To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to make of this at the start. However, as I got into the story and the characters, it grabbed me and didn’t let go. We have a unique fantasy world, magic, heroes and villains, but above all else, there’s FOOD. Glorious, delicious, magical food.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this earc!

I have mixed feelings about this book but know I overall enjoyed it. It was a good device to tell the story. It was innovative

EArc provided courtesy of NetGalley
Strap in lads because this is going to be a long and glowing one with some light spoilers thrown in for flavour, since Ryan Rose has managed to weave a story that is going on my list of comfort books (despite its grisly bits). There's simply something in the combination of the veneration of food and fantastical magic that scratches an itch in my soul. I too like Paprick grew up with mothers (though mine were my gran and my mum) who consider food the lifeblood of the family. I read this book in practically one sitting which I think says most of what I'm about to for me.

Before continuing on to my praise I think it necessary to air my grievances. The first of which being the result of my Britishness I did spend a portion of the book translating herbs into English, since Cilantro is not what I call that very useful herb which I thought Cori was named after. The second and larger gripe is the lack of Earth versions of the recipes within since this not being Olearth I can't precisely use carnephon, guavacado or skyroot powder in my cooking. This meaning much to my regret I can't do an 'eatalong' as it were, not that I could afford the amount of beef involved in 7 courses (providing my assumption that carnephon is beef on our less magical planet rings true). Upon publication when I invest in a copy it is likely to become spice covered and more than a little battered when I try and replicate these recipes. Likely relatively poorly since Mexican food which I think Paprick's food is based on that is opposite on the globe to my comfort cuisine of British Indian, not that that will stop me trying.

Now to return to praise, which is nothing technical as I was far too engrossed in the plot to note any of that. I saw myself in the way Paprick's mums measured with their soul after all who needs timings or measurements when they have instinct. I loved the greeting snacks and wish it was more of a thing in reality. Also the way Ryan Rose set up the relationship between the archivist and Paprick with the prologue and then carried that through the book is something I really appreciated and wish I could employ to such effect. That along with the use of food as a medium for protest, revolution has earned this book a place in my heart. Especially as someone who volunteers in a community kitchen it feels close to truth.

I've likely wittered on enough now about my appreciation for this book so I'll leave it there with the simple recommendation that if you like food and fantasy this is the book for you.

Thank you for this eARC!

The mostly-true story of how an ordinary common becomes the legendary Butcher, king-killer and Chef extraordinaire.

Paprick as a main character in both timelines was great—his journey from a young, quite naive man to a leader (and killer) was believable and at times gut-wrenching.

The magic system was unique and super interesting—it also kept me on my toes, developing and expanding as the novel went on, and as the characters themselves also learnt more about emphon. The dystopian setting was relatively simple in its setup (Rare vs commons) but well-executed, and the class politics were explored in depth (again, through Paprick’s eyes as he navigates the different sectors of society)

The interludes with the Butcher and the archivist were my favourite moments—a framing device reminding us that the narrative we’re hearing is a spin, and not necessarily the whole trust, whilst still teasing what is to come. In fact, I almost looked forward to these parts more than the main narrative, which at points felt like it could have moved faster—though the final chapters really sped up, and it was well worth pushing through!

All in all I really enjoyed this book—would definitely read the sequel and recommend to those who like their fantasy with a side of revolution!

This one took me a while. I really enjoyed the narrative device used to tell the story, It doesn't give anything away but really gives you a sense of direction, that you're building to something truly awesome. The world was super interesting, even if the details are a little hazy, like i never really understood the context of the mysterious war which is alluded to throughout the book, the other nations are only passingly mentioned but the magic system and the characters and the nation of the ranch is super fleshed out and feels very visceral and real when it's being described. The ending gets a bit comically out of proportion very quickly, I'm not sure the butcher's final lesson really makes sense in terms of what we learned about him up until that point, but it wasn't so crazy i was completely thrown out of immersion. That does only go to show what good a job was done up until that point. I would be interested in where this series goes next because again the ending felt a bit rushed so fleshing that out would be very cool!

It’s very difficult to sum up how I feel about this book, there are so many amazing elements of this book, but there are also a few things that didn’t quite land as I think they should have done.

I loved the world building in this, this society that revolves around food and that by creating a recipe that imbues magical abilities you could elevate yourself in society.

I loved the recipes interspersed between the chapters and they made for great breaks between events. The recipes are such a fun addition and I don’t think I have ever read anything that does this. I loved Paprick as a reluctant leader, having to make decisions but also challenge the decisions of others in charge, and seeing his tone change from the beginning to when he spoke to the archivist.

I think having the interactions with the archivist randomly throughout the story was a really interesting way to present this story. Having someone call out the unreliable narrator, but also challenge what they didn’t find important was really interesting. I also spent a lot of time trying to figure out who the archivist was, and I’m happy to say I did figure it out. However, and this may just be the formatting of the edition I read, these interjections were not nearly clear enough. I would read the next sentence and then have to go back to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, I think they could have benefited from being more obviously separated or even more regularly spaced so you could expect them.

The pacing was my main issue in this, and I think it only really became an issue at the halfway point. The beginning did a really good job of establishing the world and introducing us to Paprick and the injustices of the society. Then seeing Paprick try to adjust to the Rare society, while balancing his allegiance to the Common was interesting, but it felt like we got more time with the exposition and the set up instead of the action.

This didn’t have a satisfying ending for me, I think if you are telling a story with a circular narrative it needs to connect properly, and you need to get the full explanation or at least mention it, but we got the most basic ‘oh I deliberately got caught so I could tell you this’ we didn’t see what getting caught looked like and it just felt a bit rushed at the end. I am very tempted to read the sequel when it comes out, but that will probably depend on the synopsis.

A story filled with food-based magic system and an elitist type of world with a rebel uprising? Yes please!

The first chapter really hooked me in, and then it continued to pull me deeper into the story. It was really good!! What had been quite jarring is the changes between the past and the present, I'd get SOOOO into the past and then the main character would talk to the archivist. Then I'd be like woah what? The first time it happened, i was confused!! You eventually get used to it. Eventually, I even vibed to the structure.

The plot and world building is great. I learned a lot about it throughout but I had a really hard time connecting with the characters. I understood them, I just didn't connect with it.

I'd recommend giving this book a try!

I wanted to love this book… the book sounded interesting. I just couldn’t find my way into being engaged with the story. The first scene put me off and then I couldn’t catch a thread that made me want to read more, shame. Thanks to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I'm torn on Seven Recipes for Revolution. On the one hand it delivers some fascinating world building, with a strong justification for an unusual cooking magic system. And while the 'hero telling his story while at a low point' narrative style is a little overdone at this point, the book gives it a bit of extra spice to make it feel warranted. What I couldn't quite gel with were the characters, who felt a little too thin, and a plot that didn't quite hook so much as bounce along from thing to thing.

And I wouldn't necessarily say any of these elements were bad, just not of the quality that keeps me reading. I DNFed about 60% of the way through, which is rare for me, but I may come back to it at a later date. For now, it just wasn't quite for me.

What a unique book! I loved the food-based magic system - why have we never seen anything like that before? When the world is so harsh and rigid, the magic system really flows through as a beautiful contrast that interplays with the harshness well. It's constantly in conversation with so many common tropes at the moment but manahes to avoid becoming consumed by the expectations of their genres. I couldn't believe this was a debut!!

If Attack on Titan had an intense cook-off behind the scenes, that is what this book reminded me of.

The narrative is similar to The Name of the Wind, where we have an older Paprick retelling his story to the Archivist. Similar to TNOTW as our narrator is not the most reliable source. He clearly has his own agenda but also he has grown greatly, and as he tells his story we have to remember that he was a child at the time and with youth comes a different perspective. As much as I love this way of storytelling, it wasn't done very well, it was far too abrupt. There is no clear distinction between the now and the past. One sentence we're reading through a scene of his past and the next sentence he starts talking to the archivist.. It takes you out of the story and can be quite confusing to move between the two timelines. I really enjoy the approach that Jay Kristoff and Patrick Rothfuss took with this type of narrative, and although its not a dealbreaker, it did impact my immersion of the story.

It also reminded me to the community politics we saw in The Rage of Dragons. In this book we have Rares and Commons, where of course Commons are living in desperate poverty and Rares have a huge privilege just for being a 'Rare'. This friction is leading to something, it just needs one person to stand up against the status quo. Saying that, the first 20% of this book i was incredibly confused (and i've read and loved Malazan!). It's very hard to understand the Rare/Commons/Endurance/Magic, its all a bit muddled and it takes a while to get any clear answers, I'm still not sure i'm entirely with it but I get the premise.

I do really like the magic approach, cooking food that gives you magical abilities. It's like the classic Zelda game where cooking gives you crazy abilities for a certain period of time. I love that, I just wish there was more of that side. The book isn't clear to me on whether the main focus is the rebellion or the cooking, they seem to be competing for pages.

I loved the writing, the descriptions of the food, the animals, his relationship with his mothers. There's a lot of potential with thise series. If you are sensitive to animal abuse I would not read this. Although the animals are mythical, the pain they are subjected to and the level of detail we get, it was hard to stomach at times and I almost couldn't keep reading this. Although that is no reflection on the author, that is my own personal taste. Otherwise I would recommend, give it a bash and see what you think!

Thank you so much to Daphne Press for this title! I was really excited about this one—an epic fantasy centered around food? Yes, please! The premise is fantastic, and the cover is absolutely stunning.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. I struggled to connect with the characters, and the ending felt a bit too smoothed over, without enough weight given to the events that unfolded. The timeline was also a challenge—the story is structured as a recounting of past events, but there wasn’t a clear distinction between the ‘present’ and the past, which made it difficult to follow. At times, the transitions between time periods were so subtle that I found myself unsure of where we were in the narrative.

That said, I did enjoy the final stretch of the book more than the earlier sections, but it still didn’t quite leave a lasting impression—which was disappointing, given how much I loved the concept.

I'm torn about this book. Like, REALLY torn. I gave it 2.5 stars because I didn't DNF it, but there were multiple instances where I was going to. It seemed to have a really slow start and I feel like it didn't actually interest me until it all started to kick off, which I thought was a substantial way in. I didn't feel any connection to the characters, the ending seemed kinda smoothed over and I feel like not enough attention was actually paid to the events that occurred. Also, there is a strange timeline - the story is being told as though it is being recounted, but there wasn't a clear distinguishment between the future (current) events and those which had happened years prior. I was struggling to get a grip of where we were in the timeline and the fact that from one line to the next there wasn't a clear indication of which time period we were in made it harder to read. I preferred the ending, but still wasn't 'impressed', which was a real disappointment because I loved the concept. Overall it gave Hunger Games vibes but with food and recipes rather than resources, and I would struggle to recommend it to others.

Phenomenal read! I was intrigued by the cover, the title, and the synopsis but I do have to say that I was reluctant to start it due to the protagonist being a teenager. However, to my shock, the premise had a “The Name of the Wind”-twist, with an older protagonist narrating his story and that got me hooked.
The core plot is not original, but everything surrounding it is phenomenal and so creative. A food-based magic system? So many possibilities and a breath of fresh hair in the crowded fantasy space. It kept me intrigued and trying to guess where it could go next. However, at times, particularly in the beginning, it was a tad confusing and hard to follow, often due to the introduction of invented ingredients, but nothing that troubles the reader. Also, the structure of the book, following courses and entrements was really inventive.
My only real criticism is that the writing often feels amateurish and YA-ish, particularly in the first half of the book, which make it difficult to get attached to the characters and the plot. However, I feel that you can see the writing evolving throughout the book and by the end it was very interesting and engaging.
I’m really curious to see where this story goes next, and I hope Rose doesn’t shy away from making Paprick/Butcher a full-blown antihero/antagonist (heck, even a villain), it was very curious to see his development.

4.5

thank you to the author, the publisher and netgalley for this advanced copy!

genuinely incredible. the most refreshing and unique take on fantasy ive seen in years and im so grateful i got the chance to read it.

this book had one of the best opening chapters ive ever read. i was gripped from the first sentence. the author’s ability to create atmosphere was one of the greatest strengths of this book and it was present from the offset.

the setting was fascinating and the magic system even more so. i love leaving a fantasy novel knowing i still have so much more to learn about its world and being excited to do so.

my main gripe is that i struggled to connect with a lot of the characters, and at time motivations felt a little muddied.

First, I’d like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for sending me this stunning work of fiction.

Seven Recipes for Revolution was a multiple-course feast defined by its inventiveness, diversity and a hint of magic.

What immediately drew me in (and warmed my heart) was the tenderness with which the author introduced us to their world - a world that's diverse, divided and yet accepting as can be. What I'm referring to here is freedom of expression, which can be noticed right away in terms of gender, sexuality and general self-identity. It's a seemingly minor but crucial element that helps queer folk feel seen and confident in themselves when reading.

Moving on, I'd like to focus on the book's plot, pacing and world-building.

Seven Recipes for Revolution was a book I had to sit down with and consciously focus on not to lose track of what was happening. And perhaps it was my fleeting mind or a busy week that caused this but for the first 20 or so per cent, I was confused about the difference between the present and past timeline. It took me a second to figure out and understand when the two switched but once I did, reading became much easier.

At first, I thought the pacing was adequate for the book's length, but I found myself with unanswered questions at the end. The final few chapters felt a bit rushed, and although I had finished the book, not everything in my mind seemed 'resolved'. However, I believe this could be settled with a re-read.

What initially attracted me to this book and made me request it was the culinary aspect, a fundamental part of this work. I love to cook and I loved reading about how these fictional characters like to cook too. I enjoyed how pieces of lore were gradually unveiled and generally created. In my opinion, cuisine is one of the main selling points of Seven Recipes for Revolution and is a major factor setting it apart from other works of similar genres.

Overall, the book was a nice read and I can see how it'd resonate with queer folk, fans of the culinary arts and inventive fantasy. As I mentioned before, there were a few 'kinks' that stood out to me and I can imagine being slightly improved. I believe the book is targeted at a very niche type of reader and sadly, I didn't completely fit that category but I'm glad to have received and read the book nonetheless.

A thoroughly enjoyable and very cinematic read, with a fun original magic system!

Picked this up because the cover is very cool and the cooking magic sounded like a whole lot of fun, and it certainly was! I really enjoyed the food-based culture and magic system in this; cooking encompassing everything from naming conventions, to social niceties, to religion was a great touch. The writing style was punchy and engaging, I enjoyed Paprick as a narrator, and I liked the framing device of an older Paprick telling the whole story to the Archivist (though I do think it could have been woven in a bit more tightly in some places; it was a tad top and bottom heavy, you tend to forget about it in the middle and then get jarred by it when it did return). I liked the recipe epigraphs at the start of each part, they were a great touch, and I have to commend Rose's creativity and presumable passion for food, because you really do believe that cooking is everything to these people. I frequently thought 'I should get a snack...' while reading this, so I have to hail his ability to describe food so well. I did, also, eventually come around to the romance subplot too, despite not being massively compelled by it at that the beginning, and I really enjoyed the side characters like Rish and Cutler, they felt very real.

I docked a few stars for a bit in the way of pacing and structural issues; on occasion it feels as if this book wants to have its cake and eat it too (sorry... couldn't resist), with regards to it having both a magic-school style plotline and a rebellion plotline running alongside one another. Trying to juggle both meant it was harder to feel properly invested in either, and it ended up making both of them feel a bit thinned-out-- once we got used to one, we ended up heavily on the side of the other again. It didn't always make for massively balanced reading; the school felt like it belonged more to a fun bildungsroman than this book, and I didn't always find the rebellion plotline massively convincing either. I wondered whether it might have made more sense for Paprick to have *just* been recruited for Ilantra's restauraunt, or even brought on as a kitchen apprentice at the castle or something, rather than have that tacked on to the school. I wonder it might have been easier to fit the rebellion plotline around that, or to have more slowly introduced it as something that could feed more into the second book?

Sometimes I was compelled by the revolution parts, but at other times it felt quite thin, and I never quite understood things like why or how Vanil had the influence and reach that he did, or how this was really compelling the people in Common. I also forgot that this was a series, and then realised as I was drawing close to the end that a lot of my questions weren't going to be answered, which was a tad frustrating, and I wish that this had had a slightly neater ending, rather than a pure cliffhanger; but that's more personal preference than anything. I wasn't massively impressed by the slightly hasty killing offs of characters nor by the pendulum swinging back and forth on who was or wasn't a traitor or who was or wasn't dead, since it often slightly undercut emotional beats. But lots of these things won't bug other readers, no doubt.

I think the comp titles and comparisons are pretty accurate; not everything in it was my cup of tea, but I took a punt on it and enjoyed my read anyway! I hope people enjoy it when it comes out in July.

Incredible. I requested this book on NetGalley for two reasons: 1) the stunning cover, 2) it seemed fabulously weird. And I was not disappointed. An incredibly novel magic system involving recipes and cooking forms the basis of the book’s worldbuilding and I loved it. It’s so hard as the fantasy genre grows to find a truly new concept and this felt like it. The characters were fabulous and flawed and the plot twists were unexpected. There were moments of real sadness and of triumph. I can’t wait for book 2!!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Seven Recipes for Revolution is one of those all-too-rare fantasy novels with a very unique magic system - food! I can absolutely see why The Bear has been mentioned in the blurb, with high-pressure cooking a recurring theme throughout this book, though the 'steaks' are much higher! Specifically, steaks from huge creatures, with meals made from these unlocking magical abilities.

Ryan Rose weaves a wonderful tale of revolution, revenge and recipes, told mainly via the main character telling his story from a prison cell. The story bounces between past events and the present day and it works so well in building tension, with some nice foreshadowing along the way. There are some excellent twists and the story maintains momentum from start to finish. There is an underlying theme of class wars and an academic setting too and some very engaging characters.

All in all, a fantastic mix! I'm very excited to see where this series goes as I thoroughly enjoyed this first book! A huge thank you to Netgalley and Daphne Press for an ARC.

I want to thank NetGalley for letting me read this arc! I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but im so glad I am on this journey!

This book is a really wild ride from start to finish, I wasn’t sure what to expect but the description of The Bear crossed with Attack on Titan was entirely spot on. Firstly I loved the perspective this is told from, it feels very theatrical, like a tv show, told though an interview format where we go between past and present. I got so immersed that when they came back to the present it was jarring but also really intriguing as it felt more like a puzzle. We were trying to figure out what’s happened, how the characters have ended up as they are and who this mysterious interviewer is!

The author pulls no punches and very clearly lays out this strange world with a hierarchy not unlike that of Red Rising in which there is a higher class that have powers and the rest are treated as workers that live to serve the upper classes. We follow Patrick as he tells us of his life and how he got to where is he in the current time. Starting out as a butcher to cut meat from these gigantic magical beasts that then when consumed give the person temporary gifts. He learns about a rebel uprising and decides to risk it all to steal meat and cook food of his own, ultimately accidentally creating a new recipe that changes his life.

One aspect of this book that I truly loved was the queer normative world in which these characters live. They introduce themselves with their pronouns, Patrick has two mothers and being queer seems to be completely normal. They are respectful of pronouns even when sentencing someone to death which made me oddly happy. Patrick’s relationship with his mothers was really beautiful and came as a nice break from all the violence happening in their world. There are so many great side characters in this too that you will root for.

Nobody is perfect in this book even our beloved little group of main characters made mistakes, there’s betrayal and murder, political upheaval interspersed with very in depth recipes for different meals to grant powers. It was a strange experience reading this book as a vegan, there’s a lot of killing animals for meat, descriptions of food and recipes for food but in this world its because the meat gives them power. I liked that the powers were different depending on the recipe and were only temporary which meant that the power balances could shift over time. Always keeping the reader on our toes!

This is one of the strangest, most unique books I’ve read, very futuristic but also at the same time the dichotomy of a somewhat progressive society and rudimentary world create something special. Theres no technology, the world revolves around cooking. Overall I highly recommend this as it’s incredibly new and fresh and will entice you not only with a brilliantly complex storyline but also with mouth watering food recipes!