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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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:
No
This was such a cute romance with a backdrop of a cooking show competition. Our first main character Dahlia just went through a divorce and has quit her job to be on the show. London is nonbinary and is on the show so they can start a nonprofit organization. The two connect pretty much immediately, which was a bit too insta love/lust for me. I loved the sweet moments and cute banter. I also loved how protective they both were of each other. The miscommunication trope reared it's ugly head a bit but overall I loved this story and it's characters!
Spice:🌶🌶🌶
Spice:🌶🌶🌶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
Misgendering
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
emotional
fast-paced
Honestly the sweetest most wholesome rom com I've ever read. Literally chefs kiss.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
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:
No
3.5, rounded down
First off, I really like Anita Kelly’s writing style. I actually accidentally picked up Julie’s book first and realized I was missing context, so I went back to the library the next day it was open to grab books one and two.
And it was very sweet. The reality tv show drama was interesting, though the timeline of the whole thing was a little bit confusing. I did enjoy the side characters, or at least the ones that I remembered existed. There were so many that I usually forgot most of them.
My biggest issue was the insta-love/insta-lust. I am in no way a fan of that idea and, though the book was very explicit about it being just that, I still didn’t like it. It plays a little bit into the difficulty of following the timeline for me. How long exactly did they spend getting to know each other? Because whatever the time it was, it felt a little bit too fast for love, much less a full commitment. Because of the insta-feelings, I also struggled to get invested in their relationship. I liked the characters as separate entities, but I was never as invested in them together as I hoped to have been.
That being said, the story was fun and I liked how the plot unfolded. The respective family subplots were also pretty good.
The spice was fine, to me. Like I’ve mentioned, there was a lot of lusting, which is not for me. And the two of them used sex as a substitute for intimacy and conversation, which was also not my thing. But the spice wasn’t out of place. The one thing I did enjoy was their dynamic in bed. I really enjoyed reading about something a little bit different and more true to my own ideas about sex. There were a couple of actions they did that I thought were plain gross, but the dynamic was nice to read about.
I’m very excited for the next two because of the rep that’s coming. Don’t get me wrong, I so loved London and their non-binary rep, but I’m also looking forwards to the other kinds in the future installments of the series. And hoping for less insta-everything.
First off, I really like Anita Kelly’s writing style. I actually accidentally picked up Julie’s book first and realized I was missing context, so I went back to the library the next day it was open to grab books one and two.
And it was very sweet. The reality tv show drama was interesting, though the timeline of the whole thing was a little bit confusing. I did enjoy the side characters, or at least the ones that I remembered existed. There were so many that I usually forgot most of them.
My biggest issue was the insta-love/insta-lust. I am in no way a fan of that idea and, though the book was very explicit about it being just that, I still didn’t like it. It plays a little bit into the difficulty of following the timeline for me. How long exactly did they spend getting to know each other? Because whatever the time it was, it felt a little bit too fast for love, much less a full commitment. Because of the insta-feelings, I also struggled to get invested in their relationship. I liked the characters as separate entities, but I was never as invested in them together as I hoped to have been.
That being said, the story was fun and I liked how the plot unfolded. The respective family subplots were also pretty good.
The spice was fine, to me. Like I’ve mentioned, there was a lot of lusting, which is not for me. And the two of them used sex as a substitute for intimacy and conversation, which was also not my thing. But the spice wasn’t out of place. The one thing I did enjoy was their dynamic in bed. I really enjoyed reading about something a little bit different and more true to my own ideas about sex. There were a couple of actions they did that I thought were plain gross, but the dynamic was nice to read about.
I’m very excited for the next two because of the rep that’s coming. Don’t get me wrong, I so loved London and their non-binary rep, but I’m also looking forwards to the other kinds in the future installments of the series. And hoping for less insta-everything.
