When Alma waitlists Rubi’s application, Rubi will need to be distraction-free to make the grade and keep her parents—who have wanted this for her for years—from finding out. Which means falling for her cute surfer-slash-math tutor, Ryan, definitely won’t work. And neither will breaking her mother’s ban on baking—her parents didn’t leave Cuba so she could bake just like them.
But some recipes are begging to be tampered with.
When the First Annual Bake Off comes to town, Rubi’s passion for baking goes from subtle simmer to full boil. Add to the mix her crush on Ryan may be turning into a full-fledged relationship and Rubi’s life is suddenly so different from what it was. She’s not sure if she has what it takes to win the Bake Off, or where the relationship with Ryan is going, but there’s only one way to find out—even if it means going against her parents’ priorities.
Now Rubi must differentiate between the responsibility of unfulfilled dreams she holds and finding the path she’s meant for.
A joyful novel of first romance, new possibilities, and the chance to define yourself, Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success will find its way into your heart. (Pub Date: May 16 2023)
Rubi is certain she's in Alma, the university her mother has always dreamed of her attending, she's even argued with mean girl from debate club of how capable she is, she is even undergoing a Ban on Baking, her favorite activity of all. Then, a letter arrives telling her she'd been wait-listed. At the same time she is accepted into a baking contest. Never her two lives have been so tested. Can she make into Alma but still go for her own dreams?
3.5, rounded up.
There is a lot that can be discussed in a book club here, it was my first thought as I read. I think Rubi's dilemma is well presented. Usually, you'll have a kid who definitely doesn't want to follow the path their parents set for them. It's not Rubi's case. And she works hard to be one day the lawyer her mother dreams her to be. Plus, she is very good at it. Her case is that if she could, she wanted both worlds. And why can't she?
We also have a romance going on, but the author goes straight to the point here. As a fan of romances, I would have wished for it to develop more, as we had err, the ingredients for a very delicious courting period. It's unfortunate, but she used this as a chance to show a healthy and cute romance, which is a bonus at least.
As for the character, I think Rubi needs to be strong to deal with what she needs to deal with, but she's not one I could relate so easily because of that. She is, perhaps, a little spoiled. I do think she is hard-working, that much the book proved, but maybe her conflicts came from an important place but exploded as tiny problems. What if she can't get into an Ivy League, you know? I don't want her suffering poverty, nor anything, we're all into the YA's for the safe read it grants us, but considering her family's reality, I think she needed a better problem to overcome and show us she did grow. Especially if the author makes it clear her focus isn't romance but coming of age and family. In the end, did Rubi really grow? That's the question that remained in me.
It's still a good YA, above average, it has fun moments (and great puns), good characters, a solid base, so I do recommend it, especially to fans of ownvoices, and will be watching for this writer's next books.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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