A delicious love story with all the toppings, Lauren Morrill’s It’s Kind of a Cheesy Love Story is a contemporary YA rom-com about love, friendship, and pizza, perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Jenny Han. After her mother gave birth to her in the bathroom of a local pizzeria, Beck has been given the dubious privilege of having minor fame, free pizza for life, and a guaranteed job when she … life, and a guaranteed job when she turns sixteen–a job she unfortunately can’t afford to turn down.
Now she’s stuck with her geeky co-workers instead of taking Instagram-ready shots with her best friends (and her epic crush).
But maybe the pizza people aren’t all bad. Maybe that pizza delivery guy is kind of cute. And maybe there’s a way to make this Bathroom Baby thing work for her. Because when disaster strikes the beloved pizza place that’s started to feel like home, she’s going to need a miracle–one that might even mean bringing her two worlds together.more
IT’S KIND OF A CHEESY LOVE STORY by Lauren Morrill is definitely one that deserves more love. Rom-com lovers take note of this fun, sweet, and snark-filled story! The writing is smart and full of quick-witted characters, more than one swoony romance, and there’s even a quick trope or two (fake boyfriend and a makeover montage, so fun!). The whole thing is geeky, sarcastic, and romantic fun from start to finish. Highly recommend!
This book is just like the title, it’s cheesy but the good kind of cheesy. I enjoyed it from the start to finish and find the story interesting. This is a lighthearted YA (Young Adult) book that can be enjoy by many people from any age group.
I liked how this story is about a 16-year-old girl named Beck who was born in Hot ‘N Crusty pizzeria and later grew up as the widely known Pizza Princess, and Bathroom Baby. This isn’t just a cheesy story about how she easily get a job at the pizzeria or about her crush or about her relationship. This story is about how Beck slowly find herself and be true to herself. It’s about how she fix the things that are broken in her life, and how she put back together the things she’d lost or about to lose.
At first, I thought nothing big would happen but then out of nowhere something big happened and that put Beck in a lot of misery. She lost the thing she despised the most and she was about to lose the one precious thing she never want to lose. In the end, she managed to fix everything. It was apparent how much the tragedy affected her.
This book also showed how a few high school students have many group of friends and in each of those groups they act differently in order to fit in. Many may not believe this but this kind of thing did happen in real life, and I’ve known a few from my high school back then. It boggles my mind how they can easily shifted into a different person—faking their personality and attitude. This is exactly what Beck did in this book. She has two different group of friends, the geek/pizza squad and the glam/rich squad.
At one point, I was wondering about what will happen if the glam/rich squad meet the geek/pizza squad. I got what I was wishing for at the end, and let’s just say that these two groups aren’t friends with one another but instead they respect one another. Their conversation flowed easily, and there wasn’t a single struggle. Beck knew how to bring her two group of friends together, and of course she wouldn’t force them to be friends if they don’t want to. I liked how Beck doesn’t have to choose which group she want to stay with but instead get to keep both, as long as she doesn’t have to pretend anymore and just embrace her true self without feeling embarrassed. This is the kind of ending that made this book even better. I liked that it ended like this; with everyone happy.
There are a few lessons that can be taken from this book, especially about finding yourself and embracing your true self. The purpose of the story is for Beck to find herself and be true to herself instead of pretending to be someone she’s not. Losing the one place she started to love and nearly losing her boyfriend put a lot of pressure on her, and that is what boost her to embrace her true self instead of hiding who she truly is. As was seen at the end of this book, she managed to fix the things that are broken in her life. For example, fixing things with her boyfriend and then find a way to put back together the one place she’d lost by starting up a charity campaign to rebuild the place into a new one. She handled it all too well for a 16-year-old girl, she was really quick at finding the solution.
The whole storyline was enjoyable and I really find it entertaining, and as for the plot it was unclear at first but the more I read the book, the more it became clear what the plot was. It was always about Beck making new friends and that way it was easy for her to find herself and figure out what she really wants. That has been the focus of this book since the beginning. It was done in a clever way.
Beck is the female lead in this story and I liked how the author fleshed out her character more. Since this is her story, it make a lot of sense for her to shine more than the others. At first, she was struggling a lot with herself especially with how she should act around her pizza friends when she started working at the pizzeria. It wasn’t easy to just be carefree and embracing her true self, especially since she never done it before outside of her home. She was always pretending when she was around her rich friends. I can’t blame her since her rich friends are very judgmental.
This book shows how much she struggles with being true to herself when she was with her pizza friends in front of her rich friends. She had to balance out her friendship with the glam/rich squad and the geek/pizza squad. There was a little bit of petty friendship drama that was quickly resolved. I find it surprising how fast she diffuse the situation, but also grateful it didn’t blow up into a big flame. She had a lot of lessons to learn and a lot of thinking to make, especially when her friendship and relationship are on the verge of crumbling. Beck is a kind-hearted girl who did things with good intentions. She is easily a likable person and always put a lot of thoughts when it comes to keeping the people she care about close to her and also she has always been there for them.
Tristan is the male lead in this story and also the love interest. This guy had me intrigued ever since the first time he showed up. He was so mysterious but very fascinating. I didn’t even know where he came from at first since he just appeared and disappeared whenever he liked to. Beck also didn’t know where he was when they first met, and when Julianne said that the guy doesn’t always show his face to his co-workers because he’s the pizza delivery guy and he doesn’t always stay at the pizzeria like the others do unless it was to take the pizza for delivery, that’s when I find him to be a mystery. Not many truly knows him.
He was a bit rude at first and he was like the exact person who easily gets frustrated and annoyed by other people. He shielded himself and guarded his heart so that he won’t feel pain and broken again. Not wanting to face his co-workers and always be alone by himself is how he cope with the pain he felt on the inside. Not everyone deal with pain the same way, and this is the only way Tristan knew how. He might pretend he doesn’t care much about other people, especially Beck but deep down he cared too much and it scared him.
Tristan is actually a good guy with a kind heart. I really liked his character, the more I get to understand his past and get to know him much better, the more I find him easily likable as Beck. He’s not only kind but also talented too. He’s good at carpentry and his skills are immeasurable. Whenever anyone need his help, he always come through. Never once did he ever deserted someone or abandon them when they needed him the most. He is an overall a character with a great attitude and a big personality which makes him interesting.
As for the romance between Beck and Tristan, I loved how well this turns out to be. From the beginning, Beck always had a crush on Mac and always said about wanting to kiss him but whenever she was thinking about Mac or talking about him, I cringed. I didn’t feel they are the perfect match and Mac is clearly not the love interest, it was way too easy and too predictable if it went that way. I’m glad that it didn’t but instead the story introduced Tristan and that opens up the door for him to have a strong potential to be Beck’s love interest.
I liked their relationship, it was super healthy and they are definitely good for each other. From their own struggles and how they are helping each other, it made a lot of sense for them to be together romantically. The author nailed it writing Beck and Tristan slow-burn enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance. When they first met, they couldn’t stand each other and easily get annoyed by each other’s presence, but they can’t always pretend like there was nothing between them when it was clear as a day that there was something between them. The more time they spend together, the closer they get, the more they know about each other, and the more easier it was for them open up to each other about their lives and who they really are as a person. When the right time comes for them to acknowledge their feelings and pursued a romantic relationship, their romance blossoming beautifully. It was really epic and I loved seeing it. These two are a match made in heaven.
Overall, I find that this book was really entertaining and enjoyable. The storyline, the plot, and the characters are solid. The ending was written in a nice way and it was what I’ve been hoping for. The author knew how to deliver a good story, and this book is now one of my top favorite YA books. It has a great storytelling, a large cast of fun characters, and pizza. You can’t leave out the pizza because it’s really important. If you’re looking for a fun book to read, pick this one up. You’ll have a great time reading it.
This was such a cute contemporary YA novel. It’s a coming of age story with one of the most interesting set-ups ever. Baby born in a pizzeria bathroom – sold! I thought the author did a fantastic job balancing the humor and relatable teenage fears and insecurities with the more serious message of being true to yourself. I normally enjoy a heavy dose of romance in my books, but I don’t think I would have minded if that part had been left out. I understand the purpose Tristan played in driving the story forward, but I thought the clashing of Beck’s “two worlds” should have been the main focus.
The typical teenage angst and drama does pop up, but I appreciated Beck’s character arc and how she really came into her own. I think everyone has struggled at one point in their lives to find their place and to feel comfortable in their own skin. In many ways, it’s a lifelong effort. I liked how the author addressed this issue in subtle and also more obvious ways. The ending brought everything full circle and was satisfying, but I did feel that the romantic aspect of it wrapped up very quickly. I would have loved to get an epilogue a little further down the road. Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable read!
CW: cancer, death of parent, fire destruction
*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*
If you enjoy cute, fun, and heartwarming YA romance, then this is the book for you! The characters were sweet and each had their own problems but they all came together in the end. Tristan and Beck were so cute and I loved how their relationships captured the real teenage angst teenagers go through; it wasn’t over the top and was done perfectly. I loved how Beck went through some self discovery because that’s so relatable as teenagers. Each character had their own distinct personality and I loved them all. The dialogue and how they interacted made this book truly fun to read. The romance was adorable and clean and totally cheesy. This story had all the feels, one moment I was tearing up and the next I was smiling from joy! I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait for more from this author