Hello everyone! 💖 Welcome back to another ARC review.
Today’s review is about Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly, a new chef x influencer romance that screams Summer vibes.
Yes, Chef was advertised as The Bear meets It Happened One Summer, which was one of the reasons I was initially drawn in! I have only watched two seasons of The Bear (I worked in restaurants, and it was a little too real for me at the time for me to continue lol), but I still had a fun time with it. And It Happened One Summer was one of my favorite romances I read a few years ago.
Yes, Chef released on July 21, 2026, and will be available at most major book retailers. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited.
GENERAL INFO
Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly
Published on July 21, 2026
Genres: Romance, Workplace Romance
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
If you can’t take the heat…get out of the kitchen.
After a public meltdown in the dining room of one of Manhattan’s most elite restaurants, Chef Jack Hartman is back in his South Florida hometown. Angry, grieving, and saddled with the unwanted storefront his late mentor left him, his life is spinning out of control. And that’s before Poppy Winfield, the blond, bubbly, utterly infuriating daughter of his former boss, shows up at his dock.
Poppy needs to escape. From her disapproving family, her horrible ex-boyfriend, and her reputation as someone who has never taken anything seriously. But more than that, she wants to prove herself—and she has just the plan to do it. Unfortunately, that plan involves Jack Hartman, the most arrogant, prickly, intimidating man she’s ever had the pleasure of throwing a shrimp at.
She knows Jack is desperate to come back from his unceremonious firing, so she proposes a deal: working together to open a revamped version of his mentor’s restaurant. He’ll handle the menu, and she’ll use her skill as a social media influencer to sell the hell out of its grand opening. If she and Jack can make the restaurant a success, it’ll be an accomplishment no one can deny—and a ticket for them both to return to New York.
Jack is intrigued, but only on his terms: if Poppy’s going to work for him, she must learn the ropes of the entire business. Including how to cook. From him.
.
I am on an ARC roll this month, and this time, I actually finished a book before it was published (I posted a short review on Instagram earlier this week, so forgive me for being a little late with the extended version)!
Because I love chef romances, Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. The book I read right before picking this one up was a one-star read from my in-person book club, so I desperately needed something light, fun, and easy to fly through. Thankfully, this ended up being exactly what I needed.
Fun fact: I love reading chef and kitchen romances because I married a chef in real life. 💖 While he doesn’t cook professionally anymore, he worked as the head chef at the restaurant where I bartended for over four years, and before that, he cooked professionally for another six years.
I can’t cook at all, so in the first part of the book, when Poppy, the FMC, also couldn’t cook, I felt that in my SOUL. My husband does about 90% of the cooking in our house, and I’ve only started attempting actual meals that aren’t just spaghetti or grilled cheese over the last couple of years (TikTok recipes have been carrying me 😭😭).
Unlike Poppy, I haven’t discovered a love of cooking (I actually hate it lol), but I really enjoyed watching her relationship with food evolve throughout the story. At the beginning, I was a little worried she would be the stereotypical influencer character. Thankfully, it became obvious that there was a lot more depth to her. She was ambitious and willing to throw herself into something she knew absolutely nothing about. Watching her slowly gain confidence in the kitchen was one of my favorite parts of the book, and I appreciated that her growth felt earned instead of happening quickly.
I also really appreciated the ADHD representation. As a fellow ADHDer myself, there were several moments that hit way too close to home, along with a few scenes that genuinely made me laugh out loud because… same, girl. It was nice seeing those little daily struggles woven naturally into Poppy’s personality instead of feeling like they were just there for the sake of representation.
That said, I did feel like it became a little overdone at times. Specifically, the scene where they bonded over what ADHD medication they took felt a little awkward to me. I understand what the author was going for, but instead of feeling like a really meaningful connection, it felt more forced.
The grumpy x sunshine dynamic was also a lot of fun. Jack and Poppy mostly balanced each other well, and I liked that Reilly attempted to develop them individually before bringing them together.
And listen…There is one specific sex scene that caught me so off guard I almost spit out the food I was eating. I remember it viscerally because I literally started choking. It felt completely out of pocket compared to the rest of the book, but it was also kinda hot. Iykyk.
Also, there is a cat named Gator (automatic win), and Gator needed more page time 👀 Poppy immediately gained some love from me after she rescued Gator and eventually decided to adopt him. I would have done the same, much to my husband’s disappointment, who is allergic to cats and already has to live with one (I had the cat first, so….sorry!).
However, there were a couple of things that kept this from being a five-star read. The pacing dragged a little in the middle, and I didn’t always love the way Jack treated Poppy at the beginning of the story. There were several scenes where I was completely invested and absolutely swooning over them. Then there were other scenes where I found myself wondering why they even liked each other. Neither of those issues completely took me out of the book, though. They’re honestly pretty nitpicky complaints, especially considering how much fun I had reading it.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, I had a really fun time with this one, and I definitely plan on picking up a physical copy for my bookshelves. I have a feeling this is going to end up being one of a lot of readers’ favorite romances of the year. The characters are relatable, and the comparisons to The Bear are not too overbearing. I’m excited to see all of the positive reviews roll in. 💖
Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Those are all of my thoughts on Yes, Chef! Have you ever read a chef romance? How do you feel about them? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time, xx