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headinthepages's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Grief, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
dododenise's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc!
I ended up going through this book feeling pretty neutral about it. The biggest problem was that I went into this book with wrong expectations. I expected a sweet romance. The descriptions sells it as such and the cover definitely made me expect me something very sweet. However, there was a lot of tension throughout most of the story.
The wrong expectations made me tumble head first into some tropes I really don't like: Love triangles, second chance romance and miscommunication.
Shireen has a tense relationship with almost everyone around her. She struggles heavily with expressing what she is thinking and feeling and so do the other character. I couldn't enjoy any of her interactions with other characters, which to me in a romance book is essential. But to be honest, I'm not even sure I would say this was a romance. This book was about Shireen and her road through the baking show and the romantic bits were just a part of that. Because there was so much bad tension between the characters, the vibe for a romantic scene was not set. But also her friendship with Fatima did not convince me.
Of course I expected the book to tackle issues of fatphobia and racism. And I really liked the way this book handled it. Shireen was a great narrator for the messages the book wanted to convey.
I do not think this was a bad book. I think this could be a great book for many people. However, I do not think this was the right book for me. The balance of what the story focused on did not work for me, add to that the tropes I do not like, it just wasn't the right experience. I do have to say, this book made me very hungry and I want t0 try all the Bengali dishes mentioned.
The narrator was fine. The enthusiasm and intonations were a little wrong sometimes, that did throw me off. I really enjoyed the accents. I definitely would have messed that up when I read it myself. Especially hearing "Gordon Ramsay" with a heavy Irish accent was amusing. Not to mention all the names, both Bengali and Irish, that I would not know how to pronounce.
I ended up going through this book feeling pretty neutral about it. The biggest problem was that I went into this book with wrong expectations. I expected a sweet romance. The descriptions sells it as such and the cover definitely made me expect me something very sweet. However, there was a lot of tension throughout most of the story.
The wrong expectations made me tumble head first into some tropes I really don't like: Love triangles, second chance romance and miscommunication.
Shireen has a tense relationship with almost everyone around her. She struggles heavily with expressing what she is thinking and feeling and so do the other character. I couldn't enjoy any of her interactions with other characters, which to me in a romance book is essential. But to be honest, I'm not even sure I would say this was a romance. This book was about Shireen and her road through the baking show and the romantic bits were just a part of that. Because there was so much bad tension between the characters, the vibe for a romantic scene was not set. But also her friendship with Fatima did not convince me.
Of course I expected the book to tackle issues of fatphobia and racism. And I really liked the way this book handled it. Shireen was a great narrator for the messages the book wanted to convey.
I do not think this was a bad book. I think this could be a great book for many people. However, I do not think this was the right book for me. The balance of what the story focused on did not work for me, add to that the tropes I do not like, it just wasn't the right experience. I do have to say, this book made me very hungry and I want t0 try all the Bengali dishes mentioned.
The narrator was fine. The enthusiasm and intonations were a little wrong sometimes, that did throw me off. I really enjoyed the accents. I definitely would have messed that up when I read it myself. Especially hearing "Gordon Ramsay" with a heavy Irish accent was amusing. Not to mention all the names, both Bengali and Irish, that I would not know how to pronounce.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Fatphobia, and Racism
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
Minor: Racial slurs
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