This was not what I expected and I'm positively surprised how much I actually liked it! If you're looking for something mysterious or thrilling Butter is not going to deliver. But if you're like long for a slow dissection of relationships, social expectations, and sexism you're at the right address.

Enjoyment Yes, it's slow, very slow sometimes but I found it very engaging and enjoyed Rika's journey down the rabbit hole. The food, omg, the foooood. It sounded so delicious 🤤 Apart from that I really enjoyed the comments on expectations towards women and how hard it is to detach yourself from them.

Quality Food as a tool for empowerment, that's just awesome! From my point of view, Yuzuki did a fantastic job with creating a complex story around pleasure, body images, self-determination, and generally relationships with food at the core of it.

Characters Rika and her development were at the centre of the story. She seems very rational and ambitious but at the same time is held back by insecurity. Through her encounter with Kajii she begins to change, life goes up and down, but she starts taking control of it. I loved that! There are also various other characters that go through changes and developments that I didn't expect. All in all, it's a very character-centered book which I personally enjoy.

Plot It's weird that not much is happening and at the same time so much is happening. As mentioned above, it's slow and certainly no crime story (expect for the blatant sexism encountered across the story) but I enjoyed how things developed and certainly loved the ending! But: not a plot-driven book, beware!

Audiobook Thank you Madika Kelling Bergner for showing me that I actually pronounce everything wrong when I use Japanese words like wasabi or yuzu at restaurants. I think the only thing that I got right was ramen... I enjoyed listening to her reading, she has a lovely voice and if you know German, I'd recommend this version!