Every Rose

Taste of Port Andrea #5

by Lily Seabrooke

All Misha’s ever wanted is to get rid of Zoe—so what happens when the world pushes them onto the same side?


The pivotal moment in Misha’s career is here and once again, it’s Zoe Archer who’s in her way.

After taking over luxury restaurant Rose Bloom while the owner is abroad, Misha’s skill running a restaurant is tested when Port Andrea’s most infamous cutthroat restauranteur Persephone Jacobs opens a competing restaurant directly across from her and declares war on Rose Bloom.

And worse? The competition is headed by her long-time rival, Zoe Archer.

Zoe is willing to do whatever it takes to get Misha out of Port Andrea—even working with the feared and dreaded Dragon Queen, Persephone Jacobs. But when Jacobs’s methods get too underhanded, Zoe’s forced to face the unthinkable:

Maybe she needs to work with the person she hates the most.



Every Rose is a 100,000-word enemies-to-lovers romance in the Taste of Port Andrea collection, an unordered collection of culinary romances set in the fictional city of Port Andrea. Features gratuitous boldfaced enemies-to-lovers dynamics, restaurant subterfuge, teaming up with your worst enemy to fight a bigger enemy, and Flora gently pointing out the two are actually in love and just bad at realizing it. Content warnings for on-page sex, mentions of an abusive and grooming past relationship, Persephone Jacobs taking great joy in being evil, Flora being charmingly hapless, sex in a restaurant kitchen, and an eleven-inch height difference that the taller one lords over the shorter one a lot.

Genres: Queer, Enemies To Lovers, Lesbian, Romance, Adult

374 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 18, 2022

About the author

Lily Seabrooke is a lesbian, trans woman, and author of sapphic romance that stars food, because odds are, at any given time, she's hungry.

Her interests include eating food, thinking about food, writing novels about food, and drinking coffee.

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The town of Port Andreas and its diverse characters feature once again.
Now well established and popular, the Rose Bloom Restaurant is temporarily being run by Misha. Not a "people person", she has her hands full and doesn't need the stress of one time rival (from chef school) Zoe popping up at the new restaurant slated to open up just across the street. PARA regulates all things related to restaurants in Port Andreas but new owner Persephone Jacobs, slime ball that she is, has the right connections and knows how to exploit loopholes. Foodies lookout - war is declared. No one is above attack. The push/pull dynamic between the leads Zoe and Misha is intense with neither wanting to surrender. Our leads become a great duo when the true enemy is recognized and the ultimate win at all costs goal set aside .....kind of! When that happens - emotions bared, differences resolved, transgressions revealed and a little deviousness explained, all should be well. Watch out Ruby Dragon, will Rose Bloom emerge victorious? The snark, gossip and wit are a tad higher than previous books but softened by humor with scorching heat woven in. Flora stands out in the supporting characters. Trump the devil and engage the palate - when love tempers competitiveness a HEA is possible.
An enjoyable read for foodie lovers.

I rec'd a copy via Booksprout and this is an unbiased review.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Taste of Port Andera series Lily Seabrooke puts out are all entertaining reads. Every time a new one comes up, I'm excited to see who we get a story about.
In Every Rose, Misha is one of the mains, who we've met previously in book one. I always liked her, she's not really a people person but I always found her entertaining. The new character, Zoe (pretty sure she hasn't been in the other books), is Misha's long time rival and these two are competitive and DESPISE each other. THe dialog between the two is sassy and fast paced.
I don't think I've ever had so much fun reading a enemies to lovers story before!

[Ashlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this new addition to the Port Andrea series. Misha and Zoe have been enemies for years and are always out to beat each other but when Zoe feels she's gone too far and steps in to help Misha they find a new dynamic to their relationship. Lily Seabrooke always had the most entertaining characters. Their dialogue is witty and keeps you on your toes and laughing out loud. This one was particularly engaging with the love hate relationship between these two. We also got a new villain in this series and a few scenes with Athena Walker. If you're looking for a fun romantic comedy this one fits the bill and I'm never disappointed with new books from Lily Seabrooke. 🙂

[Conny B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fascinated by Misha‘s character right from book one in the Port Andrea series. Being as grumpy and unfriendly as she always came across I was totally curious what kind of story Lily will give to her.
Well she got a story that fitted perfectly to her character.

I don‘t think I have ever read an enemies to lovers book that was this extreme when it came to both characters letting the other know how much they disliked them. I have to say sometimes the language they used was almost a bit too much for me.

Zoe and Misha go way back to culinary school, to a time they were friends first and later became enemies because of several things that happened. They hated each other for years but also became somehow fixated about the other. The other being better in anything (especially in the kitchen) just wasn’t an option. Even if I have to say that at the beginning this mostly applied for Zoe and less for Misha. Zoe starting to work for a competitor with the only goal to make Misha leave definitely didn’t make me like her more at first. Me liking Misha more is actually somehow funny because Zoe is so much more caring about others than Misha. ☺️

Of course we all know that all of this only could lead to an explosion at some point. The way we got there actually surprised me a bit in the best way. Misha and Zoe spending more time together be it just for work, makes them realise more and more how in sync they are. Even if they don’t want to and just can’t stop competing. Another thing I loved very much and had lots of fun. If you add the sweetest side character (Flora) into the whole mix, there is no going back. Flora actually was the side character I fell in love with and hope to see again. I have all my faith in Lily that this will happen one day. Flora just needs her own story. ☺️

Aside from them competing and getting on each other‘s nerves, they also spend quite some time in differently places getting to know each other differently. Some of the scenes were incredibly hot, others were incredibly sweet. The longer the story went on, the sweeter it became. This sweetness is one of the things I appreciate so much in Lily’s sorties and once more I was so happy when I found it again.

This might not be my favourite book by Lily (her own competition is brutal, lol), but it’s still another book by her I loved and highly recommend. 🥰

I received an ARC of this book via booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[asmalldyke · Rating 3 out of 5]

~ Reading Only Lily Seabrooke Novels Until I Remember How To Enjoy Things, #6 ~

I just saw in an interview that Lily Seabrooke's personal best piece of author advice is 'not to read your reviews', as 'they're bad for your vibes'. This is true and I'm thankful, because it means I can just freely ramble, horribly but in peace, while Seabrooke goes on being a total chad, writing about girls kissing. Reviews are mostly for readers, anyway, not authors.



Okay nerds, this is it. I'm gonna fucking say it: some romance novels would be improved considerably if they would just drop the token conflict.

I said it once, ages ago, while talking about some other book, that I don't really get why every single romance novel ever must be held to the usual three act-ish structure: in the first third(up to 30%ish) we establish our FMCs, their lives, and they have their insta-love, or insta-lust, or whatever it is that sparks the beginning of the relationship. In the second third(up to 60%ish), we see them fall for eachother, maybe dump a little backstory, do a 50 first dates kind of thing, and it's lovely. In the final third(up to 95%ish),some sort of conflict, usually internal/emotional but sometimes an outside force, will break them up and ruin their days, so that the reader must await some late plot development or sudden improvement of character. At that point one of the leads will run back to the other, they will kiss, defeat whatever problem it is they have, and the last 5%-10% is reserved for basically a happy epilogue.

Now I don't have any inherent issue with this plot scaffold, obviously; I like a lot of books that use it! The Port Andrea books use it! But sometimes, I have to wonder why near enough EVERY romance is slave to it, why we can't just drop the bad vibes and have a relaxed, introspective story that centers entirely on our lead ladies progressing toward everlasting love. Romance is often for comfort reading, right? A lot of books, I feel, damage themselves by including conflict near the end purely for its own sake.

While they're pretty unique in terms of romances, (because they have weird evil villains) Port Andrea falls victim to this bad-vibes tokenism at times as well, and it's never been more obvious than with Every Rose. Sure, Misha has her perpetual raging angst, her stress trying to keep Rose Bloom together while Athena Walker is gone, and her permanent hatred of Zoe who ruined her career prospects and won't stop following her. Zoe herself has guilt over ruining said career prospects, as well as her job at the Sapphire Dragon chain, but it all feels weird and bad with Persephone Jacobs looming not-so-large over everything.

Persephone Jacobs, owner of the Sapphire Dragon, takes home the easy gold medal for Worst Port Andrea Villain, and I was just bitching about how the Gary thing in Night & Day feels silly. The difference with Persephone is that she has no perceptible motivation that makes any sense; her stated goal is "to crush all of Port Andrea", presumably just the food industry, and she sees getting Rose Bloom shut down to gain real estate in the famed Garden Square as just a "nothin' personnel, kid" type engagement. This motherfucker literally says "This is not a personal affair" at one point during an evil speech! She has about as much depth as Skeletor, and is much less fun to boot.

It's appreciated that she fucks off, after Zoe defects from her employ and she comes 'round Rose Bloom to threaten Zoe all of *once,* but she literally doesn't appear in the plot again until the 85% mark. She ends up having no presence at all, but still manages to take up space that could be used for more character elucidation, all while putting unnecessary pressure on the plot. The looming feeling of "oh no when will the badguy strike and ruin everything" is not all that pleasant.

It's most notable here because Every Rose has the most mixed-bag protagonists we've yet seen in the series. If this seemly way too analytical thus far, it's because I just have no idea what the hell I think of our leads, here. Let's break em down;

Misha Perkins(newly last named) is the head chef from Rose Bloom, Athena's joint in Last Chance. In that book, her hot-headed temper and threats of murder were played pretty much for laughs, but here that's a serious part of her character. Misha is at the breaking point of frustrated stress trying to run Rose in Athena's brief absence, and her world is made that much worse when Zoe Archer, her bitter rival and once-friend from college appears, working at the new Ruby Dragon across the street. Zoe Archer, for her part, mostly seems to be doing her work to piss Misha off. Sure, Persephone assigned her to Ruby as a counterpoint to Misha, but Zoe seems to take genuine glee in poking and prodding her old hate-buddy about basically everything.

Remember how I said Zoe feels guilty over ruining Misha's career prospects? Zoe cheated ahead of time on a practical exam in college, and as a result stole the Top of the Class spot and several critical apprenticeship opportunities from Misha. Thing is, we're only ever told that she feels guilty about this, and until it becomes a critical plot-point, she expresses her guilt by being a complete fucking asshole to Misha, all the time, every day.

It's probably something to do with emotional dysregulation, again, but the early part of this book, right up to the first half, was just too much for me. The above might sound like a fun setup for an enemies to lovers hate-love joint, and that is the goal, but the proceedings are... let's say, a touch more intense than prior entries. In Last Chance, you get the sense that while Jen and Athena genuinely resent each other over their past, they have obvious chemistry and make each others' lives better, more joyful. It underlines their bickering and sulking, making interactions endearing. (Of course, Jen ended up being a Dumb Bitch in that one, so oops)

With Misha and Zoe, the vibe that I get is more knives-to-throats, glass-'em-when-they're-not-looking genuine bloodlust. Part of it is how vehement Misha is about it, because she's already pissed at everything and everyone before Zoe enters the picture, and when she does, Misha not only loses her shit even more, she also takes every single opportunity in dialogue (and monologue) (and narration) to tell Zoe to go fuck off. To go jump in a ditch and land face-first in dogshit. To take a long walk off a short cliff, like this woman is furious. Local Short Woman Is Literally Too Angry To Die, except she seriously considers leaving the city on account of Zoe's presence! The overall mood is that of an exhausted, frustrated woman being constantly harangued by an old enemy. Kind of exhausting, itself.

Not helping the impression is Zoe! She's supposed to be sympathetic, because she is a POV character in a romance; she has her guilt about screwing Misha over, and even a little backstory about how her parents never planned on two kids, so she was kind of ignored. The thing is, Zoe is (as described by Misha herself) "petty and spiteful", and seems to take way too much impish pleasure in ruining Misha's days for a laugh. She is so smug and unbearable, constantly using unwanted pet names and snapping out witty comebacks, and sometimes being genuinely manipulative, that I genuinely just ended up hating her. As their relationship blossoms and grows, Misha slowly becomes less constantly-pissed and cools off some, even though the implication that the cure for verbal-abusive anger is just good sex, is weird. Zoe, though, never really alters her demeanour, so I guess the reader is meant to find it charming? But all I could see was that Misha was in fact improving, growing as a person, opening up emotionally, not using her anger as a shield instead of being vulnerable... meanwhile Zoe continues just snarking and wisecracking her way through everything, and I'm now supposed to accept that what was one half of murderous rage is now part of cute, funny banter.

I can't really get over how all-consuming the unpleasant hatefulness of the first half is, obviously. It's like, holy shit, they're both so bitter and angry and furious, and with Misha always losing it and screaming at her poor employees, it can be hard to sympathise with her either. Sometimes she feels like a cautionary anger-management thing. The Zoe-Misha dynamic just escalates in terms of rage, and at one point it looks like it's actually going to come to blows, which was unpleasant! At first I was sure that this was a classic Autism® Misinterpretation™ of human emotion, and I wasn't meant to hate these characters. As I read through, I became more sure instead that no, it's a hatefuck thing, this is supposed to be hot, I'm pretty sure, it's likely intentional. The light-bulb moment for me was when that almost-fight becomes a weird and kind of discomforting hatefuck in the kitchen, which blindsided my ass. I appreciate that Every Rose keeps me on my toes with fresh character dynamics, but holy shit dude.

By the time Misha and Zoe are cuddling up, having sex, and doing a rare thing by using the inherent vulnerability of post-sex to forward their character(s), open up to eachother... I found I was still hanging onto a lot of the bad vibes I got from the first half of the book, and couldn't shake them. Maybe it's silly, but it feels like such powerful hate, for half of the book, and I really did feel bad for Misha at various points in the plot. Poor bitch is considering leaving the city! I'm supposed to just forget that shit?

I guess one of the biggest problems I have with Every Rose is that I just don't see Zoe as a good person. Zoe says it herself at one point;

"I stole her title-one of the most precious titles in the entire culinary world-by cheating. And I've kept it a secret from her for years. She lost her career, her connections, and even her boyfriend, and with it, her place to live. I did that to her."

Somewhat hard to forgive, dunno. I mean, she's behaving like an asshole right from the word 'go', and by the end her behaviour hasn't really changed visibly to reflect any internal change. The best shot at an arc she has is this; she denies her feelings for Misha constantly, both internally and verbally, to her friendly ex-boyfriend Felix as well as Misha's waitress Flora, and they both have to push her to be a normal human, accept her feelings and do something about them. I've seen worse examples, but I still hate when romances do this, because every time the character ends up looking like an idiot who needs others to tell them their feelings, and the plot only moves when the secondary cast are on-page. Even then, though, Misha is the one who initiates most things, surprisingly being the first one to ask for a date! Zoe is just an asshole 99% of the time.

Partially, I don't see the appeal in such rage-hatey, borderline-bloodlust dynamics between romance protagonists. It's not like I don't get parts of it, though; I couldn't help shouting 'Yeah, fuck that bitch, what an asshole!' every time Misha would let loose and start being shitty and angry at Zoe. What can I say? Zoe's a fucker. I will admit, also, that the thing where Misha is all fury and agitation, until she hits the bedroom and is a blushing bottom, is pretty good too. Something a little different, pretty fun, kind of a mood, and the spicy bits in this one are actually pretty good. Rejoice, one-handed readers! (I must note, though, that the prose is purple-er than ever before; "an orgasm that felt like my body was remade anew"? Fr?)

I have larger constructional issues with Every Rose on the whole, though; all of the emotional whiplash aside, Persephone's total lack of investment (compared to Genevieve, Mike or Gary's comprehensible personal vendettas) and saturday-morning-cartoon hand-wringing are all that's there to drive the plot, and Persephone is stupid and sucks. She sort of feels like the author didn't know how to raise the stakes, and just snapped, 'world domination restauranteur criminal lady!' Which is stupid. 'Spectacle creep' should not be a phrase I use when talking about a romance, and that's why I opened with that big ramble about token conflict.

Of course, when the Evil Badguy plot does bowl back in for its 78% appearance, (almost right on the money, damn) evil villain monologues and all, it feels token as fuck and like it shouldn't even be an issue. ONCE AGAIN, though, it's the ol' choice of career viability vs love, and the fact that Misha deliberates at all damages the book a bit. For someone as decisive as Misha, it's annoying to see her just *stop*, and not even tell Persephone to get fucked, so that the 80% conflict can happen. From about 50% to 75% of the book, everything is bliss and wonder and newly burning love, and as a reader I was pretty much wincing, waiting for badness to roll back in. Lo and behold, right on time. Would Every Rose actually be any worse if Persephone wasn't here? Just a thought.

Seabrooke is a pretty good writer as usual, though, and there are the requisite amount of funny lines and all, generally enjoyable. However, I also felt a part of me red-penning repeated words, weirdly-structured sentences, odd word choices (I don't think you can "elucidate" someone?) and other little editing maybe-flubs throughout. I know it's an entirely indie-published book, but that shit still bugs me, even when the plot and such is good. The star of the show on that front is Misha's post-fuck-cuddle backstory dumps, which shine a lot of light on her character and really affected me in terms of my perception of her. She's the main selling point, in what otherwise feels like some very strange, intense character dynamics bumping up against the very tired tropes of Port Andrea as a series.

In the end, Every Rose is easily the most mixed-quality Port Andrea romance, to the point that I still have no idea how to feel about it. I'm pretty sure I kind of disliked it, and I think I might have hated it at points, but there are glimmers of a very enjoyable story in here. It really does just become a different book in the second half, so I feel like I'm reading two different things at once. How best to reconcile those two halves? I've never been so unsure about a book before, and that bugs me.

That's how Port Andrea ends, thus far; not with a bang or a whimper, but a weird deflating noise. If this isn't the last book, it probably should be. Persephone gabs about "the coming winds of change in this industry" and shit, though, so it might not be, who knows. Unless ya girl is a bit more willing to buck the common trappings next time, I think the formula is pretty well spent at this point. It's a shame, because externalising the conflict into a detestable villain is a good idea, insofar as that it should be a uniting element for the leads, to bring them closer and give them something fun to work against and destroy. Unfortunately, I just don't think this series ever does it that well, and instead we now have things like Persephone.

You know what, it might have been a more interesting hate-fuck adventure if the pairing were Misha and Persephone. At the very start I'd wondered if it would be, and I mean c'mon. Smouldering, hot older lady who is also evil? And Misha is secretly a total bottom? Step on me, hot evil lady? Now, that sounds fun, mortal enemies and restaurant combatants meet love on the battlefield between their two businesses! It could have been neat to wrong-foot the reader and make us think Persephone was the villain, only for them to kiss. Alas!

So what can I recommend regarding Port Andrea? Well, buy the first two books, Fake It and Last Chance, and also sign up for Lily Seabrooke's mailing list on her lovingly pink website to get a copy of What Makes A Moment. I would say that nothing else is essential, though; read Night & Day if you're desperate for more, and you might well like One Step at a Time or Every Rose more than I do. The series is high-quality as a whole, but its lows are LOW and very mixed-bag. I did still enjoy my time overall, but Every Rose was kind of exhausting.

[A.E. Bross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite a reading slump that's been dogging me for months, I finally settled down to give this a read. Seabrooke's books are always such comfortable romances that I couldn't help but take a peek. I was rewarded with a really exciting read, with the twists and turns that seem to be both a staple of Seabrooke's writing and manage to stay fresh and surprising. I will admit that Misha is not my favorite character (she sometimes came off as a bit caricature-ish), but the storytelling and plot really made it so I couldn't put this one down. Definitely a great read for any romance fan!

[Nia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compete, Beat, Top!
In Misha's and Zoe's life there is no other thought than "Beat her and be better than her, at any cost".
Not the quite usual love story, that's for sure.
Both are so dogged and Misha is such a hilarious, explosive powder keg with a tremendously imaginative mouth.
I loved her outbursts and insults, that she has ready for everyone.
I lived for the moments, when both of them eloquently wanted to top each other again and again with insults and humiliation.
Nonetheless, in the end it was very sweet in its own way and had extremely loving moments.
I especially loved the hot scenes.
These two have explosive chemistry.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent installment in the series!

The Taste of Port Andrea series by Lily Seabrooke revolves around the food industry. The MCs are always connected to it and everything in Port Andrea has to do with food or drinks. For foodies like me, this is a wonderful series.
However, even non-foodies can enjoy the stories that Lily Seabrooke cooked up (see what I did there?).
This book is a wonderful example. The romance in this book is not surprising in the least to the side characters. The MCs are the only ones caught off guard by their feelings. While they still hate each other and compete relentlessly, they gradually realize they depend on each other and can't live apart. The aggressive Misha and the playful Zoe clash again and again until they find a common cause and then they clash again. At first, it seems as if it's just a force of habit but slowly we realize that this is the kind of dynamic that drives their relationship forward and forces them to evolve. It's great to watch and for the foodies among the readers - it's mouth-watering as well, reading about the wonderful food being made as part of that dynamic.

I loved the characters, I loved the story. Enemies to lovers is a great trope and Lily Seabrooke does it very well, slowly getting her characters to realize their true feelings and accept them. I loved the icy villain and I'm quite sure we'll hear about her in the next book (or the one after that?). She was cold and calculated and absolutely gorgeous. I wish she had more space in the story but if I'm right in my guess that she's gonna get her own book soon, that will make up for it :)

In short: I recommend reading it. It's a light and fluffy, fun, well-written romance. Just what we need during a scorching hot summer

Tropes & Triggers: Enemies to lovers, explicit sex scenes, aggressive behavior and language, domestic abuse (off-page).

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I loved it, but it was a close thing, lol.

Let me start by saying this reminded me of Fire & Ice in that the characters had good reason to not like each other but that didn’t work (they fell for each other anyway), but before anything could get real they had to resolve the secret hanging over them…. Also of The Last to Leave in how stupidly but hilariously competitive they could be.

The thing that almost soured it for me was the start, where Misha just seemed so angry… it was kinda played for laughs but also it wasn’t entirely clear that she’d ever change. Also, where Zoe was set up to hurt Misha, which definitely wasn’t going to improve the attitude problems. Thankfully that all passed and Misha did ever so slowly relax under Zoe’s influence. It just kind of rode the edge for me and narrowly pulled together in time; still I can understand anyone who doesn’t like the early going as much.

Misha was extremely creative with her language, and I did very much enjoy her endless variety of ways of saying “get lost” and “I don’t want to do that.” And I was impressed with how often Zoe did the right thing, even if it wasn’t always her first instinct. It’s perhaps easy to say Felix was behind much of that, but I didn’t get the feeling he said anything she didn’t already know.

Looking back from the end, it all came together. It wasn’t perfect, but damn it was a lot of fun.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really torn with this review… I feel such a loyalty to Lily’s previous work but she’s so utterly blown it out of the park with this pressure cooker of a story that I’m finding it hard not to declare this my new favourite Seabrooke.

Misha, who we met before, is an energetic, aggressive firecracker. She’s an amazing chef but a terrible people leader.

She has a long standing rivalry with Zoe, her arch rival - an equally (maybe) outstanding chef who has gorgeous hair and a huge chip on her shoulder for Misha’s successes. The problem is whether that rivalry is really based on anger or something else?

Lily charts the story of Misha’s run in with the evil empress Dragon Queen, Persephone Jacobs - an Ice Queen beyond compare who is intent on destroying Rose Bloom and Misha. The question seems to be though, who does Misha hate more - Persephone, Zoe or herself and how bad will things get before she really works the answer to that out?

Seabrooke is one of my favourites for loving, sweet romances with a dramatic storyline. Here though she does something new - she turns that drama inwards and stokes the fires of anger into an explosion of steam, heat and SERIOUSLY hot passion. (I mean - don’t read certain chapters of this book on the train with people around, type passion…). The level of pressure this story builds up between Zoe and Misha is amazing and the, somewhat inevitable, release is something I’ve never seen before from Seabrooke. This hits ALL the buttons for a super-hot steamy romance scene.

So, is this my new favourite Seabrooke - yep… no way I could argue with Misha, she’d bite my kneecaps!

Review provided off an ARC but uninfluenced by this.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Rose is the fifth installment in Lily Seabrooke’s Taste of Port Andrea series. It can be read as a stand-alone, as the story stands independent of the others. However, it has a similar flavor of sweet, but sensual sapphic romance centered around the restaurant industry of the fictional Port Andrea.
I really like the dynamic Lily Seabrooke established here between rivals Misha and Zoe. Both are ambitious and willing to do whatever it takes to stake their claim in the Port Andrea culinary scene. Misha has the opportunity of a lifetime taking over the upscale restaurant Rose Bloom, but she has longtime animosity with Zoe, and Zoe also happens to have teamed up with an infamous cutthroat restaurateur, Persephone Jacobs, to work at her competing restaurant. With that setup, sparks inevitably fly.
Somewhat early on in their interactions in the book, Misha and Zoe have “hate sex.” The concept has often befuddled me, as even if I was stuck in the same room with my worst enemy, I wouldn’t touch them, much less sleep with them. But while the moment itself was a little off-putting, Seabrooke executes the overall intent of the scene and what follows better than others I’ve read previously. While the two remain in denial about their feelings for a bit, the juxtaposition between love and hate is well-established, and it never felt like they truly hated each other, but the animosity also never felt petty or immature.
This is another delightful read from Lily Seabrooke, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys sapphic contemporary romances.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amber Justice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Partway through this book, I had a scene from the movie On Golden Pond flash through my head. It’s toward the end of the movie where Chelsea tells her father she doesn’t know why they’ve always been mad at each other (they have a strained relationship). Her dad, Norman, replies “I didn’t know we were mad at each other, I thought we just didn’t like each other very much.” I’ve always enjoyed that movie and that scene in particular as it is very poignant about communication being key to healthy relationships. That brings me back to this story of Misha, whom we met in one of the previous stories, and her rival, Zoe. Both attended the same culinary school and were best friends until they had a falling out prior to graduation. For the last 6 years they’ve been engaged in an ongoing battle to somehow prove who is the better chef (spoiler: they’re both awesome). Both have done well for themselves, despite what they view as slights/hindrances from the other. Zoe seems mostly amused by Misha and her fiery temper, and you soon come to realize there is an underlying attraction between them. Sparks and aprons fly in this battle of the wills. The ultimate prize…love.

This book was a joy to read, and as always, the author had me laughing out loud at some of the main characters’ antics. The introduction of Flora, who is a primary supporting character, was just lovely. Her interactions, especially with Zoe, had me rolling. If you want a fun story with a bit of angst and plenty of heat (not just talking about Misha’s temper — ha!), then do yourself a favor and check out Every Rose.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[RA Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love/hate...love?

I had a love/hate relationship with this book in the beginning, which became a love relationship in the end. Which is remarkable because that's exactly what this book is about.
We start off with a character who is minding her own danged business but is a rather unlikable terrible person, then add in a decent person who is unreasonably out to destroy her. So you're left wanting the first character to win because she deserves it despite being despicable, but you're also wanting the second character to win because she's not as awful, but then if she wins someone worse wins...
Then those characters of course are each other's love interests. Hate interest? Both.
Then they have to work together? But still defeat each other ... And they aren't particularly likable, but it's impossible not to want them to find their hea.

It's very messy, this story, but I believe intentionally so, because both characters are hot mess type people.

Lily Seabrooke had done a fantastic job with this book in that she's managed to evoke specific emotions from the reader in tune with the storyline in a much more noticable way than the usual.
It's not my favorite of her books, but it's certainly special and definitely stands out as a must read of the bunch. I highly recommend.

[Toni LibraLover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the best of the lot 😘

Having read all the books in the Port Andrea series, when I began reading Every Rose, I thought it might be the least entertaining, but, as with all her novels, there comes a moment where the plot changes, and the main characters morph into more interesting women.
All they need is a villain around which they can focus their attention and out of which a passionate bond can be created.
I think Lily Seabrooke is one of the most talented writers in this genre. She is probably one of the most humorous writers I have ever encountered, who can interject humor into the most serious conversations and situations.
Her characters grow on you exponentially as their inner motivations grab your interest.
She has also created a geographically perfect location where only the least aesthetically gifted and romantically jaded reader can resist wanting to live.
Also, as she says in her biography, FOOD is inherently at the center of all human motivations and interactions.
I loved the passionate “hatred” that fuels” the dynamic between our two main characters.
Misha and Zoe are treasures, and their wacky supporting cast is so perfect, that you want to open you door to each of them.
Please tell me there will be another Port Andrea novel in the works.
Thank you Lilly for all your passion and humor filled stories. 🥰

[Ashleigh Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favourite Lily Seabrook novel, but worth reading to the end. Ms Seabrook brings her signature depth of exceptionally well written, witty dialogue and character development to this book and the plot is what kept me engaged overall. However, I thought it was about 200 pages too long so kept taking breaks rather than reading through in one hit.
One of my bugbears was the emotional maturity of the two seemingly intelligent, professionally successful leads; it was like following two catty teens, trapped in adult bodies, who started to grow up 10 years too late. Nonetheless, their chemistry is so there, they are women you could truly invest in if their ridiculous need to win doesn't send you running and Flora brings light relief throughout with her very likeable personality.
As a thought, if you both get the same information and one of you still does better, that means the playing field is even, so... you'll just have to read the book to finish that sentence.

[Lis Reads Everything · Rating 5 out of 5]

As all of Lily’s books, I loved the characters and was so excited to see Misha’s story. Loud mouthed and rude, Misha rules the kitchen of Rose Bloom. Too bad Persephone, rival restaurant owner, has her sights set on ruining Rose Bloom with help from Misha’s biggest rival, Zoe.
Full of tall girl/short girl jokes, loving hatefulness and hot sex, Every Rose is a delightful continuation of the Port Andrea series.

I really enjoyed this book, the jokes were funny and the terms of endearment were sweet and playful. Flora was annoyingly adorable and added to the levity of the book. The back stories of Misha and Zoe only provided depth to their characters, giving the reader valuable insight.

I’d definitely recommend this book and cannot wait for another in this series!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all the Port Andrea books and this one certainly keeps the standard high. I couldn’t put it down and although it’s a long book it didn’t feel like it. It sped along at a great pace with enough details about the people, places and mouth watering food to immerse you in the story without them ever being a distraction or becoming boring.
I was totally into the enemies to lovers thing and thoroughly enjoyed their love / hate dynamic.
Great side characters especially Flora who I’m hoping will get her own book too. Also nice to revisit characters from earlier books but you do not need to have read any of them to enjoy this one.
Totally recommend this for a fun read with a HEA.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Elizabeth Cordero · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I read this year was one of Lily’s, since then I have read ten others of hers and I just can say that I love her more with every single one!
I would recommend to every sapphic reader out there to let themselves be taken by this series of books and the lives of its colorful restauranteur characters.
By doing so you would have background on Misha, her relationship with her butch boss, Athena Walker (who we have seen on here and there on previous books), her contribution to Rose Bloom, how PARA works, and a 10+ references of people and places around Port Andrea that you would learn to love.
Plus, I really liked Zoe and how she complements Misha in many ways.
Five stars without a doubt!

[M.A. Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Port Andrea books honestly just keep getting better and better. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so I was prepared to like this one anyway, but this one was such a good example of the genre. Even when Misha and Zoe start hooking up, they never actually change their behavior, teasing and needling each other right to the bitter end.

This one also has a really great villain character, the Dragon Queen herself, and I can't wait to see more of her in the future. She's nasty enough that it felt so good when Misha and Zoe managed to take her down, but there were also hints there's something more going on with her, and I really hope we get to find out more.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Michael Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Misha is given responsibility for a restaurant in Port Andrea while the owner is abroad. Her friend Zoe leaves the restaurant to join forces with Persephone Jacobs to eliminate Misha's restaurant. The plot revolves around Misha's and Zoe's relationship which is based on a lot of drama and hate. Neither trusts the other and it shows. I found the characters interesting and polar opposites.
I recommend this book for romance and drama readers.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seriously adore all of Lily Seabrooke's books. They have a captivating quality that draws me in and leaves me incredibly happy, it's hard to put into words. So yes, this one is yet another golden nugget. It's emotional, absolutely adorable, incredibly funny, and just overall radiates good vibes.

I'd like to share a quote from Misha that I absolutely love and feel sums her up perfectly: 'And I had to say the hardest thing I'd ever said, and that was, "Thanks".'

I wholeheartedly recommend the entire series and any other books by Lily Seabrooke, you won't ever regret it!

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story! The Taste of Port Andrea romances are great standalone stories!
The amount of character depth and portal of personality is amazing. Being able to understand the characters' backstories in a short time is always amazing. This is also true for the character growth as individuals and together.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes lesbian romances, chef themed romances, and/or Lily Seabrooke books.

[Looby Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite Lily book which is saying something as I love a lot of her books. A wonderful witty, snarky enemies to snarky lovers book. There’s a fine line between love and hate. And Misha and Zoe really do love hating each other.
Persephone Jacobs is the pantomime villain this time and she was written so wonderfully that you can’t help but boo and hiss at her shenanigans.
Loved this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Carolyn G. Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Served Cold

Misha is left in charge of Rose Bloom and is confronting a rival owner who wants to close down her place. Then her biggest rival from Red Fox Academy starts working for the Dragon Queen. Zo had won the Best Chef Prize, stolen her boyfriend and spent years taunting her. Will two women who were best friends be able to bridge the canyon berween their hearts. Awesome series.

[Pat House · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this series and look forward to each course served by this wonderful author. This just might be my favorite book yet. A great enemy-to-lovers story wi th h just yhe right amount of spice. Very highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sidereal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it weird that I kind of love how straight-up toxic Misha was?

Also still wishing for print versions of every book in the series after Fake It

[barbara j connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enemies, lovers , girlfriend

Love the hate and bitching. Both cheated was wild. Fighting off an important person. Finding out u own something u didn't pay for . book was very good will read this author again

[Christine Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow fantastic storyline I was glued to the book book it has everything you want in this story the good the bad the inbetween it's beautifully crafted must read congratulations

[Elizabeth Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters were complex and the plot escalated in this love/hate relationship. Anger sex, who knew. These two leave nothing on the table or in the kitchen.

[Sharkillis Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read!!

Loved the dynamic between the two characters. The banter was hilarious. This is a must read and will go down as one of my favorite books.