Scan barcode
kayles514's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Transphobia
aus10england's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Whewwwwww this was all over the place! A fun read overall, some of the characters made me frustrated at times. Loved the reality TV elements, and the non-binary representation. Also, this was a LOT more sexual than I was expecting, so beware of that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
folkofthebook's review against another edition
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? No
4.0
As someone who LOVES cooking competition shows, this book was right up my alley.
Contains:
- a little sunshine x grumpy
- bi FMC
- pan non-binary main character/love interest
- mouth-watering food descriptions (ready the snacks)
- adorable scream-into-my-pillow moments
It was a lot of fun reading about Dahlia and London's journey together, and I connected with both of them on different aspects of their lives. I would have liked to see even more of the cooking competition/filming dynamics and process with the other competitors explored, but focusing on the relationship helped me as a reader become emotionally invested and feel its growth and development. I think the 3rd-person POV gives insight into both characters' thoughts/feelings and what they've each been through. Overall, this was sweet with some heart-touching moments.
TW: transphobia, misgendering
Contains:
- a little sunshine x grumpy
- bi FMC
- pan non-binary main character/love interest
- mouth-watering food descriptions (ready the snacks)
- adorable scream-into-my-pillow moments
It was a lot of fun reading about Dahlia and London's journey together, and I connected with both of them on different aspects of their lives. I would have liked to see even more of the cooking competition/filming dynamics and process with the other competitors explored, but focusing on the relationship helped me as a reader become emotionally invested and feel its growth and development. I think the 3rd-person POV gives insight into both characters' thoughts/feelings and what they've each been through. Overall, this was sweet with some heart-touching moments.
TW: transphobia, misgendering
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Transphobia, and Cursing
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
criticalgayze's review against another edition
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year so far, but it was a struggle.
What I wanted was the extra queer cooking competition sibling of The Charm Offensive, but Love & Other Disasters lacked any sense of connection.
First, the backdrop of the reality show is not utilized to any sort of advantage here. While I get that it would likely be difficult to write a riveting cooking narrative not bogged down in detail, the story would often introduce a competition segment and then zoom ahead hours or even days to tell us that the two leads had luckily avoided elimination.
Also, the two main characters do not SHOW any real chemistry. They TELL us they’re interested in each other, but I didn’t feel the connection at all. I think the lack of intensity from the cooking show spills over into the romance and leaves this one feeling flavorless.
What I wanted was the extra queer cooking competition sibling of The Charm Offensive, but Love & Other Disasters lacked any sense of connection.
First, the backdrop of the reality show is not utilized to any sort of advantage here. While I get that it would likely be difficult to write a riveting cooking narrative not bogged down in detail, the story would often introduce a competition segment and then zoom ahead hours or even days to tell us that the two leads had luckily avoided elimination.
Also, the two main characters do not SHOW any real chemistry. They TELL us they’re interested in each other, but I didn’t feel the connection at all. I think the lack of intensity from the cooking show spills over into the romance and leaves this one feeling flavorless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
paperbrownies's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
-lgbtqiap+, adult, contemporary, romance, dual pov, reality tv
- nb|f
- nonbinary pan mc (they/them), queer white mc, white trans sc
initial thoughts: i am the biggest fan of cooking shows doesnt matter that i can only cook a handful of things when left alone in the kitchen but they were the greatest source of serotonin when i was a kid!! i used to Love watching my kitchen rules!! 😂 so yk i was definitely going to pick this book up!!
afterthought:
cw: alcohol, transphobia, misgendering, brief mention of blood, sexual content, discussion on divorce and joblessness
- nb|f
- nonbinary pan mc (they/them), queer white mc, white trans sc
initial thoughts: i am the biggest fan of cooking shows doesnt matter that i can only cook a handful of things when left alone in the kitchen but they were the greatest source of serotonin when i was a kid!! i used to Love watching my kitchen rules!! 😂 so yk i was definitely going to pick this book up!!
afterthought:
cw: alcohol, transphobia, misgendering, brief mention of blood, sexual content, discussion on divorce and joblessness
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Transphobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood
mxlewife's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual content, and Biphobia
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
references to using the wrong pronouns and misgendering, but not on the actual pagecaseythereader's review
emotional
funny
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? No
5.0
Thanks to Forever Publishing for the free advance copy of this book.
- To absolutely no one's surprise, welcome to my queer screaming about LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS!
- Honestly, I don't even know if I can summarize everything I loved about this book. Grumpy/sunshine. Cooking competition. Self discovery and reinvention. Nonbinary representation. Characters gently taking care of each other and supporting each other through hard things.
- I love a romance novel that really digs into character backstories and growth, and LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS is one of the best examples of that I've ever read. Dahlia moving on from divorce. London dealing with their dad. And both of them learning more about themselves and each other as the story progresses.
- Also, I loved that even though some transphobia was part of London's story, they were never misgendered or deadnamed on the page. Their identity was taken seriously and as incontrovertible fact, not as something they needed to prove as part of coming out.
- To absolutely no one's surprise, welcome to my queer screaming about LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS!
- Honestly, I don't even know if I can summarize everything I loved about this book. Grumpy/sunshine. Cooking competition. Self discovery and reinvention. Nonbinary representation. Characters gently taking care of each other and supporting each other through hard things.
- I love a romance novel that really digs into character backstories and growth, and LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS is one of the best examples of that I've ever read. Dahlia moving on from divorce. London dealing with their dad. And both of them learning more about themselves and each other as the story progresses.
- Also, I loved that even though some transphobia was part of London's story, they were never misgendered or deadnamed on the page. Their identity was taken seriously and as incontrovertible fact, not as something they needed to prove as part of coming out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
More...