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maggies's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A formulaic reality TV romcom with the added dimension of transphobia and gender identity issues. London and Dahlia are really adorable, even if I was mostly just so-so on the cooking bit. Given that the author themself is non-binary, I felt it was all handled really well, especially the spicy scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
frantically's review
emotional
hopeful
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? No
3.0
This was a fun and spicy queer read and I loved all the representation in this! I couldn't connect with the characters as much as I wished to and it was hard to differentiate their voices but it's always nice to read adult sapphic novels! Not the best book for me but it could be for you.
Be aware that there are multiple instances of transphobia directed at London by another competitor and their dad, who doesn't accept them coming out. I love reading queer books but I love them even more when they're not filled with discrimination plots...
Be aware that there are multiple instances of transphobia directed at London by another competitor and their dad, who doesn't accept them coming out. I love reading queer books but I love them even more when they're not filled with discrimination plots...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
mkstalcup's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Homophobia
shadereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Transphobia
librarybookscene's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Transphobia
hobbithopeful's review
funny
hopeful
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
4.75
Cozy queer romances are always such a great spot of respite in the sea of darker books I sometimes find myself reading. Love & Other Disasters was such a great palate cleanser for me, I feel like my mood improved 1000% after reading it!
Dahlia quit her job and flew across the states to enter the number one tv show cooking competition in America, she is adrift in life, coming off a divorce and trying to find herself. The prize money from winning could change her life, and allow her to pay off her bills and crawl out of the pit of crushing debt she has found herself in.
London is nonbinary and dreams of being able to start a nonprofit back in Tennessee for LGBTQ kids, but soon finds themselves being thrust further into the spotlight then they anticipated, being the first openly nonbinary contestant on the cooking show.
As the episodes continue and people are eliminated one by one, the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another, and becoming close. But at the end of the day it *is* a competition, which puts a deadline on whatever it is they are starting to have with each other.
Sizzling chemistry and A++ spicy scenes sprinkled through the book just enhance Anita Kelly's humorous writing style, I was laughing one second and fanning myself the next! The characters are so lovable, well rounded, and everyone had a happy ending. (Except for any "bad guys" of course!) I am going to keep my eye on the author, I know whatever they write next will be a book I'll wait in line for.
The Cover
The cover and title is so sweet but really I wish it conveyed in any kind of way what the book is about, or the fact that food is so entangled with the themes and plot. The book ended and opened with Dahlia cutting an onion, it would have been nice to have seen maybe an onion motif of some kind.
That aside it is such a bright joyous cover. I love the style that Dahlia and London are depicted in, they actually look like their character descriptions which is always a plus. It is such a sweet and well designed book cover, from the title font to the way the characters look at each other. I do really love the cover, but again I wish it was a bit more in line with the book themes. (The cover or the title would do well to have been shifted to convey how fantastic this book was, as it is the title is a bit basic)
Cover & Title by Hattie Windley
Dahlia quit her job and flew across the states to enter the number one tv show cooking competition in America, she is adrift in life, coming off a divorce and trying to find herself. The prize money from winning could change her life, and allow her to pay off her bills and crawl out of the pit of crushing debt she has found herself in.
London is nonbinary and dreams of being able to start a nonprofit back in Tennessee for LGBTQ kids, but soon finds themselves being thrust further into the spotlight then they anticipated, being the first openly nonbinary contestant on the cooking show.
As the episodes continue and people are eliminated one by one, the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another, and becoming close. But at the end of the day it *is* a competition, which puts a deadline on whatever it is they are starting to have with each other.
Sizzling chemistry and A++ spicy scenes sprinkled through the book just enhance Anita Kelly's humorous writing style, I was laughing one second and fanning myself the next! The characters are so lovable, well rounded, and everyone had a happy ending. (Except for any "bad guys" of course!) I am going to keep my eye on the author, I know whatever they write next will be a book I'll wait in line for.
The Cover
The cover and title is so sweet but really I wish it conveyed in any kind of way what the book is about, or the fact that food is so entangled with the themes and plot. The book ended and opened with Dahlia cutting an onion, it would have been nice to have seen maybe an onion motif of some kind.
That aside it is such a bright joyous cover. I love the style that Dahlia and London are depicted in, they actually look like their character descriptions which is always a plus. It is such a sweet and well designed book cover, from the title font to the way the characters look at each other. I do really love the cover, but again I wish it was a bit more in line with the book themes. (The cover or the title would do well to have been shifted to convey how fantastic this book was, as it is the title is a bit basic)
Cover & Title by Hattie Windley
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia
purplepenning's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Read during the #TransRightsReadathon March 20-27, 2023..
Sweet, silly, spicy, serious, sensual. This is a contemporary rom-com between two cooking show contestants who are each experiencing a bit of a quarter-life crisis. Dahlia (f/queer) is recently divorced from her high school sweetheart and feels disappointing and directionless. Teaching herself how to cook and develop warm, comforting flavors has helped her get through the worst of it. Winning the $100k competition prize might help her get through the rest. London (nb/pan) is settled in their non-binary identity even if they're still unsettled by their father's lack of acceptance. They're hyper-focused and prepared — to put the strained relationship with their father aside, to ignore the trolls, and to establish their place as the first non-binarycontestant winner of a major cooking competition so they can use the prize money to start a nonprofit for LGBTQ kids. There's an undeniable spark between the two, but is there a future together ahead of them?
An entertaining and enjoyable read that had me laughing out loud in places even as I cringed at others. The writing is vivid and tactile. Which is generally great, but ... I don't ever want to recall someone's hands working with raw chicken when they're in the middle of a sensual massage. There's also a large cast of secondary characters and not nearly enough time to develop them, and a background of socioeconomic disparity that's not explored much. Overall, a really good debut with excellent LGBTQ rep!
Sweet, silly, spicy, serious, sensual. This is a contemporary rom-com between two cooking show contestants who are each experiencing a bit of a quarter-life crisis. Dahlia (f/queer) is recently divorced from her high school sweetheart and feels disappointing and directionless. Teaching herself how to cook and develop warm, comforting flavors has helped her get through the worst of it. Winning the $100k competition prize might help her get through the rest. London (nb/pan) is settled in their non-binary identity even if they're still unsettled by their father's lack of acceptance. They're hyper-focused and prepared — to put the strained relationship with their father aside, to ignore the trolls, and to establish their place as the first non-binary
An entertaining and enjoyable read that had me laughing out loud in places even as I cringed at others. The writing is vivid and tactile. Which is generally great, but ... I don't ever want to recall someone's hands working with raw chicken when they're in the middle of a sensual massage. There's also a large cast of secondary characters and not nearly enough time to develop them, and a background of socioeconomic disparity that's not explored much. Overall, a really good debut with excellent LGBTQ rep!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Transphobia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Excrement, and Blood
misgendering (alluded to and explored without being explicitly written), coming out, unaccepting family, internet trolls (alluded to and explored, not explicitly written), cooking gore and detailed descriptions of animal proteins, food-related sex play, public sex, divorce (backstory), pressure to have kids (backstory), socioeconomic pressure and disparitystormeno's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing and Mental illness
aesantiago's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
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: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Homophobia
onemorepagecrew's review
5.0
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly had me invested in the characters and sitting with a book hangover when I finished. Thank goodness this is the first in a series and I have the advanced copy of the second book on my shelf (big hugs to Forever)!
OK, let’s talk about London and Dahlia. I love them. I love them individually, I love them together, I love their journey. They meet on a televised cooking competition and have instant chemistry, but don’t act on it at first. Each is working through something that’s occupying headspace. London has just shared their pronouns and identified as non-binary on television, and is processing their father’s less than receptive reaction. Dahlia is recently divorced and near bankruptcy, with the prize money for the show as her sole focus.
The way their personalities fit together was so special. The friendship, empathy, attraction, and acceptance was well written and multi-dimensional. The spice was on point and matched the character depth. I genuinely loved this book and their story so much. If you enjoy romance with depth, personal growth, humor, and spice – grab this book!
Content warnings: Transphobia, Homophobia, Sexual content (moderate), Panic attacks
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content and Panic attacks/disorders