Devi Nair
🎧 Listened in audio 📢 Narrated by Emma Johnson ⏱ Duration: 8 hours 🏷️ Publisher: ECW Press 💘 Genre: Romance ✨ Inspired by EVER AFTER (Romance Book Festival by TIFA)
I’ll be honest: this one came with a lot of goodwill. I first noticed Off Menu back in October at the EVER AFTER Romance Book Festival by TIFA, where Amy Rosen was an absolute delight to listen to. Add in the culinary angle, and this immediately went onto my hold list. So when it finally became available at the library, I hit play with high hopes and an appetite for something cozy, funny, and food-filled. For a while, it worked.
Ruthie’s voice is breezy and likable. She starts off super relatable with her grandmother's life lessons and that inheritance push to chase passion. The diary-style entries give it a fun, intimate Bridget Jones feel, and the friendship with Trish and Lilly is warm and supportive.
But then the romance takes a turn I couldn't stomach. Jeff is attached, and the whole ex-fling Dean + new crush triangle setup just felt too messy for me. Affairs and complicated love shapes? Hard pass. I draw the line at drama that involves betrayal or moral gray zones in relationships. I made it to about 55%, but the emotional math just wasn’t mathing for me. Too many crossed lines, too many “technically but not really” justifications, and not enough clean emotional ground.
It’s got heart, humor, and a few genuinely tasty moments (the cooking scenes sparkle), but for me, the messy relationship dynamics overpowered what started as a sweet premise.
Would I recommend it? This one’s a personal taste DNF, not a declaration that the book doesn’t work. If you enjoy messy, morally gray romances with overlapping feelings and complicated relationship dynamics, Off Menu might absolutely be your thing, especially if you love culinary school settings and fast-paced rom-com energy. For me, though? I prefer my romance a little cleaner and my emotional lines clearly drawn. Triangles, quadrangles, or any other shapes belong in geometry class, not in my fictional relationships.
Spice Notes! Are you okay with love triangles in your romances, or do they send you running for the next clean read on your list? Let’s talk complicated cravings in the comments 🍽️💔
Originally posted at www.goodreads.com.
🎧 Listened in audio 📢 Narrated by Emma Johnson ⏱ Duration: 8 hours 🏷️ Publisher: ECW Press 💘 Genre: Romance ✨ Inspired by EVER AFTER (Romance Book Festival by TIFA)
I’ll be honest: this one came with a lot of goodwill. I first noticed Off Menu back in October at the EVER AFTER Romance Book Festival by TIFA, where Amy Rosen was an absolute delight to listen to. Add in the culinary angle, and this immediately went onto my hold list. So when it finally became available at the library, I hit play with high hopes and an appetite for something cozy, funny, and food-filled. For a while, it worked.
Ruthie’s voice is breezy and likable. She starts off super relatable with her grandmother's life lessons and that inheritance push to chase passion. The diary-style entries give it a fun, intimate Bridget Jones feel, and the friendship with Trish and Lilly is warm and supportive.
But then the romance takes a turn I couldn't stomach. Jeff is attached, and the whole ex-fling Dean + new crush triangle setup just felt too messy for me. Affairs and complicated love shapes? Hard pass. I draw the line at drama that involves betrayal or moral gray zones in relationships. I made it to about 55%, but the emotional math just wasn’t mathing for me. Too many crossed lines, too many “technically but not really” justifications, and not enough clean emotional ground.
It’s got heart, humor, and a few genuinely tasty moments (the cooking scenes sparkle), but for me, the messy relationship dynamics overpowered what started as a sweet premise.
Would I recommend it? This one’s a personal taste DNF, not a declaration that the book doesn’t work. If you enjoy messy, morally gray romances with overlapping feelings and complicated relationship dynamics, Off Menu might absolutely be your thing, especially if you love culinary school settings and fast-paced rom-com energy. For me, though? I prefer my romance a little cleaner and my emotional lines clearly drawn. Triangles, quadrangles, or any other shapes belong in geometry class, not in my fictional relationships.
Spice Notes! Are you okay with love triangles in your romances, or do they send you running for the next clean read on your list? Let’s talk complicated cravings in the comments 🍽️💔
Originally posted at www.goodreads.com.