Did this book have me hooked from the very beginning when it mentioned Attack On Titan and The Bear? Yes, yes it did. It also reminded me so much of Delicious In Dungeons the anime, and I think if you liked any of these then you would love this book because it was such a unique take on the fantasy genre!!

I thought it was really cool that so much of this book played off of status and which of the two classes someone fit into. There is the upper class known as Rare, and the lower class known as Common, and I have to say, that I loved that this was kept so simple and easy to understand. The Rare are the only ones who are allowed to consume and cook with the giant beast magic (emphon) but other than that and their obvious privilege, they have nothing else going on that stands out. The Common are exactly what you think. They’re born into a society where they are just exploited and have no hope of moving up or gaining any privilege.
This contrast is something that I love to see in fantasy books because I think it can set up the rest of the story so well if its done right, and in this case, it was the perfect set up for some mayhem, shenanigans, and a general revolution! (Honestly, just think about the French Revolution and then throw in a lot of cooking and magical beasts and that will pretty much sum up this book)

One thing I seriously adored about this book was that there was no boring set up or 100 pages of world building that leaves the reader feeling exhausted before the story has actually begun. In this one we are thrown right into the action (about 10 years after Paprick’s story actually begins) and it opens up with him being put on trial for a whole host of crimes that he has committed because of his status being one of the Common.
There wasn’t a single second after this point where it felt like things had dropped off or gotten a little boring, and it was so exhilarating to have kept this upward momentum the entire way through the book. I finished it before I knew it and was left feeling like I had been part of something epic. The only way I can describe it is that it left me feeling the same way The Lord Of The Rings left me after I watched it for the first time!

Nothing about this story was too hard to understand (other than the made up food names) and it was genuinely one of the best reading experiences I have had in such a long time!
Again, if you enjoyed Attack On Titan, The Bear or Delicious In Dungeons, then you will love this book!

This was a very unique fantasy with strong dystopian elements, something unlike anything I'd read, with a magic system based on cooking the meat of giant beasts with magic properties.

People are divided amongst Common (lower class) and Rare (upper class), a division that is not entirely explained and I think is intended to be arbitrary. It is really a class thing, and Rare people have no special abilities beyond the privileges of their status. Under the current king, only Rare are allowed to cook with emphon (the giant magic beasts), or consume it, though there is also a rule that if a Common manages to invent a new greater recipe (a recipe with gives the eater magic), they're allowed to become a Rare and train to be a chef. This is, of course, contradictory since they're not actually allowed to cook with the ingredients necessary for a greater, but I think that's kind of the point.
The Common in the current day are also born into debt that they have to pay off through an indenture, and when we first meet Paprick he works as a butcher's apprentice to pay off this indenture, and we see him getting cuts on his pay for aything, including being a little too slow.

In other words, all of this feels like a great set up for a revolution. The Common are getting pretty pissed at their situation, which has been getting worse (the indenture thing is relatively new, and the division of Common and Rare isn't that old either). Paprick is a 16 year old who accidentally enters the spotlight by inventing a greater recipe in a crisis, and then goes to train to be a chef among the Rare, placing him in a very useful position for a revolutionary movement.

While the story of young Paprick unfolds, we also have a piece of story 10 years in the future. The book opens there, with the Butcher (older Paprick) being put on trial, and a mysterious figure known as the Archivist seeking him out in prison to hear the tale, because this person is looking for certain information from him, and the entire book is actually the Butcher telling the Archivist what happened. Here and there, we get little sections of the current day Butcher and Archivist commenting on what the Butcher is telling, and these sections are great from building intrigue. I was really curious which character from the past story went on to become this Archivist, and there were just enough hints to really keep me on the edge of my seat. I am curious how this will continue in the next books, as it is a trilogy.

There is a minor romantic subplot, which was not super developed but I thought it was cute. The mc is bisexual, and the love interest uses she/her pronouns in the past story so far, but the Butcher and Archivist sections actually do hint she changes her pronouns to they/them somewhere in the time between, so I'm curious about that. Generally, this is a queer norm world, where it's normal to ask people for their pronouns, and the MC has two moms.

Most of the plot focuses on the revolution, as well as Paprick training and studying at the chef academy and making new friends there, and it's definitely high stakes and fast paced, which I imagine will increase further in the next books without the part of the school setting. I'm really curious to see where this story goes next, and the dual timeline did a great job building intrigue and keeping me reading.

The book could be gory at times, which I didn't mind and I think fits the overall story well and raised the stakes, but that is something to keep in mind.

The world building wasn't overtly complicated, and really focused on the unique food aspect, with much of the culture, religion, figures of speech etc centering food and cooking, and I think it worked for this book. Some aspects could be developed a little more especially regarding the politics, but I think that will happen in the next books, so I'm curious to see it.

Another nice touch in this book: the 7 recipes are actually written out in the book. All of them use non existing ingredients (such as guavocado, emphon steak, skyroot powder), but the author has real life substitutes on his website so you can actually try them. He even recommends the best suited vegan substitutes if you prefer those (and apparently he's vegetarian which is funny considering so much of the book is about cooking meat). As a vegan, the descriptions of the meat didn't bother me too much, and there's actually a section of people in the book whose (illegal) religion is against harming and eating the emphon.

Would recommend it to fans of dystopian fantasy, unique world building, and high stakes revolution

A veritable roller coaster of a read, I was equal parts appalled and enthralled.
The magic system was interesting, especially as it highlighted the sheer cruelty of evil, whilst also allowing for creativity and innovation. The recipes were a really interesting touch as well. I loved the descriptions of the food, and how important it is, both for the composition and the flavours. And of course culturally, using words like “starve” as a curse spoke volumes about the social and economic environment.
For the most part I enjoyed this, although I wasn't sure if I would get past the first chapter. Definitely not for the feint of heart or those who are squeamish, but the storytelling was excellent and I'm really glad that I persevered. Standing up to evil and fighting against the regime is important and sometimes you have to get your hands dirty.
I will be recommending but with trigger warnings (animal cruelty, torture, cannibalism, murder, death of a parent)

A promising debut with an interesting magic system but unfortunately I feel it lacks a bit in execution.

Firstly I think that marketing it as “for fans of Pierce Brown and Jay Kristoff” is doing this book a disservice because comparisons are going to come, especially since the narrative is told through an interview style like Empire of the Vampire. The problem with this is Kristoff’s writing is a completely different league.

I enjoyed the representation and diversity and the fact that everyone was just accepted for who they are, but I did struggle to connect to the characters.

The magic system is food based, something I haven’t come across too often and I enjoyed but the descriptive and graphic writing of how the meat is obtained, from flaying an alive creature was hard to stomach. Animal abuse of any kind, real or mythical, is a nope for me

This had some great potential but I struggled with the writing (not every action needs an adverb) and pacing. This book will definitely find its audience but unfortunately I don’t think I’m it.

Thankyou to Daphne Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was an interesting book, the world building was pretty impressive for less than 300 pages and it’s a unique premise! I liked the stylistic writing and the choice of an unreliable narrator, I loved the discussions on systemic oppression and how being allowed to engage in a society that does not cater to you but requires you to conform is not equality, and I did like the inclusivity - although some of it verged on performative imo (especially considering the Butcher purposely used incorrect pronouns for someone because he was describing a time period before they stopped using she/her, that was a choice).

What I didn’t like was the cheesy levels of dedication to the food theme. A food based magic system and the importance of food to culture, family, grief, love- all amazing stuff!! I was very excited to be immersed. But I couldn’t get immersed because everyone had a cringy herb or spice name, the food spells are called things like “Chili Control” and “Omniscient Omelet” instead of cool, snappy names that might actually express the power of them.

The action was fun and gruesome in equal parts, the imagery of the Emphon was vivid and I’d love to see art of each one. I didn’t feel very connected to the characters, there were some very unemotional deaths where the protagonist tells but doesn’t show us how devastated he is. It was funny in parts and it felt fresh, I genuinely think some people will love it, I just wanted more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Daphne Press for the ARC!

Thankyou Daphne Press and Netgalley for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a bizarre read but i think I enjoyed it. The magic revolved around food and recipes and, the clever character names based around herbs and spices was a nice touch that really appealed to me personally.

I did initially get a little lost at the start with the switch between Paprick talking to the archivist in the present and the narration of his story of the past. Once I figured it out I consider this a pretty easy and unique fantasy read from a debut author.

The writing in this is SO visceral. Perhaps not for the faint of heart given there's a decent amount of gore and the butchery is described in detail, but the descriptions made me feel there in the story from the first page.

I think it's an interesting narrative choice to have the story as told by the MC, to see and contrast the Butcher / Chef King as a character to Paprick as a teenager. It robs it a little of the 'how will this turn out?' aspect because you know he survives it all, but at the same time, the asides are amusing and I enjoyed seeing his commentary on himself with the benefit of hindsight.

Excited to see where this is going next.

Thank you very much for this advanced copy. I was really excited for this book and delighted to early read.

Unfortunately, I didn't love this one. I found the first person present tense really jarring to read, there was no room for prose and instead it felt like reading a Marvel movie. The subject matter was really interesting and I loved the magic system and the reliance on food/cooking as a cultural aspect.
I think the book needed to decide what it wanted to do and stick with that. Either lean more into the goofy side or develop the topic of revolution and dig deeper into the characters' subjegated to this oppression.
Character-wise I struggled to connect to Paprick, I wasn't a fan of his name and felt it cheapened the novel greatly. I also found him arrogant whilst continuously making stupid decisions.
Breaking up the narrative with inserts of the Butcher recounting his story to the Archivist worked well but unfortunately this aspect started to remind me too much of Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind (a book I am also not a fan of).
Overall, I found this book clumsily written, I didn't enjoy the silliness which interjected a lot of the novel. I recently read The Devils by Joe Abercrombie which was an example of fun adventure done correctly and Seven Recipes paled in comparison.

First of all, I’d like to say a big thank you to Daphne Press and Netgalley for providing me with the e-ARC of this book.

The blurb for this book says “The Bear meets Attack on Titan” and I can confirm, this is pretty accurate. “Seven Recipes for Revolution” is the first book in a new epic fantasy series that felt incredibly fresh and unique. Be warned, reading it WILL leave you hungry (good thing then that there are a few recipes to try scattered throughout the book).

Let me start by saying that i thoroughly enjoyed this book. It did take me some time to get to it, but when I started reading it, i was hooked for good. This story contains certain elements that always seem to work for me, one of them being the double timeline. We meet the main character as he is set to be executed for a long list of crimes he may or may not have committed. Through a ceremonial called The Rite, he is allowed to recount his story and explain the series of events that led him where he is now. The entire book is therefore a mega flashback of Paprick’s life, narrated by himself (more or less faithfully), interspersed with present time bickering and commentary between him and the person in charge of The Rite.

This double timeline allows for a lot of mystery right off the bat. Who is this person in charge of the Rite, whom Paprick seems to know ? What did lead Paprick to his execution ? Are the forces in power right to imprison him, or are they lying ? Is he ? What’s really happening outside his cell while he is recounting the story of his life ? Maximum foreshadowing, intense recounting, solid build-up of tension and delicious twists made this a gripping tale for me and i couldn’t wait to get all the answers to my questions.

Something that made this book so uniquely different is the world-building and magic system that both revolve around food and cooking. Not only are the magical abilities that exist in this realm brought on by various recipes, but the customs of this world and even its language are informed by food. We get to watch different characters cook and be technical about it. We witness some familial cooking as well as some “molecular cooking” and through those techniques, different messages are sent. Food is power, it is sustenance, it is community and identity, it is diversity, a means to an end as well as a delight in itself. The various discourses of class struggles, animal cruelty, personal revenge, skewed morals and propaganda, that are explored in this book, pair quite well with the ongoing food metaphor which makes them perhaps more palatable at times.

As for my critiques of this book, I’d say I have two main ones. First, I would’ve liked a bit more time spent between characters. Some key relationships in Paprick’s life might have deserved a bit more page time as they did not always feel fully realized. Paprick’s relationship with his love interest for example felt a bit instalovey and rushed.
My second critique would be the pacing towards the end. I didn’t mind the slower start, which allowed for good world-building and character introductions. I appreciated the back and forth between past and present and how it propelled the story forward. However, toward the end of the book, a lot felt rushed. One could argue that the events recounted, both in present and past, do get laced with a sense of urgency as things seems to happen back to back with little time for preparation. It does make sense. But I’d have appreciated a bit of a slow down to have time to fully digest the numerous twists and new information that get dumped on us towards the end.

In all that, the positive being that the second book is perfectly set up. New questions are raised, new stakes as well. And if the ending of this first book seems to go very fast, it may be to better propel us directly into the second one.

All in all, “Seven Recipes for Revolution” was a very pleasant read that I flew through. It was a great debut and I am eager to see what will come next in the series and from this author in general. I do recommend.

dnf’d at 21%

damn. i really thought i was going to get more interested in this as it went on. but sadly i couldn’t, and i think that’s for 3 big reasons;
1. paprick has no personality. ok he has motivations, i’ll give him that. but other than that he almost feels like an insert character, and this deep into the story i should care about him… but i didnt….
2. the story being told backwards is confusing as hell. i’m assuming paprick is the butcher, but the fact he becomes that, as well as what even is happening in the first couple of chapters, and then we go way back into the past, wasn’t really my thing
3. the world building is… confusing? there’s a war going on, but there’s very little tension, and because i already know paprick survives in some regard to become the famous butcher, any tension in action scenes is negated by the knowledge it doesn’t matter
i also just think the premise isn’t my thing? i thought it was, but once i got into it, i found myself not intrigued by the premise. which honestly isn’t a fault of the book, it’s just my preference.
idk i couldn’t make myself interested in this, and believe me i tried super duper hard. but sadly it never happened :(

Really fresh and fun fantasy novel. Interesting take on world building and magic by making the history and cultural aspects based around food. I've seen some comparisons to The Bear, and Attack on Titan and whilst not super familiar with either it definitely had an anime/cinematic vibe to be - that could be the kaiju element at play, but I think the structure also gives it an episodic quality. I could personally see parallels to Kaiju No.9 and Delicious in Dungeon if you're going for more anime comparisons.

There are important themes here of class, the rich/poor divide, and historical events clearly being manipulated by the minority for their own gain. And the world is brutal and gritty, built literally on the backs of giant almost mythological creatures, tortured and used for the powers gained from eating their flesh. But there is also a playfulness with the language (the characters are all named after food, with the swearing is largely food based). It would be easy to make this very grimdark but its only dark and serious where it has to be, other times its a fun ride to be part of.

A really solid debut. I did initially have some misgivings about the pacing, it felt like it shot ahead somewhat to the detriment of the plot. However on finishing, and trying to avoid spoilers, it feels like that may actually be a deliberate nod how accurately the narrator and a secondary character are conversing about the situation.

All in all this felt like a fun and fresh take on fantasy, kaiju and food.

No voy a descubrir la rueda si hablo de la tendencia actual en la fantasía a hacer mucho hincapié en el mundo culinario. Las descripciones de festines o de comidas específicas como las lembas siempre han estado presentes, pero es que últimamente tengo la impresión de que hay muchísima más presencia de concursos culinarios o recetas mágicas, aunque también puede ser que sea simplemente una impresión mía.


El caso es que Seven Recipes for Revolution viene a sumarse a esa ola, pero lo hace de un modo un tanto torpe y tosco, con una idea que tenía potencial pero que se acaba diluyendo como pastilla de caldo en demasiada agua.

En el mundo en que se desarrolla la novela, la magia se basa en las recetas que incluyen la carne de unas bestias gargantuescas que, tratadas de una forma adecuada, otorgan poderes a los que consumen esos platos. Esto ha dado lugar a una sociedad rígidamente estructurada, donde los comunes no tienen acceso a esos manjares y malviven esclavizados, generalmente trabajando en los mataderos donde se obtiene la materia prima para estas preparaciones. La primera parte del libro es muy sangrienta, ya que la obtención de la carne se describe de forma muy detallada y el animal sigue vivo mientras se le van arrancando trozos, haciendo de su virtud de regeneración su propia condena.

El protagonista de la novela es Paprick (los personajes tienen nombres de especias), carnicero que aspira a crear una nueva receta mágica para convertirse en chef, la única salida que ve para su condición casi de esclavo. La lógica interna del libro aquí empieza a tambalearse, porque es bastante complicado crear una receta si no dispones de la materia prima para experimentar. El caso es que Paprick, tras una serie de peripecias consigue crear una gran receta capaz de aumentar su tamaño corporal al de un gigante y se abre las puertas a la escuela de cocina, no sin antes pasar por un severo tribunal que le quiere sonsacar la receta… pero del que sale sin siquiera una obligación de explicar cómo hizo lo que hizo. Como os digo, la lógica interna del libro hace aguas.

A partir de aquí, todo va cuesta abajo. Las revelaciones todas son sorprendentemente convenientes para los planes de Paprick y la revolución, los contactos que hace le dotarán de todas las herramientas que necesita para seguir evolucionando en su cocina y el racismo y clasismo imperante entre sus compañeros irá desapareciendo por arte de birlibirloque.

Reconozco que el método narrativo escogido por Rose es bastante curioso. Comenzar cada capítulo con una receta en un libro con estas características es un acierto, pero escoger la voz del narrador de forma que sea la de protagonista narrando los hechos desde el futuro le quita parte de fuerza a la historia, ya que sabes que no le va a pasar nada, si lo está contando él mismo. En cuanto a los personajes, carecen de personalidad, son perfectamente intercambiables. Y el maniqueísmo de la narración raya lo intolerable.

El libro ha sido bastante decepcionante.

It's a really intriguing read with a fascinating premise that incorporates food and recipes with fantasy. I really wanted to enjoy this book but found the pacing toward the middle off, however it does turnaround if you persevere through that.

I will say that there are some bits regarding animal(?) abuse so if you are sensitive to that it might not be the right book for you.

Thank you for the opportunity netgalley and the publisher to read this ARC. I'd be very interested to see more from this author

Such an interesting book. Some have referred to this as attack on titan- and I can totally see the comparison when it comes to the gods, I have never read a book like this. I really enjoyed the start and the end but I felt like the story took so long in the middle.

First, a trigger warning: I actually almost DNFed this book after reading the first few chapters because they heavily featured animal abuse which was incredibly distressing to read. However, I am glad I kept going because I ended up enjoying the story.

The vibrant food-based worldbuilding and magic system easily the best part of the book. This was one of the more unique concepts I've come across, and the explosive execution did it justice. I loved how much the characters loved food, and I appreciated how the recipes and their stats were included in the book as well - my only nitpick would be that many of the emphon recipes were quite similar in their usage of ingredients. I also really enjoyed the format of switching between past and present events, which managed to keep the intrigue going until the end of the book. Moreover, I was delighted that the story took place in a queernormative world featuring a cast of queer characters.

Unfortunately, I hated the romance, which not only took up more of the book than expected, but also added absolutely nothing to the story. I honestly cringed every time there was any romance on-page. Also why was an explicit scene included???

Lastly, I wasn't a huge fan of the ending as the pacing was very rushed and the book finished quite abruptly. Will definitely be picking up the next book in the series because I need to know what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

ARC review - Seven Recipes for Revolution by Ryan Rose

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️
4.5 stars

"The Bear meets Attack on Titan in this exhilarating, food-based epic fantasy filled with high stakes and monster steaks, perfect for fans of Pierce Brown and Jay Kristoff."

Convinced already?? Well, I for sure was! This book was everything I had expected it to be based on its marketing, and more; one hell of a debut novel!

It's basically an anime in book form with video game dynamics, in the best possible way. And it starts out so well!! The prologue and the first chapter alone made me preorder a special edition and the rest of the book only reassured me in this decision.

7RFR offers:
🥩 Unique magic system where certain foods/recipes provide magical abilities
⚖️ Culinary academy setting with a lot of political intrigue
🪚 Flawed but relatable protagonist with special skills
🌈 Diverse cast of likeable side characters (queer reps, disability reps, POC reps)
❤️‍🔥 Romance subplot, very interested to see where this goes
⚔️ As the title suggests, a revolution ~ Eat The Rich
🎯 Twists and turns
🌶 Food related puns and names

Publication date: 22 July 2025

A massive thank you to Daphne Press, Netgalley and Ryan Rose for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was coined as fans for Attack on Titan, and since that anime is my absolute FAVOURITE, I knew that I had to request it! And it's also about a butcher? This premise was genuinely so interesting and so intriguing that I knew I couldn't pass it. The writing was light and easy and emotional at times and the plot was easy to navigate. There is constant action happening, the plot always moving forward and more subplots emerging, and I'm an absolute sucker for books set in univerisities so that was a yes from me! I can't wait for the rest of the series, as this book definitely sets up for a bigger narrative and world!

Woof. What a debut!

This was action-packed, clearly written and SO SO GOOD. VERY excited for the next instalments in the series!

Thank you for the ARC

This was a fun enjoyable read!

We follow our mmc Paprick, a common butcher with a passion for cooking, who discovers a new recipe which makes him grow tall. The rulers want this recipe and in exchange for it Paprick convinces them to make him a chef apprentice, something not usually done for a common.

I loved the food based magic system, it was such a unique and different take on the fantasy genre. I thought it was fun and interesting, without being too complicated or complex, and so was easy to follow.

I also enjoyed the story telling style of the book, we have older Paprick telling us the story of what happened when he was younger and this included occasional comments in the present time where he speaks to the archivists and then goes back to the story, which added to the suspense of the book as you are also waiting to see what they decide to do with Paprick at the end.

Overall I really enjoyed this and it was refreshing to read something with a magic system I haven’t read before.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this up because the cover and tagline of THE BEAR meets ATTACK ON TITAN. I wanted to love it, especially with such a unique hook. But I just couldn't really get into this, probably just because of the food aspect. I was hoping for more fantasy and was just disappointed. But this would really appeal to those who love a goof food sci/fantasy tale. It wasn't for me, but has a lot of potential for the right audience. Thank you to the Ryan, Titan Books, and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.