It was an interesting premise that made me stick with it. Hearing about different Asian mythical creatures and food was pretty much the only interesting thing in here. The love triangle and subsequent actions were annoying. It was very life and death but both boys in the triangle were worried more about the girl than dying and pressuring her to pick them. The best friend who just realized how much he cares refuses to talk to her because she doesn't immediately act the same. I liked the narrator but feel zero desire to read book two. The lead up for another book was so relaxed and left no urgency on coming events. It was very hunger games but less intense even with all the dying and basically zero-character development.

Just a small-town girl who wants to compete in an Iron Chef Competition that is the real Hunger Games Lite.

This one is a cute snack of a book. It is very fast paced and moves fairly quickly. There were moments that go a bit dark and gory, but overall, it is a fun fantasy book. The high stakes don’t feel so high – even though they are pretty high. It is as though the author wanted to keep it light-hearted. To be fair, it is YA, so that makes sense.

There is a hint at teenage angst/romance in the book, but it is more of a side bar than the main plot. No spice to be had here.

I really enjoyed the narration for the most part. She really brought life to the character. And in the true nature of the character claiming she can’t sing, the narrator killed it.

I've been waiting for a cooking competition book set in Asian context so this book really delivered on my wish! Love how mythology was integrated in each challenge.

Personally, I didn't like the love triangle aspect. If readers love that, this would be added bonus for you.

To be honest, I would rate this book higher if the story focused on cooking and the competition because the descriptions of how each meal was prepared were chef kiss 🤌

Alas, a big part of this book is the love triangle.

However, its execution is mediocre because both love interests were only archetypes (childhood friend and smart noble), not characters with actual personalities (besides liking the heroine).


On the other side, Cai as the main character is just okay dkdkdkd so I don't understand also why these boys like her and suddenly confessing their feelings for her while she needs to focus. 🥲

Her scenes with Tala were entertaining though!

I should be transparent also and state that I'm so tired of orphaned heroines. At this point, it kind of feels like a cop out to explain why a main character has abandonment issues etc

I hope the author and the editors took the time to improve the character work because it had so much potential.

Thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Select, and Sweet July Books for providing an ARC of The Celestial Banquet audiobook by Roselle Lim and narrated by Natalie Naudus.

2.5/5 ⭐️ rounded up only for nosy drunk god who is too invested in the love triangle.

Tropes
• Love Triangle
• So Much Love Triangle
• Top Chef type cooking challenges
• Gods & Immortals
• Beginning/End of chapter world-building snippits

I think it is time for me to accept... I have outgrown YA books 😔 This could not be more YA love triangle if it TRIED, but at least it seemed self aware about that... sometimes...

But seriously, the girl you like is cooking with explosive chicken and you think now is the time to go "so what are we?". DUDE, read the room!!

The Celestial Banquet itself is just background for love triangle "oh my gosh who will she pick" time. We have broke ordinary girl who cooks (but is also not even an adult and DEFINITELY not an established chef with decades of experience, and yet you want me to believe she is soOooO amazing at cooking that she is going to compete to be the best chef?), broke farmer boy that is her childhood best friend (cough cough, Gale), and noble boy that is very nice and loving (cough cough, Peeta).

The stakes were not high at all. Death is only for unimportant background characters, so much so that one character dies, is brought back to life (no one questions this?), then SHOULD die a second time. Like what.

Imagine going through something claiming it is for the greater good of saving your people from an invading empire, then seeing what the cost is (knowing fully going into this what is at stake!!!) and then suddenly getting on your high horse about how "the price is too high"... Then immediately back-peddling and taking the prize anyway.

This was just a disappointment. Only plus for me was that the narrator actually sang in one part and DAMN that was kind of impressive!!

I’m not usually a fan of fantasy because I don’t really have the imagination for it – I can’t picture the worlds they live in – but this one was centered around a cooking competition, which I love, so it was a little easier to understand. I enjoyed the various tasks involved in the competition and I found the ingredients fascinating. Likewise, Cai was a formidable character and I had fun following along as she made educated decisions about what to create and how to do so. The only issue I had with this was the love triangle. I didn’t think it fit the story, which was perfectly fine without this drama. I also thought getting the Gods involved in it was far-fetched and actually took away from the story from me.

This book was ok. It wasn't super good but wasn't super bad. Quick speed read. Something about it didn't draw me in.

I really wanted to like this book, everything about it sounded amazing. A deadly coopetition, delicious food, sprinkle in some romance. However something about this just ended up falling flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape for letting me listen to this for free!

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me the ARC Audio of this book.

This book was described as Iron Chef meets Hunger Games. I think it was more of a high stakes Iron Chef with Deadly Trials.

Every 10 years the Gods hold a food competition for a chance to win the peach of immortality. The teams are usually made up of 3 humans and a lower God who is the sponsor of the human team composed of one chef, one noble, and one bodyguard. They go through dangerous trials to obtain specific ingredients the higher Gods wish to have in their dish and of course the Gods would have to like their dish to move on.

As a foodie myself and who also loves c-dramas about cooking (Chef Hua and Delicacies Destiny), I really enjoyed this book, a quick easy read!

However, I do wish the world building was a bit more developed, the characters had a bit more depth and the romance was more thought through and not just plopped down in random places.

But it still didn't deter me from enjoying this book and I would read more from this author. As a debut book it was good enough that I actually would continue this story if it becomes a series and it sounds like it will, so I am excited!

The narrator did a wonderful job and did all the different characters voices well.

Five cooking teams. Three deadly trials. One final winner.

If you've watched the Netflix shows, Iron Chef or Culinary Class Wars & wished for it to be a book, you absolutely gotta read this. And if you add some fantasy elements to the shows & make the judges into major gods (aka pompous pricks with so much power in their hands), and the challenges into even higher stakes (as in you could literally explode if one thing goes wrong), you'd get Celestial Banquet!!!

What can you expect -
🍜East Asian inspired YA fantasy
🍜Strong FMC with a short temper
🍜Two strong & handsome MMCs
🍜Deadly, exhausting trials hosted by the gods
🍜Lavish feasts & mouthwatering delicacies
🍜Love triangle

Celestial Banquet is every food lover's paradise, cuz you could get lost in the elaborate descriptions of delectable delicacies & may also end up with more cravings, so do tread with caution, aka have your snacks or meal prepared by the side while you read it!!!

The story follows Cai, a young noodle maker & cooking prodigy who wants nothing in life than to participate & win in the Celestial Banquet, the cooking competition that's held every decade by the major gods! The winner is bestowed the peaches of immortality which are priceless & coveted by every chef in the Peninsula. And we follow her journey into the competitions that prove to be more strenuous & demanding than she thought it'd be.

The book gets straight into the plot by introducing our FMC who's skilled and knowledgeable in the culinary arts, and introduces the competition right away which might seem to be a bit intimidating if not done right but it doesn't seem to be so. Plus each chapter starts with a titbit about the world or the gods or even some of the mythical creatures, so you're always made aware of the things you should know before getting into that chapter. And this gets you slowly acclimated to the world than making you feel overwhelmed with the info-dump. And the world was quite detailed & interesting as well, and it made me feel like this book would translate so well into an animated movie. The writing was so flavorful & descriptive that every single time a dish was described, the picture was immediately evoked in my mind & I felt like I was there beside them preparing & tasting it!!!

Coming to the characters, Cai was quite an interesting character to follow cuz even though she was skilled in cooking, she wasn't perfect and had her own flaws, one of which includes her sharp tongue. No matter the situation or the status of the person she's talking to, she doesn't hesitate to speak out her heart if they do so much as utter something insulting!! And I admired that about her cuz it showed how much self-respect she has & that she would not let anyone talk bad about her place or her parents without knowing the reality about them. And she has so much empathy even towards her rivals in the competition which might appear to be dangerous to have esp in such a setting but it distinguishes her as a character who'd readily aid anyone in danger over herself.

And I'm gonna be completely honest, I didn't really care about either of the love interests nor the love triangle!!!! Both of their advances towards Cai felt juvenile & I found myself rolling my eyes every single time they wanted to talk to her about their feelings. Like you're literally minutes away from being obliterated, and you want her to kiss you & tell you how she feels?!!!!! Idk if it's because I usually get icks from reading cliched YA romance or it was really done for the sake of doing it but the love triangle in here wasn't it.

Other than that, I really liked all our other characters - minor god Kama, Tala, even the two MMCs (Seon & Bo) when they were aiding in the competition or talking about their families, etc but just couldn't handle the romance.

Also the narrator, Natalie Naudus brought Cai to life with her amazing narration. Usually with YA books on audio, there's a fine line between making them sound just right or making them too childish & immature (which I absolutely hate), but the narrator made Cai sound perfectly stubborn & confident, and not even a tiny bit childish which I appreciate. And this made my experience ten times better as I found myself listening to it non-stop.

Overall, if you love books with trials, and also LOVE FOOD & different cuisines, you gotta pick this one up.

Huge thanks to Dreamscape Select & Sweet July Books for the ALC through NetGalley!!!

Apparently, I didn't read the description well enough because I was not expecting the live triangle to take such a prominent role in the story. It was the one thing I didn't enjoy. I'm too old for this I guess because I just kept thinking "girl, you're in a deadly competition to find these ingredients you're all in immediate danger why are kissing or thinking about the boys at this moment?". Haha. Didn't help that I disliked Bos poor attitude and being all out out like how dare Cai not return his feelings in exactly the way and time he thinks she should. Ugh. Not my cup of tea but I'm sure others will like it

But the crew from the peninsula was cute. I love Kama. I love Cais love of food and cooking. The competition was fun (Hunger Games meets Iron Chef is a lot to live up to but I think it fits the bill). It was a cute food competition .story.

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Cai is a noodle chef who dreams of opening up her own restaurant. So when the Gods host the Celestial Banquet -- a competition that pits all of the best chefs against each other with the prize being the peaches of immortality -- she decides to enter. Along with her local Minor God Kama, her childhood crush-turned-friend Bo, and the noble Seon, Cai enters to compete. But she'll have to face many trials along the way, from hunting and serving up sea serpents to finding the eggs of the legendary Jian bird. She will have to not only survive, but beat the competition. The problem is, the losers walk away with more than just a loss. Are the Peaches of Immortality worth it?

This was like Iron Chef meets The Hunger Games with Asian mythology and folklore and I was kind of here for it. My one thing I felt eh about was the romances, and only because there is not just one but a nice little love triangle that's not really love triangle(? I can't really explain it). But the romances seemed a little rushed which makes sense because the book mostly focused on the cooking competition and why Cai is doing this and I kind of wish it was taken out, but I'm okay with what we had. I love the use of the mythology, not just with the gods but with all the dishes that they make and I think that's what makes this book so unique is the fact that we do have this competition for the best chef. Like I said, it reminded me of Iron Chef but with much higher stakes. I flew through this book and I was very much engrossed in the plot and what was going to happen. There was a little twist at the end that I didn't see coming and I was very surprised by it and actually went back to reread bits and pieces of it just because I had to make sure that I understood whag happened is what actually happened. I liked all the side characters, especially Kama the drunken Minor God. Overall, this was a really quick, really interesting read and probably one of my favorite asian-inspired fantasies that I've read in a long time.

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

For the most part, this audiobook was good. I found the narrator’s voice to be a bit too old and rich for a teenage girl. If this book was told from a third person point of view, I think this would be an excellent choice of narrator. They seemed to really capture that folklore tone of the story. Kind of like hearing a storybook being performed live. It was soothing and easy to follow.

There were time though, that I thought certain pronunciations were emphasized too much, throwing off the flow of the audiobook as a whole. But I appreciated that the narrator tried to be as relatively close to authentic pronunciations as possible.


Thank-you so much for the opportunity to listen to the ALC!

Celestial Banquet by Roselle Lim was entertaining but ultimately fell a bit short for me. While the concept and premise are fantastic I thought the characters to be a bit dull and didn't feel connected to them much. The idea of a deadly cooking competition for the gods is fascinating and I really enjoyed that aspect. This one just wasn't my cup of tea, it's a great YA novel so it might appeal better to 13-18 year olds. (I do read a lot of YA and I enjoy a lot of them so the genre wasn't the issue.)

Celestial Banquet is an immersive, vibrant tale full of heart, heat, and high-stakes culinary chaos. Cai is a fierce, determined heroine who leaps off the page (and into your heart) as she fights not just for glory, but for her family and hometown. The worldbuilding is rich with Chinese and Southeast Asian influences, blending myth, magic, and food in the most delicious way possible. Every trial feels epic, emotional, and creative—think magical sea serpents, legendary ingredients, and gods who are as dangerous as they are divine. I loved the exploration of identity, loyalty, and the bittersweet power of dreams. A must-listen for fans of food fantasy, fierce girls, and mythical adventure.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#CelestialBanquet #NetGalley #YAFantasy #FoodFantasy #RoselleLim

Audiobook Rating: 4.25 ⭐
Narrated by Natalie Naudus (Dreamscape Media)
Review: The narrator's voice is rich and earthy. I found her tone to be quite comforting and expressive - the voices for all the characters were done really well, especially the male characters. And I have to say, I absolutely LOVED it when she sang in a chapter towards the end! I added a 0.25 to the rating purely on account of that. This is a rare instance where listening to the audiobook actually enhanced my enjoyment of the story, and made it feel more cozy and fun. I'm now curious to know whether she has released any songs! 😋

Book Rating: 3.25 ⭐
🥗⚔ A cozy foodie fantasy with deadly celestial trials! I loved the concept of a celestial cooking competition, and the characters were great fun. The food descriptions throughout the book were rich and delightful. I loved the scrolls at the starting of each chapter, capturing a facet of the history/lore of the world - it was an interesting and vibrant setting that felt quite fresh. I always find the culture, concepts and magic in eastern-inspired fantasy books to be quite creative.

I was quite happy to get both the e-arc and audiobook for this story through NetGalley.

What didn't work for me:
The back and forth romance with two love interests - Cai was simply too young and indecisive! I think this story could have done without such an emphasis on the romance, because there was a lot of fun potential for the world and setting to be explored better. Critical events in the story were overtaken and overshadowed by conversations around her romantic life, which felt silly or cheesy at times. Also, everyone in the story from the Gods to competitors to friends, were invested in which of the two love interests she would pick. 😂 Somehow, because of the audiobook and other positive elements of the story, I found it dramatically funny for the most part. (Otherwise there are far too many books I have dnf'ed on account of getting annoyed by such things 😂)

Overall, this was an enjoyable cozy read as an audiobook, and I had fun with it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complementary e-arc and audiobook of this story. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Celestial Banquet is a delicious, riveting YA fantasy with scrumptious food descriptions, tender romance, and a strong main character that hooked me from the first page.

'Celestial Banquet' is a young adult culinary fantasy.

First of all, the audiobook was enjoyable, with the narrator doing an amazing job of expressing excitement and interest. The production of the audiobook was also fairly well.

As for the story, the plot is unique but also feels familiar, with the quests being interesting and entertaining, and the food descriptions enjoyable. It was, in addition, filled with many details, like the story of the peninsula and the empress, as well as the whole mythology of the gods.

On the other hand, the romance was a big letdown. It didn't vibe well with the story, as the characters were supposedly trying to survive while coming up with interesting recipes for the gods, so the kisses and the romantic scenes were awkward and didn't make sense at the time that they were taking place. Furthermore, it was eye rolling how the love triangle was so intense and how everyone was interested in it, even outsiders.

The ending, final, was rushed.

This review is also posted on Goodreads and Storygraph

Actual rating 4.5

I’ve seen Roselle Lim’s books, but this is my first time reading one, and what an intro to her writing! This is such a good story with fantastic world building and so many delicious food descriptions. I love Cai and her love of food and the way it connects her to her Baba, even after his death. I also love the gods and their stories. One of my favorite elements of the book was definitely the excerpts from scrolls; it is one of my favorite ways to see world development and get to know more information. This wasn’t a terrible love triangle romance, though I don’t know how I feel about the conclusion. I think this may be a prime example of a time where polyamory should be the answer lol. But still, it was a very interesting story, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more in this world. Natalie Naudus is cementing herself as one of my favorite narrators, and when she sang, that just elevated the audio experience!

Read: May 27th - June 1st
Format: E-Book
Rating: No rating, DNF-ed @ 50

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this listening ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to try to finish this book. It's only about 7 hours, and I was at 50%, but that entire 50%, the book felt like a 2-star read to me, and I couldn't imagine the next half getting any better.

I don't know exactly where to pin my issues. Maybe the fact it's so quick paced? The plot had to keep moving forward, so I never really learned who anyone was in this book, but also, there's this focus on a love-triangle, so it feels like I should know the people involved more? Yet I don't. I only know the role they fulfill, nothing more. And there's so many names, which makes sense in this sort of situation, but some of those names should have weight, you know? Instead they feel like fodder for people to lose.

The only character I really cared about was Kama. I always love gods that don't let godhood make them lose their humanity and genuinely care about the people they're patron over.

The cooking scenes, which was what drew me in because godly cooking competition sounds awesome, were at least pretty decent. I think they'd have worked better for me if not for the other issue: the writing felt juvenile. And yes, I know this is a YA book, but I don't think YA book means the writing has to feel so young. Books can still be fast paced, teenage accessible, and all that without feeling as weightless as the writing in this did. That lack of meat and weight to the writing is what I think made it come across as juvenile.

Others seemed to really like this book, so it may just be a me thing. As always, I hope people can pick this up and love it because all books deserve someone to love them. I just am not the right person in this case.

An oriental fantasy deadly cooking competition???!!! Yes please!!! This was a very unique read. The story and characters were great. Love triangle, against all odds competition, spiteful and vengeful gods. What’s not to love? This was a great debut and the narrator being Natalie Naudus made it feel like this was part of the world of Daughter of the Moon Goddess. Perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tann & Molly X Chang.