About the Book
Two restaurant critics learn their opposing tastes might make for a five-star relationship in the next foodie romantic comedy from the author of Sadie on a Plate.
By day, Julie Zimmerman works as an executive assistant. After hours, she’s @JulieZeeEatsNYC, a social media restaurant reviewer with over fifty thousand followers. As much as she loves her self-employed side gig, what Julie really wants is to be a critic at a major newspaper, like the New York Scroll. The only thing worse than the Scroll’s rejection of her application is the fact that smarmy, social-media-averse society boy Bennett Richard Macalester Wright snagged her dream job.
While at the Central Park Food Festival, Julie confronts the annoyingly handsome Bennett about his outdated opinions on social media and posts the resulting video footage. Julie’s follower count soars—and so does the Scroll’s. Julie and Bennett grudgingly agree to partner up for a few reviews to further their buzz. Online buzz, obviously.
Over tapas, burgers, and more, Julie and Bennett connect over their shared love of food. But when the competitive fire between them turns extra spicy, they’ll have to decide how much heat their relationship can take.
My Review
There was a lot about this book that made me say yes to reviewing it – I’m a sucker for foodie novels, I enjoy books set in NYC, and with our main character being a social media influencer (as am I) I was curious to get her take on being a food reviewer. I will say Julie didn’t give off the best first impression, and she could get quite judgmental quickly along the way. While I appreciate realism in characters and someone who is perfect all the time isn’t enjoyable to read about, I was rooting for Julie to change her ways and ease up a bit as the story progressed. I think it’s so interesting that more and more books these days are featuring social media influencers – something that was not the case when I was first starting as a book blogger in 2009 – and I always find it fun to understand the ups and downs of this career through the characters. I could understand Julie’s frustrations at being passed up for being a food critic at a major newspaper for someone more “traditional” and was curious to see how her and Bennett pairing up to create content together would go.
The romance wasn’t a super strong part of the novel for me, which I personally don’t mind. I’m not the biggest romance reader and tend to be drawn more toward character development, which I thought Julie started to show strides in, especially after her epic meltdown dealing with boss’ daughter. That scene was cringe-worthy for Julie, but I think the start of her personal growth, which was needed to tie everything together. The food scenes will have your mouth-watering and the secondary cast I also thought was strong. Overall a fun foodie book with a side dish of romance.
4 stars
