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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
adventurous
funny
informative
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
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fluffy to a sometimes embarrassing degree, but the romance itself was super sweet, the banter was a treat to read and I adored how London’s nonbinary identity was represented. (I was a bit scared to read a traditionally-published sort-of-spicy romance with a nonbinary love interest because I wasn’t sure how it would be handled.) Dahlia was a believable disaster in her own right, but she was still a lovable protagonist and the chemistry she had with London was sizzling. London, as the other POV though, took a bit to grow on me because of the initial meetcute being incredibly awkward to read about. (The first two meetings, actually. So much oversharing…at least one of those instances can be sort of excused with the alcohol use?)
I genuinely did not care about the side and minor characters besides Barbara, though. For a majority of the book, the cooking show contestants were a blur of names and barely described personalities. It didn’t help that every time a character seemed to be given some level of depth, they were kicked off of the show. The reality show itself felt more like a backdrop, and it didn’t really feel like I was reading a story taking place in one until the last fourth or so. For the most part, the challenges didn’t feel super immersive, and while the sheer number of them is realistic for a TV show, at least a third of them began to feel pointless to dwell on.
And as many people have pointed out, missed opportunity to have different cultural foods made and talked about by the different contestants?!? Like, not all the cast was white(as was evident in some descriptors or names), but it felt like it sometimes, goddamn.
(I’m also surprised at how London and Dahlia never once felt like competitors. Not even a little bit of that conflict could’ve affected their relationship, until one of them got kicked off? Both of you mfs are yearning on set and still surprised the entire viewerbase clocked you had a thing for each other?? Okay.)
I didn’t quite like this as much as “Sing Anyway”(that was the first book by Anita Kelly that I read), but I still had a ton of fun reading this. It was so cheesy and so saccharine. Evidently, though, that doesn’t make it perfect haha.
I genuinely did not care about the side and minor characters besides Barbara, though. For a majority of the book, the cooking show contestants were a blur of names and barely described personalities. It didn’t help that every time a character seemed to be given some level of depth, they were kicked off of the show. The reality show itself felt more like a backdrop, and it didn’t really feel like I was reading a story taking place in one until the last fourth or so. For the most part, the challenges didn’t feel super immersive, and while the sheer number of them is realistic for a TV show, at least a third of them began to feel pointless to dwell on.
And as many people have pointed out, missed opportunity to have different cultural foods made and talked about by the different contestants?!? Like, not all the cast was white(as was evident in some descriptors or names), but it felt like it sometimes, goddamn.
(I’m also surprised at how London and Dahlia never once felt like competitors. Not even a little bit of that conflict could’ve affected their relationship, until one of them got kicked off? Both of you mfs are yearning on set and still surprised the entire viewerbase clocked you had a thing for each other?? Okay.)
I didn’t quite like this as much as “Sing Anyway”(that was the first book by Anita Kelly that I read), but I still had a ton of fun reading this. It was so cheesy and so saccharine. Evidently, though, that doesn’t make it perfect haha.
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:
Yes
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
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
Love Anita Kelly's writing. This continues to provide tremendous lgbtqia+ rep along with providing a sweet heart warming story. As I read this series out of order, it was great finally getting to read about London and Dahlia's budding romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Dysphoria
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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