Romance

For Butter or Worse

For Butter or Worse

  • Downloads：3598
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-08-22 08:51:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Erin La Rosa
  • ISBN：1335506349
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Summary

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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Reviews

Leslie ，

Formulaic， trite， obvious， not a single surprise， fed into so many stereotypes and unoriginal。 The characters were cardboard， had little personality and were not at all endearing in any way that made me care about them or want them to have their HEA。 Took me many times if starting and stopping to get to he end。 Plus the whole reality TV “celebrity” trope is overdone already。 I had expected so much more。 I was disappointed。

Ana ，

This book was a 2。5 stars for me， I rounded up to be nice， and because it is a debut。 Romance， in general， is formulaic and I love that about it but in this book， was too forced into the formula。 The female character is unlikable， the male one is all over the place and there's absolutely no chemistry。 The author completely missed the memo on 'show， don't tell" because even when we get a little bit of show， she then explains everything to death。 We spend way too much time inside the characters' h This book was a 2。5 stars for me， I rounded up to be nice， and because it is a debut。 Romance， in general， is formulaic and I love that about it but in this book， was too forced into the formula。 The female character is unlikable， the male one is all over the place and there's absolutely no chemistry。 The author completely missed the memo on 'show， don't tell" because even when we get a little bit of show， she then explains everything to death。 We spend way too much time inside the characters' heads and the interactions are forced。 The whole 'bad moment' at the 80% mark was badly executed and just lame。 As was the whole social media grovel。 I think the story would have worked better as a Young Adult but it still needed a lot of polish and subtlety。 The steamy scenes are okay-ish but since there's no chemistry they are not awesome。 The book is a hallmark meets cooking show with a sprinkle of PG16， mixed badly。 。。。more

vanesa ，

2。5* stars。

Natalie ，

DNF on page 145 of 362 （40%）This past year， I’ve found myself DNFing more books than ever before。 I am done forcing myself through books that I’m not enjoying。 I just have too much on my TBR。Anyway…First off， this is not enemies to lovers。 It just isn’t。 Maybe it could have been， but the entire foundation for the hatred has happened before the start of the book。 Basically， it was told and not shown。 This also had one of my biggest pet peeves with enemies to lovers stories， and that is when the c DNF on page 145 of 362 （40%）This past year， I’ve found myself DNFing more books than ever before。 I am done forcing myself through books that I’m not enjoying。 I just have too much on my TBR。Anyway…First off， this is not enemies to lovers。 It just isn’t。 Maybe it could have been， but the entire foundation for the hatred has happened before the start of the book。 Basically， it was told and not shown。 This also had one of my biggest pet peeves with enemies to lovers stories， and that is when the character makes a big deal of talking about how much they hate the other character， but then spends most of their time thinking about how attractive that person is。 That happened a lot in this book and it was really annoying， not to mention totally diminished the already small enemies to lovers vibe that the book had going。 Leo…was not it。 He was a total mama’s boy。 （He calls his mother every day and they watch romantic comedies together while chatting to each other over the phone？ What？） His dialogue was not realistic for a man whatsoever either。 I actually read one of his lines aloud to my husband and he got tears in his eyes from laughing so hard。 But ultimately what killed it for me was the writing。 Lines like this:（After Nina sees Leo shirtless）”she did a double take。 If she’d had a mouthful of water， it would’ve been a spit take。 She stopped moving。 She couldn’t tell if she was horrified or mesmerized by the sight of his abs， which looked like a waffle iron， minus the syrup。 She’d imagined that underneath the starched and boring button-downs was a sack of white dinner plates in the shape of a human form。”Yeah。 I can’t do it。 Sorry。 。。。more

Laura Scribner ，

DNF at 20%。 Despite the phenomenal title and idea （romance and cooking shows！ Yay！）， it wasn’t good， and the narrator was awwwwful！ Don’t get this on audio！！

tia ，

like， look at that cover

Lovely Loveday ，

For Butter or Worse is a hilarious and heartfelt read that was such a fun fake dating romance， equally charming and steamy。 The characters are well-written with intriguing backstories。 I was drawn in from the beginning and could not put this down。

Maddie ，

3。5 starsit was fine。 predictable， trope-y， nothing new

Charlene ，

Erin La Rosa and her book， For Butter or Worse， is a great execution of the enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes。 Nina and Leo are both hosts of a reality cooking show。 They are mostly friendly on camera， but off camera they HATE each other。 They both have said mean things to each other， and hurt each others feelings。 A quick decision to quit the show ruins Nina's reputation and leaves Leo in a lurch。 Their publicist suggests a fake-dating scenario。 Initially， they are terrible together， and Erin La Rosa and her book， For Butter or Worse， is a great execution of the enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes。 Nina and Leo are both hosts of a reality cooking show。 They are mostly friendly on camera， but off camera they HATE each other。 They both have said mean things to each other， and hurt each others feelings。 A quick decision to quit the show ruins Nina's reputation and leaves Leo in a lurch。 Their publicist suggests a fake-dating scenario。 Initially， they are terrible together， and barely enjoy each other。 Of course， because this is a romance， they start to have feelings for each other， but don't realize that the other is no longer faking either。 Throw in some mental health discussions， harsh nicknames and internet trolls and you have a recipe for disaster。 How will this fake dating work out for Nina and Leo？I liked watching these two develop friendship and feelings for each other。 It was so interesting to see them move from a place of hating spending any time with each other， to realizing that the other person was someone that made them laugh and happy。 This book also explores how women and men are treated so differently in different fields and how often similar behaviours and things that men and women do are labelled differently （eg: a man may be labelled assertive， a woman may be labelled nasty）。 I also feel like Leo actually learned in this book that some of the things that he was saying was just plain wrong。 Nina did frustrate me with the "no second chances" dialogue when we went through the main conflict in this book， especially when we know this is a romance and there will be a happily ever after some how。 This was a good first fiction novel for Erin La Rosa and I really enjoyed it。 I look forward to checking out her books in the future！ 。。。more

Kat ，

3。5 ✨ the writing was good but the story was fairly predictable。

Saurya Y-Khuon ，

FBOW is not your usual summer romance: it's the perfect， light， funny， sweet， beautiful romance you want to read all year long。 Here's why:One of my first thoughts was "Oh my gosh， it's page 5 and we already have a lot of ENEMIES in love"。 If you know me， you know this is my favorite trope and Erin gave me everything I was hoping for - and more！ 😍It's the favorite of the year along with The Love Hypothesis - which was a huge favorite and not just for me。 I hope that tells you how much I loved it FBOW is not your usual summer romance: it's the perfect， light， funny， sweet， beautiful romance you want to read all year long。 Here's why:One of my first thoughts was "Oh my gosh， it's page 5 and we already have a lot of ENEMIES in love"。 If you know me， you know this is my favorite trope and Erin gave me everything I was hoping for - and more！ 😍It's the favorite of the year along with The Love Hypothesis - which was a huge favorite and not just for me。 I hope that tells you how much I loved it。 Foodies， cooking competitions， workplace romance， slow-burn in LA : this is my dream romance！ 🌅Setting this romance in the workplace obviously made room for some hilarious and salty banter。 Nina is this famous chef， known for her brutal honesty and Leo is this charming and handsome Italian restaurant owner。 They have to co-host a cooking show and it doesn't end well。。。 yet。 But opposites attract！ From the very beginning， I was head over heels for Nina and Leo - the ultimate foodie power couple 👩‍❤️‍👨🧈 Their perspectives are so complementary， they both have incredible personalities， amazing careers and successes， but also a lot of mental issues to deal with。 I really enjoyed seeing more of these contemporary issues: sexism， anxiety， body shaming， cyber bullying， mental health。。。 It's never fun， but you know it's out there somewhere and you may have faced it before - so it was great to have a spotlight on it 👏The "guy who falls first" is also a trope I love， and I laughed every time Leo had to regain his composure and remind himself to stop looking at or thinking about Nina。 There is longing， fear and expectation in this relationship， which makes it all the more beautiful and realistic 🥰 It's like a modern Pride and Prejudice where the MCs have to overcome their own trials to fully accept themselves and open up to someone else。 It's a beautiful journey about being yourself and loving yourself as you are！ And girls， the spice ！ You know I'm signing off on the spice 😂 Big bonus for the secondary characters who have so much potential and brought more life and light to the story。 Absolutely adorable and hilarious， a really important place is given to friends and family which I loved and gave the book even more depth。 I laughed out loud more than once。 I NEVER laugh out loud。Erin did such an amazing job that I couldn't put down FBOFW。 I could picture each scene very easily as if I were watching a movie and would definitely pay a lot of money to see it live。 It has earned its place on my comfort reading shelf and Erin rightfully won a place in my cheesy heart as auto-buy author。 I won't shut up about this book and I feel a tiny bit sorry for you 🤷🏻‍♀️ 。。。more

Me ，

I was excited to read this book but it read to much like a cliché。 She's portrayed as opinionated and fans dislike her he's the lovable guy thats attractive。。。 DNF I was excited to read this book but it read to much like a cliché。 She's portrayed as opinionated and fans dislike her he's the lovable guy thats attractive。。。 DNF 。。。more

Lauren ，

This was a really enjoyable read！ I loved how it incorporated a show similar to Great British Bake-Out and different types of restaurants。 I thought Leo certainly was sexist at times， but I really liked the way the author handled it。 So many times men don’t even realize how women are treated that they don’t think too deeply about comments they make。 It certainly is enemies to lovers because of this （with fake dating thrown in） but the enemies part is explained and worked through。 I loved the anx This was a really enjoyable read！ I loved how it incorporated a show similar to Great British Bake-Out and different types of restaurants。 I thought Leo certainly was sexist at times， but I really liked the way the author handled it。 So many times men don’t even realize how women are treated that they don’t think too deeply about comments they make。 It certainly is enemies to lovers because of this （with fake dating thrown in） but the enemies part is explained and worked through。 I loved the anxiety representation along with how the relationship matured。 Had a decent amount of spice （3/5🌶） and the chemistry really built well between Nina and Leo。 Really recommend reading this！ 。。。more

Laura ，

I thought For Butter or Worse was fine。 I love any romance that revolves around food， but this one fell a bit short for me。 Nina and Leo are cohosts on a popular reality competition show， but do not get along。 When a blow up happens and Nina quits on air， they decide to fake date to repair their reputations。 I think my biggest qualm with this book was the flimsy premise。 Leo， although I grew to really like him， was the biggest jerk to Nina at the beginning of this book。 I had a hard time coming I thought For Butter or Worse was fine。 I love any romance that revolves around food， but this one fell a bit short for me。 Nina and Leo are cohosts on a popular reality competition show， but do not get along。 When a blow up happens and Nina quits on air， they decide to fake date to repair their reputations。 I think my biggest qualm with this book was the flimsy premise。 Leo， although I grew to really like him， was the biggest jerk to Nina at the beginning of this book。 I had a hard time coming back from that。 When Leo and Nina are on page together， I was good with their relationship。 Unfortunately， so much of the book was filled with over the top gestures and dramatic misunderstandings， and those didn't do anything for me。 I don't know if this was a case of me coming off of a 5 star stellar book and everything else suffering in comparison， but I was hoping for more from this one。 It seems to be fairly well received， so hopefully you'll enjoy it more than I did。 。。。more

Jensyn Burchett ，

I enjoyed this one for the most part， but it dragged on too much at the end。

Amanda ，

3* Nina and Leo are enemies。 For 3 years they worked together as judges on a cooking show and do not get along and can't really be in the same room without insulting each other。 Nina quits， on live TV， after one last insult from Leo， that he knew he shouldn't have said。 So they should just never see or talk to each other again， right？ No， because social media reasons they need to。。。 fake date to 。。。 save both of their businesses？ Their fake dating does bring business to both their restaurants， b 3* Nina and Leo are enemies。 For 3 years they worked together as judges on a cooking show and do not get along and can't really be in the same room without insulting each other。 Nina quits， on live TV， after one last insult from Leo， that he knew he shouldn't have said。 So they should just never see or talk to each other again， right？ No， because social media reasons they need to。。。 fake date to 。。。 save both of their businesses？ Their fake dating does bring business to both their restaurants， but I don't see how this is a viable long term option unless being part of the media circus is a long term plan， when both characters deal with mental health issues made worse by social media。 These are 2 insecure， hot people， attracted to each other but neither willing to put themselves out there and both accidentally or on purpose say dumb things to keep the other away。 This is a sort of Pride & Prejudice， she's the fancy James Beard award chef， he's the business guy for a family Italian chain。 They both think the worst of each other， and then aren't willing to talk to each other at the same time。 I did like some of the battle against the patriarchy here， Leo acknowledging being part of the problem。 He was big on consent too， if that's your jam。 Both characters have a love of food。 Nina loving to cook， and her memories cooking with her mom。 Leo's love for his family restaurant and wanting to be successful for his family。 They come to respect the other's side of the businessWhy the details about her friend Jasmine's relationship with her parents？ This little side story was inserted but didn't seem to have any purpose to the main character。 Good debut novel， the author wrote 2 non-fiction books previously。 。。。more

Dorothy ，

Foodie romances have a special place in my heart。 This one in particular I enjoyed， but didn't fall in love with。I really think Nina was a badass， her passion for cooking and her skills are top notch。 Sometimes that doesn't translate well with her critiques giving her a bad image。 The way she was villanized in her social media can be triggering for some people， but it absolutely happens。 I like that this book tackled that and sexism in the cooking industry。Leo can be sweet， but honestly I found Foodie romances have a special place in my heart。 This one in particular I enjoyed， but didn't fall in love with。I really think Nina was a badass， her passion for cooking and her skills are top notch。 Sometimes that doesn't translate well with her critiques giving her a bad image。 The way she was villanized in her social media can be triggering for some people， but it absolutely happens。 I like that this book tackled that and sexism in the cooking industry。Leo can be sweet， but honestly I found him to be immature。 Yes， he does grow throughout the book， realizes his own actions， but it still didn't completely win me over。 On the bright side， he does have anxiety and panic attacks for added mental health representation， and I feel like that aspect of his personality was handled well。 When it comes to the actual enemies to lovers romance， the romance was。。。 good and that's about it。 There was some tension， there was some angst， but I wasn't brimming with excitement wanting to consume this story。 I also feel like the addition of the scenes with Nina's ex really made the third part of the story convoluted and unnecessarily frustrating。And on top of that I feel like the miscommunication trope was just too overdone。 The ways each other's words were being misinterpreted by the other was super frustrating because it was happening too much for my tastes。 I really prefer when adult romances act more like adults and really sit down and talk。 Finally， the ending was just shy of satisfying。 All together， a fun read but not a fave。*There are better foodie romances out there I'm sure， specifically the one that I just finished "A Proposal They Can't Refuse" which also has an enemies to lovers， close familiar relationships， witty， romance and steaminess and representation all rolled into one。 。。。more

wickedreads Ashley ，

We love growth 👏🏻。 we love needing to grow as people instead of falling right back into a flawed relationship without making changes 👏🏻。 we love boundaries and respecting peoples boundaries 👏🏻。 and we 👏🏻 love 👏🏻 therapy 👏🏻 I will say this book has been promoted as being incredibly spicy because the author said on a spice scale of 1 - 10 it’s a 69。 It’s not that spicy。 The joke is that they do 69。

Foram ，

[3。5/5] a fun read and enjoyable romance。 didn't like the conflict and resolution at the end but you win some and you lose some i guess。 [3。5/5] a fun read and enjoyable romance。 didn't like the conflict and resolution at the end but you win some and you lose some i guess。 。。。more

Tamarae ，

I started reading this novel and really enjoy the tropes in the novel so I was excited to read all about Nina and Leo's enemy-ship。 And I enjoy anything food related。 This novel didn't disappoint。 Were there things I would prefer to have seen in the novel？ Sure。 But nothing was missing enough to make the experience a miss or even a near miss for me。 The plot was solid， the characters wonderful on their own and together。 I was happy to see such a great novel with such a good storyline。A must read I started reading this novel and really enjoy the tropes in the novel so I was excited to read all about Nina and Leo's enemy-ship。 And I enjoy anything food related。 This novel didn't disappoint。 Were there things I would prefer to have seen in the novel？ Sure。 But nothing was missing enough to make the experience a miss or even a near miss for me。 The plot was solid， the characters wonderful on their own and together。 I was happy to see such a great novel with such a good storyline。A must read summer romance if you enjoy the enemies to lovers romance！ 。。。more

Bethany ，

dnf @ Chapter 6I so wanted to love this one - I love both foodie and reality tv romances so this should've been right up my alley。 Unfortunately， I felt that the characters were just childish， there was absolutely no reason given for why they didn't like each other， and I just didn't really understand a lot of what was going on - it almost felt like the book skipped sentences because I do not know how we got from point A to point B。 dnf @ Chapter 6I so wanted to love this one - I love both foodie and reality tv romances so this should've been right up my alley。 Unfortunately， I felt that the characters were just childish， there was absolutely no reason given for why they didn't like each other， and I just didn't really understand a lot of what was going on - it almost felt like the book skipped sentences because I do not know how we got from point A to point B。 。。。more

Swati Pant ，

2。5 stars

Ash ☼ ，

“Cheesy Romance Book Club” August Book 1 pick。I’m really easy to please when it comes to books， truly， I am。 And I love cheesy， cringey romance just as much as the next person。 This was pitched to me as Great British Bake-Off meets The Hating Game with the fake dating trope， that everybody knows I ADORE。 But like。。…homeboy sucks？ I was glad to see that he went to therapy to work on himself， yadda yadda， but why would she date him after what he did？ Idk man， just wasn’t for me。

Rachel ，

I wasn't able to finish this one！ I'm a sucker for novels that combine romance and food， but this unfortunately just seemed too much like a retread of similar novels。 The enemies-to-lovers trope for Nina and Leo didn't seem grounded in any real specificity， and even the descriptions of the food didn't go very deep。 I had hopes I would enjoy this， but it just wasn't for me。**Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an h I wasn't able to finish this one！ I'm a sucker for novels that combine romance and food， but this unfortunately just seemed too much like a retread of similar novels。 The enemies-to-lovers trope for Nina and Leo didn't seem grounded in any real specificity， and even the descriptions of the food didn't go very deep。 I had hopes I would enjoy this， but it just wasn't for me。**Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。** 。。。more

Tania ，

Bucha cuando leí la reseña estaba super feliz porque la idea del libro me encanto pero al leerlo :（ no logre conecta con Nina ni Leo y la única razón por la cual termine este libro fue porque la verdad no me gusta dejar los libros a media。

Sheena ☆ Book Sheenanigans ，

。。。more

Judy ，

meh the characters weren’t that interesting

Crystal P ，

Enemies to Lovers is not my favorite trope， but I can enjoy it when it is done well…。 Erin La Rosa did it well！We may not all have had an enemy become a lover but I think we can relate to that one person that tends to bring out the worst in us。 Leo and Nina brought the worst out in each other no matter how much they tried to fight it。 Their enemy moments will have you cringing for the both of them。 The dual point of view softens it by showing you all these two are shouldering as they try to work Enemies to Lovers is not my favorite trope， but I can enjoy it when it is done well…。 Erin La Rosa did it well！We may not all have had an enemy become a lover but I think we can relate to that one person that tends to bring out the worst in us。 Leo and Nina brought the worst out in each other no matter how much they tried to fight it。 Their enemy moments will have you cringing for the both of them。 The dual point of view softens it by showing you all these two are shouldering as they try to work together with someone that takes them 0 to exasperated in 5。2 seconds。This romance may be enemy to lovers， but it is accompanied by a large dose of love-yourself-first。 I don’t know if that is a trope per se， but it is wonderful when the author can blend the romance in between self-discover。 In this book it is more self-acceptance。 Leo and Nina pushed buttons that were needing pushed - they were repressing their true selves and their friction served to lay a lot bare。The book follows the individual journeys of these two as the enemies-to-lovers trope as well fake relationship trope plays out。 Big topics， sensitive topics are dealt with and handled with care。 While handled with care， things such as mental health and sexism are not swept under the rug but recognized and addressed！ I want Gavin’s story…。 And I definitely need the interspecies friendship blog in my life！ 。。。more

Shabnam ，

Indeed a toxic couple and sooo much potential

trinaty ，

Truly can't decide if this is a 1。5 or a 2 star read。 As a self-proclaimed culinary romance connoisseur， this one fell flat for me。 The characters were rather annoying， the "enemies to lovers" trope was more like Leo being a weird prick for whatever reason and Nina forgiving him for whatever reason， and the spicy scenes made me cringe。 There are more words than "shaft"， I promise。 I found myself skimming towards the end， the reconciliation becoming tacky and cliché， but not in the cute rom-com w Truly can't decide if this is a 1。5 or a 2 star read。 As a self-proclaimed culinary romance connoisseur， this one fell flat for me。 The characters were rather annoying， the "enemies to lovers" trope was more like Leo being a weird prick for whatever reason and Nina forgiving him for whatever reason， and the spicy scenes made me cringe。 There are more words than "shaft"， I promise。 I found myself skimming towards the end， the reconciliation becoming tacky and cliché， but not in the cute rom-com way， more in the second-hand-embarrassment way， the epilogue being the final nail in the coffin。 All is to say I was disappointed with this。 The cover art is beautiful and I was intrigued for the first half of the book， but the second half just didn't hold up for me， unfortunately :/ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=For Butter or Worse

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=For Butter or Worse&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,For Butter or Worse&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0