behind-the-scenes grit of a reality cooking show, all wrapped in a deeply personal coming-of-age journey.

This is a novel rich in themes of self-growth, second chances, and the quiet strength found in community. DeFino explores how identity can be lost—and reclaimed—and how mentorship and belonging can shape one’s future. The dynamic between Regina and Gale is especially poignant, unfolding with care in the unique setting of a soup kitchen, which offers a deeper commentary than a typical culinary backdrop. With evocative descriptions, well-developed secondary characters, and a story grounded in emotional truth, this is a book that lingers. While I initially read a print copy from William Morrow, it was Harper Audio’s edition that truly deepened my appreciation. For stories like this, audio isn’t just a format—it’s the heart of the experience.

The audiobook of Queenie B was engaging with a narrator who moved in and out of female and male voices perfectly. This story is one that reminds me a lot of the series The Bear that pulled back the curtain on the restaurant industry and specifically about chefs and their demons/determination to make it. Queenie B is the personae of Regina Benuzzi that she created to build a celebrity career. She's the original "Food Network" like star getting her start on tv through public access television and moving into cooking competitions. Her life becomes a train wreck and after she destroys relationships and everyone around her, she goes into hiding. We then are introduced to a struggling chef and when these two characters meet, there is a story that takes us on a wild ride. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and only wished we got a peek into the future for these two characters through an epilogue. I highly recommend checking this out!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher from the arc.

I must say that I first read the ebook version of this book a few months before the pub date, and thought the book was kind of boring. However, what really drew me into this book was that amazing cover. I am glad I requested the audiobook too because I found the audiobook much more enjoyable. My advice to you is if you are struggling with this book, definitely try the audiobook. I love how Eva Kaminsky brought this book to life, and how she voiced the characters. Overall, I think I still would be interested in reading more by this author as well.

Regina Benuzzi used to be a household name. As Queenie B, she was culinary royalty—cookbooks, TV deals, Michelin stars, the whole glossy empire. She was sharp, stunning, impossible to ignore… and then she wasn’t. Addiction, scandal, and the kind of personal fallout you don’t bounce back from overnight. So, she just walked away from her family, her fame, and herself. Poof. Gone.

Now she’s running a soup kitchen in New Haven, cranky and fiercely guarded, living a life so far from who she used to be it might as well be another planet. The only place she lets herself feel anything is in the kitchen—still making food that could bring a critic to tears, but serving it to the city’s most forgotten instead of its elite.

Then comes Gale Carmichael—thirty, newly sober, and hungry in every possible sense. He stumbles into Regina's soup kitchen looking for a meal during a rough few weeks and finds something else entirely: food made with purpose. Regina sees herself in him, reluctantly, uncomfortably. And despite every instinct to stay out of it, she starts to teach him. Slowly. Grudgingly. Honestly.

But Gale’s not just some kid with potential—he’s also working his way up under another chef, Marco, Regina’s ex-boyfriend and very much unresolved emotional grenade. Gale doesn’t know that. Yet. But it’s his connection to Marco that pulls Queenie back into the orbit of the life she left behind. And when Gale lands a spot on "Cut!," a high-profile cooking competition, that tiny spark of potential explodes into a second chance—for him, and maybe for her too.

This is not a glitzy comeback story. It’s a reckoning. Regina isn’t softened for likability. She’s prickly, proud, and soaked in regret—but she’s also brilliant. And watching her choose to care again, to step out from behind her self-imposed exile, hits hard. She’s not trying to be famous again. She’s trying to be honest—with herself, with Gale, and eventually, with Marco.

The writing is lush without being showy. Food is everywhere—each chapter opens with a culinary term, and every dish in this book carries emotional weight. This is a novel that knows food isn’t just sustenance. It’s survival. It’s identity. It’s a language. And it’s often the only way these characters know how to say what matters.

Four stars. For the ache. For the heat. For a woman who burned down her life and still found something worth feeding. “Didn’t You Use to Be Queenie B?” is tender, sharp, and full of flavor—and it proves that even if you walk away from everything, it’s never too late to come back around. If this is what DeFino brings to the table, I’m clearing my schedule and making room for seconds.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

Queenie B had it all—a celebrity chef with Michelin stars and pop culture fame, a husband and child, and a high profile life. She also had a secret addiction that imploded her picture perfect image. The culinary world was shocked when Queenie B disappeared; vanishing from her restaurants, the headlines, and her family.

Gale Carmichael has the skills and creativity to be a success in the kitchen, but his not so secret addictions led to tragedy. Newly sober and struggling, Gale finds himself at a local soup kitchen run by the enigmatic Regina. Regina quickly recognizes Gale’s talent and, this, begins an unlikely mentorship.

This is a beautifully rendered tale of redemption that doesn’t whitewash the ugly side of addiction. Gale is tormented by his past which affects his relationships with everyone close to him and leaves him believing he is unworthy of forgiveness. Regina sees herself in Gale and her efforts to rescue him might be the very thing she needs to reclaim her own life. A central theme running through this novel is the belief that everyone is worthy of love even when it’s hard to love oneself.

Fans of The Food Network or The Bear will relish the behind the scenes look at restaurant life. DeFino does an exceptional job depicting the frenetic energy of a busy kitchen. Narrated by Eva Kapinsky, the audiobook puts the reader inside the minds of the characters and masterfully captures their internal struggles.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and William Morrow for the advance copies. All opinions are my own.

A redemption story with heart!
A light hearted but “real” story of an alcoholic/addict closing the door on the person she knew herself to be and reinventing who she now chooses to be.
A little slow and simple for my taste.

A moving book about rising and falling from fame for one award winning female chef and her unexpected comeback after hitting rock bottom. I enjoyed this book a lot - not just as a foodie who loves learning more about the world of working in high pressure kitchens, but also for the redemption story. There's a great cast of side characters and tough topics like drug and alcohol addiction, dementia and grief. Good on audio and perfect for fans of Top chef or Kitchen Confidential. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!