tl;dr rivals to lovers but set at buzzfeed tasty
Premise
This summer, Reese Camden is trading sweet tea and Southern hospitality for cold brew and crisp coastal air. She's landed her dream marketing internship at Friends of Flavor, a wildly popular cooking channel in Seattle. The only problem? Benny Beneventi, the relentlessly charming, backwards-baseball-cap-wearing culinary intern--and her main competition for the fall job.
Reese's plan to keep work a No Feelings Zone crumbles like a day-old muffin when she and Benny are thrown together for a video shoot that goes viral, making them the internet's newest ship. Audiences are hungry for more, and their bosses at Friends of Flavor are happy to deliver. Soon Reese and Benny are in an all-out food war, churning homemade ice cream, twisting soft pretzels, breaking eggs in an omelet showdown--while hundreds of thousands of viewers watch.
Reese can't deny the chemistry between her and Benny. But the more their rivalry heats up, the harder it is to keep love on the back burner...
Rating
5/5 stars
Review
Read this book if you love:
Rivals to lovers !!
FOOD (this is basically set at buzzfeed tasty)
Themes & discussion of feminism
Witty banter, lots of tension, and very cute romantic moments
Love interests with puppy energy
Love From Scratch is a feminist rivals to lovers novel that absolutely stole my heart. It follows Reese and Benny, two competing interns on an online culinary network (again,, basically buzzfeed tasty). She and Benny are thrown together for a video shoot that goes viral, making them the internet's newest ship. Audiences are hungry for more, and their bosses at Friends of Flavor are happy to deliver. Soon Reese and Benny are in an all-out food war — two interns competing for the same fall internship. But it might be more than rivalry between these two…
I completely devoured this book — the plot centered around Reese and Benny’s show on the network, and it was just so fun to watch them cook up different concoctions, with tension-filled banter and romantic chemistry along the way.
The romance in this book is so wholesome and sweet, with Reese being strong-willed, witty, and clever and Benny being charming, goofy, and teensy bit cocky lol. Benny is also the most perceptive boy that did such a good job of being in touch with his emotions and being upfront with Reese about his feelings for her. It made me so happy how he always wanted to support Reese and the way the two of them were able to get vulnerable with each other. Seeing them get to know each other and work their way through obstacles made my heart unbelievably happy. Not to mention the little wholesome moments between them that made me swoon. CUTE.
Incomplete list of romantic moments that made me feel,,, very very lonely:
Their nicknames for each other (and never using each others’ real names)
Her wearing his flannel
“i’d listen to you talk like that every day if you let me”
The “put your hand against the wall when they’re leaning back against it” move asljfasj
The biggest theme in this book was feminism, and I liked the way the book handled it. The main character, Reese, faces a lot of misogyny from her bosses, online viewers, and people from her hometown — people tell her she should “smile more” and be more like Benny, people think she’s promiscuous based on false rumors started by a popular guy, people only notice her body instead of what she delivers in substance. Reese learns how stop letting others dictate her self-worth (living to please herself and not others) and take a stand against this misogyny.
Something I really appreciated was one of the characters pointing out the increased discrimination that people in marginalized communities (POC, queer people) experience. This is especially important because Reese is white and cishet, so she was able to recognize her privilege.
I also liked the realistic approach the book took when portraying the world. There were some bigots in the book, and it wasn’t like they completely let go of their bigotry and everything was sunshine and rainbows. Even though these people still weren’t the best, the book still illustrated some of the positive change that went on. Good resolution, but also no sugarcoating.
Other Info
Standalone (releases April 5, 2022 - thank you to Random House Children's and NetGalley for an e-ARC!)
14+
CW: misogyny, slut shaming, online harassment (hate comments), racism & homophobia (mentioned/described)
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Scratch-Kaitlyn-Hill/dp/0593379160
Would I Recommend?
Yes!
Similar Books
Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon (similar-ish vibes and also rivals to lovers)