Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

7 reviews

msradiosilence's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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leighannebfd3b's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


A romance novel set against the backdrop of a cooking competition show, a queer leading lady and a pansexual nonbinary love interest. I was like - say less, I'm down, and I'm so glad I did.

This was just so damn good. The chemistry between these two was almost too much for me most of the time. They were incredibly steamy together - way steamier than I expected the book to get, but it wasn't unwelcome at all. It had me WIDE EYED a lot of the time in that regard. I also just thought that these two characters, as people, felt really real. They were extremely imperfect and stumbled a ton, but in the end, they were perfect together and I just loved them.

I had little issues here and there, but they were just that: little. Like, they were such non-issues that I never once considered giving this any less than 5 stars. I have nothing intelligent to say about this, just vibes. The best vibes in the *world.*

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just_one_more_paige's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

 
So apparently cooking/baking shows are a new trend in romance settings (ok, maybe this one and Rosalie Takes the Cake are just two books, not the start of a new wave of reality food tv romances, but still...) and I'm not not here for it. While I don't really watch a lot of reality food tv IRL, I do love the way the setting allows for close proximity and people who wouldn't normally meet being brought together. Plus, I can't imagine at least some of the contestants on those shows in actual life don't create relationships that last past the filming period, so, even if they're not romantic attachments, it's reasonably believable. Not that that matters, because one doesn't necessarily pick up a romance novel for the reality of it. However, I digress. The point is, if one can call it a trend, I submit that it's a fun one. 
 
Dahlia and London's meet cute on set at the start of a new season of Chef's Special, a reality cooking show, isn't particularly smooth. Dahlia's nervousness comes out as tripping over herself and babbling awkwardly, while London's shows with a wordless grunt in response that definitely comes across as rude. Dahlia's getting over a recent divorce and, having quit her job and looking for a new start on her life, really needs this show to go well (the prize money would be clutch for legit financial reasons). On the other hand, London definitely doesn't need the money, but they'd love to use it to start a nonprofit to support LGBTQ+ youth in their home state of Tennessee. Despite their first interactions going less than smoothly, Dahlia and London keep being pulled back towards each other, and throughout the filming, their relationship starts to develop into something more than just friends. However, they both have some personal baggage, family complications, and growth they need to work through (as well as the fact that London came out as nonbinary nationally while on the show and is dealing with all the feedback from that). The question is, can their new bond survive all that and help them move into the future together? 
 
I sped through this contemporary romance while on vacation (romance is one of my favorites choices for beach/poolside reading), so in that sense, it was exactly what I wanted. And there were really a lot of aspects of this book that I loved. First, and very importantly, I loved the nonbinary rep in these pages - it was so big and proud and messy and unapologetic and wonderful and I was here for all of that. And, interestingly enough on theme with The Charm Offensive, which I also read recently, I am completely on board with all the "queers take over mainstream reality tv" vibes in contemporary romances as well. It's freaking awesome to see (and one can only hope it follows in "real life" reality tv as well). Speaking of which, the entire setting and food show vibe was great - well written and some fun added drama and structure to the rest of the plot and relationship developments. The only other major plot thing I want to point out, because really the pacing and everything were just nice and smooth and I don't have much more to add about that, is that the "fight" moment felt super real, major and minor at the same time. I was happy that it didn't feel contrived or blown out of proportion (they do, at least IMO, pretty often) and also that it was not at all related to the gender/sexuality of Dahlia or London - that's always the easy, surface-level "out" for drama and I'm glad Kelly didn't take it. Related, Dahlia’s "grand" gesture at the end is so sweet and funny and perfect for her and honestly made me laugh out loud - can't help but love that.   
 
For both Dahlia and London, I loved reading about the depth and complexity of their family situations as well. There was some really nicely nuanced (and very relatable) intra-family difficulty for both that was simultaneously tough to read and refreshingly honest. Some of London's family was super supportive of their gender and pronouns and everything, and some (one in particular) were not. It was definitely hard to read about a few times, so be prepared for that, but it didn't ever take over from the rest of the story or London themself - it was just one piece of their story, in a good way. Similarly, the varying reactions of other show contestants and social media were included in the story, because it would be insincere to not address those pieces, but they too never took away from London themself or their internal growth/external relationships in a way that felt too tokenizing. For Dahlia, I personally loved reading about her journey to understanding what she wanted in life and a partner and family (as in, not wanting children) and some of the tension that caused (or she projected that it caused) with her parents. Although the realizations came later in life, and it would have been easier to ignore them and follow convention than buck it at that point, I just loved that she stuck to her truths. It may have been harder to start, but in the long run, everyone will be in a healthier place because of it. Dahlia and her brother were great (note my bias though, as I'm always a sucker for a supportive sibling relationship). And last, it was refreshing to see Dahlia as a “multiple jobs cause idk what I want to do” person on page. I feel like it’s so common (I, too, have a number of jobs, on purpose) but seeing it in writing is still pretty rare. So shoutout to that. 
 
I have to say though, despite all the things I was into while reading this book, my overall expectations weren't quite met. I think, for some reason that I cannot quite put my finger on, the chemistry between Dahlia and London was lacking something, a kind of unevenness in their connection. There were some great steamy scenes, and I usually love a sunshine/grumpy pairing, but it never quite clicked for me here. There was a compelling-ness that I kept hoping/waiting for that Dahlia and London never quite reached. I felt like there was, at times, a disconnect between each character's inner dialogues and outer actions that didn't always match up in a believable way, and that contributed to my reactions. I didn't come away with the depth of emotional response that I usually look for while reading a romance. I wanted so badly to love them, because I loved their situations and stories, but the pairing just never quite hit that spot for me. However, that's such a vague communication of my reaction and reason(s) for it that I don't want it to necessarily talk anyone else out of trying this novel - it had all the right ingredients (see what I did there?) and it could easily just have been a case of wrong time/headspace for this reader. So, if this sounded like a story you'd want to read before this last paragraph, then ignore everything I just said and give it a go for yourself! It's totally worth it (and I'm still super glad for the time I spent with it). 
 
“If there was a society where everyone rejected the binary, where gender norms didn’t exist at all, where bodies were just bodies, everyone real and valid and equally human, and you didn’t have to worry about what people were assuming or not assuming about you.” 

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kayladaila's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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veronicats's review

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Except for the food sex scene I very much enjoyed it!

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bookcrushin's review

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Okay I’m all in on the cute queer adult romances! Keep publishing these queer romances!! This one doesn’t releases until 2022 but seriously put it on your TBR! A pansexual nonbinary cooking show contestant falling for another queer contestant brings the hotness, the drama, and the food! 

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