ARC, 323 pages
Release Date: November 27,2018Published by: Disney- Hyperion
Read from: November 27-December 5, 2018Stand-aloneSource: TLATW: N/A
For fans of: Foodies, Contemporary Romance, Realistic Fiction, YATake two American teen chefs, add one heaping cup of Paris, toss in a pinch of romance, and stir. . . .
Rosie Radeke firmly believes that happiness can be found at the bottom of a mixing bowl. But she never expected that she, a random nobody from East Liberty, Ohio, would be accepted to celebrity chef Denis Laurent’s school in Paris, the most prestigious cooking program for teens in the entire world. Life in Paris, however, isn’t all cream puffs and crepes. Faced with a challenging curriculum and a nightmare professor, Rosie begins to doubt her dishes.
Henry Yi grew up in his dad’s restaurant in Chicago, and his lifelong love affair with food landed him a coveted spot in Chef Laurent’s school. He quickly connects with Rosie, but academic pressure from home and his jealousy over Rosie’s growing friendship with gorgeous bad-boy baker Bodie Tal makes Henry lash out and push his dream girl away.
Desperate to prove themselves, Rosie and Henry cook like never before while sparks fly between them. But as they reach their breaking points, they wonder whether they have what it takes to become real chefs.
Perfect for lovers of Chopped Teen Tournament and Kids Baking Championship, as well as anyone who dreams of a romantic trip to France, Love la Mode follows Rosie and Henry as they fall in love with food, with Paris, and ultimately, with each other.
*MY THOUGHTS*
After my love for Prince in Disguise last year, I was so ready to read this one! I was hoping this one would be just the same but set in Paris. And although it was very cute, I think my expectations were expecting another Prince and not letting Love be its own story.
“It was Dad who taught Henry to eat, and then to cook. Because you have to know how to eat before you can know how to cook.“pg. 3
Henry’s under alot of pressure from his mom. Rosie seems like the other head of household since her dad is gone. Both of them have taken solace in the kitchen. They go to a school in Paris run by a chef they both love. They struggle to stay on top of their grades for their academics, with their cooking with a professor who is terrible, and their feelings for each other.
“Henry had never seen her hair down before. It tumbled almost to her waist, curling softly, like a Disney princess.“pg. 113
Although this was cute, it wasn’t my favorite. I could have used more swoons. It seems like they spent most of the book mad at each other or in competition when they were could have been kissing. I didn’t need them to be together, but I just wanted more swooning or more dates that actually worked. When they finally did get to the swooning parts, it was only for the last 30 or so pages. It seemed like she was canoodling more with someone else.
“Math is easy. Medium rare is hard.“pg. 153
As for the characters, I really liked Henry but I didn’t care for Henry. He was under a lot of pressure, but he didn’t think that all his friends might be too and he kept blaming them for everything. It made me mad that he kept jumping to conclusions, but all people (no matter what age) do this. Especially when it comes to relationships. And because of this it made this book more realistic.
“Potatoes are never a problem.“pg. 233
Lastly, I hate that they changed the cover (and everyone else I’ve seen has been upset about this too, so why did they do it?!) because I thought the old one depicted this book more than the new one. I get that it may be more appealing than the cartoon-y one, but its just not as cute. Had they matched the cute in this one I would have been ok with the change.
“Let’s deal with the big issue first. Food is more important than love.” “Food is love..“pg. 278
It wasn’t Prince in Disguise, but it was really cute in its own way. It definitely made me hungry and craving all desserts, but it also made me crave Strohm’s words. I can’t wait to see what else she has in store.
Overall, I give this
EXTRA
The original cover looked like this
I didn't realize there was a cover change– and the new one is pretty bland. I mean it's cute to have the Eiffel Tower as a cone, bit there definitely could've been more going on besides that. I don't love the original one either because it looks like an adult cozy romance and not YA at all.
I've read one of this author's books and have been wanting to read more– I'm not really IN a romance feeling phase right now though, which is probably why I haven't. Sorry this one wasn't all the swooning you were hoping for 🙁