ARC Review: For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa

Genre ~ contemporary romance

Tropes ~ slow burn ~ fake dating ~ enemies to lovers ~ celebrity romance

Release date ~ July 26, 2022

POV ~ dual ~ 3rd

Page count ~ 360

Audio length ~ 10 hours 20 minutes

My rating ~ 3.75⭐

My review:

I am a big fan of butter and cooking competitions, so I just had to read this one.

This was a cute slow burn, fake dating, enemies to lovers celebrity romance for Nina and Leo. It’s told in dual 3rd person. Both need the positive attention that dating each other would bring for their careers. Nina is discriminated against and receives a bunch of negative feedback on social media. Leo suffers from anxiety, which I found well written. It was fun reading their banter and their growth as individuals and as a couple.

Overall, a solid debut. I’d be delighted to read more from this author.

I was able to listen to a final copy that was narrated by Mela Lee for 10 hours and 20 minutes, easy to listen to at 2.5x. She did a lovely job, but I do wish there was a male narrator for Leo’s POV.

*Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Erin La Rosa and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

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They go together like water and oil…

All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she’s had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene.
Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.

Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It’s part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.

To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.

Now all they have to do is play along, without killing each other…and without catching feelings. Easy as artisanal shepherd’s pie. Right? 

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